Just got my Flex PE14...

[BLKZ06]

Pretty interesting putting it thru it's paces on my Z06. Pictures to come soon, but for now I'll give my perspective on this machine.

I have been using the DeWalt 849 for the last 8 years....it has seen a TON of use- buffing out hoods, cars, you name it. Never let me down. However, its very heavy and very easy to get out of balance. However, it's powerful and will easily handle whatever you throw at it.

The Flex...well right off the bat it's much smaller.....MUCH. Very easy to get in tight spots.

It's very balanced. You can easily use it with one hand and it seems to have plenty of power.. However Flex did not get it perfect in my opinion.

The soft start feature sucks, IMO. I've already had it "dead trigger" on me a couple times by pulling the trigger a couple times quickly in succession before the motor got up to speed. Might be a safety mech...not sure. But it is annoying.

The trigger/handle housing is way too thick..compared to the deWalt it's almost impossible to keep the trigger pulled down with out fatigue. For example, I ran the DeWalt for almost 4 hours last weekend and the only thing that grew weary was my left arm from supporting the weight. The Flex? I ran it for less than 20 minutes and my right hand was cramping.
Keep in mind I have big hands...real big. Guys with smaller hands are gonna have a time with the Flex.

Am I happy with the purchase? Absolutely. It's easier to maneuver and manipulate, and the balance and sheer quality makes it worth the money.

Just wish they had done a better job with the trigger and junked the soft start feature.

[Dr Oldz]

Shoulda got the new Dewalt! I love it.

[kronos]

... Just wish they had done a better job with the trigger and junked the soft start feature.

I have small hands. I guess that's why the trigger has not been an issue for me. I also happen to like the soft start feature. I especially like it to do the 10 @ 10 method for picking up a bead of polish.

[SonOfOC]

You will love the handle and soft start. Coming from owing the 849, 849x, and Makita, the size, weight, and ergonomics of the PE-14 makes it really nice for cars.

[Kaban]

why are you holding the trigger for that long anyways? they have the trigger lock there for a reason you know.....

[BLKZ06]

why are you holding the trigger for that long anyways? they have the trigger lock there for a reason you know.....

The fact you would even ask that...I'll guess I'll just say I hope you aren't buffing your car with a rotary.

[alko]

The fact you would even ask that...I'll guess I'll just say I hope you aren't buffing your car with a rotary.

The following had me confused a bit too:

The trigger/handle housing is way too thick..compared to the deWalt it's almost impossible to keep the trigger pulled down with out fatigue. For example, I ran the DeWalt for almost 4 hours last weekend and the only thing that grew weary was my left arm from supporting the weight. The Flex? I ran it for less than 20 minutes and my right hand was cramping.

Keep in mind I have big hands...real big. Guys with smaller hands are gonna have a time with the Flex.

The only complaint about the trigger, for me, is that it takes some getting used to locking it. I'll pull the trigger and try to lock it and sometimes it doesn't lock. But I think the previous comment was from your description of the "dead trigger" and having to hold down "keep the trigger pulled down with out fatigue"

[SonOfOC]

There are many of us that use the trigger lock for polishing and even more when jeweling. I've used the trigger lock on every car for the last 20+ years.

The fact you would even ask that...I'll guess I'll just say I hope you aren't buffing your car with a rotary.

[BLKZ06]

The following had me confused a bit too:




The only complaint about the trigger, for me, is that it takes some getting used to locking it. I'll pull the trigger and try to lock it and sometimes it doesn't lock. But I think the previous comment was from your description of the "dead trigger" and having to hold down "keep the trigger pulled down with out fatigue"

There are many of us that use the trigger lock for polishing and even more when jeweling. I've used the trigger lock on every car for the last 20+ years.

The first time you catch an edge and burn it, sling a panel, or have the polisher rip out of your hand you'll wish you'd never locked it.

I was always told to keep the trigger fluid, so that the polisher can be backed down near creases, curves, edges, etc. I don't encounter many huge perfectly flat areas on vehicles anymore, so I have never locked the trigger because it would be an almost constant charade of lock/unlock/lock/unlock. Plus, as you said..many of these polishers lock buttons are not consistent at all.

I learned all my polishing/sanding/cutting/buffing techniques thru my PPG certification courses. We were always told never lock the trigger, ever. Of course, this was way before it was "hip" to have 400 dollar polishers, and the only one making poilshing compounds was 3M. WELL before anyone knew what a D/A polisher was.

Maybe some guys get away with it...but the first time I caught the edge of a hood and about broke my wrist, I vowed to never do it again and understood why I was warned about locking the trigger.

As always..I say use what works for you. If you have done it for 20 years, obviously you have mastered it.

[Mike Phillips]

The first time you catch an edge and burn it, sling a panel, or have the polisher rip out of your hand you'll wish you'd never locked it.

Been there done that but I still use the trigger lock. I don't use it all the time it just depends upon the panel I'm buffing.

Of course, this was way before it was "hip" to have 400 dollar polishers,

I remember cutting my teeth using a Milwaukee sander/polisher, probably weighed 20 pounds. Also used an old Sioux sander/polisher, I think both were two speed models as the variable speed model had not been introduced yet. They were heavy, noisy and bulky and no fun at all to use all day long buffing out cars.

I bought my first variable speed Makita in 1987, shortly after it was introduced and buffed out thousands of cars with it and compared to the old battle wagons of days gone by it's a real gem.

Today I have a Flex PE14, the number #2 unit off the production line given to me by Bob Eichelberg and I love it for it's compact size, lightweight and especially how quite it is. It's also the best rotary buffer for doing what I call surgical buffing. If owning the Flex PE14 is hip then I'm happy to be hip.

and the only one making polishing compounds was 3M.

Meguiar's introduced #1, #2 and #4 way back in the early 1940's, maybe earlier, no one around breathing air any longer that you can talk to that knows for sure. I tried to discuss this with Barry Meguiar and Ken Meguiar but both are hard to corner for any type of lengthy, in-depth conversations about the old products from the old days.

Meguiar's called these product "cleaners" and avoided the word "compound" because back then compounds scoured the paint because of the types of hard, sharp abrasives they used. Meguiar's pioneered the use of diminishing abrasives and thus used the term "cleaner" instead of compound but I can assure you 3M as great a company as they are were not the only people with compounds dating back to the early days of the automobile.

WELL before anyone knew what a D/A polisher was.

When I started calling on body shops I showed them how to use the foam pad sitting on the shelf next to my desk here, it's a Meguiar's W-6000, it's a foam pad designed to fit into an air DA Sander to remove swirls on fresh paint after the sanding and rotary buffer work is over.










When the Porter Cable was introduced I started showing this tool and that was probably the late 1980's. I have a catalog from Meguiar's that dates back to 1994 that shows the PC with the PC name on it before they started re-branding it.

Here's some pictures of my oldest catalogs... am trying to find out if there's any older catalogs than this...

The one on the left is from 1995 and the one on the right is from 1996, the catalog from 1995 documents Meguiar's introducing the G100 at least 13 years ago and before this we were showing people in the Professional Trade how to use air powered DA Sanders to polish paint by using our W5500 Foam Polishing Pad, which if you look closely is the actual pad on the Porter Cable unit pictured below, not a W-8006 on a W64 DA Backing Plate.






The lettering is kind of fuzzy but you can make out that it says Porter Cable

Maybe some guys get away with it...

There's a time a place for everything the trick is to know when to use it and when not to use it but it's definitely a nice feature to have the option to use should a person choose.

I know I would rather have a trigger lock on a rotary buffer than not have one.

As always..I say use what works for you.

I know that saying...

"Find something you like and use it often"