New polishers?

**Joel79** · 08-28-2017, 05:13 PM

I got mine on friday and tested it today. It is a nice machine and much more nicer to use than Flex VRG. But to be honest, when using light to medium pressure, both 15 and 21 mk2 corrects faster. Meguairs microfiber pads wont work at all on Mille. The new Rupes woolpad works better on 15-21 and it outcuts Meguiars mf pads. But yeah it has amazing erconomics and tons of torque, i just need to find good cutting pads for it.
Joel79 is online now Report Post

**broker99** · 08-29-2017, 01:59 PM

So are you saying you still prefer the 15 or the 21 for correction or you just can not find a good cutting pad? Also does anyone have a firm retail price at this point

**Joel79** · 08-29-2017, 04:20 PM

With the new Rupes woolpad, both mk2 machines performed better than Mille. With megs microfiber Mille got destroyed. With foam they were close. Lake country purple woolpad felt good on Mille but it lacks cutting power. I still need to test more but i am little dissapointed so far.

I hope the new rotary kicks ass so i can sell my pe 14-2 and get it. I like Rupes erconomics more.

**Joel79** · 09-25-2017, 09:45 AM

Anybody else wonder why the left the front of the new lh19e rotaty naked? I mean it probably heats when you do many hours of heavy duty correcting with twisted wool pad and then you dont have much space to get a good grip.

**felixthecat** · 12-25-2017, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by 512detail

can someone enlighten me on what difference the spinning makes?

does a circular object not rotate the same speed clockwise as it does counterclockwise?

I can`t help but think of that episode of the Simpsons now about toilet flushing.

If your use to rotory`s then yea it`d make a difference...

**Accumulator** · 12-26-2017, 02:33 PM

512Detail- Some people are sensitive/opinionated about the direction of spin, simply loving/hating either cw/ccw.

Others (myself included) don`t give it much thought except when doing edges/other careful work. And if you don`t keep the pad perfectly flat you gotta take the direction of spin into account too in order to control the effects of tilting it.

It *CAN* be of great importance to work "off the edge" rather than "against/towards the edge" in some cases, so it`s not like it doesn`t matter at all. Just a question of whether it`s an issue for you.

**512detail** · 12-26-2017, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by Accumulator

512Detail- Some people are sensitive/opinionated about the direction of spin, simply loving/hating either cw/ccw.

Others (myself included) don`t give it much thought except when doing edges/other careful work. And if you don`t keep the pad perfectly flat you gotta take the direction of spin into account too in order to control the effects of tilting it.

It *CAN* be of great importance to work "off the edge" rather than "against/towards the edge" in some cases, so it`s not like it doesn`t matter at all. Just a question of whether it`s an issue for you.

I can see where you`re coming from there. I could see it being an issue if you had one of each direction and forgot which way it`d try to pull during tilt. I held a Flex and used it at DF and I think it spins the other direction compared to a Rupes so it was a little strange but I`m sure you just get used to it. I think I`d want all my polishers spinning one direction just to keep my ocd mind at rest. Just another variable to account for, I suppose.

**Accumulator** · 12-27-2017, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by 512detail

.. I held a Flex and used it at DF and I think it spins the other direction ... Just another variable to account for, I suppose.

Yes indeed. Exactly what I was thinking of! I have to keep it in mind whenever I use my Flex 3401.

**BudgetPlan1** · 12-27-2017, 08:38 PM

Originally Posted by 512detail

... it spins the other direction compared to a Rupes so it was a little strange but I`m sure you just get used to it.

I guess I don`t really even notice the different way it spins when I go from one to the other. Don`t use em anywhere nearly as often as other folks though.

Heck, the Rupes is so smooth sometimes it`s hard to tell which way it`s spinning...

Maybe I need to pay more attention.

**Stokdgs** · 12-27-2017, 10:23 PM

Someone needs to go to the Flex factory in Germany and ask them why they made the Flex 3401-VRG spin counter-clockwise and put an end to this madness..

And I have had one from when they first came out, a long, long, time, ago, and I never even wondered why, except to think, "Well, that is just how a company that grinds huge stones for a living, does it"....

And as far as it making a difference, I don`t know what it would be either..

