Rupes or Flex?

F

Fotomatt1

New member
I think I'm driving myself crazy trying to decide which one of these great machines to buy. If I could buy both I would, but only have the budget for one. I seem to be drawn to to the Rupes 21, however some have warned me it's tough to use on curved panels. The car I detail most is a Mini Cooper S, which does have some tight spots. I do have an old PC7424(non XP) that I'm going to put a 3" bp on for that purpose, but I'm still not sure weather or not to go with a Flex or Rupes. Any advice? I'm not really in a rush, as I'm waiting for a no-exclusions sale to get it at a discount, but I'd like to know what I'm going to get when that day finally arrives. Any help is appreciated.

I'm not tied to any particular polishing products....been trying a few different things lately, but I'm open to using the Rupes products, or Menzerna, or Megs...whatever works best.
 
+1 with Docpeanut -

The Flex has forced rotation - counter-clockwise - so you have to to get used to that - and it can accept smaller sized pads with the appropriate backing plates..

The Flex does not slow down or stop rotation in any position or any type of panel curvature, etc...

You can achieve beautiful clear, swirl-free finishes with this machine..

When the Flex first came out years ago, it only had a 6" backing plate and while that was fine for large flat panels, it was not as easy to control when you put downward pressure on it. It wanted to go to the left.

A bunch of us figured out that if we cut down the 6" backing plate to work with 5" pads, it was a whole different animal, so we all did it and it totally changed the ease of handling for the Flex.

Later, the Flex people responded and made up the backing plate to accept the 5-1/4-1/2" pads ...

They have since then made up backing plates to use even smaller pads like the 4" and I believe even 3" pads..

Good luck with your research !
Dan F
 
firebird said:
I bought the Flex and kept my PC as well. It does walk a bit but once you get used to it, it's awesome.
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Congratulations, Firebird !!!!

You will get used to the counter-clockwise rotation and it will be just fine..

Enjoy learning and seeing how great you can correct and polish really nice with that bad boy!
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
Congratulations, Firebird !!!!

You will get used to the counter-clockwise rotation and it will be just fine..

Enjoy learning and seeing how great you can correct and polish really nice with that bad boy!
Dan F
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Thanks Stokdgs! You seem so knowledgeable....are you a professional or weekend warrior?
I did a black '98 Mercedes...clearcoat hard as he**.
Got 80% correction but I could have spent 1 day on the hood!
:rockon
 
firebird said:
Thanks Stokdgs! You seem so knowledgeable....are you a professional or weekend warrior?
I did a black '98 Mercedes...clearcoat hard as he**.
Got 80% correction but I could have spent 1 day on the hood!
:rockon
Click to expand...

- I have a business - dansautodetailing.com
- Started doing this as kid at my Dad's garage/body shop..
- Learned to paint from some of the best painters around.
- Worked in a few shops and eventually got into other business that was more - - lucrative.
- Never stopped Detailing on the side
- Eventually, retired from Telecom and opened up officially full time..

On the Mercedes, yes, hard clearcoat and harder even later on in the years..

You can use an aggressive Menzerna compound to correct it and it will turn out great..

Menzerna teamed up with Mercedes to provide compounds specifically for their Ceramic-Clear Paint Mercedes made up in response to Owners complaining that their Mercedes paint scratched too easily..

You will need to press down hard on the paintwork and keep pad rotation as much as possible.

I personally, would keep the pad slightly damp, so that the product can cut longer, then diminish if its supposed to, and start polishing the finish..

Its also nicer to not have to get everything all dusty and clean it out of all the door, hood, and trunk jambs...

Stop, wipe off and see how it looks. Keep repeating until you get the level of correction you want vs the time you have allocated for the job, etc...

Keep learning, studying, gleaning information, storing it somewhere so you can recall it, and above all, become innovative, and experiment a little here and there until you find "your" sweet spot...

Its a hard job - there are no "easy" Details if you are doing them perfectly, dont get discouraged, take a break and come back out there again and see what happens..

Use a lot of pads, keep them really clean, replace them when they wear out, and know that this is not only hard, its also pretty expensive to kit yourself up to do this full time..

