Flex PE8 vs cheap rotary

[tcope]

have owed a Porter Cable 7424 for many years and just picked up the Flex 3401. Love the 3401. I mainly detail by own car and truck but every once in awhile will work on a friends vehicle as I enjoy seeing the improvement. I have 6.5", 5.5" and 4" pads for the PC and Flex. I've been looking at the small rotary polishers that can accept 1,2 and 3" pads in order to get into those small, hard to reach places (such as around mirrors and many areas on the front and rear bumpers). I was considering picking up a cheap Harbor Freight rotary and some small backing plates and pads but these machines tend to be large and the speed control does not seem to be that good. Still, they run around $40 and I'd only be using it for very limited polishing. So I'm also looking at the Flex PE8. I know this machine has been around for several years but there does not seem to have been much talk about it. Perhaps because it has limited uses.

Is it worth the purchase for limited non-professional use or could I get by with a cheap rotary and good backing plates and pads?

[FUNX650]

So I'm also looking at the Flex PE8.
I know this machine has been around
for several years but there does not
seem to have been much talk about it.

Perhaps because it has limited uses.

Is it worth the purchase for limited
non-professional use or could I get
by with a cheap rotary and good
backing plates and pads?

"I'm not rich enough
to buy cheap stuff."~Dad


I'd go with the very versatile
Flex PE8 Kit & some extra pads:






Bob

[tcope]

I'd go with the very versatile
Flex PE8 Kit & some extra pads:

I would be buying the backing plates, pads and extension but I could save about $20 and passing on the green and black pads as well as the towels and prep solution. But yes, basically the same thing.

BTW - those pads.... VERY expensive. I'm guessing since there is not a large market. I'm almost temped to take some of my old 4" CCS pads and cut them down. I could get 1 3" or several 1-2" pads out of them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be overly cheap... it's just that the PE8 would not see much use so I don't want to dump a lot of money into it.

[Rsurfer]

I would be buying the backing plates, pads and extension but I could save about $20 and passing on the green and black pads as well as the towels and prep solution. But yes, basically the same thing.

BTW - those pads.... VERY expensive. I'm guessing since there is not a large market. I'm almost temped to take some of my old 4" CCS pads and cut them down. I could get 1 3" or several 1-2" pads out of them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be overly cheap... it's just that the PE8 would not see much use so I don't want to dump a lot of money into it.

I believe Car Pro makes a punch for the 1", 2" and 3" pads.

[FUNX650]

BTW - those pads.... VERY expensive.
I'm guessing since there is not
a large market.

I'm almost temped to take some of my
old 4" CCS pads and cut them down.
I could get 1 3" or several 1-2" pads
out of them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying
to be overly cheap... it's just that the
PE8 would not see much use so I don't
want to dump a lot of money into it.

I believe Car Pro makes a punch
for the 1", 2" and 3" pads.

And CarPro USA just happens
to have that Kit on sale too!

______________________________________




Bob

[kkritsilas]

The Forensic Detailing channel on Youtube has a very detailed review of the PE8 (and the PE14-2).

Lake Country is showing Hybrid Force pads in 1" and 3", in the CCS pads at 3", Hydrotech at 3" and 2", and HDO orbital pads at 3.5".

You can get pads from Flex as well.

I would get the backing plates for whatever sizes you wanted from Flex.

[tcope]

Had kind off a crappy week so I broke down and bought the PE8. Well, that and I got a good discount so it ended up being cheaper than the PE8 with just a few pads. Looking forward to giving it a try.

Stamping out my own pads? Yeah, not really an option at an additional $200 investment. Might just use some scissors and have a go at some older pads.

Still kind of worried about the speed of the PE8. From what I see, should be used on setting 1 or 2 only.

[kkritsilas]

Had kind off a crappy week so I broke down and bought the PE8. Well, that and I got a good discount so it ended up being cheaper than the PE8 with just a few pads. Looking forward to giving it a try.

Stamping out my own pads? Yeah, not really an option at an additional $200 investment. Might just use some scissors and have a go at some older pads.

Still kind of worried about the speed of the PE8. From what I see, should be used on setting 1 or 2 only.

That was a good buy. Sometimes things work out for the best.

The speed of the PE-8 have been brought up before. The actual RPMs are a little bit high.at a minimum of 1300. And, like you, I do have concerns about burning paint. The thing to keep in mind is that the pads are smaller diameter than what would be used for regular sized DAs (those using either 5.5" or 6.5" pads). This means that the edge speed of the 3" pad used on a PE8 is roughly half of pad speed of the pads on the regular polishers. THe 2" pad is roughly a third, and the 1" pad is one fifth. While that is an academic exercise, and fairly obvious, it also directly affects the amount of heat that is generated by the pad. If paint is to be damaged by hear from a rotary polisher, it will be damaged by the edge of the pad (the highest moving part of the pad, and the one generating the most friction).

All that comes down to the PE8, running at 1300 RPM using its biggest pad (3") will generate the same heat as a full sized rotary using a 5.5"-6.5" pad does at 650 rpm. With a 2" pad, it would be equivalent to a full sized rotary running at about 430 RPM. I am assuming a linear relationship between heat generation and speed of rotation; I cannot recall if it is linear or square law. Even in the worst case scenario, a PE8, used sensibly, should not create excessive heat.

The Forensic Detailing review of the PE8 did bring up the point that the speed may have been chosen to ensure that the pads are effective, a 3" pad at say 800 RPM is not really going to cut very much. The other point that he brought up is that it may have been required to keep the airflow through the motor adequate to prevent overheating. In order to keep the unit size small, and still use a powerful 800W motor, they probably only went with a single reduction gear set, and is probably also the reason it doesn't have a variable speed trigger.

[Red Lehr]

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...am-pads-2.html
Check this out to DIY pads..