What Rupes Polish to Start with on Swirl Removal

**ShawnF350** · 08-25-2015, 02:03 PM

I got a call yesterday from a friend who has a Nissan Altima - 2001.
He somehow managed to put swirls on his roof. He doesn`t know what he did to cause it but it was the first place he started washing he had told me. Maybe a dirty mitt?

I have small bottles of all the Rupes polishes and matching pads.
Should I start with the Yellow or Green or other?

I can uses either the 15 or 21. I do want to try the 7" pads on the 21 and see how it corrects with those.

I may also compare how much longer it takes using the same setup (6" pads though) on the 15 to get the same results on the opposite side.

Any tips greatly appreciated.

**The Driver** · 08-25-2015, 02:23 PM

Roof go with the 21, you have tons of room to work with and you want as much pad coverage as possible so running a 6 inch bp on the 15 isn`t the best thing for it. It depends on what polish your using but IMO always start lightest cut first (Yellow for you).

**Todd@RUPES** · 08-25-2015, 04:01 PM

Your best bet is to perform a test spot. I have come across quite a few paints where the Keramik (yellow) Compound and yellow pad were enough to remove 90-95% of the defect and the resulting finish was superb. I would start here and observe.

A few points. Prime the pad with about 6 pea-sized drops of product and polish for about 30 seconds on speed 3 with firm pressure. This will "prime" the pad. Then use speed size, light-to-firm pressure, and slow are speed, adding 2 pea-sized drops for subsequent areas.

**rlmccarty2000** · 08-25-2015, 05:48 PM

What Todd said. Yellow with yellow pad works great to remove wash induced swirls.

**ShawnF350** · 08-25-2015, 07:54 PM

Originally Posted by Todd@RUPES

Your best bet is to perform a test spot. I have come across quite a few paints where the Keramik (yellow) Compound and yellow pad were enough to remove 90-95% of the defect and the resulting finish was superb. I would start here and observe.

A few points. Prime the pad with about 6 pea-sized drops of product and polish for about 30 seconds on speed 3 with firm pressure. This will "prime" the pad. Then use speed size, light-to-firm pressure, and slow are speed, adding 2 pea-sized drops for subsequent areas.

Thanks Todd, amazing how after I read it the third time I understood what you meant to type in the second paragraph.
I hate auto fill...lol

**Ronkh** · 08-25-2015, 08:47 PM

Good thing about the rupes, is polish is color coded to the pad

Makes it easy for dinosaurs like me

**ShawnF350** · 08-25-2015, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by The Driver

Roof go with the 21, you have tons of room to work with and you want as much pad coverage as possible so running a 6 inch bp on the 15 isn`t the best thing for it. It depends on what polish your using but IMO always start lightest cut first (Yellow for you).

Driver, now that I have the mini, 15, and 21 (latest purchase)... I`m finding that I haven`t used the Flex 3401 lately. I actually go for the 15 but can see how much more gets done with the 21 when needed.
I do have a Makita rotary too that I`m not experienced with quite yet. I`m waiting for that perfect car that can`t get any worse... only improve.

Have you found the 3401 can still come in for a save at times?
When?
I`m tempted to trade or throw it on eBay BUT not if I`m going to need it for something.

**Tpr1634** · 08-26-2015, 06:56 AM

break out the rotary

**The Driver** · 08-26-2015, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by ShawnF350

Driver, now that I have the mini, 15, and 21 (latest purchase)... I`m finding that I haven`t used the Flex 3401 lately. I actually go for the 15 but can see how much more gets done with the 21 when needed.
I do have a Makita rotary too that I`m not experienced with quite yet. I`m waiting for that perfect car that can`t get any worse... only improve.

Have you found the 3401 can still come in for a save at times?
When?
I`m tempted to trade or throw it on eBay BUT not if I`m going to need it for something.

I`m in the exact boat as you. I keep just because I have the smaller 4.5 bp an it`s great for spoilers and VERY tight parts like fog light indents etc but even for those I mostly use a rotary with a 3 inch bp and an extension. Ultimately I love the Flex but it`s caught somewhere in the middle between rotor use and not long enough throw to compete with the rupes DA`s. I would keep it unless you really need the money, it`s a great back up or a safe tight spot getter if you don`t have or aren`t comfortable with a rotor.

**mx5gary** · 08-28-2015, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by Todd@RUPES

A few points. Prime the pad with about 6 pea-sized drops of product and polish for about 30 seconds on speed 3 with firm pressure. This will "prime" the pad. Then use speed size, light-to-firm pressure, and slow are speed, adding 2 pea-sized drops for subsequent areas.

This is almost opposite from everything I read on Rupes. It was understanding that we shouldn`t be priming the pads nor using any real pressure.

**ShawnF350** · 08-28-2015, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by Tpr1634

break out the rotary

With the Rotary, I still feel like Luke Skywalker using the Light saber for the first time.

After watching the video though, maybe the reason so many cars look like the car that Vega just detailed is because they try the Blind Fold method hoping for the results like Luke finally got. "Eyes deceive you.. don`t trust them"

https://youtu.be/X69NCLxwLEY

**Todd@RUPES** · 08-29-2015, 08:05 AM

MX5gary- To prime RUPES foam pads with RUPES compounds, we recommend about 6 pea sized drops. Using firm pressure, polish the area on speed 3 for about 30 seconds. This is the official recommendation and will eliminate splatter problems on the firmer blue and UHS pads.

After the pad is primed, we recommend speed 4-6 for blue, green and UHS, speed 3-6 for yellow, speed 2-4 for white & microfiber, 2 pea sized drops of product and light pressure. Hope this clears it up

**mx5gary** · 08-30-2015, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by Todd@RUPES

MX5gary- To prime RUPES foam pads with RUPES compounds, we recommend about 6 pea sized drops. Using firm pressure, polish the area on speed 3 for about 30 seconds. This is the official recommendation and will eliminate splatter problems on the firmer blue and UHS pads.

After the pad is primed, we recommend speed 4-6 for blue, green and UHS, speed 3-6 for yellow, speed 2-4 for white & microfiber, 2 pea sized drops of product and light pressure. Hope this clears it up

Is there a recommend priming on the microfiber pads?

**Todd@RUPES** · 08-31-2015, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by mx5gary

Is there a recommend priming on the microfiber pads?

For microfiber we recommend lightly coating the surface with a very thin coat of compound. The amount is similar to with the foam (about 6 pea-sized drops) but instead of setting it on the surface, drag it lightly across. For subsequent applications, reload with a little more product (about 4 drops worth).

Also in microfiber, use speed 4 to generate more cut. Too much speed will lay the fibers down and reduce cut significantly.