My Flex XC 3401 VRG review

[frostydog]

I recently purchased the Flex XC 3401 VRG polisher (random orbital + forced rotation).



FLEX Power Tools - Elektrowerkzeuge seit 1922



Below is my review for those who may be interested in this polisher. I’ve tried to be as thorough as possible, but will certainly try my best to answer any question that may arise. I should also note, I’ve just purchased this machine and am writing this review based off my findings after polishing my car this past weekend. Certainly more time/experience with the machine will yield more conclusive findings. Also, while I’ve used a PC for many years and consider myself a skilled user with the PC, I have very limited time/experience with rotary polishers and would hardly call myself “skilledâ€� with a rotary…so my comparisons will be based against the PC.



Now on with the review…



The base polisher package comes with the polisher, a handle “knob gripâ€� and a Velcro backing plate. So it’s pretty much everything you need to get started except for pads and polish. The supplied BP is 150mm (5.91 inches) and is specifically designed for the Flex polisher. To my knowledge there are no different sized BP’s offered by Flex at this time. Flex does make there own pads for use with the polisher…however, I used std Lake County 6.5 inch pads and they seemed to work/fit just fine.



Weight:

While both polishers, the Flex and PC, have spec weights of ~5.75 lbs, I have to say the Flex feels a bit heavier than a PC. Unfortunately I only have a cheap bathroom scale, which shows the Flex weighing slightly more, but this is far from an accurate scale. I can only think the PC weight shown as its spec weight is a gross weight (including the backing plate)…while the Flex spec weight is for just the polisher (no backing plate). Regardless I think it’s safe to say the Flex weighs about a pound or so more than a PC and by the end of the job this small increase in weight was becoming somewhat noticeable or maybe I’m just getting old. The Flex is also a more substantial sized polisher…more along the size of a rotary.



Vibrations & Feel:

The first thing I did when I brought the Flex home was to put a pad on it to feel what the vibrations were like. I put on a LC 6.5 inch pad and cranked it up. I was pleasantly surprise by the feel of the machine. Vibrations were minimal, certainly seemed less than a PC. Although this was based on running the polisher in the air, my thoughts soon changed once the polisher was on the paint. 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.



Ergonomics:

The ergonomics of the polisher felt really good for my hand size. The trigger, which has a lock that is an absolute blessing, was easy to reach and lock into place with one hand. 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.



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.



The overall balance of the Flex is also good. The weight is pretty evenly distributed throughout the polisher with only a small majority of the weight at the polisher’s head.







Power:

This thing has a ridiculous amount of power & torque. 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. Regardless, more than once I put a significant amount of force down on the machine and couldn’t even get the motor to make the slightest bogging sound. I had a pretty serious scratch on my hood and during the correction I pushed down quite hard on the polisher and couldn’t even phase it. I really can’t imagine doing anything to bog this thing down.



Polishing Speed:

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…I really like the “safenessâ€�, quality of finish and overall ease of RO’s. The Flex does allow you to move around the car at a higher rate. Most of my polishing was done at speed 5 (of 6). I’d roughly equate this to 8000 OPM’s with a rotation of 400 RPM’s. This was working at a pace plenty fast enough for me. I could do a panel in just about half the time I could with a PC. Actually, at times I wasn’t sure I was breaking down the polish enough, so I’d pull the car out into the sun. Sure enough the finish looked great…no buffer marks or swirls of any type, just a great looking finish.



Correcting Ability:

Correcting ability was the other reason I bought this polisher. Hours prior to my purchasing the Flex, I had my car in the shop. When I brought my car home I noticed a large (palm sized) grease mark on my hood. I initially thought, no biggy…well, when I cleaned the grease mark this is what I discovered was under the smudge…







I can only imagine how they did this, it almost looks as though they placed something heavy on my hood (possibly a power tool) and drug it off my hood. I was pretty mad, but after I cooled down I thought…what a better test for the Flex’s correcting ability.



I’m happy to say the Flex, with an orange pad and some Menzerna IP, handled these scratches with ease. A few passes at speed 6 and a bit of pressure took out 95% of the scratches. I’m pretty sure I could have removed 100% of the scratches with a little more polishing, but at this point they were barely visible and I just wasn’t sure how hard I wanted to go at it. When I first ran my fingernail over the scratches I could just barely feel my nail catching on the scratches…so they were somewhat deep.



Regardless, I was more than satisfied with the Flex’s correcting ability.



Noise Level:

From what my ears could tell (mind you, there was no scientific db measurement tool used what-so-ever)…the Flex is just about as loud as the PC. Although it is a different kind of noise, the PC always sounded to me like it was whining & screaming a bit. The Flex makes a throatier growl type noise. While the Flex didn’t sound any quieter than the PC, the type of noise just didn’t sound as offensive to me. It should be noted, the Flex was creating a noise level equivalent to a PC at a much higher OPM rate.



Conclusion:

While the Flex is far from the proverbial silver bullet of car care and does have some downsides…price (about $300.00), weight, limited pad/tool options, etc. It does however greatly succeed with respect to correcting ability and polishing speed. Again, these were the two things I was most looking for. Oh yeah, something I’ve yet to mention…it creates an absolutely brilliant finish. I hope to have some pics of my finished car soon…

[imported_Sludge]

Very nice review, well written and appeared totally unbiased. Thanks for the information. :thx

[admac]

great review. i have the makita bo6040. one of the things i noticed is that when it`s in forced rotation mode (which the flex is in all the time) it does tend to walk on you a bit. when you think about what it`s doing though it make perfect sense why it feel more fidgety under your hands than a pc, which basically just jiggles in place.

