How Long Does A Polishing Pad Last? - [RUPES Replies Season 02 Episode 07]

Fresh pads are great. But for most technicians, the very next thought is, "How many cars can I polish with this pad before I need a new one?" In this episode of RUPES Replies, we talk about pad life, how many cars you can expect to get out of a polishing pad, how to maximize pad life, and how to know when a polishing pad is ready for retirement.
#rupesreplies #rupes #bigfootpolishingsystems #autodetailing #paintcorrection #carpolishing #polishingpads #compounding #buffing #polishing #detailing
For more information: www.rupes.com/c...
Subscribe to the channel: www.youtube.co...
___________________________
RUPES WORLD
RUPES Corporate: www.rupes.com/
RUPES USA: rupesusa.com/
RUPES News: www.rupes.com/...
RUPES Events: www.rupes.com/...
RUPES Distributors: distributor.ru...
RUPES BigFoot center: bigfootcentre....
RUPES Marketing center: download.rupes...
__________________________
RUPES SOCIAL
Facebook:
Global / rupestools
North America / rupesusa
Instagram:
Global / bigfootrupes
North America / rupesusa
Linkedin:
Global / rupes-s-p-a-
North America / rupesusa
Twitter: / rupesspa

[@BruceSWeinberg]

The claw tool is one of the best accessories I’ve purchased. I’ve always struggled removing pads from the tool and have ruined a pad or two yanking from the Velcro. The claw tool makes removal so easy and effortless, plus it protects the pads.

[@RUPES]

Thanks for sharing!

[@mehmedsamirs]

Pads last about 8-10 normal size cars, if you don't wanna spend 7 min finding it out..

[@RUPES]

Thanks for your comment. The rest of the information is valuable as it is that which will help you extend the life of the pads to ensure you get the most life from them.

[@MindBodySoulOk]

Thank you sooooooo much

[@josephgiardina6187]

I have like 20 pads just for one car / smaller buffers for specific parts of cars. This brings peace of mind that these pads will last me some time.

[@totalpackagedetailingllc4413]

Love the video guys. I use a pad per panel or ever other panel. They seem to last for a really long time.

[@RUPES]

Thanks for sharing! Cycling pads can definitely extend pad life exponentially.

[@OQDetailing]

Hello! Thank you for the video, I was hoping you guys could do a video on ways/tips/tricks or what type of chemicals do you recommend to clean your machine polisher without having to take it to someone?

[@RUPES]

Thanks for commenting. Assuming you mean cleaning the exterior (housing)? If so a diluted mixture (30-50% total dilution) of isopropyl alcohol on a microfiber towel is effective at removing oils from the plastic and rubber pieces of the tool.

[@OQDetailing]

@@RUPES great, good to know, I will try that out. Thank you for responding!

[@Topcoatdetail]

Softer the pad gets more life out of it . Also especially for rotary slightly slower speed around 1000 rpm gets more life out the pad. Harder pads tend to wear out faster especially if you around 1500-1800 rpm . I have got hardly 4-5 cars from a firmer pad at 1500 rpm and 18-20 cars at 900-1000 rpm . Final step and wax pads are more than 35-40 cars for me.

[@RUPES]

This is generally true, but not universal. There are plenty of ways to prematurely kill softer polishing pads as well. The life span of pads is more heavily impacted by the type of work they're being used for. More aggressive cutting/compounding pushes more energy thru the pad and has a higher frictional drag, whereas light polishing does not tend to have the same levels of stress on the materials. Thanks for watching, commenting, and sharing your experience!

[@dannyschroeder3166]

In south africa it is extremely hard to find pads and if you do they are very expensive. If you order online it takes up to 4 months to get them, because of our post office

[@RUPES]

Sorry to hear that Danny. Have you tried working with one of our authorized distributors in your area? distributor.rupes.com/african-dealers/

[@mattbarnes9853]

Hi there from England, great 101 videos for a newbie like me. ‘Don’t use pads on badges’ - good advice, but do Rupes have a technique you can share on honest to clean and polish the badge and paint behind the badge. Cheers.

[@RUPES]

Happy to hear you're enjoying the content Matt! Badges and emblems can be very challenging and some are more complicated than others. In some situations the best way to polish the area behind the badges is to remove them, polish, then reinstall. In other situations, if the badge has more open space to work with you can use a smaller polisher like the nano, or even a few drops of compound on a towel to address those areas. A lot of it comes down to how small the spaces are and how much work the paint in that area needs.

[@MikesAutoDetailing]

Great information

[@RUPES]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.

[@AMP8424]

Great content!!

[@RUPES]

Thanks!

[@MumenRider78]

What are failure signs of a rupes wool pad? Is it the same as the blue foam pad shown in this video around the 4:30 mark?

