In the market for a rotary

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TheNorthSideWhiteGuy

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I've done a fair amount of work with a pneumatic rotary at my dad's shop correcting paint & buffing clearcoats after a paint job. Since I don't have access to his shop anymore I'm in the market for a rotary of my own, but an electric since my compressor sucks balls. I already have backing plates & a bunch of pads, so I'm only looking for the polisher.

Here are the ones I'm looking at:

Makita 9227C Polisher
FLEX LK603VVB Circular Polisher
FLEX L3403 VRG Lightweight Circular Polisher
DeWalt 849 Variable Speed Polisher

Opinions?
 
i have read alot and work with matt at ag. and in the end makitais recommended most often. matt also recommended it. im really happy with it.
 
You can see my full review I did of the FLEX VVB rotary in the review section of the forums.

~169$, I highly recommend it. Superb quality tool.
 
I too was impressed by the Flex rotaties size and weight at DF2010.
 
The two main choices people use for rotaries are the Dewalt and Makita. Many people consider the dewalt to be the work horse of the rotaries and will last you forever. I've had mine for three years of constant use and it has never failed me besides fixing the cord end.

The makita is a nice machine too and has a lower rpm range than most rotaries and a soft start feature that some love/hate. I like the soft start of the makita but its too slow sometimes waiting for it to pick up. Its a good buffer for those starting off with a rotary. If you're experienced you might not like it as much.

No real hands on experience with the Flex rotary but for me personally I dont think I will like the lightweight version due to the weight. A lighter polisher means you will have to exert more force/pressure to remove defects and 6-8 lbs(Dewalt/makita/Flex LK603) isnt all that heavy to begin with.
 
Lasthope05 said:
The two main choices people use for rotaries are the Dewalt and Makita. Many people consider the dewalt to be the work horse of the rotaries and will last you forever. I've had mine for three years of constant use and it has never failed me besides fixing the cord end.

The makita is a nice machine too and has a lower rpm range than most rotaries and a soft start feature that some love/hate. I like the soft start of the makita but its too slow sometimes waiting for it to pick up. Its a good buffer for those starting off with a rotary. If you're experienced you might not like it as much.

No real hands on experience with the Flex rotary but for me personally I dont think I will like the lightweight version due to the weight. A lighter polisher means you will have to exert more force/pressure to remove defects and 6-8 lbs(Dewalt/makita/Flex LK603) isnt all that heavy to begin with.
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:iagree:with the first two paragraphs, but I love my Flex lightweight especially for side panels. A couple pounds makes a lot of difference at the end of the day.
 
LOL.
I had a feeling it wouldn't be a landslide of opinions pointing at one machine. I'm torn over the lightweight Flex one for the same reason that you can't rely on it's weight to do so much of the job. But then it would be nice for side panels, which is my most hated part of detailing.

I have another day or two to still be able to take advantage of the Father's Day 15% off special.
 
i gave an opinion now i need. i own cyclo and makita. is there a real important reason to own the flex orbitor. and is fathers day discount work with the purchase of the flex? thank youFeed back please
 
I have an old milwaukee which is 8-9 years old and its still going strong but i also just bought a hitachi a few months back. I love both. The hitachi is identical to the makita, same look, weight and feel. I used both since my old roommate had a makita. The only difference is that the makita is a smoother start but that is being very nit picky. I got the hitachi because it was only $140 shipped. I dont know what you are looking to spend but a hitachi isnt ever really mentioned but can be a consideration.
Regardless of your decision I dont think you can really go wrong with any of your choices.

Jon
 
Its true that you dont really hear much about the Hitachi, but some of the stuff you do hear is about the quality of bearings, gears or something that gives play in the spindle and causes crazy vibrations.
 
I'm leaning towards the two Flex machines, particularly the bigger of the two. My reasoning is that I don't really need a "workhorse" since it won't be used all that often (if I was still into autobody & painting it would) & then the obvious price of the bigger machine too. I have two cars right now that are in need of some serious repair finish-wise that I need to sell & the machine would easily pay for itself with just these two cars alone. Plus my daily driver has some scratches that my PC7424 hasn't completely removed.
 
Lasthope05 said:
Its true that you dont really hear much about the Hitachi, but some of the stuff you do hear is about the quality of bearings, gears or something that gives play in the spindle and causes crazy vibrations.
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Thanks for the heads up! I havent noticed any crazy vibrations or anything. I had both mine and my roommates makita side by side and didnt notice any difference in vibration. The only thing I noticed was the smoother start of the makita. I hadnt heard anything about that before, I researched before I purchased but Ill keep an eye out for that. So far I have not had a single problem with it and I dont put the machine to the grind every day so im sure it will have a longer life than for some people.
 
TheNorthSideWhiteGuy said:
LOL.
I had a feeling it wouldn't be a landslide of opinions pointing at one machine. I'm torn over the lightweight Flex one for the same reason that you can't rely on it's weight to do so much of the job. But then it would be nice for side panels, which is my most hated part of detailing.

I have another day or two to still be able to take advantage of the Father's Day 15% off special.
Click to expand...
I believe that the rotary will not be discounted but the supplies will.

Mark
 
TheNorthSideWhiteGuy said:
LOL.
I had a feeling it wouldn't be a landslide of opinions pointing at one machine. I'm torn over the lightweight Flex one for the same reason that you can't rely on it's weight to do so much of the job. But then it would be nice for side panels, which is my most hated part of detailing.

I have another day or two to still be able to take advantage of the Father's Day 15% off special.
Click to expand...
So if the Flex is 2 lbs. lighter adding 2lbs. of pressure would tire you out? I don't think so. I let the pad and polish do the work and not the weight of the machine. BTW better check on the discount on buffers.. I don't think it applies to buffers.
 
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