JUst got my SUPA BEAst! Pad recommendations please?

[Reno]

I know Mike you are working a lot with flex tools. which pads do you recommend for the XCE? and for which job? if you can guide me , i will be greatfull . keep in mind i also bought the 6" backing plate
thank you :buffing:

[dwaleke]

There a thread on the forum where he discusses it. Do a search.

IIRC he prefers the 6.5" Lake Country Hybrid Force.

Orange for cutting and white for polishing. Maybe a black or red for sealant application if you do that by machine.

If using the 5" plate I believe he prefers Buff and Shine Uro-Tec pads. (I use these and second it on my CBEAST and all free spinning tools).

[Dr Oldz]

I’m not Mike but I highly suggest Lake Country 6.5 inch Force hybrid pads. The orange, white and black will tackle just about any jobs. I also like the foamed wool pads for really tough jobs.

Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish Ultra Performance Pad System, buffing pads, foam pads, polishing pads (https://www.autogeek.net/hybrid-power-finish-pads.html)

[Mike Phillips]

Here's my take - I'm not sure why FLEX sells this tool with the 5" backing plate? It's the wrong backing plate for the power this tool offers. The smaller pads that fit on this small backing plate also don't "feel" as good when buffing hard. This is truly a case of bigger is better.

Here's an article I wrote for swapping to the larger backing plate,

Supa BEAST backing plate swap (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/124929-supa-beast-backing-plate-swap.html)


The Supa Beast will ship with a 4 7/8" backing plate. Let's just call it a 5" backing plate. There is an optional 5 3/4" backing plate, let's just call it a 6" backing plate. Because of the power this tool provides, for my time I'm upgrading to the larger backing plate so I can turn and churn larger pads. Larger pads mean a bigger footprint and that's what I want when tackling any car and especially large vehicles. It's all about speed, the amount of time needed to go from start to finish WHILE maintaining pro-quality results.

I just swapped backing plates, here's some pictures to tell the story.


Here I've removed the factory backing plate.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191102/ec5140f83716a01237ff82f68ae0ea4a.jpg


Here's the part number for the 6" backing plate.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191102/97f7287e034a5d18c46797922a7c45db.jpg



:)

[Mike Phillips]

For pads...

The pads I use the most for correction/cutting are the Lake Country 6.5" Force Hybrid in Orange and White

For polishing I've switched over to RUPES 7" foam pads. I really like the taper of the RUPES pads.

I show pictures of pads in all my car detailing write-ups.



:)

[Markymapo]

Thanks for the update on backing plate. I also have to order the larger backing plate. Currently own 4 Flex cordless (works wonders for the boat detailing jobs with no electric power around, unless I bring a generator or other means of juice). I also use these cordless for all my vehicles

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Im on the 3401 and the hot ticket is the Hybrid pads.

I would venture to say that the new Hybrid Force pads will be the hot ticket on the new Supa Beast.