Flex 3401 vs 4inch backing plate system carnage

kosmetikwerks said:
Hey Mike! Look a little closer at that picture.

It actually melted then separated you can see the a bit of the backing plate that is left sandwiched between the bolt/washer and the adaptor.

I took multiple pictures if you want to review kinda hard to see from that picture alone.
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This picture shows you installing the bolt into the backing plate? Or am I not seeing the right thing?

Have to help me out here... why is the bolt shown on the adapter?

IMG_20151201_162917_zpsfqamhepg.jpg



:)
 
Mike it looks like it was bolted into the backing plate but when the plate sheered or broke off the bolt was still tightened and intact leaving it in the adapter
 
Zubair said:
Mike it looks like it was bolted into the backing plate but when the plate sheered or broke off the bolt was still tightened and intact leaving it in the adapter
Click to expand...

Now I get it.

Plus the other pictures tell the complete story.


Still.... I'd say this is the exception to the rule and not the norm. We have never seen this happen out of all the hundreds of cars we've buffed out here at Autogeek.

Never.

When I get back to the office next Monday I'll contact Lake Country about this to see what there take and experience is with this issue.

Until then, Craig aka kosmetikwerks, if you purchased this backing plate system from Autogeek then contact Customer Care and cite this thread and they will completely take care of you.

:xyxthumbs:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Now I get it.

Plus the other pictures tell the complete story.


Still.... I'd say this is the exception to the rule and not the norm. We have never seen this happen out of all the hundreds of cars we've buffed out here at Autogeek.

Never.

When I get back to the office next Monday I'll contact Lake Country about this to see what there take and experience is with this issue.

Until then, Craig aka kosmetikwerks, if you purchased this backing plate system from Autogeek then contact Customer Care and cite this thread and they will completely take care of you.

:xyxthumbs:
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Thank you Mike! However it was purchased from a local distributer up here and he took care of me thus far it was his first experience with this also.

I want to make it clear to I don't discourage anyone from this kit or any LC products in general. Personally I'm pretty much LC exclusive for all my machines as far as pads go. Ive also replaced this faulty kit with a brand new one so I can start rocking my abundance of 5inch hybrids once again!
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Are you sure the 2 reviews you read for for the 4" backing plates and not the 6" backing plates?

Lake Country has discontinued offering the 6" backing plates. To be honest there was never a "need" for a 6" backing plate so it's no big deal the backing plate is no longer around.

What a guy needs is the factory baking plate that comes with the tool when you purchase it and the 4" backing plate in order to use the 5" Hybrid pads.

:)
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Those reviews are under the 4 Inch Changeable Backing Plate System so yeah pretty sure
My first 4" Lake Country backing plate broke down at the end of the first use (approx 3 hrs), so the Lake Country people kindly replaced it with the new one. This one lasted a bit longer, about 4hrs, but that was it. The original Flex 5.5" plate works fantastic, after hundreds of hours of detailing.
Pros:

Can be used with various polishing pads
Cons:

Made of low quality plastic that doesn't last long. I suggest that manufacturer either improve the quality of the materials used (to match the quality of the machine), or discontinue this product immediately.
Click to expand...
May 2015
I used it for about 5 hours combined before it broke. The gear plate combined with the 6 inch backing plate both shattered at the screw & washer I contacted Autogeek about this, but I didn't get an offer to have another kit sent. ;/
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2013
There are only 5 reviews and only 1 out of the 5 is positive.
 
wytstang said:
Those reviews are under the 4 Inch Changeable Backing Plate System so yeah pretty sure
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Thanks for the follow-up, I appreciate your time to do so...

I still say the 4" backing plate on the Flex 3401 is a time saving combination with 5" Hybrid pads as well as helping you to avoid buffing on edges and raised body lines.

I use them myself when buffing out cars and show these at all my classes. That is I have half of the Flex 3401 polishers in my classes set up to use 6.5" pads and the other have set-up to run 5" pads.

May_2014_Detailing_Class_012.jpg


May_2014_Detailing_Class_013.jpg




BEFORE

1939_Chevy_Coupe_Detail_Class_Car_005.jpg



AFTER

May_2014_Detailing_Class_016.jpg






:dblthumb2:
 
I also want to chime in and tell you that using the two thin washers isn't needed when using the 4" Backing plate. I think someone suggested that to you in an earlier post and I believe the correct way is to use the washer and bolt provided with the changeable backing plate system

I've used it on 3 corrections. 2 on my vehicle and 1 on my wife's car. I would often check to see how hot the bolt gets and the temp sure seems to get up there. That's when I would take a short break to remove the backing plate and re-lube the felt ring. Sometimes I would dip the bolt and washer in a cup of water and ice (LOL) and continue on with my polishing.

