Flex XFE Owners, What's The Verdict?

Dan K

Dan K

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The updated XFE7-15 has been available for several weeks now and I know from reading the forum that several members have purchased them, however I have not seen many detailed reviews or recent in-depth discussion of the polisher. Some members have hinted at follow ups to their initial use, but they have yet to do so. I have also searched outside of AGO also with limited success.

Are you happy with your purchase? Pros, cons, recommendations?

I realize that those who live in colder climates may not have much time spent using the polisher, but what about the rest of you? I am considering adding the XFE to my collection (3401, PE14, PC).

TIA
 
Hi Dan,

I know you're looking for others to chime in on this but I do want to add...

We used them on two classic Lamborghinis owned by Adam Corolla last week for our TV show and they did a killer job of removing swirls and scratches.

Wait till I post my pictures and videos.


Until I get to them, Freddie Cruz created this thread with a lot of pictures of these tools in action...


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...channel/108006-competition-ready-vol-2-a.html



:)
 
Thanks Mike, I had missed that thread. Very cool!
 
I bought one of kits on 1/21, but I haven't done much with it yet. I haven't done any real correction, and have only put on a few finishing products just so I could use it. This is my first experience with a long-throw polisher, and also my first real experience with anything other than the PC 7424.

My initial impressions are that it is very smooth, very easy to use, and it feels good in your hand. The tool doesn't fight you at all, so I don't think fatigue will be an issue with this. It is definitely more powerful than what I'm used to. I did notice that it runs pretty warm even in the brief sessions I was using it. I initially tired it with the stock plate and 7in pad that came in the kit, but that felt too big for a lot of the car. I switched to the 5in plate and 5.5in, and that's probably what I'll use 90% of the time.
 
I bought one which I've used a couple times. I also got the 5" plate. It is a very smooth running machine. It has the bearing balancing system. Another thing you notice right off is that it's very quiet. The quietest machine I've ever run, well other than my ibird lol. As far as adding it to a 3401 and PE14 I think it would be a great addition. However you do have the long throw stalling thing, personally I don't have any issues, especially with the 5" backing plate. I put it right there with the Rupes Mark II as far as power. The body is an inch or so shorter which does help maneuverability some. I was looking for issues with heat since this was a big problem with the first version. I didn't notice any heat. Ambient temperature was about 60.
The machine is a winner! If I were going to run the 6" plate I would run a 6.5" pad which I believe is the largest the manufacturer recommends, if my conversions are close. I would also recommend a thin bad if going 6.5" it should help the power.
 
i had a chance to use it on the set of Competition Ready on one of those Lamborghinis. I wasn't blown away (only the PE14 has done that, and I own machines from The Big Three (Flex, Griots, Rupes)), but I liked it enough to want to keep playing with it. We used it with thicker pads, and with those it felt a little like the 3401 with thick pads, that is some minor vibrations but nothing that is unpleasant.

As is, I felt it was pretty smooth while doing correction work. It felt light in the hands, and as far as I remember, no "walking" or odd feeling with it.

I really want to try it with some thin pads next.

edit: oh yeah! It IS pretty quiet :)
 
It seems so quiet from the videos I've seen.

Once I reintroduce the 3401 and PE14 to my arsenal, I will add one of these too.
 
As Mike states we were able to use these machines on Adam Carolla's 2 beautiful Lamborghini's. I keep own the FLEX 3401, GG6 and a porter cable. I've been looking for a long throw, did this if the bill??

So first and foremost I've been personally debating between the griots BOSS and the rupes for a long throw, when I found out that I'd be able to use the new flex 15mm long throw I was thrilled.

Size, the unit is not long like the other 2 brands, it has a shorter wheel base and I like that. It felt very balanced and light weight as well.

Power, this had plenty of power as justjesus stated we used thicker pads but with the long throw I was covering a noticable amount of more panel per pass, which throw me off at first since I'm so used to the 8mm throw.

Overall feel, the grip for me was not good, I had to keep resetting my hand which I normally don't have to do on my other Polishers so that was off putting. The vibrations compared to the 3401 were like night and day. The 3401 works you out it's an awesome polisher but it's a work out, the xfe was much smoother and was/would be easy to handle for long hrs and hrs during a job.

