From a PC to a Rupes LHR 15 MkII

[PHOKUS]

Got to spend some quality time with the Rupes today. Below are my thoughts.

 

First, some background. I have a PC 7424XP with a 6" plate. I have used "other" brands of pads, and lately have been running Adam's Gen5 pad set for correction. I am just a hobbyist in the correction/polishing world, and a car with paint in moderately decent condition takes me several hours to complete with the PC. I have a total of 10 cars corrected and polished so far.

 

The PC is a decent machine. It vibrates (a lot), is fairly heavy, and does not correct very quickly. But it does get the job done. For the money, it's a workhorse.

 

Today my eyes were opened to what a quality polisher can do, even in the hands of a novice like me. With a set of Adam's Gen5 6" pads on the OEM Rupes backing plate, Adam's PCP and PFP, and some Adam's Detail Spray, I went to work on my daily driver.

 

I washed and clayed my car yesterday evening. This morning, I gave it an Adam's Waterless Wash and, using my new Rupes, got started on correcting the many "love marks" my paint had accumulated over the last 6 months.

 

Using the Rupes for the first time, after having my hands vibrated to the point of numbness with the Porter-Cable, was an absolute treat. The Rupes is smooth, agile, accurate, and QUICK. I thought for certain it would take me several hours to fully correct my car. Not so! I corrected and machine-sealed within 90 minutes. My arms and hands still had feeling left in them, and the car looks amazing.

 

The Rupes is, in my opinion, worth every penny. Coupled with Adam's Gen5 pads and compounds, the sheer speed the Rupes completes its work is astounding. Granted, I am coming from a hobbyist-level tool and moving to a professional-level tool. But I never expected the gap to be like this, especially in the hands of a total novice.

 

And by the by, this car has 60k miles on it.

 

Thanks Adam's and Rupes!

 

tl:dr Bought new, expensive polisher. Performed impressively enough to babble on the internet about it. Posted photos for viewing pleasure.

Edited April 24, 2016 by PHOKUS

[stripesace]

What speeds where you driving your new Mark II at? 

[AvsBest]

90min wow you must've been doing a panel per 10min!

 

What did you use for your LSP?

[Dylan@RUPES]

Looks great and glad you are enjoying your BigFoot polisher - our engineers put a lot of thought and research into them and always great to hear how it impresses people the first time they experience it.

[PHOKUS]

What speeds where you driving your new Mark II at? 

 

This being the first time using the Rupes on this car, I experimented a bit. I settled on about speed setting of 2.5 for correcting, and 5 for polishing.

 

 

90min wow you must've been doing a panel per 10min!

 

What did you use for your LSP?

 

Oh, I didn't specify. I used Adam's Liquid Paint Sealant. It took about 75 min for correct/polish, and 15 min to machine seal it. Granted, none of the swirls on my DD were very deep - I was still shocked just how quickly they came out. It was literally 2 passes with the Rupes Bigfoot 15 and 90-100% of the swirls were just gone. Erased. Deleted. I was flat-out impressed!

 

 

Looks great and glad you are enjoying your BigFoot polisher - our engineers put a lot of thought and research into them and always great to hear how it impresses people the first time they experience it.

 

The engineering clearly paid off. I do have one tiny gripe about the Bigfoot 15 Mk II. The trigger locking mechanism could be just a little easier to lock in place. It seemed like I needed to stop working for a few seconds just to get the trigger locked down.

 

Suffice to say I am quite pleased, overall.

Edited April 24, 2016 by PHOKUS

[AvsBest]

Oh, I didn't specify. I used Adam's Liquid Paint Sealant. It took about 75 min for correct/polish, and 15 min to machine seal it. 

 

Impressive! I thought you had at least buttery wax, brillant glaze or americana.

[BrianT]

PHOKUS, thanks for the review!! I'm getting kinda tired a vibrating through each detail! I'm so wanting a Rupes, and I thank you for your comparison! Anybody want yo buy a PC?? Lol

[PHOKUS]

Impressive! I thought you had at least buttery wax, brillant glaze or americana.

 

No sir! This is just Correct and Polish, and machine-applied Adam's Liquid Paint Sealant. But black exaggerates whatever is on the paint surface. A clean, smooth paint surface will look deeper and shinier on black. And at the other end of the spectrum, any dust, dirt, or imperfections are also amplified, making them easier to see.