[frostydog]

great review. i have the makita bo6040. one of the things i noticed is that when it`s in forced rotation mode (which the flex is in all the time) it does tend to walk on you a bit. when you think about what it`s doing though it make perfect sense why it feel more fidgety under your hands than a pc, which basically just jiggles in place.

I agree...once I started "walking" with the polisher instead of against it, everything came together. But there`s always going to be those spots where you`re forced to use some muscle and stop the polisher from walking somewhere you don`t want it to.



ps...thanks much, correction made :nervous:

[superchargedg]

Great review,if you could were did you get it from.Oh crap i sall where you got it,just a little slow today.

[ThEGuN1]

nice review!

[imported_FMINUS]

Thank you! Ive been waiting a long time for this review!

[YankeeFan]

Thanks so much for the detailed review! This along with Zoran C`s review in the next 1 1/2 -2 weeks should help me and others decide upon it. Just curious, once you got comfortable with it, the amount of vibration decreased.....is that a correct? I guess the 2 real questions (as you answered the main one, can it correct with ease) are: is it substantially less vibration and noise (neighbors appreciate that) than a PC? Lastly, it sounds like you will still use the PC to get in tight spots as it still has the best pad size flexibility and machine control in tight spots.



Howard

[ZoranC]

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

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.

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!

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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 :woohoo: :hifive:

[ZoranC]

Lastly, it sounds like you will still use the PC to get in tight spots as it still has the best pad size flexibility and machine control in tight spots.

Need for having PC/UDM handy does not completely ever go away whether you have rotary or Flex or Festool because you still want to do carpet, or 3" spot correction (yes, I said 3", not 4", there are 3" backing plates and pads around), or ...

[frostydog]

Sure thing guys!! It was the least I could do...lord knows I benefit a lot from this board.

Thanks so much for the detailed review! This along with Zoran C`s review in the next 1 1/2 -2 weeks should help me and others decide upon it. Just curious, once you got comfortable with it, the amount of vibration decreased.....is that a correct? I guess the 2 real questions (as you answered the main one, can it correct with ease) are: is it substantially less vibration and noise (neighbors appreciate that) than a PC? Lastly, it sounds like you will still use the PC to get in tight spots as it still has the best pad size flexibility and machine control in tight spots.



Howard

Howard,

Thanks much...I wanted to mention the noise level in my review and forgot. I`ve edited my review and added a section about noise level.



Regarding the vibrations...i`d say net/net the vibration are somewhat less with the Flex. Certainly not more than a PC. It wasn`t so much that the vibrations decreased when I got comfortable...more the amount of hand strength required by me decreased as I got comfortable with the Flex. I don`t want to sugar coat it, the Flex does vibrate and I did have some tingly hands at times. But I feel confident as I get better with the machine this will also improve.

[DTailN]

Thanks for taking the time to do such a complete review. It could end up being the best machine for my situation.

[frostydog]

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.

I really didn`t want to comment on this yet, because I`d like to have a little more time and try the Flex on some other cars, buuuuuut since you brought it up...



I`ve polished my car countless times with a PC, I certainly feel confident saying I know what my finish looks like after it has been polished with a PC. I used the exact same pads and polish with the Flex and I really have to say I beleive the finish to look better. Initially I thought it was just my brain trying to justify the purchase, then I went through a period of denial. But this morning I gave my car a look-over...and it really does look better. I feel confident saying that. Just more reflective and sharper. I don`t know how to really explain it, specially since I always thought it looked excellent after a PC polishing.

Last, but not least, let me say :woohoo: :hifive:

Heck yeah my freind!!!! You surely will enjoy!!!!

[ZoranC]

Regarding the vibrations...i`d say net/net the vibration are somewhat less with the Flex. Certainly not more than a PC.

What I was thinking is that to do true apples to apples (like, say, red apples to red apples, not even mixing types of apples) one should be comparing vibration not at say (almost) full speed vs full speed that puts them 8000 opm to 6000 opm, not even at same speed, but at same correcting ability. If one tool can correct same defects at same rate of removal at 3000 opm as other on 6000 opm and that (first) tool vibrates less at 3000 opm then that tool vibrates less than the other overall even if it vibrates more at full speed of 9600 opm.

[ZoranC]

I used the exact same pads and polish with the Flex and I really have to say I beleive the finish to look better. Initially I thought it was just my brain trying to justify the purchase, then I went through a period of denial. But this morning I gave my car a look-over...and it really does look better. I feel confident saying that. Just more reflective and sharper.

It is not just in the brain, trust me. As I was making pass at 12000 opms on Saturday I could see very noticable (to me) difference between area pad just passed over and untouched area. As if I was wiping away "fog" area I passed over was turning "crispier" / sharper (and therefore more mirror like / reflective / shinier). I`m telling you, I kept going back outside to look at the car. I have never seen black car as shiny as that just from the paint prep, no LSP yet (OK, OK, this is strictly subjective, I don`t have experience like others). That is enough encouragement for me to keep experimenting with high opm shorth throw tools.



Now, if I remember correctly you did that at 8000 opms. If correct try again at 9600 with white or gray pad. I used white.