Rupes LK900E Mille

Only tried the Mille at the RUPES booth at MTE, not in the real world, but it was a little smoother than the 3401. Also it did not `walk` the body lines as bad as the 3401, but it still took off a little bit when it hit the raised hood line on the Fiat 500 front clip that RUPES demos on.
 
Never tried the mille yet
But I can tell you just like my Makita PO5000C it`ll be better in everyway compared to the unrefined 3401.

Looking at specs it`ll be the smoothest due to smallest throw
It`ll correct the 2nd fastest due to the 535rpm vs 790makita 480 flex.

Both Rupes and Makita needed more of both RPM and OPM to compensate for lack of throw for correction speed.

All forced machines will walk in certain circumstances but Rupes and Makita midigated the issue with a smaller throw (Makita has longer body too)
 
Only tried the Mille at the RUPES booth at MTE, not in the real world, but it was a little smoother than the 3401. Also it did not `walk` the body lines as bad as the 3401, but it still took off a little bit when it hit the raised hood line on the Fiat 500 front clip that RUPES demos on.

Did you feel the super tall shroud make the Mille top heavy or tipsy?
 
Did you feel the super tall shroud make the Mille top heavy or tipsy?

I don`t have a lot of time on it yet. I can tell you it`s not top heavy. It`s a smooth running machine. It doesn`t pull you around anything like the 3401. I sold my 3401 about a year ago. With my back problems it was just too hard on me. Definitely quitter than the 3401 as well.
 
I played with it at MTE and was lucky enough to get a lot of tutorial and information from Jason Rose and Todd Helme. I was blown away by how smooth it felt. The variable speed trigger on both new machines are awesome. Whereas the Flex 3401 launches off the line with jerky torque, you can slowly squeeze the Rupes for an ultra smooth start. I did feel the Rupes Mille felt taller above the pad, but much much easier to control.

Keep in mind you`ll get varying opinions from different guys. Personally I started out as a big 3401 fan. I was knocking out polish jobs left and right until I woke up one morning and felt some pain in my shoulder. I switched to a Rupes LHR15esM2 as my primary polisher and never looked back for about 2 years now. After using the 15esm2 for so long, I almost can`t use a 3401 anymore. It feels super awkward and I tried several times. To me, if I need more power I`ll just use a rotary so the 15esm2 is the perfect compliment.

But I can really see myself using a Mille. I would have no problem adding it to my tool bag.
 
I played with it at MTE and was lucky enough to get a lot of tutorial and information from Jason Rose and Todd Helme. I was blown away by how smooth it felt. The variable speed trigger on both new machines are awesome. Whereas the Flex 3401 launches off the line with jerky torque, you can slowly squeeze the Rupes for an ultra smooth start. I did feel the Rupes Mille felt taller above the pad, but much much easier to control.

Keep in mind you`ll get varying opinions from different guys. Personally I started out as a big 3401 fan. I was knocking out polish jobs left and right until I woke up one morning and felt some pain in my shoulder. I switched to a Rupes LHR15esM2 as my primary polisher and never looked back for about 2 years now. After using the 15esm2 for so long, I almost can`t use a 3401 anymore. It feels super awkward and I tried several times. To me, if I need more power I`ll just use a rotary so the 15esm2 is the perfect compliment.

But I can really see myself using a Mille. I would have no problem adding it to my tool bag.

Definitely like the trigger, it has a nice long pull to it too which makes the function great. I`m going to pick up the rotary when it`s release too. I like my PE14, but the Rupes has some features that really interest me.
 
Makita has progressive Trigger too and you can also equip it with a 3in plate to have 3in forced machine..
I really want to get my hands on the Rupes LHR19E !
 
Nice I didn`t know that about the Makita. I`ve almost pulled the trigger on the Rupes rotary a few times...but my Makita 9227c aka Makita MoneyMaker works for now. The responsible business man inside of me won`t let me enter the credit card info lol. But ya it`s a nice machine.
 