 

PHOKUS, thanks for the review!! I'm getting kinda tired a vibrating through each detail! I'm so wanting a Rupes, and I thank you for your comparison! Anybody want yo buy a PC?? Lol

 

You're welcome! The Rupes Bigfoot 15 MkII is a quantum leap over the PC. It cut my machine time by 50% or more. And I used less product. And I got better results. No brainer. If you're even considering swapping up from the PC, you'll be amazed at the Rupes.

[07r/t]

Great write up. Just got my Rupes machines also. If you think you might want the mini, just get it, compliments the 15 so well. Whatever you do, don't convert the PC to 4". You won't be happy once you used a Rupes. IMO

[PHOKUS]

Great write up. Just got my Rupes machines also. If you think you might want the mini, just get it, compliments the 15 so well. Whatever you do, don't convert the PC to 4". You won't be happy once you used a Rupes. IMO

 

I am going to wait for the Rupes Micro to be released before I purchase another polisher. The Micro might be just the tool I need.

[stripesace]

2.5 for correcting? wow... people are used to spreading product at 3.... 

5 for polishing... Guessing the faster speed jeweled a little better at higher speeds... Guess that makes sense. 

 

Interesting. I found myself at 4.5/5 for correcting and only needed about 2 passes. My paint finished well with just correction polish. 

 

I generally spread my Paint Sealant at speed 1 or 2... 

[PHOKUS]

2.5 for correcting? wow... people are used to spreading product at 3.... 

5 for polishing... Guessing the faster speed jeweled a little better at higher speeds... Guess that makes sense. 

 

Interesting. I found myself at 4.5/5 for correcting and only needed about 2 passes. My paint finished well with just correction polish. 

 

I generally spread my Paint Sealant at speed 1 or 2..

 

2.5 may have been too low. As I stated in my original post, I am a total novice at correcting. My car came out great at 2.5. Doesn't mean anything on the next car. It may have softer or harder clearcoat, it may have been repainted with thicker or thinner clear than factory.

 

As a novice, take this for what it's worth - it may even be completely incorrect, but I try not to pay too much attention to the speed dial from car to car. I test on a small panel and go from there. If I need to be faster or slower on the speed dial, I do it.

 

There's probably a much better way of going about it, but that's what works for me so far.

[07r/t]

I am going to wait for the Rupes Micro to be released before I purchase another polisher. The Micro might be just the tool I need.

I thought about getting it to but the price that I have seen is just to much for the hobbyist like me. I must admit though, cordless at times would be awesome. I'm sure after a while the price will go down after the preordering and hype is over with

Edited April 25, 2016 by 07r/t

[PHOKUS]

I thought about getting it to but the price that I have seen is just to much for the hobbyist like me. I must admit though, cordless at times would be awesome. I'm sure after a while the price will go down after the preordering and hype is over with

 

Yeah, the thing I am most waiting for is general reaction/reviews. I need an answer to the question, "Is this a niche product or will it have wide appeal?"

[AvsBest]

Great write up. Just got my Rupes machines also. If you think you might want the mini, just get it, compliments the 15 so well. Whatever you do, don't convert the PC to 4". You won't be happy once you used a Rupes. IMO

That's exactly what I did when I upgraded from my PC to the Flex 3401, I turned it into a 4" polisher which works great. The smaller the pad the better the PC as the power in more direct I guess.

 

Obviously the Rupes Mini will kill it but for most people it's more than enough power

[07r/t]

That's exactly what I did when I upgraded from my PC to the Flex 3401, I turned it into a 4" polisher which works great. The smaller the pad the better the PC as the power in more direct I guess.

Obviously the Rupes Mini will kill it but for most people it's more than enough power

The PC did seem to cut a lot quicker but vibration seemed to go up.

[mc2hill]

Yeah, the thing I am most waiting for is general reaction/reviews. I need an answer to the question, "Is this a niche product or will it have wide appeal?"

 

YES!  It is a niche product but has a wide appeal!  I think the initial price point will keep many away (including me), but I can see down the road them selling just the machine, and maybe even a corded version, and that should bring the price down some.

[PHOKUS]

YES!  It is a niche product but has a wide appeal!  I think the initial price point will keep many away (including me), but I can see down the road them selling just the machine, and maybe even a corded version, and that should bring the price down some.

 

I would definitely like to see 20%-30% lower cost on the iBrid. I have no need for cordless.

 

Sidenote, I am scheduled to correct and ext/int detail a minivan this weekend. I am extremely curious to see how quickly the Rupes will help me get the job done!

