First impressions of Flex 3401.

Jeremy1976

Jeremy1976

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Wow! That is the first word that comes to mind. I came from a Torq 10fx. No comparison whatsoever.

First off, I love how there is not a slow start up like the Torq. With the Torq you would select speed and it seemed to take a good couple seconds to get going. With the Flex it's instant. Plus it is much more quiet and less vibration. The overall sound is of quality. The Torq sounds kind of tingy and rattley.

No stalling! I did a maintenance wash on my wife's VW Passat today and then applied a coat of Collinite 845. Absolutely no stalling like the Torq being it's a forced rotation machine. There were areas of her car I clearly remember the Torq stalling. Very annoying for me and time consuming.

I love the feel and comfort of the 3401. I know some threads I read where people were saying you need to not let it control you. I found it to be easier to operate and less cumbersome than the Torq. Love the placement of the speed selector and lock button!

I used the 7" black finishing pad that came with the Meguiars kit. Nice using a larger pad. Laid down a coat of wax in less than 15 minutes and I was taking my time with it. Paint correction must be a breeze with the 3401!

Overall I felt very comfortable, confident, and capable with it. I even one handed it on the roof at all speeds just to test it out. No issues. I have no regrets getting this and am looking forward to more time with it. I had a customer drop off her 2002 SC430 I will be doing up Saturday.

The Flex will save me time and make the job easier! I can already tell that after the first use.

The only minor complaint I have is the included black pad was shedding all over the place. On a white car it was very noticeable.

I will update this thread once I get some more seat time on it. Until then, thanks Autogeek!

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Awesome man! The flex is a beast. Rupes machines have slow start ups too but it's more of a feature than a negative.
 
idriveblackcars said:
Awesome man! The flex is a beast. Rupes machines have slow start ups too but it's more of a feature than a negative.
Click to expand...

The flex has a gradual lead-in to higher seeds too and combined with it's variable trigger makes for a great way to spread product evenly then power into the higher speeds but not so fast as to cause the unit to jump.
 
You used a black finishing pad which is very soft pad. I could control it with my eyes closed. Report back when you use a firmer pad; you'll think differently. Much more control required, especially on vertical panels. I love my 3401, don't get me wrong.
 
The Flex 3401 is my Go-to DA period! Glad to see you are digging it! The trigger control is how you can adjust the speed fairly easy. It is a beast! No curved panels will stop this DA. I have dropped it at least 3 to 4 times from my bench and it still keeps on tickin. I do save a tremendous amount of correcting time with it. Good to see another person joining the Flex Force!
 
Good to hear Jeremy!

All the controls are where they should be. Very easy to use. What's better, all the FLEX machines are identical in terms of handling. The controls are all the same.

Gear driven DA power is where it's at. No silliness with pad stall on curves.

While I love my FLEX XFE, I wont ever use it for correcting/compounding. That's better left to the 3401/PE14. IME/IMO the FLEX XFE is a finishing tool.

Here is an article put together by Mike Phillips on lubricating the felt ring on the 3401.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum.../34201-lubricating-felt-ring-flex-3401-a.html
 
While I am more inclined to my PE14 and Rupes as they super smooth and comfortable, I can't deny I will be bored without my 3401. Any detailers kit is incomplete without a 3401.
 
You'll love the Lake Country Interchangeable Backing Plate System just designed for the Flex. There's a thread on here now about it. I highly recommend it to every Flex owner.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
That's how I sign my Flex book.






And thus my quote,


"With the FLEX 3401 you can power through any detail job"


When you need to get a car buffed out fast while maintaining high quality, you can do it with the FLEX 3401.

See this thread,



High quality production detailing by Mike Phillips




:)
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Thanks for all you do for the industry Mike. Your passion clearly shows!

I'm absolutely satisfied with the Flex!

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expdetailing said:
You'll love the Lake Country Interchangeable Backing Plate System just designed for the Flex. There's a thread on here now about it. I highly recommend it to every Flex owner.
Click to expand...
I will check it out. Thanks.

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Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Good to hear Jeremy!

All the controls are where they should be. Very easy to use. What's better, all the FLEX machines are identical in terms of handling. The controls are all the same.

Gear driven DA power is where it's at. No silliness with pad stall on curves.

While I love my FLEX XFE, I wont ever use it for correcting/compounding. That's better left to the 3401/PE14. IME/IMO the FLEX XFE is a finishing tool.

Here is an article put together by Mike Phillips on lubricating the felt ring on the 3401.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum.../34201-lubricating-felt-ring-flex-3401-a.html
Click to expand...
Lubed it right away with some Marvel Mystery oil. Thanks.

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Did my second vehicle with the 3401. Used the Nanoskin auto scrub, loved not having it stall. Then I applied an AIO with a white pad. Took out some pretty good scratches and marrs in the paint. Lastly, I applied Collinite 845.

This machine is absolutely amazing! Worth every penny!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Jeremy1976 said:
Did my second vehicle with the 3401. Used the Nanoskin auto scrub, loved not having it stall. Then I applied an AIO with a white pad. Took out some pretty good scratches and marrs in the paint. Lastly, I applied Collinite 845.

This machine is absolutely amazing! Worth every penny!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Awesome!
 
Jeremy1976 said:
Did my second vehicle with the 3401. Used the Nanoskin auto scrub, loved not having it stall. Then I applied an AIO with a white pad. Took out some pretty good scratches and marrs in the paint. Lastly, I applied Collinite 845.

This machine is absolutely amazing! Worth every penny!
Click to expand...

Yea buddy!

The 3401 combined with the Nanoskin pads are a contamination eating machine.

I run this setup on Sunday over a first gen Chrysler 300. The surface was so bad it felt like running your hand over 40 grit sandpaper! It was bad enough to bog down the machine and snap the machine around as it caught the nasty contamination. Luckily I knew what I was against and held on tight.
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Yea buddy!

The 3401 combined with the Nanoskin pads are a contamination eating machine.

I run this setup on Sunday over a first gen Chrysler 300. The surface was so bad it felt like running your hand over 40 grit sandpaper! It was bad enough to bog down the machine and snap the machine around as it caught the nasty contamination. Luckily I knew what I was against and held on tight.
Click to expand...
Same here buddy. I got a good idea of the power of the 3401 when decontamination with the Nanoskin. I love the power.

I worked some moderate scratches with a white pad and AIO and cranked her up to 6 and minimal time they were gone. I cannot imagine an orange pad and a dedicated cutting compound. I'm feeling really confident and capable with it after only the 2nd use.

I'm really saving time with the Nanoskin and no stalling!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Awesome to hear you enjoying the new machine Jeremy :dblthumb2::buffing::buffing::buffing:
 
I'm surprised you guys use the nanoskin pad on the 3401. Thing has so much torque and no chance of stalling, I would think if one spot lacked on lubrication, it would take the flex off your hands or split the pad in half when the pad gets caught lol. I just use the wash mitt. I never had to do a HEAVILY contaminated car though.

that being said, I'm glad I got the 3401. I remember the 1 time I used my PC I stalled alot in some places. Now that I have only a 3401, I don't even know what a stall i
 
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