What POLISHER do you use? Or use most?

What POLISHER do you use? Or use most?

  • Porter Cable RO

    Votes: 58 43.6%
  • Meguiars RO

    Votes: 8 6.0%
  • Griot's RO

    Votes: 10 7.5%
  • Hitachi Rotary

    Votes: 2 1.5%
  • DeWalt Rotary

    Votes: 6 4.5%
  • Makita Rotary

    Votes: 18 13.5%
  • Flex DA

    Votes: 25 18.8%
  • Flex Circular

    Votes: 2 1.5%
  • Cyclo

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Pneumatic

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other.....

    Votes: 4 3.0%

  • Total voters
    133
I prefer my Metabo PE175-12 for compounding and polishing, but always switch over to the Flex 3401 for the last abrasive step just as insurance against holograms.
 
Just got this in today.

Hopefully will get to try it out next week on a black lexus LS430.

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Ability to use different pad sizes and it's also easier to control. The forced rotation of the Flex can cause it to wonder around. ;)
Yeah, I have the Flex and I'm tired of fighting the polisher. I just bought the "new" version griot's Garage Random orbital. It's supposed to be very powerful! :biggrin:
 
Very cool! Let us know how you like it compared to the Flex. :)
Will do.

I actually tried the G110v2 and to my surprise, it bogged down fairly easily. The GG has a lot more powerful motor, so we'll see. :biggrin:
 
Daaang! How much that set you back?

Chad, They list for $495, its almost impossible to get it for below list. Festool runs a tight ship when it comes to retail pricing.

I bought it thru an authorized festool dealer on ebay. That way I was able to get 8% cashback thru bing.
 
Chad, They list for $495, its almost impossible to get it for below list. Festool runs a tight ship when it comes to retail pricing.

I bought it thru an authorized festool dealer on ebay. That way I was able to get 8% cashback thru bing.

That's funny money! You'll have to let us know if it's worth the price tag. ;)
 
Using the Festool as a polisher really deserves a review.

The only thing I can find on it is as a sander, which rates #1; but nothing as a polisher.

Inquiring minds want to know
 
That's funny money! You'll have to let us know if it's worth the price tag. ;)

I agree that it is very expensive, but we shall see how little vibration that it has. Just holding it in my hands, it feels very balanced and "friendly".

Using the Festool as a polisher really deserves a review.

The only thing I can find on it is as a sander, which rates #1; but nothing as a polisher.

Inquiring minds want to know

Looking fwd to testing it out myself. Bob from Auto Concierge has one.
 
Hey Bryan... That's an impressive-looking machine! Even at that price, that's only the price of a 12.5-hour detail (by my pricing at $40 per hour). If you look at it that way, $495 doesn't seem too bad!!!

I'll be interested in your review also!:biggrin::Dancing Dot::biggrin::Dancing Dot::biggrin:
 
Hey Bryan... That's an impressive-looking machine! Even at that price, that's only the price of a 12.5-hour detail (by my pricing at $40 per hour). If you look at it that way, $495 doesn't seem too bad!!!

I'll be interested in your review also!:biggrin::Dancing Dot::biggrin::Dancing Dot::biggrin:

Will do Bill.

When I am using a tool for 10 hours with minimal breaks, it is easily worth it.
 
I got to give the Festool RO 150 FEQ a quick go today.

Powering it up.

It is loud with no load applied. I mean like a lot louder then the G110 v2. Maybe it still needs to break-in a bit.

Vibration: I consider the G110 v2 a low vibration machine comparted to the XP PC.

Unloaded (holding them both, one in each hand) the Festool had what I consider zero vibration as compared to the G110 v2. My friend Chris whos car I was cleaning up tried it too, no contest.

Chris had some time, so I tried out the festool on the hood of his Super Bee (recent model). I primed up an orange LC classic flat 6.5" pad with M105. His car is in need of a correction, but he needs some PDR work done first.

I applied a few dots of M105 to the primed pad. Started out on speed 5 and I'm hear to tell you the power of this machine startled me a bit. I turned it down to 4 made a few passes, then back up to 5. For the 2 mins or so that I used the machine, I could not feel any vibration. The festool's power reminds me of the flex (at least what I can remember from a year ago) but it is very easy to control when pressure is applied to the head of the machine.

I did not try to bog it down by applying excessive presssure. The defects where cleaned up except for some deep water spot etching and deeper scratches that will require wetsanding in the future.

I only used the machine in random orbital motion. So I did not use it in "rotary" mode.

That was all I had time for today. So far so good with the Festool RO 150 FEQ.

I should find out over the next few days if I will be polishing a black LS430 next week, if not then the following week has a C6 vette and a 360 in store.
 
The festool's power reminds me of the flex (at least what I can remember from a year ago) but it is very easy to control when pressure is applied to the head of the machine.
Wouldn't that be comparing apples to oranges considering you didn't use the Festool in "forced rotation" mode? :)
 
Wouldn't that be comparing apples to oranges considering you didn't use the Festool in "forced rotation" mode? :)

Interesting thought.

In your opinion is it more the reverse rotation or is it the forced rotation that makes the flex so hard to control? If the rotation was in the same direction even though it was forced, would that make it easier to control?

Edit: When I try out the festool is forced rotation mode, will it become hard to control?
 
Interesting thought.

In your opinion is it more the reverse rotation or is it the forced rotation that makes the flex so hard to control? If the rotation was in the same direction even though it was forced, would that make it easier to control?
That's a very good question. I've never tried a forced rotation polisher that spins clockwise. Kevin Brown told me that even in forced rotation mode, the Festool was a joy to use. So, could it be the counter clockwise rotation of the Flex that makes it hard to control? I'm going to present this question to Kevin. :thumbup:
 
That's a very good question. I've never tried a forced rotation polisher that spins clockwise. Kevin Brown told me that even in forced rotation mode, the Festool was a joy to use. So, could it be the counter clockwise rotation of the Flex that makes it hard to control? I'm going to present this question to Kevin. :thumbup:

I too would be very interested in KB's reply.
 
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