Help me purchase the correct pads for your polish?

[a_guerrajr]

Hi 3D guys,



I have a question. I'll be upgrading to a Flex 3401, and figured it is time to replace my worn out pads. If i'm going to be using your polishes for correcting, which pads are recommended with this machine and polishes?



I was looking obviously at your 5.5"

But what other choices do i have?



Are Adam's Pads too big and/or effective?

any 6.5" pads to use?

 

[Accumulator]

Hi 3D guys,



I have a question. I'll be upgrading to a Flex 3401...[and]I was looking obviously at your 5.5"

But what other choices do i have?

Do you have the cut-down/modified backing plate to accomdate the 5.5" pads?



I just stick with 6-6.5" pads on the 3401.

..any 6.5" pads to use?

I use flat orange light-cut pads or Meguiar's burgundy foam cutting pads (either the old 7006 or their new-tech one) for serious correction.



I often use the orange *GRIOT'S* polishing pad (much more gentle than other orange pads) for less aggressive work.



For anything less aggressive than *that* I use another machine as the Flex 3401 doesn't quite finish out to my satisfaction anyhow. Not that it's bad...but it's no Cyclo, and it's not a GG 6" either. The Flex is my "serious correction" RO (or should I say "DA"?), but that's all I use it for.

 

[a_guerrajr]

Well i have the GG's 6" , but i need something that reduces my time of correcting, yet safe for user who doesn't want to step up to rotary yet.

from what i have seen and read, this machine is just that.

 

[pwaug]

Well i have the GG's 6" , but i need something that reduces my time of correcting, yet safe for user who doesn't want to step up to rotary yet.

from what i have seen and read, this machine is just that.

Have you considered the Rupes Bigfoot?? Allot of positve reactions from those who have the Flex and now a Rupes.

 

[a_guerrajr]

Ehhhh... too expensive and dont feel like having to buy only their pads.

plus i liked the forced rotation / da part.



Rupes has a bigger stroke, but not as much power.

 

[chrisguga]

I would also look into buying the Dewalt 849x with Dynabride attachment to turn the rotary into a dual action polisher that's much more powerful than a regular DA. It's a defect killer and works best with large pads. Then you can use your GG6 to finish.



That's what I do, only with a Porter Cable DA to finish.

 

[gocanes]

Ehhhh... too expensive and dont feel like having to buy only their pads.

plus i liked the forced rotation / da part.



Rupes has a bigger stroke, but not as much power.

You don't have to use the Rupes pads with the bigfoot. Many pro detailers are using their usual pads (LC, Megs MF, BS, etc) with it. The 21 will work with a rupes 5" backing plate too, if you prefer 5.5 pads.



For a forced rotation dual action polisher on the other hand, your choices are the Flex, Makita, or any rotary with the Dynabrade head in forced rotation mode.



The rupes has more than enough power to keep the pad spinning. So do rotaries with the DB head in DA mode. Your choice though. Lots of great choices out there. I just bought the Rupes 21. I have a GG gen 3 and a 849x with the DB head. Just sold my old pcxp. All great machines.



As for your original question, for HD SPEED and HD POLISH, I use LC flat pads in 6.5" for large flat panels, 5.5" mostly on vertical panels, and 4" for concaves and tight spots. White, grey, and/or blue, depending on what I want to do. Never tried Uno or Cut. Have too many compounds as is.

 

[Accumulator]

Ehhhh... too expensive and dont feel like having to buy only their pads.

plus i liked the forced rotation / da part.



Rupes has a bigger stroke, but not as much power.

Noting that I do like my Flex 3401, if I didn't have it I'd buy the Rupes instead and I'd expect it to correct *FASTER* than the Flex (I'd use it with MF cutting disks). Yeah, really



Note that some people find the Flex 3401 to be *very* user-unfriendly. It does have a signature "recoil" that bothers more people than I would've expected. I don't mind using it, but I do understand why others feel differently. There's a reason why barely-used Flex 3401s show up for sale fairly often.



So I'd go with the Rupes.



But it's easy for me to spend your money and if you go with the Flex 3401 you oughta still get the job done a *LOT* faster than you would with a regular PC-type machine. It works well enough for me that I simply don't use either of my rotaries any more.



Do a little research and see if anybody does OK with the Meguiar's MF Cutting Disks on that machine. OR look into the new-fangled wool pads that are coming out. Or just use those Meguiar's burgundy foam cutting pads I mentioned; that combo *WORKS* even on hard clear if you use something at least as aggressive as M105.