Putting The New Rupes Polisher To The Test

It’s time to review the NEW Rupes HLR15 Cordless Polisher! Anthony cuts the cord and gives his first impressions review on the machine. This is genuinely his first hands on experience with the machine since 2023. So, join us as we polish this 2022 Miata and put the machine through its paces.
This video is a follow-up to Anthony’s unboxing of the new Rupes HLR15 and HLR21 machines! If you want to see what all comes in the box and some of its features, we highly recommend giving that video a watch! Now, for the review of this machine… Anthony gives an overview of the pads and polishes that he will be using on the Miata. Considering this is a new car, it didn’t need much, but he did want to see how the machine felt with different pad combinations.
The foam pads without doubt felt the most balanced on the machine. The machine didn’t seem to lack any power over the corded Mark 3. In fact, there were moments where the speed seemed improved. The noise level was also a MASSIVE improvement as the frequency was much more tolerable. The biggest learning curve that Anthony faced was having to remember there was a lower-hanging battery attached. This took some getting-used to, but interfered less than a cord.
Overall the HLR15 and 21 are phenomenal machines that have raised the bar for cordless polishers. Now which size would YOU get? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00 Intro
00:47 Hands On Testing
06:37 Paint Correction Testing
12:06 Pad Stall Testing
15:36 Final Thoughts
18:34 Outro

[@ObsessedGarage]

It is magical with foam pads and good off-axis on sides of the car. If you use Coarse Wool or Microfiber, it walks around and fights you much like a forced rotation machine.

[@yayovictorio4394]

Waiting on the OG review on this before I pull the trigger

[@KamiruNusbaum]

Finally - a big YT detailing persona spoke the truth. Let's face it - Rupes put out a less than ideal product, which to be honest, happens to every one of them as of late. DA Wool pads - absolute junk, the foam backing would not last an entire car in some cases. From what Rupes rep said - it was due to the foam being made in Korea, now apparently everything is made in Italy - but the damage is done. Rupes lost many die-hard fans for that, including me. HLR75 - Beta testing on clients for a whole lot of money - the casings where rattling themselves to oblivion, not to mention that curious trigger choice. Also - we had to wait for the corded adapter almost a year. Now the second version of HLR75 is great, but it should not be relased to the public in the BETA version. At least it should not be available for purchase. And now for the HLR15/21. What a big letdown again. Like Matt said - this thing STALLS. With wool or microfiber it is basically useless, it can stall on you on flat panels, not to mention curves. With foam it is more bearable but still - you pay a whole lot of money for a tool that does not deliver. Corded adapter? - forget about it for now, you have to wait. Dual charger that really charges only one battery - it boggles my mind. It feels like HLR15/21 is another BETA experiment on customers. And you know what pisses me off the most ? Rupes paid a bunch of money for biased reviews, especially on YT.

[@daveainge9925]

Love both of the new machines. The battery takes some time to get used to but not being corded is awesome. For those worried about battery time don’t worry at all. I did the roof, hood and whole passengers side of an Audi Qs5 before it died. Popped the otjer battery on and kept going. Also, no power decrease at all when running low. The light blinks and then the unit shuts off nice and slow as it should.

[@markabarr5617]

Definitely falling for it being a force action guy im impressed 😮 as Todd once said just because it's slower doesn't mean it's stalls. Nice video Anthony👊

[@kenbode8806]

Great Video, Anthony! now I just need to sell all my Rupes Cord units first before making the switch!

[@KPDetails]

Thanks for your honest review. I think the battery bring in the way is something we would get used to, just like the cord cord being in the way.

[@JZ_Cars]

Haywood Geblome really likes it and so do I. In all seriousness, great video as always TRC. I always go for any video featuring Any Dawg.

[@josemadrazo3131]

I don’t understand why people say it’s too expensive $800, it’s $750 and it comes with 8 amazing pads that’s like $120 just in pads, with compound and polish and with 2 batteries and a smart charger, so the actual tool it is not $800. If you compare to Milwaukee like people here are commenting, Milwaukee it’s like $350 just the tool and the batteries and charger are expensive. And for a much lighter machine, less noisy and more ergonomic, to me it’s an amazing price that kit and I’m enjoying it.

