Flex 3401 generates a lot of heat?!

swanicyouth said:
For a machine that is supposed to be "professional grade" there sure does seem to be a lot of issues with it: Overheating ? Melting parts? Shutting down? Backing plate shearing off?
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After using my 3401 on my cars, I've used it (or allowed others to use it -supervised) on perhaps a dozen cars.

It gets warm under extended use, but not hot.

I have the standard backing plate and the LC changeable back plate set up. I have not melted any of them.

It has never shut down.

Since i lubed the ring when it was new, I was certain that everything was tight before I used it for the first time.

Plain and simple - no issues whatsoever.

Would I buy another - without a second thought. It's a magnificent tool.

BTW, we've used it (in a garage) when the outside temperature was 110+. Still no issues.

I added the Flex PE14-2-150 to my arsenel at the last no exclusions sale. That was so we could use the CarPro velvet and denim pads on a couple of cars with bad orange peel, but we haven't done them yet.

Jim
 
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They get hot but it shouldn't get too hot do you take breaks and change your pads? I buff for 10 minutes at a time and clean my pad and take a break.
 
I have no problem with the 3401 and run it on full sized vans back to back almost 20 hours straight.
 
Hey guys,
Longtime lurker here, I bought a flex 3401 recently about a couple of months ago and I have an issue. I opened up the inside of the flex and noticed some brown spots on the gear? Also, when I'm polishing I notice a choppy/delay sound like it's working harder...Can somebody tell me what I can do about this?
 
The part you are calling the gear is not the gear, it is the counterweight.
The brown is just some surface rust on that part and will not effect operation.
 
show&go said:
The part you are calling the gear is not the gear, it is the counterweight.
The brown is just some surface rust on that part and will not effect operation.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification.
 
Recently my 3401 would not run at 6. It would at 5, but would then bog down on 6. I removed the BP and oiled the ring again. (I had only done it once when I got it 1.5 years ago). Problem resolved.


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richy said:
Recently my 3401 would not run at 6. It would at 5, but would then bog down on 6. I removed the BP and oiled the ring again. (I had only done it once when I got it 1.5 years ago). Problem resolved.


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Click to expand...

What kind of oil did you use?


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There's actually and article for this and a video to explain and show why to lubricate the felt ring.


Lubricating the Felt Ring on the Flex 3401


First there is no official recommendation from Flex on this procedure but most owners of the Flex 3401 like to lubricate the Felt Ring to ensure there are no issues between it and the hard plastic backing material that it comes into contact with during operation.

For preventative maintenance reasons, it's okay to lubricate the felt ring after purchase and periodically depending upon how much use your Flex 3401 sees.

What to use?I went to NAPA and purchased some Air Tool Lubricant, (see picture), but any light machine oil should work including the traditional 3-in-1 Oil.


Here's the felt ring on the Flex 3401
Oiling3401Flex01.jpg



Here I've placed some oil on my finger ...
Oiling3401Flex02.jpg



and then spread it onto the felt ring...
Oiling3401Flex03.jpg



You can see the oil penetrate into the felt to lubricate it and from here it will migrate through the felt...
Oiling3401Flex04.jpg



You could also place some drops around the felt ring and then spread it and work it in using your finger...
Oiling3401Flex05.jpg



This brand new Flex 3401 is ready to go to work for a new project next week...
Oiling3401Flex06.jpg



:xyxthumbs:
 
For those of you that want to lubricate the felt ring on your Flex 3401, here's a video that shows you how... starts at the 1:45 time mark...




[video=youtube_share;Arn_kVH3BVc&hd=1&t=1m46s"]In depth Look at the FLEX 3401 Polisher - YouTube[/video]​







:buffing: :buffing: :buffing: :buffing: :buffing: :buffing: :buffing: :buffing: :buffing:
 
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