EXTJosh
New member
- Oct 28, 2013
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I dream of the day I have to make that difficult decision!! :coolgleam:
Flex vs Rupes
- Thread starter Ramdallas
- Start date
I dream of the day I have to make that difficult decision!! :coolgleam:
OCD Detailing
New member
- Jul 31, 2014
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LOL Ferrari 458 or Porsche 918 is really an easy decision, the 918. Any car that constantly tries to kill me is the car for me.
As far as Rupes vs Flex, I am curious if the vets have more problems than the rookies using the Rupes? Only reason I say that is maybe having been detailing for years using rotaries the vets became use to a certain way of doing things where somebody like myself whose first experience with a buffer is the Rupes, started off with no old habits. I have the Rupes 21, 75 and Duetto and really the only time I have problems with keeping the pad rotating is the 75 when I am trying to get in close to a door handle or a roof rack rail. Which is why I am getting the Flex PE8.
HateSwirls
New member
- Jun 24, 2013
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I only used the Rupes 21 once, I found it smooth and loved it's throw , however I had a hard time keeping the pad spinning on curved edges but it did get the job done.
My new Flex is smooth, corrects even the worst defects, the pad will never, ever stop turning unless you turn it off
With that said I'm sure I'll have the Rupes one day, great machine for polishing paint to a high gloss.
I had the same questions as you, I asked here which machine I should buy for my new shop,most advised me to buy the Flex.
My new Flex is smooth, corrects even the worst defects, the pad will never, ever stop turning unless you turn it off
With that said I'm sure I'll have the Rupes one day, great machine for polishing paint to a high gloss.
I had the same questions as you, I asked here which machine I should buy for my new shop,most advised me to buy the Flex.
HateSwirls
New member
- Jun 24, 2013
- 3,632
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You'll love it :dblthumb2:
Takes a little while to learn how to operate it but in no time you will master it.
It's like no other machine I ever used.
HateSwirls
New member
- Jun 24, 2013
- 3,632
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IMHO if you own a boat the Flex will do more work for you compared to the Rupes.
The forced rotation is almost a must when polishing out a boat.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
The Flex 3401 is THE way to go for boat detailing for a number of reasons but the only way it serves the purpose is if you stay up on the maintenance of the gel-coat to start with.
If you let gel-coat get to where it's in HORRIBLE condition then it's either,
Compound with a wool pad on a rotary buffer
Wetsanding and then compounding with a rotary buffer.
But for mild to light oxidation or boats still in great shape the Flex 3401 will get the job done the fastest without any pad stoppage.
Here's our boat detailing threads since bringing up Marine31Online.com
Pictures and Comments from Boat Detailing Projects
Plenty of pictures of the Flex 3401 in action in most of the threads in the above forum group.
Here's the best thing, if you do have to remove oxidation, simply throw on a traditional wool pad like you would use with a rotary buffer and either get a super high quality compound like our Captains One-Step Compound Polish or a great one-step cleaner/wax and go to town.
The pad you want for removing oxidation on a boat with a Flex 3401 is the same one I show in this thread for buffing paint.
My recommended buffing pads for the Flex PE14
Large Wool Cutting Pad
Technically the pad I'm recommending is a "finishing" pad not a "cutting" pad but here's the deal.
First - Fiber pad cut more aggressively than foam pads because each of the individual fibers that make up a wool pad are a type of abrasive in and of themselves and each fiber can and will cut the paint. So the fiber itself is a type of abrasive and this is why guys that finish out with only wool pads on rotary buffers leave holograms in their customer's paint.
Second - The difference between a wool cutting pad and a wool finishing pad is the degree of aggressiveness. In the BIG PICTURE when comparing wool pads to foam pads and in the context of using these pads on a rotary buffer, either type cutting or finishing is going to do a GREAT job of abrading or cutting the surface compared to any foam pad. This is key to doing the correction step in the fastest and most effective way.
If you work in a body shop and have to cut new paint jobs all day long every day then by all means get a wool cutting pad.
If you're detailing cars and thus not normally wetsanding the paint first, then simply by using a wool finishing pad for any heavy or major correction job, this will put you miles ahead time-wise versus using a foam cutting pad.
Plus wool pads cut cooler than foam cutting pads and this is important because it's not good to heat up clearcoat paints. Even though you might read someone on another forum say something like,
You need to heat the clearcoat up in order break down the abrasives
or
You need to heat the clearcoat up in order to re-flow the paint
Both of these statements and practices are wrong and this is called destructive paint polishing.
(See page 124 of The Complete Guide to a Show Car Finish)
So if you're mostly doing reconditioning work aka detailing cars, then you'll do fine and be safer plus be able to do any follow up polishing steps faster by sticking with the pad I recommend below instead of a full-on, hardcore wool cutting pad.
Flex recommends using 8" wool pads and smaller with the Flex PE14 so the below wool pad is perfect at 7.5" and is called the Lake Country 7.5" Electrified Sheepskin Final Polishing Pad.
Electrified?
The word electrified means Lake Country has taken the extra step to electrify the wool which removes the natural sharp barbs found in wool creating a pad that cuts fast but finishes with less scouring of the paint. This is a real benefit when buffing thin, scratch-sensitive clearcoat finishes.
Note: I see a few guys come to this forum and recommend using a brand of black wool pads so just to note, these pads have the barbs.
Link to 7.5" Electrified Wool Finishing Pad
For polishing gel-coat to a high gloss finish get the 6.5" Blue Hybrid Light Cutting FOAM pad like you see us using on this black gel-coat boat for the last machine polishing step.
How to wetsand, cut and buff a gel-coat boat
Teamwork
Check out this shot, first there's John polishing up front, then Jay in the middle, followed by Chris!
John
Jay
Chris
Chris can always be trusted to do the job right!
Before
After
I'd recommend getting a copy of my latest how-to book it's jam-packed with tips and techniques for using the Flex 3401.
:dblthumb2:
hey! im super late on reading this, just read it right now.. but i didnt know you guys had a detail day in SF im from San Jose! may i join you guys sometime??I got both. I tend to use the Rupes on large flat surfaces but when it comes to the really nasty stuff.....it is the Flex.
Several weeks ago, a few of us (Autogeekers) in the SF Bay Area got together and worked on a Tacoma Truck. We had more machines than hands in attendance for the project.
A number of us started the day using the Rupes. At the end, 4 of the 5 finished the day using the Flex. I am not saying one is better the other. IMO....It really comes down to preference. I think both machines will get you to the same place. The real question is how it gets there.
MarkB
New member
- Nov 14, 2013
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I started with the meguiars also.. Went to the rupes21 next, then the flex..
For heavy correction, just skip the rupes & head over to flex.. you won't regret it.. The rupes is a great machine, but lacks the power of the flex... If I had 1 choice.. flex would win