Good luck ! We are all here for you !!!
Dan F
 
Thanks Stogdgs. I am a 54 year old female in good physical shape! I always loved detailing cars and got "into it more" after I took my car in to be "professionally" detailed and thought I could do it better myself! I then realized that just cause I paid someone, doens't mean they're a professional!
I originate mortgage loans by profession and don't know that I could ever detail full time but often times think of starting a business! It may never happen and that's ok too, just so I could keep detailing, even if it's just for myself, friends and family!
 
Firebird, once your neighbors see what you're doing and the results they'll most likely ask you to "do theirs". I've already "fixed" 5 neighbors vehicles. They appreciated it and it put some spending cash in my pocket.

And ya never know, some people here may need a second mortgage to support their habits....lol
 
Firebird -
I am glad to help !
Had a really nice '69 Firebird once - loved that car !

Hope that as you continue on and learn much here, you will have the nicest car in the neighborhood ! :)

I have always found that spending some time on a vehicle to improve the looks of it is great therapy for me..

I love to see really clean, shiny vehicles of all makes and Im sure that when they are all cleaned up and Detailed, they just might even run better ! :)

We have all learned and brain stormed an incredible amount of things here, and we ever will !!
Dan F
 
I have a '69 Firebird! Yes, I swear the radio sounds much better with a clean car! I too think detailing is good therapy.
I just did a '94 Olds with BF SRC with my PC7424 on a thin wool pad. Didn't even need the flex!
 
Firebird -

Glad you have another nice car to go along with your Jeep..

The Lake Country purple foam thin wool pads would have to rock ..

I have used dozens of their original purple foam thick wool pads on airplane paint, and other paint before, and used carefully, you can really go straight to clear paintwork..

They even finish down great if one is willing to work and be innovative with them and the product use for correction..

The Blackfire products have been around a long time and were developed and sold through Classic Motoring Accessories, what - at least 10 years ago.. ?

They were always very innovative and forward thinking about products !
They even teamed with Menzerna and had some Compounds made for them to sell..
It would be hard to go wrong using this line...

:) like what you said about the radio sounding better when the car is clean :)
Dan F
 
firebird said:
I bought the Flex and kept my PC as well. It does walk a bit but once you get used to it, it's awesome.
Click to expand...

Cool.

Mebbe get a smaller back plate for pc to do tight areas. Or you may find it sitting for a year or two till you do> (that's what happened to me/mine)
 
Docpeanut said:
I love the flex for the versatility alone, plus it's got tons of power
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I went through the same thing, lol. I chose the Rupes. Glad I did, I friggin LOVE this thing, the more I learn the machine, the more I love it. I started with the PC as well, also kept it and put a smaller backing plate for tight areas. I think they are both awesome tools and either one will disappoint. I used both and liked the feel of the Rupes better. I also added the washer mod, its a beast!! Just pull the trigger on one and dont look back, you'll be happy!!!
 
The only pads that are remotely easy to control on the 3401 are the 5" hybrid pads. For the most part, the 3401 is a PITA to control. However, it does a good job of you don't let the polisher control you
 
Hey, Mark !!!
Long time, no see !!
Hope you and yours are all good ..

What I did to help me control the Flex counter-clockwise movement was install the side handle on the left side as you look down on the machine, and this provided me more leverage to keep it from wanting to go left..
Left hand on the side handle, right handle on the body..

And you are exactly spot on - "dont let the polisher control you"...
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
Hey, Mark !!!
Long time, no see !!
Hope you and yours are all good ..

What I did to help me control the Flex counter-clockwise movement was install the side handle on the left side as you look down on the machine, and this provided me more leverage to keep it from wanting to go left..
Left hand on the side handle, right handle on the body..

And you are exactly spot on - "dont let the polisher control you"...
Dan F
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Dan, my buddy! Everyone is doing good. I hope the same for you and yours.

I've never tried the side handle. I think I have one. Definitely gonna give this a try, it makes sense. I'll be around more often. Thanks for the tip!
 
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