Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
The FLEX BEAST, Supa BEAST & CBEAST - 8mm Gear-Driven Orbital Polishers
Currently there are 3 versions of the FLEX BEAST available.
From left to right,
The Supa BEAST, the BEAST and the CBEAST
FLEX XC 3401 VRG
The FLEX XC 3401 VRG is the original corded BEAST. The word BEAST is spelled with all capital letters. This is an 8mm gear-driven fixed orbit - orbital polisher. It's easily identified by the visible aluminum shroud at the head of the polisher.
FLEX XCE 10-8 125
This is the newest evolution of the original corded BEAST. I call it the Supa BEAST. The word Supa is short for super and only the first letter in the word Supa is capitalized and the word BEAST is all capital letters. Like the original BEAST, this is a 8mm gear-driven fixed orbit - orbital polisher. I personally use and recommend swapping out the factory 5" backing plate and installing the optional 6" backing plate. This enables you to use larger buffing pads and thus take full advantage of the power this tool offers with a larger footprint.
FLEX XCE 8-125 18.0
This is the CORDLESS BEAST aka the CBEAST . The word CBEAST is spelled with all capital letters and the letter C before the word BEAST simply stands for cordless. Like the original BEAST, this is a 8mm gear-driven fixed orbit - orbital polisher using Lithium-Ion re-chargeable batteries.
The original FLEX XC 3401 VRG 8mm gear-driven orbital polisher.
The FLEX Supa BEAST
The FLEX CBEAST
Body Design Changes
They are all roughly the same size and weight. In these pictures you can easily see the exposed aluminum head on the original 3401. The new design of the Supa BEAST and the CBEAST incorporate the handle into the head of the tool with a rubber overmold. With the original design, if the tool is dropped, it's possible for the handle to break. By removing the handle, breakage is now a non-issue.
Brushless Motor Technology
The newer Supa BEAST And CBEAST use FLEX brushless electric motors so there's never any brushes to wear out or replace. If you have the original BEAST an need to replace the brushes, here's a how-to video that shows you how to do it yourself.
Backing Plate Swap - Maximizing the ability of the Supa BEAST
After using all three of these tool extensively, my own personal preference is to invest in the larger 6" backing plate for the corded Supa BEAST. Being a corded model it has TONS of power and turning and churning larger pads is no problem. So, might as well take advantage of the power and of course, ZERO PAD STALLING and use larger pads that enable you to tackler more real-estate to get any detail job done faster.
Here's the link to the larger, optional 6" backing plate.
FLEX XFE 7-15 6 inch Backing Plate
My take on the three different BEAST options?
I get asked about these three different variations all the time. Here's my take,
The BEAST
If I REALLY want to bust-out a job and plow through it as fast as humanly possible I use the BEAST. The extra RPM and OPM are just a tick more than the Supa BEAST - BUT - if I'm in a hurry - I'll take full advantage of the extra speed and power.
The Supa BEAST
If not trying to hit Warp Speed - I grab the Supa Beast. It's much more enjoyable to use. It's an amazing tool. I would even say it's a freaking amazing tool. Compared to the original BEAST, it offers these 4 benefits.
The CBEAST
If I have an easy job, that means the car has only light swirls, scratches and these defects are shallow then I'll use the CBEAST. This also means I've done a TEST SPOT and found the paint corrects easy meaning the paint hardness is in the medium to soft range but definitely not what I would consider hard paint, then the pleasure of not hassling with a power cord cannot be understated. I love the freedom of no cord. Alas - most of the cars I detail are severely neglected with lots of swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation so I don't use the CBEAST as often as I wish I could.
Tool choice for me is about the condition of the paint and the speed in which I want to plow through the job.
Currently there are 3 versions of the FLEX BEAST available.
From left to right,
The Supa BEAST, the BEAST and the CBEAST
FLEX XC 3401 VRG
- 480 RPM and 9,600 OPM.
- Comes from the factory with a 6" Backing Plate.
The FLEX XC 3401 VRG is the original corded BEAST. The word BEAST is spelled with all capital letters. This is an 8mm gear-driven fixed orbit - orbital polisher. It's easily identified by the visible aluminum shroud at the head of the polisher.
FLEX XCE 10-8 125
- 430 RPM and 8,600 OPM
- Comes from the factory with a 5" backing plate.
This is the newest evolution of the original corded BEAST. I call it the Supa BEAST. The word Supa is short for super and only the first letter in the word Supa is capitalized and the word BEAST is all capital letters. Like the original BEAST, this is a 8mm gear-driven fixed orbit - orbital polisher. I personally use and recommend swapping out the factory 5" backing plate and installing the optional 6" backing plate. This enables you to use larger buffing pads and thus take full advantage of the power this tool offers with a larger footprint.
FLEX XCE 8-125 18.0
- 380 RPM and 7,600 OPM
- Comes from the factory with a 5" backing plate.
This is the CORDLESS BEAST aka the CBEAST . The word CBEAST is spelled with all capital letters and the letter C before the word BEAST simply stands for cordless. Like the original BEAST, this is a 8mm gear-driven fixed orbit - orbital polisher using Lithium-Ion re-chargeable batteries.
The original FLEX XC 3401 VRG 8mm gear-driven orbital polisher.
The FLEX Supa BEAST
The FLEX CBEAST
Body Design Changes
They are all roughly the same size and weight. In these pictures you can easily see the exposed aluminum head on the original 3401. The new design of the Supa BEAST and the CBEAST incorporate the handle into the head of the tool with a rubber overmold. With the original design, if the tool is dropped, it's possible for the handle to break. By removing the handle, breakage is now a non-issue.
Brushless Motor Technology
The newer Supa BEAST And CBEAST use FLEX brushless electric motors so there's never any brushes to wear out or replace. If you have the original BEAST an need to replace the brushes, here's a how-to video that shows you how to do it yourself.
Backing Plate Swap - Maximizing the ability of the Supa BEAST
After using all three of these tool extensively, my own personal preference is to invest in the larger 6" backing plate for the corded Supa BEAST. Being a corded model it has TONS of power and turning and churning larger pads is no problem. So, might as well take advantage of the power and of course, ZERO PAD STALLING and use larger pads that enable you to tackler more real-estate to get any detail job done faster.
Here's the link to the larger, optional 6" backing plate.
FLEX XFE 7-15 6 inch Backing Plate
My take on the three different BEAST options?
I get asked about these three different variations all the time. Here's my take,
The BEAST
If I REALLY want to bust-out a job and plow through it as fast as humanly possible I use the BEAST. The extra RPM and OPM are just a tick more than the Supa BEAST - BUT - if I'm in a hurry - I'll take full advantage of the extra speed and power.
The Supa BEAST
If not trying to hit Warp Speed - I grab the Supa Beast. It's much more enjoyable to use. It's an amazing tool. I would even say it's a freaking amazing tool. Compared to the original BEAST, it offers these 4 benefits.
- Smoother
- Quieter
- Lighter
- Cooler
The CBEAST
If I have an easy job, that means the car has only light swirls, scratches and these defects are shallow then I'll use the CBEAST. This also means I've done a TEST SPOT and found the paint corrects easy meaning the paint hardness is in the medium to soft range but definitely not what I would consider hard paint, then the pleasure of not hassling with a power cord cannot be understated. I love the freedom of no cord. Alas - most of the cars I detail are severely neglected with lots of swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation so I don't use the CBEAST as often as I wish I could.
Tool choice for me is about the condition of the paint and the speed in which I want to plow through the job.
rops: It's been a while since I've had time to check out the forum.
