You just can't beat the Flex 3401...

richy said:
There's a thread on Autopia where it has been copied; it's available on Alibaba.

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I bought one...flex backing plates don`t work...

Mines gone with my along with my other generics. Got an open box Rupes 15 Mark11 deal on autopia. I got a new flex 3401 and Rupes mini. Done ...
 
Cutting corners on equipment is never a good idea.

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Anymore word on the grease in the gears?

I use superlube silicone grease with ptfe on the plastic gears inside(just a dab or two spread out) and zoomspout oil on the felt.
Works good and clean so far. Then again I probably don't get wailing like some of the pros here.
 
I'm a little late to this thread, but my 3401 rocks. I got a steal on an open box HD model in June and finally have gotten time to put it to use. I picked up a Flex 4 3/8 backing plate since I already have a bunch of 5.5 inch flat pads. I also got some more 5.5 CCS pads.
It is a little more taxing to use than my 7424, but what the 3401 does in 4-5 passes my PC would never be able to. The scratches and scuffs on my wife's car that I've never been able to remove are now all gone. I spent about 4 hours total to completely polish my truck, which I didn't even want to attempt with my PC.
The simple fact that forced rotation keeps the pad always moving makes using it so much easier. All the years I've spent behind my PC taught me good technique for keeping the pad flat. The 3401 doesn't care. It just keeps going no matter what angle its on.
I've got a couple more vehicles lined up right now, and I can't wait to keep putting my 3401 to work.
On the flip side, I put a LC 3" backing plate on my PC and paired it with 3" pads. It's like a whole new machine. The small pad works great on the PC, and is really easy to use in tight spaces.
 
Love the 3401. The long throws are nice and all, but they aren't a 3401. Now if only Flex could make a smaller 3401 that accepted 2-3" pads, I'd be in heaven.
 
roguegeek said:
Love the 3401. The long throws are nice and all, but they aren't a 3401. Now if only Flex could make a smaller 3401 that accepted 2-3" pads, I'd be in heaven.
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No kidding. Imagine the same body as the upcoming XCE/XFE/PE14 but with the forward housing scaled down to run the smaller pads and with the 8mm orbit.

WINNER!
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
No kidding. Imagine the same body as the upcoming XCE/XFE/PE14 but with the forward housing scaled down to run the smaller pads and with the 8mm orbit.

WINNER!
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I try to always mention a mini 3401 in the 3401 specific threads. You know, just in case Flex is watch. ;)
 
Had my Flex for three or so years, never used it. Had a change in jobs recently and with the extra time I got to try the Flex 3401 in the last couple of days. What a beast, it makes very quick work out of heavy polishing, and final polishing/ buffing is a breeze!
What a huge difference to the PC. Still going to use the PC for applying final,finish work.
 
WRAPT C5Z06 said:
You can POWER through a detail;
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I agree, that's my quote to explain the benefit to the 3401

With the FLEX 3401 you can power through a detail job -Mike Phillips



Red Lehr said:
I started detailing a few years ago when I received a poor paint job on my classic car.

I joined this forum ,took some good advice,bought everything I needed to wet sand,buff,polish,etc.

I bought a PC 7424,and the Flex 3401 and went to work. When it came to polishing I tried to use the PC,but I kept going back to the 3401.

Having never used a polishing machine ,I was amazed at the results I achieved with the 3401.I still use the PC for final polishes and waxing,but the 3401 is quite the work horse.

For all the people new to detailing and are wondering what machine to buy,the 3401 is worth the money IMHO.
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Great testimony for the FLEX 3401 and this forum. I remember when you first joined and the journey you've made from where you started to where you're at today. This kind of forum based relationship is very rewarding.



richy said:
Ron, I was specifically told grease
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richy,

As a follow up I did ask Bob Eichelberg SPECIFICALLY about packing the head unit with grease.

His answer was NO. He said the nature of grease is as it gets hot it will find a way to escape where it's at and that means it would begin to seep out or even fling out of the head unit and all over the car you're working on.

So whoever gave you that advice, remember this answer into the future and perhaps be leery of any future advice they give you.

Just have to wonder where this type of information originates???

:dunno:


spazzz said:
Anymore word on the grease in the gears?
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See my reply to richy above.

The answer to the misinformation about adding or packing the head unit of a FLEX 3401 with grease is just that. Misinformation or bad advice.

From the President of FLEX Tools North America and a guy that's been in the TOOL BUSINESS all his life, there's no need to apply grease to the head unit/gears of the FLEX 3401 and it's a bad idea.


:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I agree, that's my quote to explain the benefit to the 3401

With the FLEX 3401 you can power through a detail job -Mike Phillips





Great testimony for the FLEX 3401 and this forum. I remember when you first joined and the journey you've made from where you started to where you're at today. This kind of forum based relationship is very rewarding.






richy,

As a follow up I did ask Bob Eichelberg SPECIFICALLY about packing the head unit with grease.

His answer was NO. He said the nature of grease is as it gets hot it will find a way to escape where it's at and that means it would begin to seep out or even fling out of the head unit and all over the car you're working on.

So whoever gave you that advice, remember this answer into the future and perhaps be leery of any future advice they give you.

Just have to wonder where this type of information originates???
:dunno:
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Mike, thanks for getting back to me and clearing this up. I believe it was a misunderstanding as the Flex people finally got back to Eric and clarified some things for me to try, including blowing any dust out of the brushes, etc. I am really looking forward to the new one coming out and hope it's substantially cooler than the current as that's the machine's ONLY fault as far as I'm concerned. I still love it, in spite of the heat. It would be better for the pads if it ran cooler and am looking forward to using a cooler running unit. Thanks again for the follow up.
 
KBsToy said:
I bought one...flex backing plates don`t work...

Mines gone with my along with my other generics. Got an open box Rupes 15 Mark11 deal on autopia. I got a new flex 3401 and Rupes mini. Done ...
Click to expand...
Hi
I contacted the guy selling it on Aliexpress and he says that Flex original packing plates fit?
Here I live, a Flex 3401 cost about $ 650, it's crazy! Therefore, the copy is interesting to me.
 
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