Professional Seeking new Rotary Polisher

[Holden_C04]

I have decided to purchase a new rotary but I am pretty picky. I want a rotary polisher that is lightweight, reliable, and powerful and must provide a trigger (NO on/off switch). I am considering the following models:

Makita 9227c

Pros - Light, powerful, reliable

Cons - Jack of all trades, master of none (good in all categories but leader in none).

This is the logical choice but I would prefer something a bit more exotic. The Makita is a good fall-back, safe choice.

Flex L 3403 VRG

Pros - Extremely light, high RPM (3400), German

Cons - Weak transmission?

I am worried this unit will be unreliable or unfit for a daily workload.

Flex LK603VVB

Pros - Heavy duty, powerful, reliable

Cons - EXTREMELY heavy

I do not want a heavy polisher.

Hitachi SP18VA

Pros - Very light, powerful, good warranty

Cons - Unreliable

Want something more reliable.

Metabo PE-12 175

Pros - Very light, powerful, German

Cons - On/off switch , low rpms (2200)

An on/off switch rules this polisher out.



What does everyone else think? Is the Flex lightweight polisher tough enough for the daily grind? Is there a polisher I have not yet considered (Dewalt is too heavy)?

[SuperBee364]

Since I just got mine about a month ago, I have to vote for the 3403. I've seen alot of people say that the thing has a week transmission and to not use large pads with it, but I haven't seen anything put out by Flex saying to use smaller pads. Mine feels like it has all the power you'd ever need. I mentioned this in another post (or two), but I'll add it again... The Flex seemed to have a break in period. During about the firsty 50 or so hours, it got very hot. Not hot enough to actually shut down, but darn good and warm. It was also very noisy above 1.2k rpm. Now it doesn't get nearly as hot, and it's not as noisy, either. I think it was just the break in on the new gears. Up until now, I've been using it almost forty hours a week, so probably about 160 hours worth or so. It has never had a thermal shutdown in spite of a few ten hour days. And I was pretty happy about the light weight on those ten hour days.

[Holden_C04]

Originally Posted by SuperBee364

Since I just got mine about a month ago, I have to vote for the 3403. I've seen alot of people say that the thing has a week transmission and to not use large pads with it, but I haven't seen anything put out by Flex saying to use smaller pads. Mine feels like it has all the power you'd ever need. I mentioned this in another post (or two), but I'll add it again... The Flex seemed to have a break in period. During about the firsty 50 or so hours, it got very hot. Not hot enough to actually shut down, but darn good and warm. It was also very noisy above 1.2k rpm. Now it doesn't get nearly as hot, and it's not as noisy, either. I think it was just the break in on the new gears. Up until now, I've been using it almost forty hours a week, so probably about 160 hours worth or so. It has never had a thermal shutdown in spite of a few ten hour days. And I was pretty happy about the light weight on those ten hour days.

I am pleased to hear that. Thank you for the wonderful review. It's been what I have been looking for.

Are there any polishers I should be considering that are not listed?

[Domas]

I'm not a pro, but what about Festool? It's German

[Holden_C04]

Originally Posted by Domas

I'm not a pro, but what about Festool? It's German

Difficult to find information on this machine and the price is about $600 in UK & Australia.

I will continue looking, though.

[Mindflux]

Why rule out the Metabo? The low starting RPM negates the need for a trigger. Furthermore you don't need more than 2200 RPM for rotary polishing any way it goes.

I have a Metabo, it's well built and has a safety start which starts off slow and then gets to speed after a few seconds.

[Holden_C04]

Originally Posted by Domas

I'm not a pro, but what about Festool? It's German

This machine is particularly economical because of its high coverage capacity - ideal for those who have their work cut out. Without a stepless speed preselector and accelerator switch, you'll be hard pushed to finish your work as quickly. Optimised cooling and high load capacity.

Features:
- Ergonomic dome grip and perfect weight distribution for relaxed work
- Accelerator switch, speed preselection, controlled speed, smooth start-up
- Temperature-dependent overload protection
- Polishing differnet surfaces: paintwork, mineral materials, etc.

Applications:
- Ergonomic dome grip and perfect weight distribution for relaxed work
- Accelerator switch, speed preselection, controlled speed, smooth start-up
- Temperature- dependent overload protection
- Polshing pad changing without tools thanks to spindle stop
- PoliStick system
- Exceptional cooling in lower speed range- allows work under heavy loads

Specifications:
Power consumption - 1500w
Speed - 800 to 2400min-¹
Maximum polishing pad diameter - 180mm
Spindle thread - M14
Weight - 3.6kg

[JonP]

I have the Metabo and it starts up almost instantly. My Flex doesn't seem to have a week transmission. What about the DeWalt 849? The 849 may be a little on the heavy side, but it's built like a tank and will last a very long time.

[Domas]

There is also Bosch GPO12E
Bosch-Powertools-Direct.Com Bosch GPO12E Polisher

[Domas]

And AEG PE 150 (AEG is a very good German brand).
AEG Elektrowerkzeuge

[Holden_C04]

Originally Posted by Domas

And AEG PE 150 (AEG is a very good German brand).
AEG Elektrowerkzeuge

I like.




No North American distributors.

[Domas]

Originally Posted by Holden_C04

I like.

Yeah, looks great quality to me too, but I'm not sure there is a distributor in US... In Europe it costs approx. $420, but if there is a distributor in US, I'm sure it will be so much cheaper.