Why we recommend Rupes
We are detailing enthusiasts ourselves, and we have tested most of the premium machines on the market. Rupes is the brand we keep coming back to for three reasons:
Vibration and ergonomics. The Bigfoot series has very low vibration. This means you can work longer before your hands get tired — important if you are polishing an entire car in one session.
Durability. We have customers who are still using LHR15ES and LHR21ES machines purchased 8–10 years ago. Rupes continues to supply spare parts for most older models, which few competitors do.
A cohesive ecosystem. Pads, polishing compounds, and machines are designed to work together. You avoid the minor mismatches that occur when you mix pads from one brand with polish from another and a machine from a third.
Where does Rupes fit into your setup?
If you polish once a year or work on your family car, an LHR15 Mark V or a Duetto is more than enough — see the full range under Rupes polishing machines.
If you polish weekly or have a workshop, you will likely end up with both an LHR21 for panels and an LHR15 (or iBrid Mini) for the details.
Write to us if you are unsure — it is faster than guessing, and we have usually tested the combination ourselves.
Rupes – Italian family business since 1947
Rupes was founded in Milan in 1947 and is still family-owned. In 1951, Rupes launched the first portable electric sander, and in 1968, the first electric random orbital sander followed. Since 1997, production has been based in Vermezzo near Milan.
In 2010 came the LHR21ES – the start of the BigFoot series, which made random orbital polishing with a large orbit the standard among detailers. Today, Rupes is one of the few manufacturers that still winds the motors for its machines in-house.