what two machine tools to buy

P

ptownTSI

New member
So there looks to be some good sales this weekend. I'd like to get a rotary and a polisher. Is the makita rotary and a UDM a great combo to go with? I have heard a lot about the flex and it sounds like if its the only tool you have that is a jack of all trades master of none type of thing. I'd rather get more specialized than that as I will be doing some wetsanding and then polishing out those fine sanding marks, then want to use a machine to do all my waxing.



I have been detailing as an amateur for quite a few years, just have not taken the jump to machine power.
 
Dude, if you can afford the Flex instead of the UDM, get it. I'd love one, but it was just too costly for my needs at this point. If you can get that and the rotary, you're golden.
 
I wouldn't call the Flex jack of all trades master of none... no it's not as aggressive as a rotary but it does great correction without the potential holograms... I use rotary and G110(rarely) but if I didn't finish out most details with the rotary I would definitely get a Flex and use the 1 machine.
 
Flex is definately the better tool. The UDM just cant do what a Flex does unless you spend alot more time going over the panel with mutiple passes. The Makita and a Flex and you will have everything you need to do full corrections.
 
Well I bought a Makita a few years back and never once have I said, "man this thing isn't cutting it, I need to use my PC again!"



The Makita is all I use now, the PC never leaves its bag. I guess I don't see if you had a Rotary why you'd need to buy a Flex/PC too.
 
Wren said:
Well I bought a Makita a few years back and never once have I said, "man this thing isn't cutting it, I need to use my PC again!"



The Makita is all I use now, the PC never leaves its bag. I guess I don't see if you had a Rotary why you'd need to buy a Flex/PC too.
Click to expand...



It's good to have a G110 or Flex 3401 in addition to Makita as some paints are simply impossible to finish with rotary... maybe some master detailer can but I haven't been able to as well as many others here... Makita does win out though as it is a perfect tool once you learn how to use it well
 
Wren said:
Well I bought a Makita a few years back and never once have I said, "man this thing isn't cutting it, I need to use my PC again!"



The Makita is all I use now, the PC never leaves its bag. I guess I don't see if you had a Rotary why you'd need to buy a Flex/PC too.
Click to expand...



Because sometimes it's not about "cutting it", it's about finessing it. Like the mid-60s Healey I plan to do later this summer. With original paint. I could either do the entire thing by hand, or I could use a nice soft pad on a slow moving DA.



The Flex AND the PC can both polish right down to bare metal with small pads, pressure, and an aggressive polish. The rotary will get you there fastest. Just a matter of what you want to do I guess.
 
Does somebody have a good sale on the Flex or Makita this weekend?



The autogeek sale doesn't apply to polishers, so does somebody else have them on sale?
 
amazon.com has the Makita for $172.39 delivered. That's about as cheap as I've found for a new one.



Autogeek.net has their price match guarantee, so they might be willing to ship it for the same price.
 
What would the optimal uses be for the Makita, the Porter Cable, and the Flex be?



Pro's and con's, and direct comparisons? I'm very interested on this subject.
 
This will probably sound crazy, but I'd buy a cyclo - after trying several machines thinking there would be something more to my liking, I discovered that I LOVE mine. I would say it has 95% of the corrective power of the flex (may take a little bit longer too), but it is just much easier to use (and safer :chuckle: ) ..... with the gloss-it line of products I'm finding incredibly success, even better than with the standard Menzerna lineup, so I plan to keep him until the end of time.
 
This past weekend, I used all three of mine (Makita rotary, Flex DA, and my Cyclo), all three have their place in my opinion. I used M105 with my Makita, I also used M105 and M205 with the Flex DA and I used the Cyclo to apply the finish glaze sample I had and for applying the sealant.



If I had to pick just one, I suppose it would be the Flex since it fills the gap between the rotary and the dual orbital Cyclo.



The Cyclo was my first real car finish tool, bullet proof, a well made tool. The Makita was my second tool, also well made and works well but obviously a rotary and you need to use more carefully. I really like the Flex but my biggest complaint would be the vibration which is more than I would hope for. I just converted the Flex to the Edge system so it was nice to use 6" and 4" pads with it.



Oh yeah, I had a PC orbital, I sold it, I wasn't that impressed with it, I'd get a Cyclo before a PC or G110 which are akin to a toy compared to a Cyclo, Flex DA or Makita rotary. Just to be clear, I have a number of Porter Cable tools, I like many of their tools, but the orbital is a very entry level machine (which is fine if that is what you need).



Regards,



Rich
 
This might sound off but is there an attachment tool that can make a rotary, such as the makita 9227 into a DA?
 
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