Question Mike,
Your thoughts and opinions on Rupes machines. Searching around I see in the past when addressed you are not really for the 'washer mod'. Whats your opinion on things like the Kamikaze backing plate? There's also the Coatic pieces.
First - Great question and note all the pictures you'll see below I personally took.
Second - Having written a how-to book for the RUPES BigFoot Paint Polishing System, I think it's fair to say, at a minimum, I'm fair and balanced in my thoughts on RUPES machines and any brand for that matter. Note, I detailed every car on the front cover of my RUPES how-to book and every car inside the how-to book and also took probably 90% of the pictures with Yancy Martinez taking the other 10% of the pictures.
Thoughts & Opinions
In my opinion, having been to the RUPES manufacturing plant in Milan, Italy, Here's the obligitory picture everyone takes when they visit the RUPES corporate headquarters in Milan, Italy. I think Todd Cooperider did this shot first but I could be wrong.
RUPES manufactures the highest quality tools on the market today. Not to say other companies also don't manufacture high quality tools, but to state and be very clear, I've seen the tools being built at the manufacturing facility in Milan, Italy and they are no short cuts in any aspect of their manufacturing process. I've seen their Tool Torture Chamber and was impressed with their ingenuity to not only test their own tools but all the knock-offs of their tools.
The RUPES Tool Torture Chamber
In fact, while being given a tour of the manufacturing facility in Milan, Italy by the President of RUPES, Guido Valentini, as we started the tour, Mr. Valentini pointed to the sign in the factory that had the universal image of a camera with a red circle around it and a line through the image, stating,
NO PICTURES
and then said to me,
"For you Mike Phillips, you can take pictures!"
Which I did and unlike all the others that were invited to RUPES in Milan, Italy as special guests before RUPES bought the Cyclo company and manufacturing plant in Colorado - I'm the only person that took pictures and then did something with the pictures.
Here's me in Milan signing a copy of my 3rd car detailing book. I was invited as their Special Guest Speaker for their International Sales Meeting.
The engineers at RUPES put a lot of work into making their tools smooth, low vibration, powerful and fully featured. As for the Kevin Brown Washer Mod, I believe the RUPES Engineers when they state the purpose of the shroud is to,
1: Create a light drag on the back of the backing plate to enable 50% oscillation and 50% rotation of the pad.
2: Prevent the backing plate and pad combo from spinning up to high speed when the tool is lifted off the surface for brief moments while the technical inspects the results and then makes the go/no go decision that the defect is removed to their satisfaction or if they need to continue buffing to remove more of the defect. If I remember correctly, this is a "style" of buffing used on polishing decks at the OEM level and it is a technique used by trained professionals for specific reasons.
So to remove the shroud or insert a spacer washer defeats the design by the RUPES Engineers.
I've never used a Kamikaze backing plate so I don't have a real-world opinion. Same for the Coatic brand.
Here's what I believe today and always have believed - everyone should try as many tools as possible and use what works best for them and their style of detailing.
-Mike
