Finally got to try out the Flex...really got to put it through the paces on a black Mustang that was so bad, that we (a NOOB Autopian and I) opted to sand the entire hood with 2000 before buffing. I like the machine and it appears to be superbly built, but I wasn`t entirely impressed. I know the Flex has become extremely popular for hobbiest detailers, and I don`t want to hurt anyone`s feelings, so I will lead into my criticism of the machine by saying that I like it better than the PC and Cyclo.
First, I will say that it is without a doubt much harder to use than a rotary...it might be safer and thus better for NOOBs, but a rotary doesn`t like to "pull" around nearly as much and is thus easier to control. Also, I`d say a rotary works 3 or 4 times faster for heavy cutting and at least 2 times faster for final polishing/light swirl removal (sorry folks, still nothing like a rotary). Also, one of the panels was recently repainted and was buttery soft...we couldn`t get the Flex to finish down without heavy micromarring (I`d buff it out to perfection, and then he`d polish with they gray CCS and PO106FF, and it`s actually mess the paint up...so I`d restore it again with the rotary...and so on). We did not have a noticable micromarring issue on the other panels, but this tells me the Flex is not the answer for finicky paint).
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