So far no issues!
 
I have always had the two shims inplace with the 4" and no issues with heat, however I seldom use speed 6 and when I need to its for a short while only and not a whole panel let alone an entire car.
 
I had the exact same issue with not 1 but 2 pieces of the 4 inch plate- broke in the center. By the way, there was no instruction at all in the package so we install the plate to our best ability which is similar to what Angus posted.

Maybe user error, maybe heat, maybe bad batch but whatever it is, I think it needs to be more durable than that.
 
I just used mine for a bout 4 hours straight. Half that time a speed 6. Install was via Mike's instructions in the Flex book. No problems so far...
 
OK, time to jog the collective memory. I don't know why they haven't ever included written instructions with the Lake Country Changeable Backing plate system, but rather just discontinued the 6" plate. (Not sure that it is still a "system", but OK)

When these first came out, we were instructed to always use the washer and bolt that came included. The bolt was a slightly different length than the stock one. Verbally, we were told to use the shims only on the 6" back plate. They had been manufactured incorrectly, and the plastic didn't reach all the way to the bottom of the mount. As a result, tightening the bolt put stress on the plastic, and as it heated up, it could easily crack.

The washers were not to be used on the 4" plate.

I've had my kit for about 2.5 years, and haven't had any issues.

Now that the 6" plate isn't part of the kit, are they still including the extra shims?

Best regards,
Jim
 
Dear friend, sorry to hear about what happened to you.

Short story,

This never happened to the vast majority of people who owns it, but this issue already happened with more than enough people to be considered towards a 'minor design flaw' than an user error issue. It happened to me ~an year or more ago / plate was replaced and no more problems at all.

Fact is, you can now glue your plates together (like I did mine) and have a dedicated 4" backing plate.

First, fix the exact part where the fail occurred. Then, use some epoxy and join both parts of the kit together the best you can. Lastly, insert and glue the washer and make like an 'internal reinforcement' with epoxy resin - You sure have to leave exact whole for the bolt to pass freely in order to lock it to the tool.

Glueing a lot of parts will help to lessen the stress over central spindle so you can also sand internal plastics making it rough for better adhesion.

If you need pictures, ask me on Monday I may upload them from studio to you.

When using, you place it at the tool as a single part, and insert the bolt tight. Mine now is 100% trustable.

The second one (factory replaced) started to fail but haven't failed at all.

Since my first one broke, I was now aware while using the second and observed it weekly, while I could notice the plastic was starting to look dry and presenting micro-ruptures at the exact same point which was an alert to what was about to happen plus the bottom.

Before it break again I decided to glue it like the first one, and it's going strong daily, with what can be called 'extreme' use. Both are.


To @Lake Country / @Flex , this is a chance to hear customers needs and do your best (we all know you do!) to improve those systems to endusers needs.

We need (not to say urge) a 'Factory Standard Dedicated 4" Backing Plate' like the 4 3/8" and why not 4 3/8' velcro Hybrid Pads. (!)



But you did something wrong to break it, no? So what? Cannot blame you for that.

That's my point.

Please, forgive any misunderstood on my language written (I'm brazilian), there can be a place for mistakes when writing / reading on a forum, read my words with a huge smile and only my best wishes put into words.

Kind Regards.
 
kosmetikwerks said:
When do fairly heavy correction I usually run on speed 6 especially on the parts of the cars that take a few years of winter snow brush abuse up here in Canada. I tackle hood, upper fenders and for this case had to hit the hatch under the wiper with a little more jam also to correct the damage. I corrected the lower portion of the vehicle which was less correction to be done on speed 5.
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Maybe you should use a rotary to do that, and then refinishing with the 3401 on 4 or 5. My humble opinion, of course.
 
RPM_BR said:
Maybe you should use a rotary to do that, and then refinishing with the 3401 on 4 or 5. My humble opinion, of course.
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I usually grab my rotary when I need heavy correction and refine with either rupes or flex3401. In this case after doing initial test spots the 3401 combined with orange hybrid pad corrected very well. Grabbing for the rotary was not needed for this correction. Here is an example of what I would typically use rotary for:




After multi-step correction this is how it turned out(picture was taken before LSP. Please excuse picture quality it was snapped via cell phone.


 
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