# rotary polisher for around £220



## Hasan1 (Jul 1, 2011)

I'm looking to get a rotary polisher but so many out there. I'm looking at the 3m are these any good is there any other ones I can look at I would love a flex but can't cos of the price.


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

3m is a great machine mate , ive just moved from the 3m to flex but not because there was anything wrong with the 3m , i have had some fantastic results with it , the weight and balance is top draw and perfect for longer sessions


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## Hasan1 (Jul 1, 2011)

CTR De said:


> 3m is a great machine mate , ive just moved from the 3m to flex but not because there was anything wrong with the 3m , i have had some fantastic results with it , the weight and balance is top draw and perfect for longer sessions


Can you let me know when you use your flex if there is a lot of difference I know you just got it the other day. 
Was the 3m cable a pain as its only short or did it not bother you


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

will do 

cant say that i ever found the lead a problem


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

if you can wait a few months, i'm organising an open day at KDS (in gillingham), we're hoping to have some rotaries avaliable for people to use on scrap panels - including Flex 
may help you make a choice before parting with your money


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## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

In that price range you're looking at something like a 3M or a Rupes LH18 ENS. Similar machines, light and well balanced.

As you're in London (not too far away) you're welcome to pop down and have a look at both machines as we have them in our own detailing collection so you're welcome to try them out. :thumb:

We also have stock of the Flex rotaries.

Alex


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

With the amount of new stockists of the Flex range now and people trying to give the best deal it wouldn't surprise me if you could get a PE14-2 150 for not far off your budget mate.


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## Hasan1 (Jul 1, 2011)

EliteCarCare said:


> In that price range you're looking at something like a 3M or a Rupes LH18 ENS. Similar machines, light and well balanced.
> 
> As you're in London (not too far away) you're welcome to pop down and have a look at both machines as we have them in our own detailing collection so you're welcome to try them out. :thumb:
> 
> ...


I know you get what you pay for but are the ones that cost £350 to £500 that much better?

I have a das 6 pro and just want to step up. I only do cars in the family and my girlfriends car


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## Hasan1 (Jul 1, 2011)

Oh no I think I now want a flex


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

:lol:

another flexooligan joins the fold :thumb:


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

CTR De said:


> :lol:
> 
> another flexooligan joins the fold :thumb:


Flexooligan? Don't tell me you are bisexual! Next you will say you are vegetarian :wall:

Flexonian, or festooligan, pick a side man FFS :lol:


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

:lol:


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

its a little joke aimed at craigqq :lol:

i wanted it added as my sig :lol: but you have to be given sigs on here so couldnt do it :lol:


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## Hasan1 (Jul 1, 2011)

Just got to wait until I see one at a good price as one month to another the price is so different also have to see if I can justify the extra cost


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

CTR De said:


> its a little joke aimed at craigqq :lol:
> 
> i wanted it added as my sig :lol: but you have to be given sigs on here so couldnt do it :lol:


Go speak to a friendly mod

I hear whispers craigy is coming round to the darkside, sssshhhhhhhhhh


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

The green noisy fecker packed in


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

AaronGTi said:


> The green noisy fecker packed in


http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=/#/watch?v=im-uYTs-uHI


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

stangalang said:


> Go speak to a friendly mod
> 
> I hear whispers craigy is coming round to the darkside, sssshhhhhhhhhh


about time he threw out that old thing and got something decent :lol:


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## Zaid (Jan 26, 2011)

Theres a german rotary polisher it is called flex pe142150, i saw a review on it once and it looked the business easy handling unlike the conventional ones that we have that slip and jerk at every turn Back then it was going for about 200 pounds.


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## dave- (Nov 8, 2012)

Hasan1 said:


> I know you get what you pay for but are the ones that cost £350 to £500 that much better?
> 
> I have a das 6 pro and just want to step up. I only do cars in the family and my girlfriends car


I have a 39.99 silverline and I really cant see how it could be better. All they do is spin round at the end of the day and the silverline spoins round perfectly well. The only thing is build quality and durability but the silverline has a 50% longer warrenty than Flex anyway and both have service centres in the UK.