So would I get this polisher?? Idk, why? Because I still want to try the griots and rupes before I pull the trigger for sure. The xfe was a great machine and holds up to the FLEX name and quality

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Having used the flex, rupes and griots boss buffers I will say the flex is my favorite 15mm long throw. I cannot match the correction I get out of my 21mm BOSS with a 5" pad but would love to pick one up for one steps and regular polishing as the smoothness and comfort imho is unmatched. I am a bit biased though as I started on a pe14 and then got a 3401 and then finally branched out so the feel of a flex grip is my favorite


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Thanks everyone for your input. So far the feedback is looking very positive.
 
I've had very limited use of one but also have my own 3401 and a rotary. coming from my 3401, I noticed the more active throw as compared to my 3401 but it was smooth as silk. Typical of the Flex superior build quality. I would absolutely endorse getting one.
 
I had the first XFE and experience the over heating.... Flex and Autogeek warrantied it with the new design... so far I'm loving it! We have been abusing the XFE the past few weekend and it just keeps bringing the shine! It is so smooth and so quiet! You will not be disappointed! I tend to use the 3401 for compounding and the XFE7-15 for polishing, however it does have plenty of power to perform compounding work! I can't say enough about the team at Autogeek and Flex for their open communication following the first launch of the XFE. They have earned my business for life!
 
PrestigeAutoPolish said:
Having used the flex, rupes and griots boss buffers I will say the flex is my favorite 15mm long throw. I cannot match the correction I get out of my 21mm BOSS with a 5" pad but would love to pick one up for one steps and regular polishing as the smoothness and comfort imho is unmatched. I am a bit biased though as I started on a pe14 and then got a 3401 and then finally branched out so the feel of a flex grip is my favorite


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Click to expand...
This is what makes me want to get a 21 over a 15. I want to have the power to correct as needed. Dang it, I thought I was set on the 15.. now I don't know again

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Simple ...LOVE IT...Long throw pads ....do the job.
 
Cruzscarwash said:
This is what makes me want to get a 21 over a 15. I want to have the power to correct as needed. Dang it, I thought I was set on the 15.. now I don't know again

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Click to expand...

It depends on your use really... if you do a lot of heavy correction with your long throw you will want a 21 but if you us a rotary the 15s are a lot smoother to polish with. I'm pretty sold on microfiber pads with my 21 for 80% of my stuff, the rest I keep my rotary, 3401 and mini DA out and on hand. I'm not a huge fan of the 15mm boss so far, the rupes mkII and flex are a lot nicer to work with



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I have 2 3401's one with a 5 inch and one with a 6 inch BP. I also have a GG6 with a 6. So I want to get 21 since I have those for back up. ...idk

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Cruzscarwash said:
I have 2 3401's one with a 5 inch and one with a 6 inch BP. I also have a GG6 with a 6. So I want to get 21 since I have those for back up. ...idk

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Click to expand...

I would get a 21mm with a 5" plate and then put a 3" plate on your GG6. Then you can use the 21mm for most things and bump down to a 3" when you need to. I wish I had two 3401s...


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Opened up my freshly purchased XFE7 today to try out! I have nothing else "long throw" to compare to, as I own a PE14, 3401, and GG6 with 5" plate.

Let me say, "wow." It is a sweet machine! Like sweet. Very smooth. Almost as smooth as my PE, and no I'm not kidding! And quiet. I think it wins as the most quiet machine in my arsenal.

The one thing I will have to get used to is....PAD STALL! Switching from the forced drive units, I definitely have to improve on my technique. I was running the XFE around speed 5-6 most of the time with a 6.5" buff and shine lo-pro pad (These are amazing too!!). Plans for the future are to switch to a 5" backing plate, which should help.

This is my dedicated "polisher," and "soft paint specialist" tool. I did easily cut some 3000 scratches with an orange hybrid pad and some M100 though, just to see what it would do! And suprisingly, the orange hybrid did rather well on the free floater!

All in all, I think this polisher will have some serious hours on it, as it is incredibly smooth, VERY quiet and feels amazing in your hands (Go flex!)

Totally recommend!
 
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