[@SandS-Mobile-Detailing]

We need more rupes polisher videos, said no one

[@richardpetrone7969]

I was excited to see this until it hit the cart $802.00 out the door. Seems a little high

[@Luisrrr508]

You ordered from Amazon ??? Cause it was 735 out the door for me

[@Luisrrr508]

I think it’s very worth it , I do window tinting but want to expand to paint correction /c coating , either way if someone is gonna charge me over 1200 for a ceramic coating and two step correction I might as well buy a polisher and do it on my own vehicles and wife’s , pays off after a few uses

[@WardoUSA]

@@Luisrrr508still ridiculously high compared to a Flex

[@turbo5483]

If your like me and have Milwaukee tools and batteries the Milwaukee polisher is only $300

[@Jimmer-tr6bi]

Absolutely ridiculous. Only an idiot would pay this money for this. Even if you’re a professional and you dedicated $25 of every detailed to the acquisition cost, you’re looking at at least 30 to 35 details before you break even. That’s insane.

[@masanta]

Awesome video

[@KiaTia09]

So knowing the cordless machine comes with new designed pads can you still use the older design pads with it??

[@DrCeramicDallas]

You said it right, This is at best a DIY or beginner machine for light polishing. I own both the hlr15 and the Mark III and I disagree about Mark 3 stalling more. Mark III has so much more torque and much less stalling. Also spins quite a bit faster.

[@jtm1979]

I have both hlr15 ans hlr21. I used to have milwaukees but sold those. I have had offcourse 15 and 21 mk3's. Hlr21 is on bar with 21 mk3 and milwaukee, but hlr15 is bit weaker than mk3 and milwaukee, its bit dissapointing but then again it is enough and its the smoothest 15 polisher out there. I allways do heavier corrections with 21/5 anyway. I wonder if this works like the nano, add power adapter and get like 30-50% more torque 🤔

[@hgleason9089]

The battery contact to the car is the only issue I find with this machine. But I'll adjust quickly and learn not to "bump" a panel. Otherwise, it's great!

[@Ethan-wi1oy]

i was hoping to hear something about the battery life on it, quite possibly the biggest issue with cordless polishers

[@billlane7499]

What is the price of that machine and also the kit.

[@PolishedMobileDetailing503]

I’ll take 3 of the corded rupes machines instead ;)

[@crystalcars5210]

At 6.40 I see he moved to yellow pad. I want to order the new style pads but I fear the yellow medium is still best to use based on what I’m seeing thus far

[@nomad509]

I'm all for battery powered polishers but call me crazy because I'd rather have the power pack in my back pocket or better yet in a Detailers Helper instead of the end of the polisher. I am sure they'd have to figure out the balancing without the weight but I'd rather not damage a panel by contact. Regardless though I will probably still purchase this later down the road though.

[@philipev]

I think if they had a thicker backing plate the battery would be less of a thought to it hitting

[@VictorHernandez-nt3tw]

Personally a NO for me. Too expensive and the battery being in the way and so bulky is an issue. I rather get a few cheap variety of DAs to drop my money before getting this. The good thing is that I'm a hobbyist and do detailing on the side. I make 100k/year at my full-time job, so it doesn't make sense for me to do detailing full time yet. So this means, if I make extra money detailing, I can drop it on nice things like this. I will wait though until I have all the tools and equipment I would like to make me more efficient before upgrading.

[@jamesatkinson2991]

The price is crazy in Australia! $1,800

[@RCC207]

The more i use the HLR 15 the more i get used to it, having a lot of years on a rotary and then going to a D.A and then a cordless D,A there was a bit of a learning curve. And yes the battery does bump for me as well, so i hold the battery part just like Anthony did. one thing about the yellow medium wool pad that i received in the kit which i used on a 2016 Ford Fusion, i paired it with D.A fine and the pad fell apart before the car was finished. The pad was take strait from the package and had not been previously used. Perhaps it was my fault in being new to this buffer and the system, other then that i enjoy my HLR 15 a lot and plan on getting the HLR 21.

[@jeffc6832]

What speed were you using and did you swap out the pad at all? Sounds like you overheated it.

