Flex 3401 DA with 5.5" pads

M

mharris2007

New member
Hi Everyone,



I just bought a used Flex 3401 with the usual 5.5" backing plate. I have been using a PCXP with 5.5" uber pads. Will these pads not work with my new flex or do I need to get a whole new set of 6.5" pads for the thing? I guess investing in a new set of pads wouldn't be a terrible thing since the bigger pads would let me get around a car faster, but I was hoping to use my 5.5" pads. Thanks so much. Happy suber bowl Sunday.



Matt
 
the uber pads are buff & shine pads if i'm not mistaken, and he sells them with the velcro trimmed in, where as ADS has them with the velcro extended to the edge. in anycase, try taking a pad and seating it on the backing plate. it should sit just about flush and you should be okay. just noticed ADS has a 6pk of those pads on sale for $26.99, that's a heck of a deal...



Buff & Shine 5.5" 6-Pack Special

yhst-41771694353694_2145_6174207
 
That is a smokin' deal! I know most people have used the flex with 6.5" pads, but since I have the 5.5" I thought I'd try to use them. I guess if I accidentally hit my paint with the edge of the backing plate with the 5.5" pads, I may not be the happiest guy in the world at that moment. I might just get off my dollar and get some 6.5" pads.



What are you favorite 6.5" pads for the flex? I was going to try the uber/b&s as those have worked really well on my pc. It looks like allot of peole like the LC hydrotech ones.



Thanks for your response. I know search is my friend, and I found nothing on my question, that's why I posted :-) Thanks for your help.
 
mharris2007 said:
That is a smokin' deal! I know most people have used the flex with 6.5" pads, but since I have the 5.5" I thought I'd try to use them. I guess if I accidentally hit my paint with the edge of the backing plate with the 5.5" pads, I may not be the happiest guy in the world at that moment. I might just get off my dollar and get some 6.5" pads.



What are you favorite 6.5" pads for the flex? I was going to try the uber/b&s as those have worked really well on my pc. It looks like allot of peole like the LC hydrotech ones.



Thanks for your response. I know search is my friend, and I found nothing on my question, that's why I posted :-) Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...



ADS has the velcro extended to the edge so that is why it says, "Designed for DA Polishers Including the Flex XC 3401 VRG!" because the pad velcro will cover the entire backing plate. other than that, there both the same size pads so you should be fine, give it a try before having to spend more money on pads when it may not be needed...
 
I say use the right pad for the backing plate. One mistake with the 5.5" pad on the Flex and you could have bought a 100 pads.
 
So with a 5.5" backing plate you say go 6.5" pad?



I guess flex doesn't make a backing plate for the 5.5" pad either?



Thanks for your help.
 
I've seen Flex 3401 backing plates advertised that were supposedly designed (cut down?) for use with 5.5" pads. Forget who had them though... :confused:
 
Thanks accum. You're posts on here during my researched were the deciding factor in deciding to get the flex 3401 over a rotary! Flex should have you on their payroll, cause who knows how many machines they have sold thank in part to your endorsement!



I think I'm going to wait until I get machine, and take the backing plate to my buddie's VW shop and have him trim it down on a lathe or something to 5". The guy I bought it from suggested this and I think it's a decent idea as long as it stays round. I'm getting a 6" backing plate with it too, so if the 5.5" one gets all fubar'd during the cut down at least I'll still have 6" one and get some new 6.5" pads if need be.



Thanks.
 
Accumulator said:
I've seen Flex 3401 backing plates advertised that were supposedly designed (cut down?) for use with 5.5" pads. Forget who had them though... :confused:
Click to expand...



I believe that would be PoorBoys.
 
mharris2007 said:
I think I'm going to wait until I get machine, and take the backing plate to my buddie's VW shop and have him trim it down on a lathe or something to 5". The guy I bought it from suggested this and I think it's a decent idea as long as it stays round. I'm getting a 6" backing plate with it too, so if the 5.5" one gets all fubar'd during the cut down at least I'll still have 6" one and get some new 6.5" pads if need be.
Click to expand...



Good plab :xyxthumbs AFAIK the 5.5" plate is just a cut-down 6" one, but you might have enough extra left to whittle some more away. I considered taking it down to ~4" but decided it'd compromise the integrity too much...see what you think.



I've used "exactly matching pads", e.g., 6" Griot's polishing pads, with the Flex plenty of times with zero trouble. And yeah, I even tried sticking a 4" pad on it just to experiment (don't try this at home kids!) and it was OK for certain jobs. IMO a lot of it depends on the pads (not all are exactly the advertised size) and their velcro, and of course on the user and the application.



BTW, this is in *NO WAY* intended as an :argue with Legacy99 and I'm certainly in favor of erring on the side of caution. I'm just pretty comfortable using the matching pads on mine and thus OK with saying that it's worth a try *with* the proper caveats. Now watch me have some horrific "oops!" the next time I do it :o
 
The new Euro-Shine pad will fit the Flex 5.5" backing plate perfectly. The velcro backing is exactly 5.5" and leaves a 1/4" overhang perfect for the Flex.
 
BigAl3 said:
the uber pads are buff & shine pads if i'm not mistaken, and he sells them with the velcro trimmed in, where as ADS has them with the velcro extended to the edge. in anycase, try taking a pad and seating it on the backing plate. it should sit just about flush and you should be okay. just noticed ADS has a 6pk of those pads on sale for $26.99, that's a heck of a deal...



Buff & Shine 5.5" 6-Pack Special

yhst-41771694353694_2145_6174207
Click to expand...



Would I have to get a different backing plate to run these on a griot's garage polisher?
 
kdrchuck said:
Would I have to get a different backing plate to run these on a griot's garage polisher?
Click to expand...



No. For practical purposes, velcro is velcro, with the exception of the weird "reverse velcro" system 3M used to sell.



EDIT: but I just noticed that the pads are 5.5" and the plate on the Griot's RO is 6".
 
kdrchuck said:
Would I have to get a different backing plate to run these on a griot's garage polisher?
Click to expand...



the Griots backing plate is right around 6", so you'll want to get a 5" DA backing plate...
 
tdekany said:
Flex works with 5.5 pads just fine.
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Agreed. I can't remember that I've ever encountered a problem with the edge of the backing plate being close/even with the edge of the pad. I do have a ton of 6.5" pads as well though, so I use those when I do encounter a problem. I know one thing that is usually the slightest bit tricky is the Porsche rear quarter panels where they curve up to the pillar. That's the only part I can think of where you have to be a bit cautious, but even then it's a breeze to work around it.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. I bought a few gloss it pads that are 5.75" for the flex bp to try out. I've heard good things about them. We'll see how they work. I'll give it a whirl and see what happens with a 5.5" pad as well. If it's a no go I may then try to have it lathed down to 5" which would work with both 5.5 and 5.75".
 
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