Cutting power of the rupes?

[aburgeson]

I want to purchase a rupes polisher. Still torn on the 15 or 21. Reading the posts fellow members have made has made this decision so hard. So many people have such good insight on each one. Since I still am torn on which one to get, my main question is will both of these polishers have more cutting power than the porter cable? I mostly use 5.5 inch pads except on the roof and hood of my car. I just want to speed up my detailing time a bit. I do other cars for friends and starting to branch out to other people for side jobs. I mainly just do 1 car a weekend for a little extra spending cash but need a way to speed up the time

[refreshauto]

it is a night a day difference between the PC and the Rupes. i dont own, but i have used it, and the only thing i will tell you is that if you get the Rupes, get the complete system. get the machine, pads and polishes. use the system and you will see a dramatic difference from the PC

[VISITOR]

have you given the flex a thought as well? it has interchangeable backing plate system and you can use a variety of pads from 4"-6.5" to tackle every inch of the vehicle and did i mention it's a workhorse? there's pretty much nothing it can't handle, especially gieven the plethora of different pads and products out these days...

[Kamakaz1961]

Get a Flex 3401 VRG I still have my PC 7424 XP but use it very little. Once you get a Flex which is the ONLY FORCED ROTATION DA and more powerful than any other free floating DA...PERIOD. Once you try out a Flex 3401 VRG you will never go back to a free floating DA. Additionally, the Flex is less expensive, there are more backing plates for it, there are more pad options from 4" to 6.5" and you do not "eat" the pads that are not designed by Rupes. Every other pad not made by Rupes tends to either lose their backing or the pads get ripped because of the rotation being to aggressive for those pads.

If it were me look into a Flex before spending $$ on a Rupes.

I will probably cause a stink now, however, this is MY OPINION.

[MNDSMtuner96]

Get a Flex 3401 VRG I still have my PC 7424 XP but use it very little. Once you get a Flex which is the ONLY FORCED ROTATION DA and more powerful than any other free floating DA...PERIOD. Once you try out a Flex 3401 VRG you will never go back to a free floating DA. Additionally, the Flex is less expensive, there are more backing plates for it, there are more pad options from 4" to 6.5" and you do not "eat" the pads that are not designed by Rupes. Every other pad not made by Rupes tends to either lose their backing or the pads get ripped because of the rotation being to aggressive for those pads.

If it were me look into a Flex before spending $$ on a Rupes.

I will probably cause a stink now, however, this is MY OPINION.

Amen. Flex xc 3401 vrg! Love it!

Sent from my SPH-L710 using AG Online

[The Critic]

Rupes all the way. Once you master the operation of the machine, you will find that it will cut every bit as well as the 3401.

The forced rotation of the Flex is way overrated. The complaints of lack of rotation on the Rupes are from people who are either using the wrong Rupes for the job, or have not learned how to properly use the machine.

And this coming from someone who sold their 3401 and now has a LHR21ES, Duetto and 75e mini.

[fly07sti]

Going from a pc, I'd recommend the Rupes. They are very smooth. However, if you ever plan on doing heavy correction or wet sanding, go with Flex. I personally like to have as many tools as I can to do whatever job arises. I have PC 7424xp, cyclo 2nd gen, GG 6, Makita 9227, Dewalt 849, Flex 3401, Rupes 15, Rupes 75 mini. Kinda like pads and micros, You can never have enough.

[spiralout462]

Going from a pc, I'd recommend the Rupes. They are very smooth. However, if you ever plan on doing heavy correction or wet sanding, go with Flex. I personally like to have as many tools as I can to do whatever job arises. I have PC 7424xp, cyclo 2nd gen, GG 6, Makita 9227, Dewalt 849, Flex 3401, Rupes 15, Rupes 75 mini. Kinda like pads and micros, You can never have enough.


Which rotary do you use more often? Makita or DeWalt?

[VISITOR]

Get a Flex 3401 VRG I still have my PC 7424 XP but use it very little. Once you get a Flex which is the ONLY FORCED ROTATION DA and more powerful than any other free floating DA...PERIOD. Once you try out a Flex 3401 VRG you will never go back to a free floating DA. Additionally, the Flex is less expensive, there are more backing plates for it, there are more pad options from 4" to 6.5" and you do not "eat" the pads that are not designed by Rupes. Every other pad not made by Rupes tends to either lose their backing or the pads get ripped because of the rotation being to aggressive for those pads.