[Adam]

First, thanks Aaron for a great post!  Second, the initial iBrids only come in a complete hard-case kit with Rupes chemicals.  I'm confident that the units will eventually be sold less accessorized, to bring the cost down.  

 

Being first to market with this technology, Rupes has the ability to charge what the market will bear, and certainly, the market is hungry for this technology!   

 

If you must have one now, pull the trigger!  I'd say that within 6 months the initial hunger may subside, and more economical kits may become available.

[lljimll]

Thanks adam

[Dylan@RUPES]

I would definitely like to see 20%-30% lower cost on the iBrid. I have no need for cordless.

 

Sidenote, I am scheduled to correct and ext/int detail a minivan this weekend. I am extremely curious to see how quickly the Rupes will help me get the job done!

 

The Nano is definitely a pro-level tool and one that justifies its price for those that need the solutions it offers to satisfy their clients expectations on a detail while staying profitable (translated: saves detailers from wasting time with work arounds to address certain areas)

 

The question of "will the tool be sold by itself" comes up a lot, but logically it really can't be and what 'could' be eliminated from the kit wouldn't produce any dramatic reduction in price. The biggest issue now is accessory support - backing plates are a proprietary design so you'll need those and there aren't a ton of options for 40 and 70mm pads. Can't sell a tool without the pads if there are no options available. Would be criminal (in my opinion) to skip the brushes b/c once you use this thing to scrub an interior you'll never want to clean without it again.

 

So really we're talking removal of (2) 150ml bottles of compound, couple of sanding discs, towels, and then having to choose batteries or cord - need a case to package all the accessories and small parts. For the time being I wouldn't expect to see the Nano in any other configuration than it is now - if the market starts to respond with aftermarket pads and accessories maybe.

 

As it stands now... $600+/- for the full kit isn't so much about what the market will bear and more about the cost to build and innovate such a tool. Innovation comes at a price, RUPES didn't get to the forefront of the market by being the cheapest, but by being the company that invests heavily in research, design, and engineering. There are those that will bring in cheap Made in China knock offs of our products - the sincerest form of flattery and the lowest level of ethics IMO - but they also didn't invest what we did to take a product from concept to reality. Just food for thought.

 

Also - if the Nano is out of the price range you can justify we also have similar sized pneumatic tools that are awesome for polishing (TA50 and LD30) that are worth a look. Maybe we can convince Adam to stock a couple of air powered tools

Edited May 13, 2016 by Dylan@RUPES

[PHOKUS]

The Nano is definitely a pro-level tool and one that justifies its price for those that need the solutions it offers to satisfy their clients expectations on a detail while staying profitable (translated: saves detailers from wasting time with work arounds to address certain areas)

 

The question of "will the tool be sold by itself" comes up a lot, but logically it really can't be and what 'could' be eliminated from the kit wouldn't produce any dramatic reduction in price. The biggest issue now is accessory support - backing plates are a proprietary design so you'll need those and there aren't a ton of options for 40 and 70mm pads. Can't sell a tool without the pads if there are no options available. Would be criminal (in my opinion) to skip the brushes b/c once you use this thing to scrub an interior you'll never want to clean without it again.

 

So really we're talking removal of (2) 150ml bottles of compound, couple of sanding discs, towels, and then having to choose batteries or cord - need a case to package all the accessories and small parts. For the time being I wouldn't expect to see the Nano in any other configuration than it is now - if the market starts to respond with aftermarket pads and accessories maybe.

 

As it stands now... $600+/- for the full kit isn't so much about what the market will bear and more about the cost to build and innovate such a tool. Innovation comes at a price, RUPES didn't get to the forefront of the market by being the cheapest, but by being the company that invests heavily in research, design, and engineering. There are those that will bring in cheap Made in China knock offs of our products - the sincerest form of flattery and the lowest level of ethics IMO - but they also didn't invest what we did to take a product from concept to reality. Just food for thought.

 

Also - if the Nano is out of the price range you can justify we also have similar sized pneumatic tools that are awesome for polishing (TA50 and LD30) that are worth a look. Maybe we can convince Adam to stock a couple of air powered tools

 

I certainly agree with the economics of innovation and pricing of quality tools. When I said I would like to see it cheaper, I said that from a hobbyist perspective. Were I doing this professionally or even as an enthusiast amateur, the iBrid would be an excellent option for many applications.

 

That said, for my use right now, I'll have to just 'get by' with the Rupes. Thanks for your input, Dylan!