[@RUPES]

The video specifically mentions wool pads, and fiber pads beginning at the 4:40 mark. If the foam layer begins to degrade/separate, or if the pad begins to shed excessive amounts of fibers or thinning/bald areas are visible on the face it is time to discontinue use of that pad.

[@nickbland4623]

Hey guys, what would you do to tackle stubborn dried tree sap that has fallen onto the bonnet of a car? (HELP- having trouble getting it off on my car )

[@bluewanderer9903]

Same problem on two of my cars. Not much can be done easily, I find the best ingridient is 20kg of elbow grease ☺. I washed one of my cars twice on the same day, warm/hot water with generous shampoo, nice clean sponge so you dont damage the paint and keep rubbing, second wash did it for me. Seems like hot water/shampoo mix on the first wash softens it and second wash removes it, completely gone on that one. On my other car I only did one wash and could not remove all of it had no patience any more.

[@RUPES]

Tried on sap is typically easy to remove with isopropyl alcohol. Soak a microfiber towel in alcohol, place over the sap covered area and allow it to dwell for a few moments (out of direct sun and on a cool panel). Lift the towel, spray some alcohol on the sap which should now start to become soft, and wipe away with a separate clean microfiber. If that does not work there are also several dedicated tar and sap removes on the market, but use with caution as they can be dangerous for painted finishes if used improperly.

[@bluewanderer9903]

@@RUPES thank you, will try that.

[@badass1g]

I literally just bout a whole new setup and after just ripping the pads off and cleaning them ONE TIME the material on the back of the pad is pulled almost half way off so now the pad is RUINED after just two uses…. What did I do wrong ?? They were $10 per pad. UGH that big claw tool might be what I need? It took major force to pull the pads off the machine…

[@RUPES]

The claw pad tool was created to help prevent this exact thing from happening. Our tools have VERY strong engagement with the hook and loop on purpose. With a large orbit you have to keep the pad as tightly engaged as possible kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2epnmuoa7Gdo7s

[@milla5920]

Rupes, my first choice of polisher & UNO 👍

[@RUPES]

Thanks!

[@tylerhope752]

Hi I've owned a LHR21ES for about 3 months now and I would like to upgrade to the mk2 or 3, is there any chance I can send my buffer away and pay a little more to upgrade?

[@RUPES]

Thanks for posting your question. Unfortunately, no. While they have similar outward appearance, the tools are dramatically different including the motor, motor housing, control modules, and more. The number of unique pieces between the ES and Mark II and Mark III generation make the idea of 'upgrading' a tool to a newer platform more expensive than simply buying the newer generation tool.

[@tylerhope752]

Okay thanks for the reply

[@kimojoseph8057]

If you change your 6”backing plate on your LHR 21mm to the 5” backing plate will that destroy the pad life or not?

[@Carlos.Rivera]

In theory should be, because will increase the cut

[@RUPES]

Kimo Jospeh - yes... it will increase vibration and will chew up pads much faster.

[@RubenHernandez-ec2ef]

I have had my pads for a little over a month now i started getting tears on my blue wool pads along the sides i avoid sharp edges badges things like that is their any other reason why that could happen ??

[@RUPES]

Side ripping of foam on any pad is typically associated with one of a few possible causes: - Too much pressure, so try reducing your downpressure - Too much tilt, so try working flatter to the panel - Too much surface drag, so make sure you are sufficiently priming the pad and using a compound or polish that has the appropriate level of lubrication for the application. Some compounds can be very dry and cause drag. You can also see this if you overcycle or don't use enough compound to keep the surface lubricated.

[@GRH316]

Opening a fresh Rupes pad is like opening a fresh bag of Doritos 👌

[@RUPES]

Except our pads won't dye your fingers orange ;)

[@trianggaindralukmana2184]

the funny is when open this video, i see dorito ads and your comment together

[@the_1iron]

better

[@1974gladiateur]

They are the worse pads in the industry.

[@RUPES]

Sorry to hear that is your opinion. We find that sometimes people just can’t get the right technique down to properly use them, so we hope you’ve found something that works for you. Fortunately there are many many MANY people who have a positive opinion of them when used properly. 👍🏻

[@dinilshewatkar9085]

Does rupes has spray polish which is dust free

[@markbravo58]

Hi guys, I'm interested in your products and have been to one of your demonstrations here in Malta. Haven't bought anything yet but am interested in starting to switch over to Rupes. My question is - after using a rotary polisher with the blue polish and coarser pad to polish out 2000/3000 grit sand paper scratches what would be the next step in order to get that perfect finish. For example can we jump right up to uno protect on the 21mmDA with white polishing pad? Or do we have to go through the yellow polishing process in order to polish the blue "defects" out first? Thanks for your help, loving the KZbin videos - very helpful!

