My review of the Flex 3401 and Rupes Bigfoot polishers

StrikeThrough.jpg
[/IMG]

I hate showing images of my mistakes, but here's what it looked like. If you look closely, you can see the oversprayed clear coat above the right edge of the strike through.

Didn't actually remove 100% of the clear coat, just most of it. As I said, original very thin paint and extremely aggressive pad/polish combination.

There was a similar mark on the front fender (again at a curve) when we took delivery of the vehicle when it was new. So, the dealer's detailer had done the same thing. At the time, I knew nothing about clear coat vs. single stage paint, but I knew it wasn't right and made them fix it before I took the vehicle.

We fixed this one as well, but I learned the lesson.

Jim
 
Very good review. Used the Flex on a Honda Ridgeline with curved quarter panels and fenders. The Rupes LHR-15E would stop most of the time on the curved surfaces. Went back to the 3401 didn't skip a beat on those curved panels.
 
scoutfai said:
As a newbie in power tool for polishing, after reading your comment I need to think twice before jumping on to purchase the flex 3401 as my 1st power tool.
Being a carpenter son, I used quite a lot of power tool for wood work and renovation. Just never tried a car polisher before. Have no idea how hard it is going to be.
Click to expand...

Scout,
If you are just jumping in on this, couple suggestions. Buy a Porter Cable DA and after a couple panels you will realize that its a little underpowered (but capable) and on vertical panels under load it will stop rotating. (This DA makes one of the best 3" tools with the conversion, until the Rupes 3" is out). Once you use the PC DA, you will want to switch out to a higher power and more useful tool. (Even to do your own vehicles, and you WILL realize this within your first few panels) The Forced Rotation Flex is great and the learning curve is fast. You do not have to worry about keeping it rotating on your edges, curves, or vertical panels. Then on the flat stuff you can either apply a little more pressure on the tough stuff, or let the machine, pad, and polish do all the work. In reality, Burn through with the Flex is not something to worry about at all. I know we have been discussing it here, but its nothing like a Rotary. You can go up to edges, work curves, but as in any type of power tool on a vehicle, edges and curves have the least amount of Clear, so you just want to watch what you are doing. If your worried about it, then it will never happen. So no worries. By the way, the PC DA would end up being a great tool for 3" and used on pillars, door strips, front facia's, bumpers etc... You could use a Flex and use half the pad for the bumpers but nicer to have the 3" in the end. I hope this helps you with some decisions, and most of the regulars and professionals on here have said similar things.
 
Velocitybts said:
Scout,
If you are just jumping in on this, couple suggestions. Buy a Porter Cable DA and after a couple panels you will realize that its a little underpowered (but capable) and on vertical panels under load it will stop rotating. (This DA makes one of the best 3" tools with the conversion, until the Rupes 3" is out). Once you use the PC DA, you will want to switch out to a higher power and more useful tool. (Even to do your own vehicles, and you WILL realize this within your first few panels) The Forced Rotation Flex is great and the learning curve is fast. You do not have to worry about keeping it rotating on your edges, curves, or vertical panels. Then on the flat stuff you can either apply a little more pressure on the tough stuff, or let the machine, pad, and polish do all the work. In reality, Burn through with the Flex is not something to worry about at all. I know we have been discussing it here, but its nothing like a Rotary. You can go up to edges, work curves, but as in any type of power tool on a vehicle, edges and curves have the least amount of Clear, so you just want to watch what you are doing. If your worried about it, then it will never happen. So no worries. By the way, the PC DA would end up being a great tool for 3" and used on pillars, door strips, front facia's, bumpers etc... You could use a Flex and use half the pad for the bumpers but nicer to have the 3" in the end. I hope this helps you with some decisions, and most of the regulars and professionals on here have said similar things.
Click to expand...
Thanks bro, your words make me feel comfortable again :props: .
 
Velocity is 100% correct. After doing a few vehicles with my PC, I knew I needed something faster and more powerful. The PC is now my dedicated 3" setup and works flawlessly on pillars, bumpers, mirrors, etc. I still feel that the PC taught me A LOT when it came to my first few cars and I still use it religiously.
 
just bought my rupes 21, cant go wrong with either one
 
thks for ur evaluation; the flex is far better than the porter cable, but i think ur right, the flex can handle curves and concavities without stalling and using so much pressure vs the rupes
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top