Does Rupes work...answer inside.

So tonight I had about an hour to play with my new rupes polisher. I decided to do the trunk lid, the worst area on my car. A few questions and comments before we get to the results. First my paint is much much worse than I thought. I need a heavier cut compound than fg400...suggestions? Also how much polish do you guys put on your foam pads? When I used the mf pads I used four dime sized drops but when I did tthis with the foam pads it seemed like it was way to muxh. How long do you run the polisher...as I. Should you work the compound in until it looks like it is not there?

 

Pretty nasty finish. Looks a lot better. Did all the scratches level down??

 

There are still some if you look at it at an angle, tilt your head. I was thinking that I either did not work the fg400 correctly or I should maybe switch to something more aggressive like a surbuf pad and mg105 or mg101. What do you think?

 

I wouldn't go more aggresive than that unless you own a paint meter. I rather see that kind of improvement than to burn the clear because I wanted it the paint to look perfect. IMO, I would leave it like that if it is a daily driver.

 

Good point. I'd lve to have a paint meter but they are so expensive.

 

What pads were you using? Gianni is right to err on the side of caution, but I suspect that even 101 with a compounding pad or disc would not remove more than a micron, maybe two. If you have to tilt your head to a certain angle to see whats left, going to 101 would probably remove it. just stay away from the edge of the trunk lid as the paint is thinnest there.

 

Pretty impressive! This Rupes machine is teasing me more and more.

 

I used Meg's mf pads with fg400 then I used an uber yellow with fg400, über green with Sonax Fine Abrasive Polish, then

Sonax Nano and an uber blue pad. All in all it took about 10 min of polishing.

 

If you did all that in 10 minutes, you're not working the polish long enough bud. Normally it should take you 2-3 minutes per section, per combination. FG400 has good working time so take advantage of it. Up and down then side to side until it goes clear. Given how well FG400 finishes down, you could skip the fg400 / uber yellow and Sonax Fine Abrasive / Uber green steps as well. Go straight to Sonax Nano / Uber Blue.

 

Great..thanks for the advice.

 

Good turnaround. I agree with Ken as well. Take advantage of the working time of the polish to maximize its effectiveness.