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

didnt realise the silverline had a 3 year warrenty , thats good but im more than happy with the 2 years the flex has as id probably have got a new one by then :lol:

i do agree that i could do almost as good a job with a silverline as i can with the flex but the weight of the silverlines has a big effect on how long you can keep going before your arms hurt whereas the lighter flex makes it better for me to keep going for hours of polishing , thats the biggest selling point for me as well as build quality and parts used which is why i moved from the makita's i used years ago to the 3m and now onto the flex :thumb:


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## Hasan1 (Jul 1, 2011)

dave- said:


> I have a 39.99 silverline and I really cant see how it could be better. All they do is spin round at the end of the day and the silverline spoins round perfectly well. The only thing is build quality and durability but the silverline has a 50% longer warrenty than Flex anyway and both have service centres in the UK.


Only thing there is they seam to have some wait to them


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

you'll soon see a huge difference if you used a silverline rotary then switched to a flex, in a back-to-back comparason


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## dave- (Nov 8, 2012)

Hasan1 said:


> Only thing there is they seam to have some wait to them


Yea maybe, it never bothered me because I do weightlifting in my spare time.


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

your fine then dave :lol:

this is the main reason the pro's use these lightweight machines as when your using one for 8 hours a day its a lot easier than holding a big lump of a machine that soon wears you out 

for doing your own car once every 3-6 months as a hobby just giving it a spin over then the cheap rotary's are fine


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

You do not need to do weight lifting to work with a heavier rotary  I am very slight of build, yet used one of the heaviest rotaries out there - the Makita 9227CB and would always highly recommend it. And I would spend more than 8 hours a day behind it  I enjoyed its heavy weight, even on side panels, got used to the machine and am not as big a fan of the lighter ones which seems to be a marketing point - the lighter the better. Rubbish imo, you are best to try machines of different weights and see what *you* prefer.

However, where more expensive rotaries can have an advantage is in the electronic speed control - some Silverlines for example are prone to bogging down under load, especially at slower speeds which can make slow speed polishing or finishing more difficult. The Makita, much more expensive, was always much smoother and could hold its speed under load much more effectively and for me would be the preferred machine. That said, there is a Silverline out there that will control its own speed under load, cannot remember which one it is now, but I would make sure you get one with this spec.

In terms of cost - you don't need to spend the earth to get a reliable machine, another misconception. I have seen expensive machines give up the ghost before cheaper ones. A member of another forum made an excellent point about power tools: the machine that does the turning has one job to do, the turning - it just needs to do that reliably. Where the money is better spent is on the pads, or the drill bits etc which actually do the work on the material you are working on as this is where you truly want the high quality.


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

Dave KG said:


> You do not need to do weight lifting to work with a heavier rotary  I am very slight of build, yet used one of the heaviest rotaries out there - the Makita 9227CB and would always highly recommend it. And I would spend more than 8 hours a day behind it  I enjoyed its heavy weight, even on side panels, got used to the machine and am not as big a fan of the lighter ones which seems to be a marketing point - the lighter the better. Rubbish imo, you are best to try machines of different weights and see what *you* prefer.
> 
> However, where more expensive rotaries can have an advantage is in the electronic speed control - some Silverlines for example are prone to bogging down under load, especially at slower speeds which can make slow speed polishing or finishing more difficult. The Makita, much more expensive, was always much smoother and could hold its speed under load much more effectively and for me would be the preferred machine. That said, there is a Silverline out there that will control its own speed under load, cannot remember which one it is now, but I would make sure you get one with this spec.
> 
> In terms of cost - you don't need to spend the earth to get a reliable machine, another misconception. I have seen expensive machines give up the ghost before cheaper ones. A member of another forum made an excellent point about power tools: the machine that does the turning has one job to do, the turning - it just needs to do that reliably. Where the money is better spent is on the pads, or the drill bits etc which actually do the work on the material you are working on as this is where you truly want the high quality.


Well said that man a mate of mine got a silverline it works but side by side with my Makita. The makita is a quieter smoother and somehow less juddery machine......


