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  1. #1
    Mike Phillips
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    COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover


    That's right... I only buffed out the hood. The rest of the car has swirls but hey... it's a RACE CAR! That means it has been used and abused and it's going to get used and abused even more into the future.

    There's also lots of vinyl graphics all over the sides and flat black phantom vinyl graphics on the hood and down the sides of the car.

    The hood however has a lot of exposed paint and as we all know the hood on a car tends to get the most attention so I carefully buffed it out to remove the swirls.



    Here's the deal though...

    I used the Rupes Bigfoot 21 on one half of the hood and the Flex 3401 on the other half of the hood.


    Challenge: Try and guess which side of the hood I used the Rupes on and which side of the hood I used the Flex?


    Here's before









    Here's after....









    Is it the tool? Or you?
    One of the most common tool threads on this forum is on the topic of Rupes versus Flex or Flex versus Rupes.

    Both tools have the potential to do amazing work, the true secret to maximizing their potential is you spending time behind the tool.



    The car will be on display all weekend here at Detail Fest.

    Please don't touch the paint on the car and especially the hood...

    You'll leave fingerprints.






  2. #2
    Super Member AZ Mike's Avatar
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    No LSP?
    AZ Mike aka "Repeat"

  3. #3
    Super Member FrankS's Avatar
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    Good job Mike!

    Can't tell the difference from here, both sides look good.

    Which pad & product did you use on each tool?

  4. #4
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    Quote Originally Posted by AZ Mike View Post

    No LSP?

    Each side was,

    1. Compounded
    2. RIDS removed
    3. Compounded a second time
    4. Polished
    5. Jeweled
    6. Sealed with an LSP



  5. #5
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    Quote Originally Posted by FrankS View Post
    Which pad & product did you use on each tool?
    That's a comparison I would like to see. Say, LC and Menzerna on the Flex vs. Rupes full system. I'd want to see comparison of each step too (including time), not just the finished paint.

    Yeah, a lot to ask.

  6. #6
    Super Member Kamakaz1961's Avatar
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    Thank you Mike for this. FINALLY!!! As I have always said...technique trumps product any day. I do believe product will obviously help. But I think it is the talent of the detailer that makes a show car shine.

    In this case, the Flex and Rupes BOTH WON!

    BTW, beautiful work!!
    CJ
    2013 Mustang GT w/Track Pack 6-Speed Manual
    Save the Manual!

  7. #7
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    Did you use the same pad and product on each? Can't tell a difference from that distance.
    '03 Corvette Z06

  8. #8
    Super Member Audios S6's Avatar
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    Quote Originally Posted by trekkeruss View Post
    That's a comparison I would like to see. Say, LC and Menzerna on the Flex vs. Rupes full system. I'd want to see comparison of each step too (including time), not just the finished paint.

    Yeah, a lot to ask.
    I agree. But much of that is also going to be highly dependent on the individual and the vehicle. Speaking both of time and finish on a single panel, I think the flex would likely edge out the rupes on any curved panel while the opposite is true of flat panels. That said, keeping all things equal with a skilled operator, I don't think you'll see any appreciable difference in the final time and finish on a whole vehicle. It comes down to which machine fits the detailer better.

    The flex obviously has the advantage of variable pad size, which is a big plus. The rupes has a buba-proof system, which is plus.

  9. #9
    Super Member fly07sti's Avatar
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek View Post
    Each side was,

    1. Compounded
    2. RIDS removed
    3. Compounded a second time
    4. Polished
    5. Jeweled
    6. Sealed with an LSP


    Would this LSP be the new Black Fire product? (coating?)

  10. #10
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: COPO Camaro - Flex vs Rupes - Carbon Fiber Hood Extreme Makeover

    Quote Originally Posted by ZL1 Mark View Post

    Did you use the same pad and product on each?
    No... I normally use the Rupes "system". Not always but the majority of the time.

    I'm teaching 4 classes this weekend for Detail Fest and two of them include Flex tools while none of them show Rupes.

    Not for any reason except Todd Helme will be here to showcase the Rupes tools so no need for redundancy. So for these two reasons I wanted to give some attention to Rupes paint polishing system.

    I found this paint to be more on the soft side than the hard side, maybe a tick or two on the soft side of "medium".

    It corrected easy but both compounding processes left DA Haze. Of course I removed that in the follow-up steps.



    Quote Originally Posted by ZL1 Mark View Post

    Can't tell a difference from that distance.

    And you can't in person.


    For both sides I used high quality pads, products and of course the tools are both pro-grade.


    The curved portions on the molded in air scoop were a little bit of a challenge for the Rupes but I used a technique I perfected on the last few cars I buffed out,

    1999 Ferrari
    1956 Nomad
    1978 Trans Am
    2000 Wicked 7 Porsche
    2003 Tahoe
    2013 Camaro



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