3401 kit, now which one?

[felixthecat]

After going back & forth, rupes15 vs 3401, I`m going w/ the 3401. Now which kit? I`d like to go w/ the Wolfgang or Sonax products or maybe the Blackfire kit. Now what pads? The Wolfgang ultimate comes w/ the 4 3/8 bp & the hydro-tech pads, where the Sonax kit comes 6.5`` hybrid pads. How are the b/s 6`` pads? Now I see theres a new ``Dream kit`` which comes w/ a 4`` bp & 5`` pads.

[Accumulator]

I`d go with nondiminishing abrasives with the Flex 3401, my preference anyhow, but definitely with that machine.

[felixthecat]

I`d go with nondiminishing abrasives with the Flex 3401, my preference anyhow, but definitely with that machine.

Whats your thoughts on the different pads? Go w/ the 4 3/8th bp w/ 5.5`` pads? Or?

[Accumulator]

felixthecat- Sorry, but I`m just not the guy to ask about pads, totally out-of-date, using up ones I bought forever ago

BUT...IMO that 4 3/8" plate would be small for the 5.5" pads *on that machine*. You do want overhang for safety`s sake, but not too much and *IMO* that kind of diff would really be pushing it.

If you didn`t see my post on the other thread where you were discussing Rupes/etc. 15mm-throw vs. the Flex 3401, you might want to check it out before you definitively make up your mind.

If I didn`t have the Flex 3401, which I bought before long-throw RO/DAs were around, I might not buy one today, or at least I`d have to give it a lot of thought.

[felixthecat]

Thank you for your input^^^^^^Oh boy, now you got me thinking about a rupes/boss 15.

[BudgetPlan1]

Only pads I`ve used in my extremely limited Flex use were Lake Country Force Hybrid which are not sold here (or any PBMG site; apparently they`re waiting for the `new` Flex to come out...since last April I think), the 5.5" on Flex 4 3/8 BP.

When I was pondering kits, I kinda looked for pad-centric, no polish/compound kits. You`re gonna have to buy more pads anyway cuz they only give you 1 or 2 of each type.

When I was looking for the Rupes 15, I went with the kit that gave me the most pads, bought the 32oz Bottle of each compound/polish separately because they were giving away 1 pad with each bottle and then completed pad `sets` by grabbing pad bundles w a mix of pads the ensured in the end I would have 6 of each pad. Was interesting to run the numbers on the various combos to get me to point of:
Machine itself
1 bottle 32 Oz of each compounds/polishes (except green as many said it was kinda superfluous)
6 of each kind of pad

The Rupes I wanted to stay "in the system" to start wirh.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

[felixthecat]

I was originally going w/ the Rupes Duetto as it has a 12mm throw & smoother then the gg6``/pc & I like the style body. Many ppl mentioned it wasn`t worth it as I`ve read.

[jrock645]

I never had an issue with the 4 3/8 BP and 5.5" pads.

[felixthecat]

I never had an issue with the 4 3/8 BP and 5.5" pads.

Thats what I was looking at originally.

[Migue]

I stopped using my 4 3/8 plate, my 5.5" LC pads were starting to deform ,way too much unsupported pad. The plate might work with 5.5" face pads that have a smaller Velcro backing, so can`t comment on that.

[Accumulator]

Sounds like the 5.5" pads with 4 3/8" plate combo is one of those YMMV things.

BudgetPlan1- Noting again how much I enjoyed your post about trying out the Flex 3401, I`ll be interested to hear if that pad/plate combo continues to work well for you.

[BudgetPlan1]

Sounds like the 5.5" pads with 4 3/8" plate combo is one of those YMMV things.

BudgetPlan1- Noting again how much I enjoyed your post about trying out the Flex 3401, I`ll be interested to hear if that pad/plate combo continues to work well for you.

With the velcro on the back of the Force Hybrids being 5", the gray (and I suspect the orange as well) get no deforming when pressured...and I was *really* leaning into the gray pad to see how much it could take without the edges curling up...it did fine. Now a white & black polishing pads...well that will remains to be seen although I do not recall the white deforming at all when used with M205 although I really was taxing that one much, pressure-wise. I`d guess a standard 5.5" LC flat pad with no taper would not appreciate the support lacking in the smaller backing plate, however.

Got some B & S LowPros as some said they enjoyed those on the Flex so we`ll see how those do some day. They have the same 5" velcro size so they will probably be OK. Very little overhand on the 4 3/8 plate when using 5" velcro backing pads. Force 5.5" pads are cheaper ($5.60) than the B & S ($7.25) so all things being equal in performance, would stick with LC Force.

Probably gonna have a go at the side of a fleet van today w/ the Flex & Force/M101 combo again and see how fast I can bust it out.

[Accumulator]

BudgetPlan1- Ah, OK, thanks for all that additional info.

One of these days I`ll finally have to buy more pads and the more I know the more I know.

Bet you`re gonna do the van in no time with that combo.

[Raymoche]

I started with this kit, Wolfgang FLEX XC3401 Ultimate Polishing Kit
pretty satisfied, and I think it works really well.

I have no issues with the 4 3/8" and 5.5" pad combo,.. if anything it works great.

[felixthecat]

I started with this kit, Wolfgang FLEX XC3401 Ultimate Polishing Kit
pretty satisfied, and I think it works really well.

I have no issues with the 4 3/8" and 5.5" pad combo,.. if anything it works great.

Thats one of the kits I was looking at.