Comparison of Flex, PC, DeWalt, Makita, Rupes

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clnimck

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Good morning Everyone,

I am trying to search numerous topics and I am unsuccessful. I greatly appreciate every ones input.
I am using wolfgang polishes and wax, and will be trying Detailer's pro, and blackfire
I am looking to purchase a rotary polisher. I have listed below a list o polishers I am looking to purchase.

Mainly what I am trying to get is a great polisher for the right price.
I know Flex will be on top of the list.

Now, if I didn't want to purchase a flex which one would you recommend from the list below.

Is there anything close to Flex?

What I was trying to do a search but a did not get any information.

So what I need to know if I did purchase a Flex which one of the three listed below I should purchase.

Then I would appreciate if you were going to purchase Dewalt or Makita what would be your choice.

Final question if I purchase a Dewalt or Makita would I see any difference when polishing and using a Flex. Basically any polisher below comes close to Flex.

FLEX PE14-2-150 Rotary Polisher

FLEX L3403 VRG Lightweight Rotary Polisher

FLEX LK603VVB Circular Polisher

DeWalt DWP849X 7”/9” Variable Speed Rotary Polisher

Makita BO6040 6.5 inch Pad

Makita 9237CX2 Rotary Polisher

I thank everyone for your input and I am waiting for your response]
 
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i know you have rotary's listed but if you don't own a DA, the flex 3401 would be an excellent choice. it pretty much can tackle anything you throw at it...
 
Have you ever had experience with a rotary before? Rotary polishers are very effective at what they do once the technique of handling them has been mastered. Out of all polishers, they are the hardest to master because they have the highest risk of producing damaging results if not properly handled. That's my opinion. I use a Porter Cable and Dewalt DWP849X combination. Dewalt for heavy polishing/compounding, and finishing up with the PC for a hologram free finish.

The Dewalt feels great in the hands. Ergonomic, the rubber head is a nice touch. It does have a tendency to generate torque if you let off the trigger, the pad is slowing down, when you fully depress the again trigger it can sometimes generate a small jerk which is the torque of the motor causing it to spin back up to speed, but this only happens once in a while. You can negate this by easing on the trigger slowly when the pad has not come to a complete stop. This was not a deal breaker for me, the price and the ergonomics was too good to pass up.

I have not had experience with the latest Makita rotary. It's supposed to directly compete against the Dewalt by including slightly better ergonomics and rubber covered head. The original 9227c Makita I had was a great rotary and I only moved to the newest Dewalt one because I liked the update to the ergonomics they did and the latest Makita update 9237 was not available at the time.

The Flex PE14 is the most compact rotary between the Makita and Dewalt. Lightweight, great power, but very high price compared to the other two. I didn't feel like the size advantage justified the increased price point, but if it was a little closer in the price range of the latest Dewalt I would have definitely gone with the Flex.

I have not ever tried out or used the Flex 3403 rotary. It's basically superseded by the PE14. Looks exactly like the Flex 3401 which is a much more popular choice by Flex owners, and I would not exclude the 3401 from your purchase decision. It's out of my price range, but many have set down their rotaries and PC style polishers in favor of solely the Flex 3401 as a do it all machine.

I also have not used the BO6040 polisher, but again the Flex 3401 seems to be a more popular choice among these forums compared to that Makita polisher. Rupes 15/21 is another great choice of tools. Easy to handle (coming from a rotary), very smooth machine, but again, the price is a bit too high for me to set down my rotary in favor of.
 
clnimck said:
Good morning Everyone,

I am trying to search numerous topics and I am unsuccessful. I greatly appreciate every ones input.
I am using wolfgang polishes and wax, and will be trying Detailer's pro, and blackfire
I am looking to purchase a rotary polisher. I have listed below a list o polishers I am looking to purchase.

Mainly what I am trying to get is a great polisher for the right price.
I know Flex will be on top of the list.

Now, if I didn't want to purchase a flex which one would you recommend from the list below.

Is there anything close to Flex?

What I was trying to do a search but a did not get any information.

So what I need to know if I did purchase a Flex which one of the three listed below I should purchase.

Then I would appreciate if you were going to purchase Dewalt or Makita what would be your choice.

Final question if I purchase a Dewalt or Makita would I see any difference when polishing and using a Flex. Basically any polisher below comes close to Flex.

FLEX PE14-2-150 Rotary Polisher

FLEX L3403 VRG Lightweight Rotary Polisher

FLEX LK603VVB Circular Polisher

DeWalt DWP849X 7”/9” Variable Speed Rotary Polisher

Makita BO6040 6.5 inch Pad

Makita 9237CX2 Rotary Polisher

I thank everyone for your input and I am waiting for your response]
Click to expand...

I just purchased a Flex PE14 and I also have a Flex 3401. The PE14 is the finest rotary buffer I have ever used and I've been buffing cars for 50 years. The 3401 is just as good and will correct anything you throw at it. Next down on the list would have to be the Makita. I also own one of them. It's a fine machine and probably the most popular polisher in the world. It just doesn't compare to the Flex. The PE14 is lighter, quieter, smoother and has just as much power. I have at least a dozen DeWalt tools of every kind and they are made well and heavy duty but not as comfortable to use as the Flex tools. This means a lot when your using a tool all day long.

Flex polishers combined with Menzerna is a perfect combination! I also use Wolfgang and their products are top notch.
 
Here's my thoughts....


The Flex PE14 Rotary Polisher - The rotary I grab first...



The new DeWALT 849X and the recently updated Makita rotary buffer are both very nice rotary buffers but still when we have projects here at Autogeek that require rotary buffers I reach for a PE14 first and so do the rest of the guys....

The guys that get here last end up using the full size rotaries.

It's how quiet the PE14 is and how lightweight and compact in size it is that makes it the first choice.


:xyxthumbs:
 
I thank everyone for your input as it was very helpful.

I know a few asked if I have a dual action which I have the PC 7424XP. I was looking in getting a rotary.

Thank You So MUCH,


Wish everyone and their Families a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!



cHRIS
 
clnimck said:
I thank everyone for your input as it was very helpful.
Click to expand...


Hi Chris,

I read your Private Message this morning and because the question you asked in the PM is also a question I get often via the forum, Facebook, E-mail and of course via Private Messages I took the liberty to turn my answer into an article with pictures and links to where you can get the pads and backing plates.

Here you go...


My recommended buffing pads for the Flex PE14



:xyxthumbs:
 
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