The Flex has a geared ring the forces a rotation action as well as the random orbital action. This forced rotary action (up to 600RPMS) really helps the Flex work the polish over the regular PC.

I purchased the Flex from Phil and have not looked back. It tackled the family Excursion which needed some major paint repair with flying colors. Yes it costs a lot more.....but well worth it.

 

Honestly, I think that is good, and bad.

It is good because you are taking steps to learn a tool that is superior. If you wanted to be as proficient as possible as a paint polisher, that is the tool that you will need to know how to use.

It is bad because, like I said before, there is a learning curve. Now, the more informed that you make yourself before you begin, the better off that you will be. Watch all the video demonstrations that you can on youtube. Mike Phillips from Meguiars has a lot of good stuff out there, and that will be helpful to you. Read as much as you can from as many forums as possible. I know that DaveKG has a lot of really good posts for beginner rotary users are a few different detailing forums.

But still...even with that education in place there isn't going to be any replacement for simple experience. You will have the rotary skipping, and you will have it drying to dictate its own direction. When you finish, you will almost certainly have holograms from those issues alone. Now this shouldn't discourage you, not at all. Those problems are easily correctable, but just know and accept that it will happen simply because your technique needs to be refined in order for these problems to be alleviated.

Start with VERY slow speeds as they keep your chance of causing damage way down. Start with small pads as they are much easier to control than large ones. Finishing pads are softer and thus much easier to control than the harder polishing and compounding pads. Same goes for the polishes, 106ff is much easier to use and control than SIP or Power Gloss.

Now...as I said before I think that it is an awesome test you are going to do. But...if you want to be fair I think that you need to compare your results first time out to something else as well. Compare the results that you get right out of the box from a rotary to something like a Flex. I would bet a large amount of money that, with no prior experience, the Flex would be hands down better than the rotary. In the long run, with much experience, that isn't the case obviously.

The question that you are trying to answer isn't one of simple effectiveness, it is what is more effective in the hands of an inexperienced user.

The best comparison that I can make to using a rotary, is that of welding. Welding is an art form. Anybody can weld, it isn't difficult. Not anybody can weld well and effectively. Doing that requires nothing more than experience. Using a rotary is exactly the same. Anybody can do it right out of the box, but you can't do it well until you grow into the machine, until you get a feel for it. It is like riding a bike.

So it is an awesome path that you are walking down, but it is a slippery slope in the beginning. I will help all that I can, PM me if you have any questions or want any other advice.

Jonathan

 

Have you used a PC before or will this be your first machine polisher?

All of the forums that I have read recommend a PC (and more recently the Flex) for the DIYer. I bought a PC last winter because these recommendations and have been happy with the results. I'm only planning on using the PC once or twice a year and the safety of the PC far outweighed any benefits of the rotary.

What pad/polish combinations are you planning on using? What types of defects are you trying to correct? Looking forward to the video.

 

Great Job! Paint perfection is very rewarding

 

what type of pedals are those... they are the best I have seen!! (for the beige interiors) IMHO

Ed

 

Thanks! They are Rennline. (And I saw them first on another 6-speeders car . . . I also thought they looked great with tan/brown interior colors)
http://www.rennline.com/prodinfo.asp...ariation=BLACK