[@RCC207]

@@jeffc6832 3.4, i did not swap the pad out. I got to the tail light section when i noticed the pad separation. I did clean it with the Rupes Claw tool.

[@GstarCurtis]

Birch got here first Umberto 😂

[@turbo5483]

I’m curious you keep talking about pad stall why not use forced rotation ?

[@jtm1979]

because it is really not a problem and even if one machine stalls more you can work around it with technique. And because forced rotation corrects much slower than 15 not to mention 21. I had my mille fort month back in 2017 and sold it because it just dont correct like long throw.

[@dustindenemark3326]

May be better but cost significantly more money and I don't like how they mounted the battery I will stick with Milwaukee M18

[@canadianelementsautodetailing]

I have watched a lot of your videos and I am subscribed to you I was surprised to see that I am not subscribed for whatever reason and when I tried to subscribe again it said it’s not possible there is an error

[@jeffc6832]

The battery will definitely take some getting used to in some positions, but the lack of a cord offsets it. Just gotta be careful until you retrain your muscle memory.

[@WardoUSA]

It seems to have an interesting sound. High pitch…..

[@btbd2785]

that's their latest wool pad. I know you guys don't sell this polisher. I am just curious has anyone there tried and or tested the new UDOS 31E?

[@theragcompany]

The guys have tried the UDOS briefly but have not spent much time with it.

[@chewdoobautomotivedetailtm2883]

❤

[@user-ut4xg9je5m]

mashine is ok the best bla la...not say about charging... nobady say little things ...2 baterys cant charge in same time in charger... charge betwen batt is 55 min i od hood 2 times and roof and must to wait to charge second batt... i wos use timer to see its not perfect like they say in eu we got that but i think to sell mine...

[@iamsam8446]

It's a nice machine, but at a price north of $800 I don't think it's for the weekend enthusiast - unless you have deep pockets. Get a corded Rupes for alot less with the same performance and not having to fuss with batteries.

[@ril850_1]

Yeah but some of those don’t want to fuss with chords either.

[@iamsam8446]

@@ril850_1 I like cordless too, but I've gone down that route and dealing with batteries and charging, weight balance, and overall performance per dollar, corded is the way to go for a DA IMO. If you doing a spot or touchup, cordless is very handy, but for a whole car or multiple cars corded is less trouble overall.

[@ril850_1]

@@iamsam8446 oh I agree. My first cordless was the IBRID nano and always thought to myself. Man if they only made a cordless 3 inch and a 5 inch. To be clear I’ve ahead only Rupes polishers and most recently the Milwaukee. They are all great IMO.

[@chitotanada1389]

i hate cordless polishers..you always need to mind if the battery is hitting the panel

[@1stfrompuertorico568]

Cool

[@AZULYORO4LIFE]

Im still thinking adams is better and more cheap but i need an up grade the adams battery is getting out very fast idk why that happen😭

[@crystalcars5210]

I’ll be honest; I’m only here to look at the pad. That battery is a nightmare looking thing for usage. I think I’d only choose wireless if they invented a total magical wireless constant charge from some mythical wireless charging station from the wall. Batteries are totally a nightmare with deterioration and weight; never mind mass and weight. My personal prediction, Flex will dominate this machine with battery operated devices if that’s your thing. I do use my Rupes LHR75 /15 more than my PXE80 obviously but I still prefer my Rupes wired more than Flex

[@granthawtree4669]

If I was RUPES usa id put Anthony on a no sell/buy list… He’s wanted in 16 states for battery charges

[@Jimmer-tr6bi]

If you’re a professional detailer and you dedicate $25 of every job to the acquisition cost, you’re looking at 30 jobs before you even break even. This is ridiculous.

[@Jimmer-tr6bi]

This is not the only channel that’s making statements about the battery. Typical Italians, another flaw.

[@RoyalDetailing661]

Seriously, a white car in good condition to show demonstrate a polisher? Might as well have polished an invisible car.

[@user-jk3fn6ve4n]

after milwaukee this is a children's toy! weak nonsense

[@ocshine.detailing]

This machine is ergonomically ass .. otherwise Mike Phillips would have reviewed it at least

[@Nakinakpgm]

I call your comment BS

[@RICARD01]

*HEX LIGHTING SUCKS!*