Jaretr1
05-21-2015, 04:25 PM
Last weekend I got a chance to use my new Rupes LHR21 with Carpro Reflect.
The car is a 2014 Lexus IS250 that is black. I saw the when it was delivered and it came with the DISO installed. These cars have very soft paint.
Given that it was not terrible, and that I was doing this as a favor for a friend (meaning for free so only one step), and that she actually owns this car and not leased it, I went with a mild approach and just used a polish with Polishing pads (Mike Phillips approach of using the least aggressive method to get the job done).
I started with a straight forward wash (she was dirty). After I had dried the car, I noticed there were some iron particles that had settled on the paint. Dad Gummit. I wasnt planning on using IronX, but I had no choice. I sprayed the car with a light mist of water and then applied some IronX (to keep the ironX from drying on the car). It did its thing and I sprayed it off and redried the car. If I had planned on using IronX from the beginning, I would not have bothered to dry the car after I washed it initially. Next up was decontamination with the Optitowel!
Then off to the machine. This was actually my first time using the Rupes after graduating from the PC7424X. Guess what? It will stop spinning to if you dont keep it balanced! Its a great machine though, that larger orbit really does cover more ground, and its overall so much smoother than the PC. Despite being heavier, I think the lack of vibration made using this tool less fatiguing.
I used only Carpro Reflect polish with a few difference polishing pads. I used randomly hydrotech polishing, LC Flat and the new meguiars foam discs. The Meguairs are SUPER THIN. I was less comfortable using them with the Rupes vs the others. However, I bet they are great with the lighter PC or the new Megs MT300.
Reflect was nice to work with. I got 75-80% of the defects out of the paint, and that made about a 100% improvement. Compared to other polishes I have used, Reflect is very thin in consistency. It was odorless and there was minimal dusting. It did what it was supposed to do without any trickery or headache. Is it any better or worse than other polishes? Hard to say, but it did do a nice job. After the polishing, wiped the car down with Eraser (that smells great) and followed up by spraying the entire car down with Hydro2!
Not terrible, but not great:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMAG2580.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95106)
Side of the car before:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMAG2582.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95107)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG2585.jpg
After
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMAG2583.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95108)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG2586.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG2590.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMAG2588.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95111)
The car is a 2014 Lexus IS250 that is black. I saw the when it was delivered and it came with the DISO installed. These cars have very soft paint.
Given that it was not terrible, and that I was doing this as a favor for a friend (meaning for free so only one step), and that she actually owns this car and not leased it, I went with a mild approach and just used a polish with Polishing pads (Mike Phillips approach of using the least aggressive method to get the job done).
I started with a straight forward wash (she was dirty). After I had dried the car, I noticed there were some iron particles that had settled on the paint. Dad Gummit. I wasnt planning on using IronX, but I had no choice. I sprayed the car with a light mist of water and then applied some IronX (to keep the ironX from drying on the car). It did its thing and I sprayed it off and redried the car. If I had planned on using IronX from the beginning, I would not have bothered to dry the car after I washed it initially. Next up was decontamination with the Optitowel!
Then off to the machine. This was actually my first time using the Rupes after graduating from the PC7424X. Guess what? It will stop spinning to if you dont keep it balanced! Its a great machine though, that larger orbit really does cover more ground, and its overall so much smoother than the PC. Despite being heavier, I think the lack of vibration made using this tool less fatiguing.
I used only Carpro Reflect polish with a few difference polishing pads. I used randomly hydrotech polishing, LC Flat and the new meguiars foam discs. The Meguairs are SUPER THIN. I was less comfortable using them with the Rupes vs the others. However, I bet they are great with the lighter PC or the new Megs MT300.
Reflect was nice to work with. I got 75-80% of the defects out of the paint, and that made about a 100% improvement. Compared to other polishes I have used, Reflect is very thin in consistency. It was odorless and there was minimal dusting. It did what it was supposed to do without any trickery or headache. Is it any better or worse than other polishes? Hard to say, but it did do a nice job. After the polishing, wiped the car down with Eraser (that smells great) and followed up by spraying the entire car down with Hydro2!
Not terrible, but not great:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMAG2580.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95106)
Side of the car before:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMAG2582.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95107)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG2585.jpg
After
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMAG2583.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95108)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG2586.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG2590.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMAG2588.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95111)