[ZoranC]

First and foremost, thank you for the input and great writeup! Now I am looking forward to arrival of mine even more

Originally Posted by frostydog

While actually using the polisher on my car I wouldn’t necessarily say the polisher vibrated more, but it certainly took a strong grip to control and that, in turn, did lead to some hand fatigue and a little bit of “tingly hands”. Holding onto the polisher so tightly made the vibrations feel sharper. As I worked with the polisher more and started getting a better feel for the machine I was able to stop trying to “man-handled” the polisher so much and better figured out how to work with it as opposed to trying to control/hold onto it. On flat panels it’s pretty easy to work with the polisher and guide it where you’d like it to go, but there will always be tight spots or curved panels where you’ll need to hold on tightly and use some muscle to place the polisher where you want it...these were the areas I noticed the most hand fatigue.

RO 150 FEQ is also like that when put in more aggressive mode (mode with rotation). So will rotary if pad is grabbing on the paint and you are not steering it.

Subconcious reaction to work with such power tools is to stiffen up body. That results in transfering of all tools oscillations onto the body in very negative way. Body is getting "hammered". Secret is, like you are thinking, in not fighting tool but instead firmly but not tensely supporting it and guiding it. One needs to learm how to "loosen" up body. Just imagine how much damage operation of jackhammer can do to operator's body if that person "stiffens" up their body.

Originally Posted by frostydog

Locking the trigger down allows you to loosen your grip and use your trigger hand to steer & guide the machine. In the beginning I was not using the trigger lock and I think this is what was leading to much of the hand fatigue I described above. It’s hard to keep the trigger compressed, hold on to the rear of the polisher and guide it all at once. Using the trigger lock allowed me to adjust the trigger hand for the most comfortable position, as opposed to keeping my trigger hand in the same trigger position (squeezing) for a long period of time.

That is a very valuable reminder, I have to remember this while working with it, thank you!

Originally Posted by frostydog

For all intents and purposes you need to keep 2 hands on the polisher, this can become cumbersome when working on lower areas of the car. With the PC I could palm it, which made working on lower panels pretty easy…not so with the Flex.

Please notice this is not neccessarily deficiency of the tool. This tool has been designed for environments in which car being worked on is on the lift at position that is most comfortable for the operator. FWIW, I have problem working on lower panels even with PC, my body is one that is not happy and a limiting factor there, no tool (short of lift) will help me there.

Originally Posted by frostydog

I could not find anything in the manual regarding how many amps the motor is, but as I inspected the housing of the polisher I believe I found the amp spec…10.0A (I’m presuming A=amps) if someone could confirm this I’d much appreciate it.

Flex NA Web site claims input of 900W. That would be 900W / 120V = 7.5A. For comparison purposes RO 150 FEQ has 720W (6A). However, I would like to point out to any potential future reader that one shouldn't compare tools based on amps. There is more than one factor in correcting abilities (OPMs vs RPMs plus throw, etc).

Originally Posted by frostydog

This thing has a ridiculous amount of power & torque. ... I really can’t imagine doing anything to bog this thing down.

RO 150 FEQ is like that too. In other words: They both have more than sufficient power.

Originally Posted by frostydog

For me this was one of the main reasons for purchasing this polisher. I just couldn’t handle the amount of time needed to polish a vehicle with the PC. Yet I didn’t want to move to the rotary level either ... The Flex does allow you to move around the car at a higher rate.

Originally Posted by frostydog

Correcting ability was the other reason I bought this polisher.

Both of those factors are what is driving me too. That is exactly why I looked beyond PC/UDM but did not simply say "rotary". Yes, I do have rotary, but it will take me some time to get a good grip of it and in the meantime my need to correct and correct fast and with minimal impact of my body is not going away, it is present and pressing, very much so.

Originally Posted by frostydog

Oh yeah, something I’ve yet to mention…it creates an absolutely brilliant finish.

I was kinda expecting that will be the case and I am very happy to hear it is. You see, many people have said that rotary can bring out shine that PC can not even if both end up without any swirls. At the same time, I have remembered what woodworkers do to make incredibly smooth and shiny surface: They use sanders with very high OPMs and very short throw. That piqued my curiosity to a point of even asking here for input on it and any experiences (you can find thread I started on that if you search). In the lack of much info I decided to start experimenting on my own. I got DeWalt D26453 which is 3A up to 12,000 OPM and 3/32" orbit diameter. Well, let's just say this weekend was first one I tried it and I am stunned with results. So much I will have to continue experimenting because I am so proud how that paint looks now. It seems like a mirror to me.

Last, but not least, let me say