Rupes Mini As Wet Sander Demo

[TundraPower]

I tested Rupes Mini as a wet sander today. I used 3M Trizact 5000 grit sanding discs, Rupes yellow microfiber pads, Rupes Quarz Gloss Medium Gel Compound, nothing else. Test vehicle was passenger door of 2013 Toyota 4Runner in fair condition, numerous minor scratches from hunting season last year. I apologize for my crap camera and photography skills.

Here we go:

1. Rupes Mini on speed 2. I made one horizontal and one vertical pattern that took maybe 45 seconds. Zero pressure other than to guide the polisher.



Wipe off slurry:



And another shot:



Half of sanding area corrected:



And again:



Entire panel corrected (note that left side was sanded too just no photos).



And again:



Summary:

- Other than orange peel, I was able to get this panel to near 100% in about 40 minutes, and I work very slowly.
- Probably advisable to follow up with Rupes White pad and Sonax Perfect Finish or Rupes Ultra Diamond. But many people would call it here and be very happy.
- The Mini, like the Duetto with the same throw, cuts very quickly as a wet sander. Way faster than Griots 3".
- If defect are severe I could see using 3000 grit, but boy you had better be paying attention. Under no circumstances would I use anything more aggressive on OEM paint, and that's pushing it.
- The Duetto is marketed as a "total paint rectification system" and I think they nailed it. But only if you've got a lot of experience wet sanding.

Please let me know what you think of this review.

[Chris@AutoCleanse]

Mark great review, the Rupes system does make short work of any job. Thanks for posting and sharing.

[TundraPower]

Mark great review, the Rupes system does make short work of any job. Thanks for posting and sharing.

Thanks Chris. I believe I have found a knock-out 2-3 step combination here. Rupes hit this one right out of the ball park. Sure beats using extremely aggressive compounds and pads.

[Tato]

Great post and work. No matter what quality picture was taken, if your idea was plentiful showed and explained, however you got some nice pictures indeed.

I'm really in for machine sanding, as I do a lot of hand sanding... Also, I believe you're one 'authority' when we're talking about Rupes polishers, and I always listen and learn a lot from your experience, thanks for sharing.

Nice to hear your experience with this polisher/sander and trizact 5000 discs (which I've ordered and I'm waiting for delivery) - Ordered only the trizact 5000, not the polisher, lol!.

Kind Regards.

[TundraPower]

Great post and work. No matter what quality picture was taken, if your idea was plentiful showed and explained, however you got some nice pictures indeed. I'm really in for machine sanding, as I do a lot of hand sanding... Also, I believe you're one 'authority' when we're talking about Rupes polishers, and I always listen and learn a lot from your experience, thanks for sharing. Nice to hear your experience with this polisher/sander and trizact 5000 discs (which I've ordered and I'm waiting for delivery). Kind Regards.

'Authority' is reserved for Paul Dalton, Barry Theal, and a few others.....certainly not me. Trizact sanding discs are superb, similar to Mirka Abralon discs.

[JRivera]

Great post! We picked up the Rupes 15 and Rupes 21 polishers and I haven't put them to use that much yet. I will try this same system soon and post my finished product.

[TundraPower]

Great post! We picked up the Rupes 15 and Rupes 21 polishers and I haven't put them to use that much yet. I will try this same system soon and post my finished product.

The 15 and the 21 had no part in this demonstration. Only the Mini was used.

[TundraPower]

Thanks for all the useful comments and feedback. Ya'll be sweet now!

[Pureshine]

Great review thank you!

[Detailing by M]

DA's blow as wet sanders, they throw the slurry everywhere.
A rotary will work a lot better with less mess.