time to upgrade dual action polisher

[hmardown]

have used porter cable 7424xp for a few years now & want to upgrade. private use only for my pickup, elcamino & wife's suv subaru. I've narrowed down my search too the flex 3401 dual action or the rupes lhr 15es. I like the 25' cord available with the flex :xyxthumbs:. I like using 5.5'' pads (mostly cause the 7424xp struggles with the 6'' thick pads jmo). the rupes sounds good to me, but I'm concerned about the 15mm. throw. will this unit be harder to use with all the curves & creases in the newer vehicle's ? I also have a good supply of lake county 5.5'' thin pads. can I use them with either the rupes or flex ? on my 7424xp I can stop the pad with my hand(preventing me from burning the paint). Is this also true about the flex 3401 ? I see mention of it being gear driven & I'm wanting something safe for an occasional user. looking for some helpful hints to help me decide ? thanks.
hmardown

[Guyb]

I use the 3401 as my primary polisher. Since taking the Competition Ready Detailing Class where I was able to use all of the brands of polishers available in class i liked the Griot Garage products better than the Rupes polishers. That is just my opinion, which here you will get a lot of them. If possible you should find someone near you that can let you try out several polishers before you purchase. I own the Flex3401 and PE8, 7424xp and the Griot Garage 3 inch. You will not stop the flex with your hand!

[dcjredline]

Cannot stop a flex but the others like rupes and GGs you can...which is what led me to choose the Flex. No work being done if it's stalling on every panel.

[lane5515]

pm sent

[dlc95]

If you go Rupes, do yourself the favor of investing in their proprietary polishes and pads.

The 3401 can more effectively share pads with your PC. However, I LOVE 6.5" pads on the 3401.

[TTQ B4U]

If you go Rupes, do yourself the favor of investing in their proprietary polishes and pads.

The 3401 can more effectively share pads with your PC. However, I LOVE 6.5" pads on the 3401.

^^ this. I use a 3401 as my primary unit. I use both sizes of pads as well since larger ones work just fine.

[Trip]

I made the jump from the PC to a Flex 3401. Should have jumped years ago I'm just a hobbiest as well.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Autogeekonline mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87407)

[Dan Tran]

Between the Flex 3401 and the Rupes 15 here's my input since this is a matter of opinion...

For me:

I prefer the Rupes 15. I came from a GG6 background while working in my own vehicle. I say since your focused on your own vehicles as well, Rupes is a better user experience. Plus why hurry the learning process, once you master the Rupes, you'll be more than pleased with it.

You technically will have your old machine to turn it into a 3" machine.

[boomdone]

As a hobbyist it would be awesome if there was a tool rental service that would also rent polishers to people as well. I'd be happy to pay to rent a Rupes, Flex, Boss, etc. for a couple days to bang out a correction on my personal ride. Its just sort of hard to justify spending a few hundred bucks or more on a polisher that I'm only going to use once a year or more likely every couple of years. My GG 6 is fine but I'd love to try a more professional level polisher to speed up a correction.

Maybe that could be AGO's next service offering :)