Is a Flex really necessary?

Hey loco - the Makita I'm talking about - BO6040 ain't a rotary, do search here, check google, info is out there - but nothing like the Flex fan base.



All in all - if you can get with someone with the machine, maybe worth the drive to find out if you like it before plunking down 3 bills.
 
JuneBug said:
Hey loco - the Makita I'm talking about - BO6040 ain't a rotary, do search here, check google, info is out there - but nothing like the Flex fan base.



All in all - if you can get with someone with the machine, maybe worth the drive to find out if you like it before plunking down 3 bills.
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Hi, thanks. Sorry, I saw Makita and thought rotary. I'll check into it. Saving money is a good thing!
 
loco said:
... 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..
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Once you see the Flex in person, you'll understand the issue. The "forced rotation" is driven via a gear on the back of the backingplate; that gear is mighty big, so the plate has to be large to accommodate it. I looked into the feasibility of cutting the plate down for use with smaller pads, but decided that would compromise its structural integrity too much.



There's always the Edge adaptor (assuming it's still on the market), but the large housing of the machine can get in the way to where a smaller pad won't always fit into a tight spot anyhow. For that matter, I sometimes take the Flex's plastic handgrip (the black thing on top of the housing) off so I can fit into tight spots (yow! That housing gets very *HOT*, very fast).



So yeah...use the PC. I gotta admit I simply don't *like* my PCs very much, but I leave one set up with a small backing plate all the time just for those situations where it'll do the job quickly and easily.
 
Accumulator said:
Once you see the Flex in person, you'll understand the issue. The "forced rotation" is driven via a gear on the back of the backingplate; that gear is mighty big, so the plate has to be large to accommodate it. I looked into the feasibility of cutting the plate down for use with smaller pads, but decided that would compromise its structural integrity too much.



There's always the Edge adaptor (assuming it's still on the market), but the large housing of the machine can get in the way to where a smaller pad won't always fit into a tight spot anyhow. For that matter, I sometimes take the Flex's plastic handgrip (the black thing on top of the housing) off so I can fit into tight spots (yow! That housing gets very *HOT*, very fast).



So yeah...use the PC. I gotta admit I simply don't *like* my PCs very much, but I leave one set up with a small backing plate all the time just for those situations where it'll do the job quickly and easily.
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I didn't even know there as an Edge adapter... I'll have to look into it. And yes I also use the PC either with a 5.5" blue pad for sealant application or 3" pads for tight spots around the car, like pillars, trunks, etc. I can't imagine polishing a whole car with a PC anymore. Compared to the Flex, it seems almost worthless.
 
LUSTR said:
I didn't even know there as an Edge adapter... I'll have to look into it..
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It doesn't look all that sturdy to me, and when it first came out people were breaking them left-and-right. But then you know how some people really lean on their machines.
 
[WARNING! OFF-TOPIC POST FOLLOWS]





JuneBug said:
.. my daughter turns 16 soon and I haven't got that car insurance enema yet.
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You oughta get that girl some real driver's training. Besides the whole topic of her well-being, those classes cost a lot less than the insurance hike that comes with the almost-inevitable teenage accidents.



I'm an absolute fanatic about driver's training....
 
Hey - she drives with me and she's coming along fine. The only thing is the tight parking lots that make her ( me too) nervous.
 
I've used quite a few polishers variations over the years and been quite keen to try the Flex recently but the Kiwi $1200 ish price tag and special order is a bit of a hurdle however at 1/2 the cost the Makita has been looking like a tool worth trying.



I've done a fair ammount of polishing (17 years every working day) with rotary polishers and although I've had pretty good results my life changed for the better when some RA polishers finally came available in NZ. The closest we can get to the PC is the Meguiars G220 and we thrash the ones that we have. I find it a lot easier to get the results that I'm after with the G220 (V2 isn't here untill Meg's NZ sells all the V1's they have in stock) than the Cyclo's that we have which I find can be a bit hit or miss with the finish.



Rupes does an Anti-hologram polisher that usn't available in electric (only Pneumatic) in NZ but I bet it's available in the US, it could be worth a look. I've got about 6 Rupes Planetary sanders that are the closest I could get to the anti-hologram tool and after about 4 years none of them have ever missed a beat. They get plenty of use.



I'll have to check out some of Johns work, My hesitation with rotary finishing is that no matter how good I think I have a rotary finish there's always the danger that a sometime down the track I'll see a haze in direct sun.
 
LUSTR said:
I didn't even know there as an Edge adapter... I'll have to look into it. And yes I also use the PC either with a 5.5" blue pad for sealant application or 3" pads for tight spots around the car, like pillars, trunks, etc. I can't imagine polishing a whole car with a PC anymore. Compared to the Flex, it seems almost worthless.
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Ivan, could you recommend some 3" pads and a backing plate for the PC? I see 4" pads everywhere, but a 3" pad would be a godsend.
 
mikenap said:
Ivan, could you recommend some 3" pads and a backing plate for the PC? I see 4" pads everywhere, but a 3" pad would be a godsend.
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AutoGeek has some 3M 3" pads, but I haven't translated them to my polishes yet.





As for the Flex, I find it better with my stuff when I keep it at Speed 4 for polishes and 2/3 for waxes. 5/6 are just too much for what I'm using. The main thing for me is the Flex really wants you to use 2 hands all the time where the PC is just easy and can be used with 1. Accumulator and the $107 shipped price on Amazon have me thinking of adding a Griot's buffer to my collection, which consist of the Flex 3401, PC XP, Griot's 3" Electric, Griot's 3" pneumatic and PC 7336 (which is out on semi-permanent loan...).



