Flex 3401 vs rupes 21 mark 2

[dlc95]

I will give you my most honest, down to earth response regarding the Flex vs Rupes question. Please understand that I don't intend on brand bashing here so I'll word it accordingly; Everything is based on both my opinion and experience.

I was recently faced with an option to buy a second polisher, it would have been between the Rupes MKII or a Flex Polisher.

A little back story, I came from a Porter Cable 7424XP, moved on to the Griot's Garage 6" Polisher and finally upgraded to a Flex 3401. Because of the volume I'm handling now, I need something ready to go and a backup polisher just in case.
At this point, my F3401 has a few hundred hours of usage under its belt. I've compounded and polished Aston Martins, GTRs, ACRs all the way to Civics and Integras.

The F3401 played well with others without demanding usage of specific pads, compounds or polishes. Unfortunately, I can't say the same with Rupes, it sppears that it requires their brand of compound, polish and pads to function per Rupes standards. My F3401 was paired with Buff and Shine Pads, Lake Country Hybrid Pads; Meguiar's, Sonax, Menzerna compounds and polishes were used and everything functioned as expected.

The 3401 paired with Hybrid pads just hasn't let me down, it hasn't stalled on curvaceous panels, broken down, required service, it just goes and wants to keep going.

After a few hundred hours though, I decided it was time to be safe and buy a backup polisher. I really wanted to try something different and wanted to try the Rupes MKII just based on the feedback that this forum had provided me with. I already had my mind made that I was going to do the Rupes, I had Mike Phillip's book on Rupes polishers and everything in hand, I just needed to make the move. My local detailing shop had an MKII on demo so I had the opportunity to handle it

Just upon picking it up, I knew it wasn't for me. The fit and finish just wasn't for me. Saying it felt cheap would be an insult to Rupes, but the fit and finish was not the same as my 200+ hour used Flex. I explained to one of my close friends that the Flex feels like you're holding one solid piece of concrete, strong, solid, tight and willing to break. The Rupes felt like plastic in comparison, I noticed a bit of jiggle and play in the plastic and wasn't a huge fan of how it felt in my hands. Something that also stayed with me in the back of my mind is that I reached out to Rupes support via PM here and didn't receive a response - I was attempting to get them to help me make my decision and purchase.

Again, this is just my personal opinion based on my experience. I was turned off by how the Rupes felt in my hands; I placed the order for my PE142-150 the same day. No regrets. If anyone from Rupes is reading this, if you still have my PM handy, feel free reach out, I'd love to talk over the phone. I'm sure I'll be in the market for another polisher next year.

I actually found the Rupes and Flex similar in fit and finish. They both have a high quality feel in the hand - to me anyways.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

The 3401's ergonomics are fantastic.

However, nothing feels better or easier to use than my Harbor Freight 8mm DA(other 8mm's as well)..

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