If its counter-clockwise, the machine will want to go left, clockwise, the machine will want to go right..

I bought it to see what all the hoopla was about and shortly after, retired it early.. The only mod I did was get the 5" backing plate.. Heck, we were cutting down the 6" plates right out of the box to get the 5" size, before Flex ever came out with the factory plate..

6" plates and pads are just too much to deal with unless Im doing something big and flat like Vans, or worse, Airplanes..

It only comes out if someone wants a liquid wax, sealant, etc., or something and I am in a hurry to get it applied down, and then throw the pad away...
Dan F

**kkritsilas** · 12-28-2017, 01:18 AM

Originally Posted by Stokdgs

Someone needs to go to the Flex factory in Germany and ask them why they made the Flex 3401-VRG spin counter-clockwise and put an end to this madness..

And I have had one from when they first came out, a long, long, time, ago, and I never even wondered why, except to think, "Well, that is just how a company that grinds huge stones for a living, does it"....

And as far as it making a difference, I don`t know what it would be either..

If its counter-clockwise, the machine will want to go left, clockwise, the machine will want to go right..

I bought it to see what all the hoopla was about and shortly after, retired it early.. The only mod I did was get the 5" backing plate.. Heck, we were cutting down the 6" plates right out of the box to get the 5" size, before Flex ever came out with the factory plate..

6" plates and pads are just too much to deal with unless Im doing something big and flat like Vans, or worse, Airplanes..

It only comes out if someone wants a liquid wax, sealant, etc., or something and I am in a hurry to get it applied down, and then throw the pad away...
Dan F

The 3401 spins in the opposite direction than most DAs or rotaries because it has the extra gear (ring gear against the gear teeth on the backide of the backing plate) that provide the force/geared rotation. If you put a non Flex backing plate that doesn`t have the teeth on the backside of the backing plate, you will see that the spindle itself spins clockwise (i have seen this myself, using a Shurhold 3500 backing plate and the standard 3401 spindle bolt). This probably came about because Flex used a standard rotary motor that spins clockwise; the extra gear set then reverses the spin, and the 3401 spins counter-clockwise. This can be fixed by Flex by reversing the rotation of the motor spinning (easy to do with electric drills that have motors that go forward and reverse). They probably never considered it to be a big deal, and to be honest, I personally don`t either, but I never learned to use a rotary polisher, so it is much less of an issue for me.

**felixthecat** · 12-28-2017, 06:49 AM

Yea I could see the reverse rotation of the Flex being no big deal if you never picked up a rotary. Thats why I passed on the 3401 & went w/ a G15.

**Lonnie** · 12-28-2017, 12:17 PM

Just a suggestion to Rupes product representative:
PLEASE send a Mille rotary and pads to Stokdgs (gratis, of course) and let him evaluate it as a highly qualified and experienced rotary detailer. I would trust his judgment and opinion about this particular polishing machine as respected Autopian in this forum.

DISCLAIMER:
(No, he did not coerce me to say that, nor is there any monetary or other gainsay that involves or is construed upon myself for the above statement)

**kkritsilas** · 12-28-2017, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by kkritsilas

The 3401 spins in the opposite direction than most DAs or rotaries because it has the extra gear (ring gear against the gear teeth on the backide of the backing plate) that provide the force/geared rotation. If you put a non Flex backing plate that doesn`t have the teeth on the backside of the backing plate, you will see that the spindle itself spins clockwise (i have seen this myself, using a Shurhold 3500 backing plate and the standard 3401 spindle bolt). This probably came about because Flex used a standard rotary motor that spins clockwise; the extra gear set then reverses the spin, and the 3401 spins counter-clockwise. This can be fixed by Flex by reversing the rotation of the motor spinning (easy to do with electric drills that have motors that go forward and reverse). They probably never considered it to be a big deal, and to be honest, I personally don`t either, but I never learned to use a rotary polisher, so it is much less of an issue for me.

Also forgot to say that the Makita PO5000C also spins counter-clockwise in forced rotation mode; I think it spins clockwise in free rotation mode, and probably engages an additional gear for forced rotation, so spin direction reverses, just like the 3401. As far as I have been able to determine, the only current forced rotation DA that spins clockwise is the Mille.