detailersdomain

Flex Tool XC 3401 VR

The orbital rotation of this innovative polisher simulates the circular movement of the human hand while polishing. At the same time, the polisher's highly smooth running facilitates a careful, precise finish and even offers what is necessary for hologram-free polishing. That's just what this polisher, with its ergonomically designed knob handle, was made for. The positive drive ensures a uniform movement, even under load, thanks to constant lift. Taken in conjunction with the large stroke length there is also the possibility of removing existing holograms from black finishes. Thanks to the direct orbital drive, very little heat develops on the surface, which is ideally suited to temperature-sensitive finishes. The accelerator trigger switch and speed selection allow for a controlled acceleration to the optimal speed. Note: the machine's orbital movement has been optimally adapted for the special back pad included with it.

Specifications:

Max. polishing pad diameter: 6 inch
Velcro pad: 150 inch
Speed without load: 160-480 rpm
Power input: 900 Watts
Power output: 590 Watt
Orbit: 8 mm
Orbit Rate without load: 3200-9600 rpm
Weight: 5.75 lbs

STANDARD EQUIPMENT:

1 grip cover
1 knob grip
1 Special Velcro backing pad 150

Note: No discount codes for this unit per Flex Tools. They requested all retailers to maintain a price of $279.95

http://www.detailersdomain.com/index.asp?P...PROD&ProdID=246

wanabe

someday when i grow up ... !!

Jaeden09

Do we have a review for one of these?

detailersdomain

Taken from Detail University:

So I've been extremely excited to put this buffer into action and see if this buffer really lives up to its hype. One of my good friends has a 1996 Black Honda Civic that has more swirls, holograms and other imperfections than any other vehicle I know I may be able to get my hands on. I found this is the perfect candidate to test this new Flex XC3401VRG buffer, while comparing it to the results I can achieve from a PC.

Greg and I started by taping off 3 sections, a side of the trunk for Flex, a side that goes untouched, and a side for the Porter Cable 7424.



Here's a full shot of the Flex side:



A shot of the Flex side and the None Column:



A full shot of the PC side:



And the last before shot the PC side and the None Column:



We shot a video working each buffer using a yellow Lake Country variable contact pad and Menzerna Power Gloss on both the PC and the Flex. Once I have time to put together the video I will add them to this post. Following the cutting compound, we followed up with Menzerna PO106FF on a white Lake Country polishing pad to get the paint as glossy as possible.

Here are the results. First up the PC:



The Porter Cable 7424 did a great job removing the surface swirling and put quite a dent on the deeper imperfections. As you can see there are still some remaining, but overall the finish looks great compared to when we started.

Time for the Flex:



The Flex side of things cleaned up nothing short of exceptional. Look at the lower right hand corner where the light crosses the unpolished area onto the Flex side of things. The amount of imperfections that were removed and the clarity of the paint after polishing is mind boggling to think that this came from a random orbital buffer. It wasn't until I lined the lights up side by side on the Flex side to the PC side until I realized just how much better the paint looked.

Let's revisit the before picture with all three sides. I've added a red line just below a horizontal scratch that spans across the entire trunk. The scratch was moderately deep and I was just ever so slightly able to catch my fingernail on it.



In the next picture there is virtually no trace of that scratch on the Flex side. The Flex was able to remove several other deeper imperfections that the PC could not, while also producing a crisper, deeper, wetter finish.



As I was packing up my camera equipment, Greg said that he could almost read the wording on the inner part of the halogen lights on the Flex side, with the PC it was still murky and unreadable in comparison. By this time I already packed up my camera equipment, but went over to look at Greg's findings. The detail was so clear that you in fact were able to see the writing on the inner part of the light bulb. I re-setup my equipment and tried to capture this effect. I've never seen paint transform from a severely swirled vehicle, to something so crisp and clear as this with a random orbital:



That concludes the experiment write up, I will continue writing about my overall thoughts on the unit after dinner, as well as post the video sometime this weekend.

Thanks for reading!
End review

detailersdomain

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onfKkTWrYT4...C-3401-VR-P128/

Carbon Blue

awesome pics and vid! just a quick question is the flex a full on rotary or is it like a PC with a stronger motor?? Im in the market of purchasing a makita 9227c but Ive heard nothing but rave reviews on the flex!

MikeyC

The Flex is a true dual action polisher. The motor causes the pad to both orbit and spin.

EOE

SOLD... damn

Sabre

While it is obviously not as dangerous for paint burn as an orbital, how careful do you have to be? It doesnt sound like it spins enough to really pose any real risk...thoughts?

detailersdomain

I've used the machine just like I would a PC and I have had no issues with it, its a very safe machine.