# The FLEX BEASTS Video with Yancy and Mike



## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

*The FLEX BEASTS Video with Yancy and Mike *

Yesterday, Yancy and I held our *#28 LIVE Detailing Class* and the topic was all about the 3 different choices you have when considering one of the 8mm gear-driven orbital polishers known as the BEASTS.

Here's the video,






Upon arriving to work the following morning I did my normal routine, which includes make a cup of Peet's Coffee and then scan all the social media touch points I interact on.










I was pleasantly surprised to read numerous positive comments and feedback about this BEASTS video. (It's technically a LIVE detailing class but captured on video). The interesting thing about shooting LIVE video is there's simply no scripting or mock-up. It's a tick on the risky side because you don't know what you're going to get but it's also as real-world or genuine, (the opposite of mock-up), as you can get.

We make mistakes, sometimes Mother Nature drops by with an Thunder Storm, which you can here the thunder in the audio or even see the lights go out for a few seconds, who knows what's going to happen? But it is real and I would also say from the feedback I read, good content. In a world filled with detailing video content creators,, that's nice to hear. :xyxthumbs:

We shared a lot of info about the tools, the differences and just lots of stuff throughout. But the jist of what I wanted to share besides the tools themselves was my take on the three different versions. I'm just one voice in the car detailing world but I've used all three versions extensively. I know I have more articles on these tools than anyone breathing. I probably have more photo-documented cars I've detailed and car and boat detailing classes I've taught using these three tools so below is my take - for what it's worth to you.

My take on the three different BEAST options?

I get asked about these three different variations all the time. Here's my take,

*The BEAST*
If I REALLY want to bust-out a job and plow through it as fast as humanly possible I use the BEAST. The extra RPM and OPM are just a tick more than the Supa BEAST - BUT - if I'm in a hurry - I'll take full advantage of the extra speed and power.

*The Supa BEAST*
If not trying to hit Warp Speed - I grab the Supa Beast. It's much more enjoyable to use. It's an amazing tool. I would even say it's a freaking amazing tool. Compared to the original BEAST, it offers these 4 benefits.


Smoother
Quieter
Lighter
Cooler

*The CBEAST*
If I have an easy job, that means the car has only light swirls, scratches and these defects are shallow then I'll use the CBEAST. This also means I've done a *TEST SPOT* and found the paint corrects easy meaning the paint hardness is in the medium to soft range but definitely not what I would consider hard paint, then the pleasure of not hassling with a power cord cannot be understated. I love the freedom of no cord. Alas - most of the cars I detail are severely neglected with lots of swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation so I don't use the CBEAST as often as I wish I could.

Tool choice for me is about the condition of the paint and the speed in which I want to plow through the job.

I hope this sheds some light on the differences between the three different BEAST options as well as my take on them.


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

More...

I'm continually asked,

_When are these LIVE detailing classes?_

*YouTube* - You can interact LIVE via the comments section

*Facebook* - You can interact LIVE via the comments section

*Autogeek.com* - The products showcased are also on this page

Past Classes - Watch all the LIVE Detailing Classes here,

> Click here to watch all of the LIVE Detailing Classes <


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

Continued...

And I also wanted to share some pictures from yesterday's LIVE Detailing Class, just some shots of the messy garage after the video shoot and also of the tools and some of the things we talked about.

*First *- here's the Ford Truck we used to showcase the BEASTS on - this is a co-worker's daily driver and at some point in it's life it was repainted with a single stage metallic paint job. Somewhere I think I have a "before" shot from before we started buffing on it, if not - that's always a mistake. Note the oxidation because this is single stage paint, not clearcoat paint.

*Second - Note the headlights?*










After wrapping up the class I finished the rest of the hood using the Supa BEAST with the yellow RUPES 7" CP Foam Pad and BLACKFIRE One Step.

I also machine sanded the headlights with a 3" Mirka #2000 grit sanding disc and then polished using the cordless FLEX PE14 with a RUPES twisted wool cutting pad and BLACKFIRE One Step. Not perfect but so much better. The cloudiness remaining is in the INSIDE of the headlights, which means it cannot be fixed.










This is the Dry Erase board I use for any notes or bullet points I don't want to forget while filming LIVE. Mostly this shows the actual PART NUMBER for the different tools, which is by default the tool name. The problem with this, as I explained in the video, referring to a tool by it's part number is not always the best approach. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it's awkward and simply put, a real pain in the butt.