I like my Flex a lot, and use it more now that I've learned not to go for the upper speed settings, but I love the PC - guessing I'll like the new Griot's 6" as much or more.
 
lee@glosshaus said:
... Accumulator and the $107 shipped price on Amazon have me thinking of adding a Griot's buffer to my collection, which consist of the Flex 3401, PC XP, Griot's 3" Electric, Griot's 3" pneumatic and PC 7336 (which is out on semi-permanent loan...).



... I love the PC - guessing I'll like the new Griot's 6" as much or more.
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Heh heh, I'm flattered that you mentioned my recommendation. IMO if you like the PC (which *I* don't ;) ) then you'll really like that Griot's. Hey, I almost like the Griot's myself! Well, I like it better without that fancy bale handle.



How do you like the Griot's 3"? I get soooo much fine, misty sling from it that I think twice about using it! Last time I did a spot-repair I just stuck the 3" pad on the PC (one of my older ones, maybe the 7336) and did OK that way.



How does the 3" pneumatic one strike you? Barry Theal always raves about his air polishers but I flash back to my days using an air-DA in a bodyshop and think "no thanks!".
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, I'm flattered that you mentioned my recommendation. IMO if you like the PC (which *I* don't ;) ) then you'll really like that Griot's. Hey, I almost like the Griot's myself! Well, I like it better without that fancy bale handle.



How do you like the Griot's 3"? I get soooo much fine, misty sling from it that I think twice about using it! Last time I did a spot-repair I just stuck the 3" pad on the PC (one of my older ones, maybe the 7336) and did OK that way.



How does the 3" pneumatic one strike you? Barry Theal always raves about his air polishers but I flash back to my days using an air-DA in a bodyshop and think "no thanks!".
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I like the 3" electric DA a lot - haven't had any real trouble with it, though the pad selection seems very thin. Since I'm sort of a "professional amateur" I sweat the tight spots with the bigger machines, and I think I have a much better feel and sense of what I'm doing on curvy and tight bits with it.



I don't have a massive compressor, but it is an oiled compressor with a fairly high flow, and I just don't think the pneumatic 3" has the ooomph of the electric and the control isn't very fine. It works for milder polishes and wax in very tight spaces, but I don't use it much when I can use the electric. I think your memories are serving you well.
 
lee@glosshaus- I probably need to play around with my 3" more, comparing something I've used a few times to polishers I've used for decades isn't really fair. But I've only used the Flex on a handful of cars and I seemed to take to that right away.



I *do* have a failry massive compressor, but I guess just have a preference for electrical polishers. Some guys find the pneumatic ones *SO* ergonomically pleasing, but it sounds like you don't see it that way.
 
mikenap said:
Ivan, could you recommend some 3" pads and a backing plate for the PC? I see 4" pads everywhere, but a 3" pad would be a godsend.
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I have use some OLD pads, that look like LC pads but I have no clue if they are to be honest with you. These are the 3" pads I use, along with a few Griot's 3" pads. I also use the LC 4" pads a lot for tight spaces on the PC. I'd say give Griot's a try.
 
Accumulator said:
lee@glosshaus- I probably need to play around with my 3" more, comparing something I've used a few times to polishers I've used for decades isn't really fair. But I've only used the Flex on a handful of cars and I seemed to take to that right away.



I *do* have a failry massive compressor, but I guess just have a preference for electrical polishers. Some guys find the pneumatic ones *SO* ergonomically pleasing, but it sounds like you don't see it that way.
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I just don't feel like the action and torque are there with my 3" pneumatic. Possibly on a full-sized compressor it would be different, but Griot's sells them with a tiny PC pancake!



If I had it to do over, I'd just own the 3" electric. I'd just gotten the compressor and thought it would be cool, but I've only used it once since I got the electric. Other than the tightest of spaces would I use it over the electric, and even then you have the option for hand work).
 
Just an update....



I did get a Flex. I had a $100 gift card for Amazon and with my Amazon Prime I got free shipping, so not too bad a price to pay - $215. I have used the machine on two cars so far and am extremely pleased! My Miata was done two weeks ago. I used a Sonus DAS green pad (yeah, those are still around!) and FPII. I was not really trying to correct anything as I am waiting until Spring for that, but I was surprised how many minor swirls were removed. The car looked better than it's ever looked.



Today, I did my mother's 2000 Accord which had two very bad places where cats had jumped on her car and then evidently slid off, leaving long scratches behind. The Flex with Hydro-tech tangerine and Optimum Hyper Polish took care of those scratches! The worst one you can still see if you look at it from the right angle, but the other place appears to be completely corrected. I'm very impressed! And she's very happy!



I do think the machine takes a little getting used to. It's quite heavy compared to the PC 7424, most noticeable when doing vertical panels, of course. And I'm so glad I got such good advice from this thread - it really helped me deal with the Flex's tendency to "walk around" on you. I'm learning, though, and it's really no big deal.



Thanks again to everyone who participated in this thread! It was a huge help, and I encourage anyone who's thinking about getting a Flex to go for it!
 
....I bought one myself a few months ago and was quite impressed with it. It's simply makes the job easier and more efficient than my old PC. I typically don't buy "package deals" but I found a relatively good price on my Flex and the M105/M205 combo which included a few LC pads (a couple orange, white and "bonus" red ones).
 
I can't justify the price for the flex. I used a PC 7424 strictly for about 2.5 years. I then switched to a Makita 9227C Rotary. I use my rotary about 90% of the time.
 
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