Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

Zach, which pads do you use with the rupes (size and brand)?

My 15 mark II arrives today, and I was debating if I should get the matching rupes pads and polishes to try the system the way it was manufactured to be used. Otherwise, I'll most likely stick with the 5" carpro pads + polishes I already have.

*Edit* I have the rupes and the hook and loop on the back of the 5" flash pad is almost exactly the same measurement as the Rupes backing plate. 5" Gloss pad and 5.25" denim pad fit fine.

Also checked all my other pads LC (5.5" Flat foam, 5.5" CCS foam, 5.5" Force pads, and 5.5" Foamed wool), Buff and shine (5.5" MF pads), and Meguiars (5" MF pads) all fit with the stock 5" backing plate.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

^that is really all I was getting at... there are different machines for different people. I personally felt like the Flex was harder to control, but I can't say I have spent enough time with one to have given it as much of a chance as I have with the Rupes. All I know is I get better results in less time than I did back when all I had to use was my porter cable. and FWIW we have never had a single issue with any of our Rupes machines except for swapping out brushes after many years (a wear item).

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

All types will work... my arsenal is mostly made up of Lake Country, Meguiar's, Buff and Shine, and a few of the Rupes yellow & white polishing pads, but I did not like their green or blue pads. I have both 5" and 6' backing plates, though I use the 5" setup 99% of the time on my LHR21 MKII.

babaliont

How much does a professional paint correction typically cost? Because if I'm only doing it once per the 2 vehicles I have it doesn't make sense for me to buy a $400+ machine. How often does a vehicle that's been corrected require further correction. Doesn't it come to the point where you would strip the clear coat after multiple corrections?

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

I would recommend buying a $150 polisher - Griot's Garage Dual Action Polisher - these are perfect for DIY car enthusiasts. The professional grade machines are a bit overkill for anyone using them so seldom, as you pointed out.

To answer your other questions, after correcting a vehicle there should be no need for complete paint correction work in the future provided the utmost care is taken when washing and drying the vehicle. However, there will certainly be fine defects that occur over time regardless of how careful you are and therefore every vehicle will need to undergo some amount of routine polishing throughout your ownership as needed to maintain a near perfect finish. These light polishing events are very non invasive and have almost no effect on the total clear coat thickness and therefore there should be no cause for concern even if you are performing a light polish on an annual basis (unless of course your paint is exceptionally thin from the get go).

In the event that you perform heavy corrections over and over, yes you could risk compromising the clear coat all together. As I had mentioned, with proper maintenance there should be no need for multiple heavy correction procedures on a given vehicle.

-Zach

UDel

Paint correction normally will cost from around $300 to over $1000, really depends on where you live and who you get, could be someone who just does it on the side like me which charges much less or a business which will charge much more. You don't need to spend $400 on a machine. My recommendation would be to just get another Porter Cable and maybe wear thick gloves or put a rag over your hands to dampen the vibrations. All buffers are going to vibrate no matter how nice they are and how much you spend, there is no getting around that. You can get deals on Porter Cables for around $100 and can get pads and polish deals for around $50 if you look around. It would take a lot of polishing to strip a clear coat, like several times a year, year after year. You are only taking a very fine layer off every time you polish and if you are careful your car should only need to be lightly polished once a year or maybe less after a decent correction. Bird crap, sun, sap, acid rain, rock chips, hail is doing much more damage to your clear coat then a light polishing once a year.

babaliont

I can't ever to back to the PC because of the vibrations. They felt more like an electric shock than anything else where I couldn't really hold on to the machine at 5 or 6 speed setting. My guess is the Griot's is the same. An internet search on the topic brought up an interesting alternative:

http://www.cyclotoolmakers.com/index1.php

Any experience of opinions about this one?

babaliont

No one here has any experience with these dual orbiting head polishers? Or even an opinion? I would considering getting one if it is really vibration free.

UDel

It is not going to be vibration free, any machine/power too that has a motor, spins a orbiting pad that you have to push on a cars finish is going to vibrate, some maybe more then others but they will all vibrate. Sounds like you are very sensitive to vibrating power tools and I don't think you are going to find a machine that won't vibrate or irritate you as they all do it and you need to be holding them for hours to polish a car. Like I said before, maybe there are special gloves that dampen vibrations enough to where you are more comfortable but I don't know what else to tell you, they all vibrate and will likely irritate you.