The Right Tool for the job – Polishing tight areas with the Rupes Ibrid
Polishing Tight Areas
When it comes to polishing tight, and curvy areas, look no further – the Rupes iBrid Nano is the right tool for the job. A lot of these newer vehicles have various tight body curves and lines, and sometimes the bigger orbitals cannot reach or correct those areas properly. The 3 inch orbitals work well also, but can still be to big for the area you are working on. Rupes has designed a versatile orbital which allows you to reach and correct those areas with no problem.
The iBrid is one awesome tool, it has many features including, 1.25” pads, as well as 2” pads. This gives you the opportunity to change the pads out according to the specific area you are working in. The iBrid also features a long and short neck option depending on your preference. In addition, the iBrid runs off of rechargeable batteries which allow you to run the tool at full speed for about 30 minutes. You get 2 batteries with the kit as well as a backup battery that can be plugged into the wall, just in case both of the rechargeables are dead. Having the tool being rechargeable is a great option, one less cord to worry about, allowing you to access those hard to reach areas without having to worry about having a cord over your shoulder.
The iBrid includes 6 yellow 1.25” in pads, 6 blue 1.25” pads, as well as 6 yellow, and 6 blue 2” pads, with both of the backing plates included as well. The blue pads are coarse, which are used to cut out severe defects, and the yellow pads are fine, which remove lighter defects. Rupes also includes some of their Coarse, and Fine polishes to try, as well as some of their microfiber towels. Those features are already impressive, but it doesn’t stop here! They also include an option to make the tool a rotary tool, as well as different weight options to make it a 3mm or a 12mm orbital, depending on how much correction you are looking for. They also include a few small brush attachments which can be used on various things. And to hold all of these things, they even give you a really nice Rupes bag!
The iBrid is a powerful tool, ranging from 1000-6000 OPM (Orbits Per Minute). It corrects very well for its size, and allows you to reach all of those tight areas your regular orbital won’t, meaning that you will not have to correct those areas by hand. The iBrid is very compact and ergonomic, which allows you to work in comfort. There is a dial on the orbital that allows you to change your speed as well as turn the machine off. Once you dial in your chosen speed, all you have to do is push the trigger down to go, it’s that easy! Right above the speed is your LED indicator which is green when the battery is good on its charge, then it turns to red, letting you know that your battery is running low, and it should be replaced. Rupes tools are hand built in Italy, so they are of course a little bit pricier than your typical orbital, but you get what you pay for. They also have plenty of other pads available for the iBrid, which allows you to buy them accordingly to the job you are working on. Rupes has develeoped a buffer that has proven to be a valuable tool to virtually ever correction and ceramic coating job we have done since purchasing it. We highly recommend the Rupes iBrid Nano, this is our go to tool when it comes to tight areas, or just removing a typical scratch!
Patrick Repko, nano coating specialist