Which Polisher Should You Use? 

Sounds like you're doing great at 62! I'm 63 and still very thankful I'm in good shape and can continue to so the things I love. -Mike Phillips

It definitely helps. The circular line on the backing of the pad will wear off, especially if you machine wash your wool cutting pads. BUT - it still helps and even as it fades, it still helps you to recenter and then RE-MARK. One of the MOST important techniques I can share when it comes to using a rotary polisher is to take the time to perfectly CENTER you pad onto the backing plate. It makes the buffing smoother and more effective. When the pad is not centered, it feels like you're driving in a car with a completely flat tire. (yeah, been there done that). So take the time to center your pad. -Mike Phillips

Nice summary of your tools and experience. I agree with everything. Thank you for watching and commenting. -Mike Phillips

I use rotary to sand headlights and teach this in our classes. The key is to use 3" sanding discs and 2-3 interface pads. Thanks for watching and commenting! -Mike Phillips

Hi 70fastback94, thank you for watching. The backing plates are what are called *Wear Items* or *Wear Components*. Due to wear-n-tear, the backing plates simply wear out. The first thing to go is the hook, which is part of the hook-n-loop system to hold pads onto the backing plate. Each time you remove a pad, you stretch-out the hooks and over time, they simply don't return to their original shape. You see this as your buffing pads not sticking or attaching to the backing plate with any strength. Next, the adhesive that holds the hook material to the backing plate gives-up. At this point, you really want to swap to a new backing plate. In a worst case scenario, the hook and pad will fly off the backing plate and you could potentially run the now bare backing plate into the paint. The other most common failure for these backing plates is OVER TIME - the foam interface between the hard plastic and the hook material simply disintegrates. This is just something that happens to all type of FOAM over time. Most reputable detailing supply stores carry replacements. And here's a tip, for all you people that use a BEAST polisher for your business, you should have a back-up backing plate so if the backing plate on your tool does wear-out, you can continue working. Over the years, I've had people tell me the backing plate wore out and left them stranded on a job. Thanks for watching and commenting. -Mike Phillips

Thanks for watching! -Mike Phillips

Working on it. Thanks for watching and commenting! -Mike Phillips

You're conducted this experiment yourself?

Both are respected free spinning random orbital polishers. Thanks for watching and commenting. -Mike Phillips

Thanks for the feedback! This clip was recorded from our live broadcast which is limited to 1080p.

There are no GREAT random orbital polishers. BUT - my criteria for "good" is different than 99.9% of the population. I'm not a big fan of free spinning random orbital polishers because they stall out too easy for my personal preference. This includes all the micro-tools that you're looking at. I do like the RUPES Nano Long Neck for use with the ROTARY DRIVE UNIT and 1" pads for doing paint correction for thin panels. And I do like the FLEX PiXiE for machine sanding with the optional 6mm drive unit. Besides that, if you want to buff with small pads, spoil yourself and purchase the cordless FLEX PE-150 Rotary Polisher and then get some 1", 2" and 3" backing plate. This is my preferred micro-tool. LOL -Mike Phillips

I haven't used this tool yet so I don't have a real-world opinion. I did the ORIGINAL prototype testing for Makita for the PO5000C Polisher, before it went into production. It's useless in free spinning mode. And I personally do not like short orbit stroke GEAR-DRIVEN orbital polishers because they tend to jerk you around too much when moving over the different planes on a body panel. I MUCH prefer 8mm gear-driven orbital polishers for most paint correction work when not using a rotary polisher. Because I was so disappointed in the PO5000C, I'm probably not ever going to buy anything that's 5mm orbit stroke or smaller. Hope that helps. You can see the picture of the Makita Engineers from the prototype testing I put together for Makita by clicking the link below. The Engineers have a cartoon character face over their real faces - these are the Makita Engineers. I asked them for the prototype we were testing for my personal collection of prototype tools and I'm sorry to say the never took me seriously. Their mistake. themikephillipsforum.com/media/makitaengineersmikephillips-jpg.4577/full -Mike Phillips

Mike will be the best one to answer since Makita reached out to him to test the unit before it reached final production but the Makita has a smaller orbit (5.5mm) compared to the Flex Beast tools at 8 mm. Makita has a top OPM speed of 6800 vs the Flex BEAST at 9600. And the random orbit on the Makita is stall city but then again that’s pretty much any random orbital. To sum up, just get the Flex BEAST 3401 or the Flex Supa BEAST. There’s a reason why they dominate as the tool of choice amongst professionals.

Not only did I leave, so did at least half of all the key staff. Let's just say, companies change. -Mike Phillips

Thanks for watching! -Mike Phillips

Not sure what you mean? I'm guessing you're referring to the FLEX XC 3401 VRG which is nicknamed the BEAST. -Mike Phillips