[@RUPES]

The answer is "it is paint-dependent" on some paints (softer) you can generally correct the haze left from rotary compounding with a random orbital and yellow foam. In other cases (harder paint) you may need to use a more aggressive intermediate step followed by a finer finishing step depending on the level of expected result.

[@markbravo58]

@@RUPES thanks, so ideally we should do some spot tests to determine the process we need? I have my own body shop and am looking to improve my level of finishing after denibing, so I'm considering your complete DA system. Which I imagine is also good for fresh paint (obviously after being properly cured) right?

[@RUPES]

Yes... never start without a test spot because there are so many variables that you cannot predict until you test. The system works amazing for bodyshop applications. Depending on what level you're sanding to and the hardness of the paint your commonly on the LHR21 and the right combination of products is perfectly capable of cutting out a 1500-2000 grit sand scratch and finishing swirl free in a single step.

[@markbravo58]

@@RUPES sounds great, I'm looking forward to start using your products 🙂 Thanks for your feedback!

[@PaulSmith-zz9kw]

What’s the biggest cause of holograms when using a DA?

[@RUPES]

Technically speaking, it isn't possible to create a "hologram" using a DA as it requires the tool to move in a consistent, repetitive pattern. A dual action tool does not do that. You can have other issues like edge cutting caused by uneven pressure, but a hologram (also known as a rotary swirl) is something only caused by a single action (rotary) polisher.

[@PaulSmith-zz9kw]

@@RUPES thanks for answering. Secondly, when going through the refinement stage.....is correct to drop the speed and apply less pressure? Cheers. Paul.

[@ChristianA328]

Would washing my pads at too high of a temperature cause it to increase wear? I think that might have been what happened with my blue foam pads.

[@RUPES]

Yes. Foam cell composition can be changed/damaged by high heat. Once it is deformed or damaged by high heat it will not return to its original form or performance level

[@thebadgladdadd5218]

My question is regarding your new rupes da is system at the moment I cannot afford rupes polisher. I wantvto get one eventually I want one pretty bad actually. however I have bought a maxshine 15 mm DA. will your products and pad's and polishes etcedra work with my DA. Hope it's not too dumb a question. I'm really interested in the whole rupes DA line thanks.

[@RUPES]

Considering that brand of polisher is a direct copy of our design it should work just fine with our consumables. As a matter of fact, our pads and compounds may help reduce the vibration and other issues common with lower quality knock-off tools.

[@Eli5.0]

@@RUPES i like that burn

[@NightwishArena]

I'm an complete amateur, but I really have to wonder that how come you have 1 liter of compound on trial kits and only 1 pad (each)? That doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't you have 250-500ml bottle and at least 2 pads each? Like I said, I'm an complete amateur, and I already ended up using a lot more money than I had thought, buying those blue and yellow 1 liter bottles paired with one blue and one yellow wool pad and one yellow foam pad...and now I have been told, that I probably can't do my car(s) with them, but I need to buy more pads. A lot more. I'm disappointed, and I haven't even started to polish yet!

[@dinilshewatkar9085]

Which is compatible for piano black trims, rubber

[@jdisdetermined]

Piano black trim is delicate and sensitive to heat. Keep your speeds down and use the softest pad possible. Often a finishing or light polishing pad is all you need. But, not sure why you’d be using a polishing pad on rubber?

[@dinilshewatkar9085]

Well I won't but it's time consuming process to tape so if compound is trim safe then no need to mask so save time makes money

[@chewdoobautomotivedetailtm2883]

👏👏❤️❤️❤️📌

[@RUPES]

Thanks for watching.

[@tsukuyomi8420]

Well i can tell one thing for shure old version of yellow pad is much much better i did over 30 cars and its still the same... well i didnt try the new one but 90% people i know they tell me that the new one isnt so good not even close to old one.... so i think you hit jackpot with old one why did you change them ? :(

[@RUPES]

That would be an unusual experience because with the introduction of the D-A System the yellow pad material was not changed at all. It is literally the exact same material, just with a different profile cut to the side and a slight tweak to the color to make them visually identifiable if someone had both versions in their shop. In the original launch webinar (linked below) we even cover this. The material of the blue and white pads is all new. The yellow pad material needed no changes, so it simply got the updated profile (shape) and that was it. We would recommend sharing that information with the 90% of people who have told you they don't perform the same, and perhaps test a new pad yourself so you can experience firsthand that it is the same pad. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qobShYCiZ62NnMU

[@tsukuyomi8420]

@@RUPES thank you very much no one could not tell me reason why but now you ve tell me its same so im gonna buy 100% the new one because the yellow pad is just amazing and like i said i dont know why but my old one is still the same after 30 cars i dont lie believe me still have no idea why is that this pad is just great..