Is a Flex really necessary?

I currently have a PC, PCXP and Cyclo. I had a Makita rotary and sold it, bought the Flex and traded for the Cyclo. So call me the un-accumulator as I'm looking to reduce the number of products I have. I've done a lot of buying, trying, selling and trading. I agree with the rotary takes a lot of practice, but if you get good-damn it looks pretty and anybody watching thinks it's easy. But, it takes time. The things I didn't care for with the rotary were the mandatory taping - don't do it and you risk rolling the paint right off a piece of trim (yeah - made that mistake only ONCE!), then you have splater to clean, the weight of the machine on doors/fenders, and be real careful on any plastic like bumpers. It's not that hard to learn, but I can grab a PC, orange pad and M105 and git r done faster.
 
JuneBug said:
I currently have a PC, PCXP and Cyclo. I had a Makita rotary and sold it, bought the Flex and traded for the Cyclo. So call me the un-accumulator ...
Click to expand...



And note that I sometimes buy JuneBug's cast-off products :D Kinda wish I'd got his Flex for a backup...
 
JuneBug said:
But then I would have missed trading Todd for the Cyclo!
Click to expand...



Yeah, I can see the appeal of that trade all right!



I've been wondering what the Cyclo would do with SurBuf pads and M105 :think:
 
Just as a general Flex question, should I decide to buy one --- are any pads that fit the Flex backing plate OK to use with a Flex? Or do certain brands work better with this particular machine? I would likely buy new pads, but could I use the pads I already have for the PC (I do have some 6" pads and larger). I do know if the pads are 5.5" or smaller, they won't work with the backing plate.



Thanks again!
 
loco- Yeah, they should be fine as long as you're not talking about the weird "reverse velcro" ones that somebody once offered (maybe 3M? I forget...). I've used my Flex with LC, Griot's, and Meguiar's pads.
 
Ever since I switched to the Flex I hardly touch my Makita.. I break it out every once and a while when I feel like taking on a deep scratch to see what I can do with it… just to challenge myself..

I find it very easy to handle and it makes my job a lot faster… no regrets on spending the money on that machine… my cyclos servered the purpose when I was in the start up phase.. but I wanted better quality
 
Thanks for the feedback, Donavin. I have just about decided to get the Flex. Will have to wait/hope for a nice deal on one.
 
I was going to start a new thread but decided to piggy back on this one. I want to know if the Flex is best for me as well.



been detailing part time for some time now and have been using my PC for about 2 years. Well, I went from doing a detail a week to 4-5 a week and the vibration is killing me. At the end of the week this week, after polishing 5 cars, my hand was just NUMB. I do some corrections but it's mostly just the make it pop kind of polishes. I have RIDS quite often as well and even though the PC with a 4" LC orange/105 seems to do OK with it I would like to make the process a little easier than having to make 2-3 passes and having to change out backing plates on a regular basis.



Please someone let me know your opinions. I use mostly Meg's 105/205 and D151. I have Optimum Compund and Polish as well as a couple 3M products and Duragloss products.
 
Bobarell- I too have to watch it regarding the PC's vibration, don't plan to live with nerve damage over polishing some cars! "White finger" is nothing to be taken lightly.



The Flex doesn't cause the same problems for me. It does have its own uhm....user-experienced sensations, but it's not the same kind of vibration as the PC's.



And yeah, it *is* nice to effectively work larger areas.
 
Good thread and supportive inputs. I have a Metabo rotary, Flex and PC. IMHO, the Flex is somewhat rotary like in its behavior, thus has some learning curve to it. Using the rotary as a "baseline", you get a +1 in pad affect. By that I mean, if you're used to using an orange LC pad/polish combo via PC, you can probably get the same results with a white pad on the rotary. This is pretty much my observation with the Flex. IOW, it gives you more correction ability.



As already noted, you'll be limited (with out some additional hardware) to the pad sizes you can use on the Flex. I like the 3M UK pads, but no on a Flex. And the Flex is noisy--the Metabo is pretty quiet and very smooth.



So, my thoughts are think about both a Flex and a rotary. When you need to use 4" (or smaller) pads, you'll have to have one of those machines anyway.



HTH



FWIW, my polish preference is Menzerna--mostly 203S, or 106FA. Jeweling with 85RD when needed/wanted.
 
Thanks so much for the input, landcruiser. I appreciate it. I do have the PC if I need to use 4" pads, though I know it isn't as efficient. I do think the Flex is for me, just waiting for the right time to pull the trigger.
 
If you haven't bought anything yet - look at the Makita BO6040, it does everything the Flex does plus it has the ability to switch off the forced rotation. And Edge makes an adapter (cheaper) than the one for the Flex too - that lets you use smaller pads.



This machine doesn't get much press here, but everybody I talked to that has one - likes it a lot! It will be my next machine if one of PC's breaks.
 
Junebug- Heh heh, I wouldn't be too surprised if you buy youself that Makita BO6040 even if the PC *doesn't* break ;) Wonder if the Edge adaptor for that is more sturdy than the one for the Flex seems (just seems, no I never did get around to experimenting with mine yet) to be. I can understand how people broke the ones for the Flex, it just doesn't scream "heavy duty!" to me.
 
I read only the first page and I'm with Accum on this one. While I only briefly, and I mean BRIEFLY (5 minutes tops) tried the cyclo, I have used the Makita (still use), PC (still use xp), Meg's v1 & 2 orbitals, UDM, and Griots, along with the Flex. After working for about 1 year with a PC and 3+ years with Makita/PC (used PC for some Porsche, Nissan, etc. paint that were just full of hate for the Makita when it came to finishing) I can proudly say that I have switched almost 100% to working with ONLY the Flex. It corrects great with LC Orange and Meguiar's #105 and finishes down great, leaving me no worry of buffer trails/rotary holograms. Yes I got fairly good with the Makita and could finish down perfectly with it on almost everything, aside from a few black Porsches, Nissans/Infinity cars, but now I mainly use it for heavy correction when doing a 3+ step polishing. Anything 2 or less steps is generally M105/Orange or White followed by M205/white or black. It might take me 30 minutes longer (for which I don't charge) than the Makita would, but the fact that I know I don't have holograms (yes I still check every time) is enough for me to use it over the Makita for finishing.



Long story short, I think Flex is well worth the price and the hype it gets, because it really can correct great with the right pad/polish combos, but also finish out perfectly well with a finishing pad/polish. I use 5.5" pads 100% of the time on the Flex and they fit just fine on the backing plate. I do wish someone would already make a smaller plate, but for me it works just fine, as I can use the PC for smaller spots with 3" pads.



If I had to choose one machine, I'd easily choose the Flex.
 
Thanks LUSTR! That's really helpful. I would think someone would make a smaller backing plate by now, kind of surprising. But as you said, if you have the PC to get into tight places, it's not absolutely necessary.



JuneBug, I just am scared (perhaps unreasonably) of the rotary. I feel it's just too much for me. If the Flex will do pretty much what a rotary would do (considering I don't plan on doing any really heavy correction on neglected paint), I think I would be happy with that.



Now to wait for the perfect deal. Or at least one I'm willing to live with.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top