Here's some tidbits of knowledge for you,

On the top of the board are the letters XCE as in the letters used for some of the part numbers for some of the FLEX tools.

*XCE* stands for *X = Orbital *- *C= Gear-driven* and *E = Electric* as in a plug-in cord

At the bottom of the board you see *XFE* and that would be *X = Orbital* and *F = FREE SPINNING* and E of course, Electrical as in plug-in corded tool. Off to the top right you see the brands, Festool and Fein? These companies also use similar naming protocols using the letters like you see explained here.










*Here's the mess we left and then cleaned-up this morning.*










GEAR-DRIVEN ORBITAL

I see guys on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram always calling the BEASTS,

*Forced Rotation*

I guess they don't understand they're referring to a ROTARY POLISHER? :laughing:

The BEASTS are FORCED ROTATION AND FORCED OSCILLATION - that's 2 actions, not just one. A rotary polisher is ONE ACTION. Anyway, I discussed this in the video and my guess is it will zero effect. People will continue to call the FLEX dual action orbital buffer a forced rotation polisher. These same people call the RUPES Mille and the Makita PO5000C forced rotation tools too.... :dunno:

Look at the GEARS!

I took these pictures again, to go with the video above and to photo-document the gear rings and geared backing plates used for the BEASTS. These tools are gear-driven. You can call them positive driver, or forced drive or whatever you like but the fact of the matter is, the best words to describe their action is gear-drive as you can plainly see the freaking gears! I cannot see "forced". I cannot see "positive". I can see GEARS. :laughing:



















*This is what the BEAST looks like when you remove the backing plate.*



















*This is the Supa BEAST with the backing plate removed. The CBEAST looks the exact same way.*




















Lubricating the Felt Ring
As discussed in the above BEASTS video - while FLEX says you do not need to lubricate the felt ring, I know from experience that it does in fact HELP. You can make up your own mind whether to lubricate the felt ring or not, there's no downside to do int and there is an upside.










8mm Metric or 5/16" US Standard

I'm happy to say I cover a TON of topis in my car and boat detailing classes and because I know millions of people own the simple, but tired and true Porter Cable 7425 dual action polisher, it works to take the backing plate off and show people what 8mm looks like. To say a tool is an 8mm gear-driven tools has meaning but not everyone can instantly wrap their brain around exactly what this means. Because I have a Porter Cable handy, I simply take off the backing plate and show both the threaded hole in the spindle and the threaded stud on the backing plate and then explain that this hole and stud are 5/16" of an inch.

5/16" inch is about the same thing as 8mm in metric units. I'm pretty sure most people can make the connection and this helps them to understand how SMALL 8mm is in context. And this helps them to understand what we're talking about when we talk about an 8mm gear-driven orbital polisher.










*This threaded hole is 5/16" or 8mm in diameter*










*This threaded stud is 5/16" or 8mm in diameter
*









*There are currently 2 factory backing plate options for the BEAST and 2 factory backing plate options for the Supa BEAST And CBEAST.*










Where the name BEAST came from?

It's real simply, after I wrote my FLEX how-to book, I needed something witty to write when signing the book. I sign all my books differently). The first time I signed the book, I thought and thought about it and instinctively what I thought was,

This tool is a beast.

So that's how I signed the book. Looks like this and I know there are thousands of people that have purchased this book that can look at the inside of of the front cover and vindicate what I say is true.

To Jim,

_The FLEX 3401 is a BEAST!!!_

Master the BEAST!

Mike Phillips

And it became official at FLEX Corporate. Here's their latest company catalog.










*I don't care how FLEX spells it but for what it's worth, I don't hyphenate the word but simply spell it like this - CBEAST. *

I explain why in the video.










*The BEAST!*



















As far as I know, FLEX has not adopted the name Supa BEAST but most of the online world has. I dropped the letter "r" from the word Super to make it Supa BEAST and of course, the word BEAST is always all capital letters.



















The Saleen Mustang you see in the FLEX Catalog is actually the Mustang you see in this review. This picture is a mock-up when the tool was brand new. I actually used the BEAST to do the work.

*Review: Pinnacle Black Label ******* Spray Sealant*


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

One more thing....

*Yes the rumors are true... *

FLEX has stated they are going to phase out the original BEST or the FLEX XC 3401 VRG sometime in the next few years.

So if you want one, or you want a back-up... better get one while the getting is good.


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