Both the Mille and the LH19E rotary polisher are very intresting tools. The smoothness is really something that I see it`s worth to invest in. As a hobbiest with nerve damage in the spine it`s important for me with the ergonomics of tools. First polisher I bought was a copy of the 21mm longthrow polisher with a 5" backing plate on it. Have been very close to buy the Mille but went with a Shinemate EX603 mini.

What do you guys and gals think I would invest next the Mille or the LH19E rotary?
Or what setup would you look into that has the best ergonomics and runs smoothest.

The Mille I would be doing both the compounding and polishing with. And the LH19E rotary I would use to compounding and polishing and finishing polish with the 21mm longthrow polisher. I think that in the future I would do 2 steps since I like the thought of useing a primer polish to perfect the finish in the last step. So I leaning to get the LH19E since rotarys are so smooth running and light weight now days. Then when the budget allows buy a Duetto to do the finishing polish with.
 
Mille is looking like a next machine for me.
I feel like I`m missing something, and that is a way to tackle the RIDS.

Now this weekend yet again I`m hours away from trying, new compound, new wool, refine w/MF pad. Finish polish.

I was thinking a 21mm would be what I was missing, now I`m starting to believe forced rotation is the missing component.

Mille looks to be super refined, a tool for my lesser experienced hands. (looks hot too !)
 
I only got to try the Mille on a test panel at a local detail supply store here in Raleigh. I thought is was way smoother that the Flex. It was quieter too. Machine did not feel top heavy at all. It glides very nicely and did not really notice any walking at all.
 
Oh Yea !
Just got done with some test spots, and my Rupes Mini w/ MF pads would stall just getting close to curves.
If the Compound had more oil or thicker, the pad would stall.
It did so so with water based.
I`ve been trying to line up my products for a total detail on my daily.
Looks like a forced rotation Rupes will be one of those products.
a9e39df089a5694f64d2718e6f37a8c2.jpg
a01ecc513c272b709d541e36361dedb1.jpg
 
Has anyone watched the OG/ Rupes training videos? Its actually pretty informative on the Mille and their other tools. I am debating between the Mille and the Rotary(lh19e). Interesting with the Mille they state that they re-engineered the compounds/ polishes to be more oily/ more lubrication otherwise it can get quite grabby on the panel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mqQtaQKvvs&t=2675s

Mary - Interesting you have had the Mini and MF pads stall on you close to edges/ curves? Is this after heavy pad use or with new pads? Do you prime the pads or just a few drops? I have not had the issue but I generally do not prime the pads and use 3 pea sized drops. I do find I need to change the pad out way more often since MF just seems to like to hold on to residue/ product even blowing out with compressed air. Have you tried the new Rupes wool pads? I bought a bunch in 5inch and 3 inch to try as I hear they work much better than the MF pads but do potentially leave more marring.

in one of the videos Jason Rose also mentioned the Ibrid and Mini work better with Foam and Wool which is why they have the wool pads in 1" and 2" but not the MF pads.
 
I thought about buying a Mille and even had all of my gift certificates ready to go, then I watched one of Rupes own videos comparing the 15 and the Mille. The guy doing the comparison said that if you were getting good results with the 15 that there was no reason to own the Mille. That sealed it for me. I get great results with my 15/21/mini combo. It’s fun to get new tools, but I was hoping the Mille would be an upgrade to what I already owned, but the Rupes experts talked me out of it!
 
I thought about buying a Mille and even had all of my gift certificates ready to go, then I watched one of Rupes own videos comparing the 15 and the Mille. The guy doing the comparison said that if you were getting good results with the 15 that there was no reason to own the Mille. That sealed it for me. I get great results with my 15/21/mini combo. It’s fun to get new tools, but I was hoping the Mille would be an upgrade to what I already owned, but the Rupes experts talked me out of it!

Yeah I already have the Flex3401 and I get the Mille is smoother/ newer and the differences but not sure it warrants me purchasing one. As you mentioned I also get great results with the long throw combo. The 21 mk2 with the 5inch kamikaze backing plate is my go to. For edge work I am reaching for my Mini and Nano anyway. It`s making more and more sense that I need to add a rotary to my arsenal and get practice with that to make my detailing game complete.
 
Back
Top