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## Covenantor (Sep 19, 2012)

Some Flex soft porn to drool over with your Sunday lunch?
Found this on eBay, but it's enough to give you all the different types. 
Some right good prices too! 
Be careful though, lots of the threads are written by guys who are possibly professionals, some looking to move into it full time and those without a family to spend all there money for them. These lads and lassies can indulge their fancies, if you need to spend wisely, Dave KG makes some great points.
Sometimes the want is greater than the need???
Anyway, napkin out!:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/online-abrasives/_i.html?_nkw=Flex&submit=Search&_sid=210472058

Cheers

Eddie


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## dave- (Nov 8, 2012)

CTR De said:


> your fine then dave :lol:
> 
> this is the main reason the pro's use these lightweight machines as when your using one for 8 hours a day its a lot easier than holding a big lump of a machine that soon wears you out
> 
> for doing your own car once every 3-6 months as a hobby just giving it a spin over then the cheap rotary's are fine


I have no clue why you call the silverline a big lump. Your flex PE14-2-150 is 2.5 KG and the silverline is 2.8 KG and there about the same size LOL...


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

hey dave , 

i was just referring to my earlier post about working up from my old makita with felt about 12 stone after a days work with it :lol: , i have never held a silverline so would make no judgements other than id read they were pretty heavy as they were based on the makita design 

daves obviously a lot fitter than me :lol: , my arms would be hanging off after a full mop using my old makita , i did mainly vans that my boss had painted a panel on so my job was to buff the rest up to match, all the work basically was large side panels so the makita was a struggle for me 

i must say at first when i got my 3m the lightweight had me a little worried but after a while i realised i could keep going much longer without tiring using it over the heavier machines 

as ive said im only quoting from my personal experience and in no way saying everyone should go out and buy a £400 rotary , if your happy with whatever you have then thats brilliant , its all personal tastes and i cant honestly say i know of a terrible machine , all machines will work in the right hands so its all about the little extras like weight comfort ect that makes each individual have there favourite


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## Hasan1 (Jul 1, 2011)

Well this just turned up :buffer:


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

superb :thumb:

just used mine on my glass table again with ceriglass and glass pad as the snow is stopping play on the car :lol:

its so quiet and smooth , 

now all you need is the 3401 to make the set :lol:


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## Hasan1 (Jul 1, 2011)

CTR De said:


> superb :thumb:
> 
> just used mine on my glass table again with ceriglass and glass pad as the snow is stopping play on the car :lol:
> 
> ...


Thinking about it now :lol:


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

another one into the fold 
craig we know you wanna come over :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Here. I had not seen this thread. 

First flex lie about making festool. Now flex owners are lying about me switching to their inferior machines. 

 

You all had that coming lol.


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

CraigQQ said:


> Here. I had not seen this thread.
> 
> First flex lie about making festool. Now flex owners are lying about me switching to their inferior machines.
> 
> ...


craig it takes alot of courage to come out from the green slimey thingy we'll all help you, there's no loss of face it's never too late :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

im at the end of the phone craig if you need to talk :lol: , you may have withdrawal symptoms at first but you soon come to realise the only way is flex


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## Huey (May 30, 2009)

Just ordered this, arrival tomorrow:thumb:
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/flex-...ine-polisher-with-free-carry-bag.php?cPath=71


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

i love that backplate in the pictures on elite , i wonder if there available anywhere or just for the advertising ????

its black with flex written on it


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

CTR De said:


> i love that backplate in the pictures on elite , i wonder if there available anywhere or just for the advertising ????
> 
> its black with flex written on it


you flex owners even too lazy to google 

http://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/index.php/flex-rotary-m14-backing-plate-125mm.html

£15..


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## kempe (Jan 9, 2011)

CraigQQ said:


> you flex owners even too lazy to google
> 
> http://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/index.php/flex-rotary-m14-backing-plate-125mm.html
> 
> £15..


Googling the wrong thing though :lol:


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Yeah I have 2 different sizes of that backing plate. I DID buy the first one cause it said flex, but in truth they are a great backing plate. Quite a stiff back for adding pressure, but the foam is still soft enough to run smooth. Can't find a spot pad one though


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## Huey (May 30, 2009)

stangalang said:


> Flexooligan? Don't tell me you are bisexual! Next you will say you are vegetarian :wall:
> 
> Flexonian, or festooligan, pick a side man FFS :lol:


Always thought "FLEXOLOGIST" sounded better as that what the mech's in our place call themselves, since they all use flex drills and sanders and the like.


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