If it were me look into a Flex before spending $$ on a Rupes.

I will probably cause a stink now, however, this is MY OPINION.

i disagree. i love and still use my DA's (GG6, G110) and wouldn't be without them. everyone should own at least one traditional style DA, it's versatile and can be used in many different situations. yes, you're entitled to your opinion as am i... :dblthumb2:

[Tato]

My suggestion is for you to take a look at an answer I wrote on using the Rupes 21 and the Flex 3401 regarding use of Rupes pads and Menzerna polishes (included many pics).

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/rupes-bigfoot-polishers/81456-rupes-pads-non-rupes-polishes.html#post1114980

Cutting Power? Impressive. The tool is a pleasure to use. But you have to work your way to learn using it properly, to achieve optimum results.

I'm not ashamed of assuming I've faced pad stalling even on flat panels on my first passes, totally my fault. Work your way to perfect technique, and you'll be amazed like I am. I can't stress enough how much I've liked the Rupes mechanism.

But I still have the Flex, and use it always as well.

Best wishes, good luck on your search.

[autoenvy]

I own both the Rupes 21 and the Flex. The only reason I have both right now is the trigger mechanism on my flex is shot and I couldn't afford to wait 3 weeks for replacement parts. (this did give me an excuse to buy another tool). I've used the Rupes on two vehicles now. A Dodge Challenger and a Land Rover LR2.

The Rupes worked like a dream; it cut and finished surprisingly well using both Optimum and Megs MF pads. (It did tear the face off one of my Optimum pads but I'll chalk that one to user error). All in all I'm very impressed with the Rupes and will more than likely use it for a majority of panel work. I'm also impressed at the speed in which it corrects plastic bumpers.

I do wish I had the flex for a few of the areas on those vehicles though. If you can only get one... I guess it depends on what you're using it for. But I personally feel the Flex is more well rounded. That being said I will more often than not, reach for the Rupes and a MF pad to do the bulk if the work..

Confused?

Sent from my HTC One X using AG Online

[aburgeson]

Well I know this will sound bad of me but I tried the flex 3401 and couldnt get the hang of it. The pads walked on me so much. It felt like a workout trying to do the hood and roof of my car. On the hood I even felt I put minor hologram trails in the car. I got them out using the porter cable but feel i dont have the skill yet for the flex. With the porter cable I am able to keep the pad spinning even on curved panels so I feel I learned its technique pretty well hopefully this can transition over to the rupes. The flex did correct faster but felt it was too much for this rookie to handle haha

[Kamakaz1961]

i disagree. i love and still use my DA's (GG6, G110) and wouldn't be without them. everyone should own at least one traditional style DA, it's versatile and can be used in many different situations. yes, you're entitled to your opinion as am i... :dblthumb2:


You are absolutely correct!! I did not mean to sound like I wasn't using any of my other DA's I still use my PC 7424 XP and my GG 3". I use them for lighter correction work or just for applying wax or sealant. I do try to make sure I can still use the traditional style DA.

Making sure you are adaptable with all types of DA I think is a must. I do agree that the Rupes is a superior traditional style DA in fact the best, however, when it comes to the Flex 3401 VRG nothing can beat that as it is forced rotational rotary.

If I have offended anyone I do apologize. VISITOR, thank you for setting me straight!!!

:xyxthumbs:

[fly07sti]

Which rotary do you use more often? Makita or DeWalt?

The Dewalt. It's a little smoother and better balanced. Ive had my Makita for a long time.

[hernandez.art13]

As far cutting power of the Rupes 21, if you are doing spot sanding. It does a great job in removing 1500 grit. I know cos I've tried it. I always like to go up to 3000, but was just testing it out on some dirts that I sanded off on a customers repainted car.

If I was going to be doing sanding the whole front end of a vehicle because it was repainted and to match the OEM paint orange peel. I would use a Rotary since it cuts a lot faster, but spot sanding the Rupes holds up great.

I have not really tested out the Meguiar's MF xtra cut.

but the combo I like and use is Rupes 21, LC Hybrid Wool pad and FG400, cuts fast, hologram free and FG400 finishes out great from my experience.