HELP! What do I need additional to orbital buffer?

[Tuningfreak]

I found this part from BOSCH:
PEX 400 AE

The buffer area has a diameter of 125mm, you have to stick the plates on the machine with kind of klettofix etc. Suitable parts for it are polishing pads with a working-area of 130mm... I dont believe that the meguiars pads etc fit here.

I checked also chance of buying in the us, but the transportation costs AND our german custom costs are not cheap, to the machine would cost me around 300 $ or more... At least, I`m in holiday in florida next year, so I will wait and buy it there. In the meantime the cablefree orbital buffer must do the work.

[the other pc]

Originally posted by RLdetail
Contact Flex Tools through the website or by phone or something and ask if they carry a comparable unit to the Porter Cable 7336SP.

I found this but it's not quite the same.

http://www.flex-tools.de/prod/right.php?group=38

Or see if you can get the megs version through the UK or even through the U.S...

Porter-Cable and Flex are sister companies and they do share some products. Unfortunately, the G100/7424/7335/7336 is not one of them. There is no 230V version of it. The guys in the UK using the G100/7424/... are using transformers to convert the voltage. There may be a Flex that would work well, possibly that X 1107 VE.

Originally posted by Tuningfreak
I found this part from BOSCH:
PEX 400 AE

The buffer area has a diameter of 125mm, you have to stick the plates on the machine with kind of klettofix etc. Suitable parts for it are polishing pads with a working-area of 130mm... I dont believe that the meguiars pads etc fit here....

Sorry, I don't know what Klettofix is. Is it glue? Is it like Velcro?

Here's a pic of Velcro:

The "loop" is on the left. The "hook" is on the right.

Polishing pads have the "loop" (it's the white part of the pad in this pic).



Backing plates have the "hook" (it's the black surface in this pic).


It's common for sandpaper disks to have "loop" backing. It's also common for sandpaper to have adhesive (sticky, glue) backing

I know Bosch has "hook" plates for many of their sanders but I don't know about that PEX 400 AE (sorry, I read German very poorly). I have a Bosch sander with "hook" Velcro plates.

It's OK for the plate to be smaller than the pad (Meguiar's plate is 125mm and the pads are 165mm). In fact, the plate should always be smaller than, or at most, the same size as the Velcro on the pad.


PC.

[Tuningfreak]

Yes, Velcro is like Klettofix. I got a new offer from my dealer:

Company name is "FLEX Electrotools", type L1501VR and L1503VR

You can find all polishing tools from FLEX here in english language:

http://www.flex-tools.de/en/prod/right.php?group=12

@PC: Ycan you check these different kind of these polisihing machines and tell me which is suitable for my use? I`m planning in the future professional detailing work on my customer cars, so I dont need only my (now ordered) cablefree buffer for polishs and wax, I need also a tool which is strong enough for swirl and defect removing. (The 1503VR is not listed on this link). In my opinion the tool L602VRB looks like a suitable product...

EDIT: I found different accesories for these machines. Especially a VELCRO PAD http://www.flex-tools.de/en/pdf/polierer.pdf

[the other pc]

Without actually using a tool I can’t know how it would perform. By looking at the descriptions I can get some ideas but I can’t be absolutely sure.

Before looking at the particular machines there is something very important to think about first, there are two types of buffing machines, rotary and orbital.

Rotary machines are fast and powerful. They remove defects quickly but they require much skill to use and can harm paint very quickly if used incorrectly. Since they are powerful they can fix severe defects. To use a rotary machine safely and skillfully requires much practice.

Orbital machines are very gentle and don’t require as much skill as a rotary machine. They can fix mild to moderate defects in a reasonable amount of time and you won’t harm the paint. There are also different types of orbital machines. The type of orbital machine that works best for paint polishing is sometimes called a dual-action (DA) machine. The Meguiar’s G100 is a DA polisher.

Professional detailers who must do high quality work and make money doing it must choose which type of machine to use and when. You can use a DA polisher all the time but there are some cars you won’t want to touch and some that will take a very long (so you won’t make as much money). You can use a rotary all the time but until you are very good with it you risk harming the paint (or at least making mistakes that you will need to fix). You can also use both. It is a choice you must make for yourself.

So, the Flex L 1503 VR, L 1501 VR, L 3403 VRG and L 602 VRB are rotary machines. The Meguiar’s G100, Flex X 1107 VE and (I believe) the Bosch PEX 400 AE are DA polishers.

The specifications for the Flex X 1107 VE look similar to G100. If you could get a 125mm Velcro backing plate for it this might be a good substitute for the G100.
X 1107 VE

The Flex rotary machines each have good attributes but it’s hard to say which would be the best. What is best for one person might be very different from what is best for another. Keep in mind that Meguiar’s recommends that their products and pads work best between 1000 rpm and 2000 rpm.

The L 1503 VR is very light weight and should be easy to use. It’s speed is adjustable from 1200 rpm to 3700 rpm. That is medium fast to much too fast. You would be limited in the speeds you could use. The 125mm backing plate will fit on it so you could use Meguiar’s 165mm pads.
L 1503 VR

The L 1501 VR is also very light weight and should be easy to use but at 275 rpm to 900 rpm it is too slow.
L 1501 VR

The L 3403 VRG is also very light weight and appears (form the little pix) to have nicer controls than L 1503. It is also a little more powerful. With speeds from 1100 rpm to 3700 rpm it has a little more useable speed range. I find this machine very appealing (on paper) but I do have concerns about the limited speeds.
L 3403 VRG

The L 602 VRB looks like an excellent machine for power and speed control. It is heaver than the others. That would make long polishing jobs much less comfortable. It should work great though. The accessory page doesn’t say the 125mm plate will fit on the L 602 VRB but if it does you could use it with Meguiar’s 165mm pads. The L 602 VRB appears to be almost exactly the same machine as the Porter-Cable 7428 rotary polisher (which is no surprise, Flex makes the 7428 in Germany for their sister company Porter-Cable). People who own the 7428 love it.
L 602 VRB Porter-Cable 7428

Here on Meguiar’s Online we have forums discussing both DA polishing and Rotary polishing.




PC.

[aaron33]

I use the Bosch PEX 400 AE. It does have the hook plate on it. You have to make sure that the loop section on your pad is larger than 125mm otherwise the plate will cut into your pad. I use 7" (177.8mm) pads with my PEX 400 AE with no problem. Minimum setting is 9000opm, which is enough to spread the swirl remover and then use 11000-12000opm to work the product. That is number "1" to spread and 2-3 for working. I haven't tried faster and I haven't found a need to use that high a speed yet.

tuningfreak, you can use larger pads. 125mm is the minimum of the hook section of your pad. You can use larger pads, but too large won't be effective because of a lack of pressure on the side of the pads.

[Tuningfreak]

Thank you both for your detailed answers. At this time I wait for my cordless buffer to use it for polishes and waxes. I think I have to learn much more about professional detailing until I can start an offer in my company (also I need some room... at this time a have only a big own parking area front of house). But I have copied yor remarks on my computer so I know what to do and what to check if I decide for a professional buffer.

THANK YOU! GREAT HELP!!!