The Rupes is on my Wish List and I am torn. Do I go for the 15 or the 21? I have a few larger vehicles lined up for the spring and I dont want to spend extra time if I can save it.
Any insight from owners is appreciated. :dblthumb2:
I plan on using it with Megs MF 6" pads along with various foam to finish.
The larger pads and larger stroke of the 21 will cover a larger panel faster. I did a comparison test between the two and although the larger pad and stroke on the 21 did save time, it was't a huge time savings.
Large pads are great for anyting with large flat panels. Most modern cars have thinner body panels, that is a section of paitn between an edge and a raised body line and for this reason no matter what the tool, smaller pads are more effective.
Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria
Here's the time-lapse video Yancy took for me as I buffed this classic out from start to finish...
[video=youtube_share;v7FjGcMCTEg&hd=1"]RUPES 21ES Vs 15 ES time comparison Time lapse -...[/video]
On the passenger side I used the Rupes 21 and on the driver's side I used the Rupes 15. There was about a 20 minute time savings using the larger pad, larger stroke machine over the smaller pad, smaller stroke machine but my opinion is that for most body panel designs on modern cars the 6" pad will be a better match.
This tool definitely has a lot more correction ability plus power over a traditional DA Polisher like the Porter Cable 7424XP.
I did find that when buffing a curved panel, either concave or convex, the uneven pressure applied to the face of the pad will slow down and even stop pad rotation. The key is to focus on the panel and keep the pad as flat as possible to the surface.
Here's the time differene as posted in this thread... (lots of pictures and documentations in the below thread too)
Rupes side by side detail - 1955 Crown Victoria
Post #31
***Update***
Passenger Side with the Rupes 21
Half way done and now taking a break while Yancy charges the GoPro Battery.
I've buffed out the entire passenger side of this 1955 Ford Crown Victoria two times. I compounded it first and then followed with the ultra fine polish. I used the Rupes 21 for the large flat panels on the passenger side and the RUPES LHR75 Mini Random Orbital Polisher for the thin panel and tight areas.
Took me right at 2 hours and 20 minutes.
I didn't take the below picture till 10 minutes later after setting up for the driver's side but the GoPro should show 2:20 as I stood by the clock on the windshield and pointed at the time.
Something interesting I found out as I buffed out this car, the white portions are clear coated and on the passenger side the driver's door is clear coated but the front and back fender as well as the roof are single stage.
Just goes to show you never know what you're working on till you actually start buffing...
Here's a couple of pictures...
Also, found that even on the 6 speed setting on curved panels with pressure to just a portion of the face of the pad the pad can slow down and sometimes even stop rotating just like you see with Porter Cables, Meguiar's and Griot's DA Polisher.
Next up is the Rupes 15 for the driver's side, it will be interesting to see if I see less of a pad rotation stoppage due to the smaller size pad thus less leverage from the pad.
I'm going to stick with the Zephir Gloss Coarse Compound as it's doing a great job of removing the swirls, scratches and oxidation out of both the single stage and clear coat paint systems but I'm going to try out the Keramik Gloss Fine Cut Polish with the yellow foam polishing pad for the driver's side.
Just to note, the Diamond Ultra Fine Cut Polish worked perfectly to maximize the gloss and clarity after the Zephir compound. I know some of you will want to know if that's too big a jump and normally I would think it would be but the compound and blue foam cutting pad are actually finishing out really nice on both types of paint.
I'm making approximately 7-8 section passes for each section I buff, not sure if that will correctly show up in the time lapse as I think Yancy has it set up to take a picture every 2 minutes.
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