Rupes Mille with standard pads?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hella JDM

I have obviously all DA centric pads (Rupes DA, Buff and Shine Uro etc...).

I don’t want to get 500 dollars in new pads so will DA pads be fine with the Mille?

Any drawback to using DA pads?

In my experience, thicker pads buff smoother than thin pads on any gear-driven orbital and this includes the Mille.

In my detailing classes, I have everyone use the Mille as the manufacture recommends, (professional courtesy to all tool, pad and product manufacturers), then if they want they can use the Mille with the standard RUPES thicker Bigfoot pads or any of the foam pads you get to use in all our classes and I let the students make up their own mind.

Most, if not everyone finds thicker pads make the buffing experience better by making it smoother. The thin pads on this tool will tend to cause the tool to jerk around when you transfer from one panel shape to a different panel shape. It's like the pad grabs the oncoming panel and pulls the tool to one side or the other.

I didn't notice this walking-effect when I buffed out my first car using the Mille and wrote this review because if you look at the body panels on a 1970 Chevelle, they are for the most part LARGE and fairly flat.

Review: RUPES BIGFOOT MILLE LK 900E by Mike Phillips

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But as I used the tool more and more, this is when I noticed with thin pads you'll feel the tool grab the paint and then jerk or walk the tool in some direction. The direction depends on the curve of the panel and the way you're buffing into it.

I shared this with Edson when he used the Mille to buff out the front of a

700 HP Hennessy Vette and Jeep Cherokee - Waxed and Coated

Here's Edson using the Mille with the Mille blue coarse foam cutting pad

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No pictures but then I had him use the same tool and switch to the thicker RUPES pad and he could feel the buffing action smooth out.

I recommend doing your own test and draw your own conclusions. I've always wondered why RUPES launched this tool with thin pads? Thins pads work best on simple, 5mm and 8mm free spinning orbital polishers as there's simply less mass for these types of tool to have to maintain pad rotation. When it comes to ANY gear-driven tool, which would include rotary, (a rotary is gear-drive on direction), or any gear-driven orbital, the tools simply doesn't care how thin or thick the pad is because it's going to rotate and oscillate it no matter what the shape of the panel of the pressure applied to the tool.

Hope that helps....

:)