Your favorite: 15 or 21?

[7.3powerstroke]

For those of you that have used both 15mm and 21mm long throw polishers: which machine would you choose if you could only have one? Feel free to say why if you care to. Thanks...

[7.3powerstroke]

Bump.

[Joe@NextLevelDetail]

Hard to say 15 is nice on some cars that you can't use a 21

Or sometimes certain paint finishes don't like a 21 (sticky wobbly)

But if I had to pick one it would be the 21

[7.3powerstroke]

Thanks for the reply. I have a Rupes and a BOSS. Both 21's. I want to get a new Rupes, and thought about getting a 15 this time. I believe Dylan@ Rupes said that is his favorite machine. Todd might have said the same thing. Just trying to find out if a lot of other people like the 15 over the 21's.

[paulybee]

I use the 21 with the 15 backing plate.

[FinishingTouchA]

I have 2 of the Rupes 21.. If I had to choose between the 15 and the 21 it would come down to how many vehicles I do per year. Being a professional I would pick the 21 due to the effective working area and being able to shave jobs in half. For someone who does a few vehicles per year I would suggest the 15 due to being able to work tighter areas and more concave panels. And if you already have a 3401 the obvious choice would be the 21 because with the 4 inch BP you can do almost anything.

[FinishingTouchA]

I use the 21 with the 15 backing plate.

When talking to the Rupes guys at SEMA this was highly NOT recommended due to the different size precision milled counterweights in each machine.

[Eldorado2k]

When talking to the Rupes guys at SEMA this was highly NOT recommended due to the different size precision milled counterweights in each machine.

The Rupes 21 comes w/6" backing plate. They said using the 5" backing plate from the Rupes 15 was highly not recommended? I thought alot of people do that and speak of great results?

That being said, from your experience, does having a Rupes 21 and changing the backing plate from a 6" to a 5" do just as good a job as a Rupes 15? Or do they perform so much differently?

[FinishingTouchA]

The Rupes 21 comes w/6" backing plate. They said using the 5" backing plate from the Rupes 15 was highly not recommended? I thought alot of people do that and speak of great results?

That being said, from your experience, does having a Rupes 21 and changing the backing plate from a 6" to a 5" do just as good a job as a Rupes 15? Or do they perform so much differently?

I'd say the reason has more to do with the increased vibration and extra wear on the machine. Honestly I see no reason to put a smaller backing plate on the 21, it still has a huge throw that makes working in tighter areas more challenging. And the outside 21mm of the pad only touches the edge of the working area a fraction of the time.

[Eldorado2k]

Ok, so you're saying that even with smaller pads the Rupes 21's throw has the pad moving back and forth at such a large circle that it doesn't exactly result in a pairing that's ideal for smaller areas. Plus it sacrifices some of the machines smooth operation. Makes sense.