mikemurphy234
New member
There have been a lot of questions and comments across multiple forums and Facebook regarding the Rupes Bigfoot Polisher so I decided to do a comparison test that would show how capable this machine is verses a standard DA.
For the comparison I used a Jeep hood with medium to hard paint, Meg's microfiber cutting pads, Meg's D300 & M101 compounds and the world famous Kevin Brown Method. I decided to use this combo to keep the testing between the two machines as equal as I could and so I didn't have to account for to many variables, ie. pad deflection, porosity, etc...
Knowing how well a DA using the KBM would polish out sanding scratches, I decided to raise the stakes and use a 3M Scotch-Brite medium cut pad to scuff up the hood.
The area was divided In half, approximately 20" by 20".
The contenders....Bigfoot 21 on the left. G110v2 on the right.
Meg's compounds....Little brother and his MMA Heavyweight champ big brother.
Both pads were primed with D300 and a light pass was made on another part of the hood to "spread" the compound as equally as possible then D300 & M101 were added. 5 IPA wipedowns were done after each pass and before each picture was taken. The pads were also cleaned between each pass with compressed air.
First up was the G110V2. Speed was set to 5. Medium to medium-heavy pressure was used along with slow passes while still allowing for good backing plate rotation.
Primed and ready to go.
After 1st pass.
After 2nd pass.
After 3rd pass.
After 4th pass.
In the 4th pass picture you can see pigtailing caused by paint accumulated in the pad. Now, I was really pushing this machine to get the most cut possible with this combination. I think this shows just how much the abraded paint can affect the finish. :clap2:
The 5th and final pass.
I used a stopwatch to time only when the machine was running and the accumulated time for all 5 passes was 13 minutes.
Next is the Rupes Bigfoot. Speed was also set to 5 but light to medium light pressure was used. The speed of the passes were the same as the G110V2. As far as backing plate rotation goes, the 21mm throw is so big that having plenty of rotation was never an issue!
Also primed and ready to go
After 1st pass
After 2nd pass
3rd and final pass.
The total time with the Rupes was a little over 7 minutes.
The final overall appearance of both sections were the same, although the pictures show a couple scratches in the last Rupes pic there were some left in the G110V2's area as well. Not only did the Bigfoot give me the same cut in nearly half the time, there is no comparison in the comfort level between the two. The Bigfoot is just so smooth and well balanced!
Hopefully this helps answer some of the questions you may have, but if you have anymore feel free to ask.
A special thanks goes out to Kevin Brown aka BuffDaddy.com for your tireless efforts educating us in the processes of paint finishing with the random orbital. Without you we'd probably still be spraying conditioners on pads and adding "3 pea size drops". LOL
Mike Murphy
For the comparison I used a Jeep hood with medium to hard paint, Meg's microfiber cutting pads, Meg's D300 & M101 compounds and the world famous Kevin Brown Method. I decided to use this combo to keep the testing between the two machines as equal as I could and so I didn't have to account for to many variables, ie. pad deflection, porosity, etc...
Knowing how well a DA using the KBM would polish out sanding scratches, I decided to raise the stakes and use a 3M Scotch-Brite medium cut pad to scuff up the hood.
The area was divided In half, approximately 20" by 20".
The contenders....Bigfoot 21 on the left. G110v2 on the right.
Meg's compounds....Little brother and his MMA Heavyweight champ big brother.
Both pads were primed with D300 and a light pass was made on another part of the hood to "spread" the compound as equally as possible then D300 & M101 were added. 5 IPA wipedowns were done after each pass and before each picture was taken. The pads were also cleaned between each pass with compressed air.
First up was the G110V2. Speed was set to 5. Medium to medium-heavy pressure was used along with slow passes while still allowing for good backing plate rotation.
Primed and ready to go.
After 1st pass.
After 2nd pass.
After 3rd pass.
After 4th pass.
In the 4th pass picture you can see pigtailing caused by paint accumulated in the pad. Now, I was really pushing this machine to get the most cut possible with this combination. I think this shows just how much the abraded paint can affect the finish. :clap2:
The 5th and final pass.
I used a stopwatch to time only when the machine was running and the accumulated time for all 5 passes was 13 minutes.
Next is the Rupes Bigfoot. Speed was also set to 5 but light to medium light pressure was used. The speed of the passes were the same as the G110V2. As far as backing plate rotation goes, the 21mm throw is so big that having plenty of rotation was never an issue!
Also primed and ready to go
After 1st pass
After 2nd pass
3rd and final pass.
The total time with the Rupes was a little over 7 minutes.
The final overall appearance of both sections were the same, although the pictures show a couple scratches in the last Rupes pic there were some left in the G110V2's area as well. Not only did the Bigfoot give me the same cut in nearly half the time, there is no comparison in the comfort level between the two. The Bigfoot is just so smooth and well balanced!
Hopefully this helps answer some of the questions you may have, but if you have anymore feel free to ask.
A special thanks goes out to Kevin Brown aka BuffDaddy.com for your tireless efforts educating us in the processes of paint finishing with the random orbital. Without you we'd probably still be spraying conditioners on pads and adding "3 pea size drops". LOL
Mike Murphy
