time for a new polisher. BUT which one ??

[sandman661]

hey everyone like the title says .I'm looking for a new polisher. I recently had to retire my PC due too it not working anymore. and I been looking into the flex or the cyclo but can't decide on what I want. well I want both but can't right now. so can u give me some advise on which one will suit me more. here's some background on me . I do not detail for dollars. I have 4 cars just bought a 15 Kia optima sxl, black for the wife and a 08 Nissan altima coupe for work but the paint looks faded on the roof and hood due to not being cared for. clear coat not chipping yet. so that being said idk which one will suit my needs . I like the power of the flex but I like the cyclo cause it gets into tight spots. so if anyone can give me some insight I'd appreciate it. and I'll post some pics of the Nissan I'm talking about .

[Ricky Bobby]

Frankly, how much better is the cyclo vs the PC as far as correction ability goes on the 1st pass only? i.e 90% correct with PC vs 95% on the cyclo (I know it depends on a lot of factor but just trying to get a rough idea here).

 

If you have an XP PC, you won't notice much faster correcting ability, if at all, with the Cyclo.  you will however get a much more pleasurable correcting experience.

 

If you want brute force and correcting power, get a Flex or a Rupes and use 5.5" pads.

[goheels]

As my washing/drying regimen has improved over the years (2 bucket wash, master blaster for drying with no towels), I find the need for polishing is becoming less and less.  Unless I went into business detailing cars, I have been perfectly content with the less powerful machines that are more forgiving in terms of safety. 

 

Our 2 cars are 95-100% swirl free after initial correction, and I use the PC-xp for light polishing as needed but mainly for sealant application.  IMHO, based on your needs it seems that the cyclo or getting the PC fixed would be the best option.

[AvsBest]

If you have an XP PC, you won't notice much faster correcting ability, if at all, with the Cyclo.  you will however get a much more pleasurable correcting experience.

 

If you want brute force and correcting power, get a Flex or a Rupes and use 5.5" pads.

 

Maybe not more correcting power but at least I'd have a bigger correcting surface than me 5.5in pads on the PC.

 

I guess you triggered another question. On your regular 4X4 area, how much faster would the Flex flash vs PC? i.e 2min for the PC vs 30sec for the Flex...

[Ricky Bobby]

Heres an old video if you want a good comparison, same pad, highest speed, same product:

 

 

PC came in at just under 3 mins and Flex at just under 2 mins, thats about 30-35% time savings per pass.  If your correction takes you 4 hours with a PC you will be just under 3 hours with a Flex.

 

Question is if its worth it to your wallet or not.  If you want a bigger correcting surface the Cyclo will do the job for you, again, its more about the more pleasurable polishing experience.

[AvsBest]

Heres an old video if you want a good comparison, same pad, highest speed, same product:

 

 

PC came in at just under 3 mins and Flex at just under 2 mins, thats about 30-35% time savings per pass.  If your correction takes you 4 hours with a PC you will be just under 3 hours with a Flex.

 

Question is if its worth it to your wallet or not.  If you want a bigger correcting surface the Cyclo will do the job for you, again, its more about the more pleasurable polishing experience.

 

Thanks for the video. After watching this video I either have a stunning technique or the worst on the planet because it's a lot more structured than this guy lol.

 

My local Adam's distributor will let me try both machines on a test door he caries around, that should do the trick but I'm still leaning towards the Flex.

[Ricky Bobby]

Flex is a great machine, give it a test drive at your distributor to see how you like it.

[Junior]

Nice video Jason. Never saw that one before. In reality, its really closer to twice as fast or more there because he needed one pass with the Flex, but two with the PC. Or am I missing something?

[Ricky Bobby]

I haven't analyzed the video much because I'm not in the market for a Flex.  Just wanted to show there is a comparison

 

EDIT:  Now that I'm watching it again he is only doing one section pass on each machine, the PC just takes a bit longer.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Ricky Bobby

[Junior]

Right and the PC also only got 70% correction so he stated it would require another pass. So by that rarionale, the Flex is more than twice as fast. That would make sense based on my experience with both. The PC took close to three times as long for me.

[Ricky Bobby]

He's also using a 6.5" pad on that machine. I don't ever use a pad that big on a RO machine because I don't get the power out of trying to cover a bigger area with a bigger pad. Work smaller sections with 5.5" pads and you won't have as many complaints with a PC

[Junior]

Makes sense.

[AvsBest]

Got the new Flex and tried it, pretty happy with it. I'm still using the old swirl and haze remover and fine machine polish (still got half a bottle of each, trying to use it as fast as I can to upgrade). The Flex make the FMP flash very quickly which is nice. Got a small video to show before/after. This car is a daily driver, 10 year old, washed about once a year since, seen more snow/salt/sap that I ever will.

 

Took 2 passes of microfiber orange pad, 2 of microfiber orange foam and 1 of white foam.

 

Edited June 14, 2015 by AvsBest

[landshark]

Just curious why nobody mentioned Rupes? Is it because of the price? Or else? I've been thinking to upgrade my polisher from GG, and was had my eye on the Rupes.

 

PS I do detail for dollar in my garage.

[vobro]

Just curious why nobody mentioned Rupes? Is it because of the price? Or else? I've been thinking to upgrade my polisher from GG, and was had my eye on the Rupes

PS I do detail for dollar in my garage.

Just think that since this is Adams forum that people focus more on what Adams sells. I have both Rupes and they're very smooth and effective, Flex is still my favorite though

[LFairbanks]

Knowing what little I know and if I were to only buy one polisher it would be the Cyclo.  I have the Cycle, Flex, and Porter Cable.  They all serve a purpose and are here to stay.

[landshark]

Just think that since this is Adams forum that people focus more on what Adams sells. I have both Rupes and they're very smooth and effective, Flex is still my favorite though

That's what I thought. Thanks.

 

To Mod, feel free to delete my post if you feel like.

[ledger64]

Just curious why nobody mentioned Rupes? Is it because of the price? Or else? I've been thinking to upgrade my polisher from GG, and was had my eye on the Rupes.

 

PS I do detail for dollar in my garage.

Well they kinda did.....BTW Rupes bought the cyclo brand

[Drive XR7]

I have a PC, but would trade it for a Flex if I had to choose. Less expensive too. I'm not detailing for money though. If I polish 2 cars in the same day, my hands start to get a bit numb from all the vibration from the PC. So there's that to consider.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Drive XR7

[terminator808]

I know everyone is a flex fan on here... lol

Buuutttttt i personally love my Rupes polisher.  PC is a good polisher too but my hand would go numb half way through a detail. 

[PDC]

O.K. - now that it has been officially released - any thoughts on Richard Griot's new BOSS (Best Of Show System) 15 and 21 mm polishers? Looks like the Rupes 15 and Rupes 21 in Red and Black casings...

[Team Adam's]

O.K. - now that it has been officially released - any thoughts on Richard Griot's new BOSS (Best Of Show System) 15 and 21 mm polishers? Looks like the Rupes 15 and Rupes 21 in Red and Black casings...

 

Not much reason to drag that argument in here. Rupes wrote the book on large orbit polishers and in the past 8 months the knock-offs flooded the market. I'm sure the folks over at Griots put out a nice product, but we prefer to stick with those that created the technology and perfected it.

[Ricky Bobby]

^Wow I've been out of the loop, I didnt know the Chupes was officially on the market from GG

 

Lot of imitators, not many duplicators of the precision Italian tools Rupes makes, they invented the category.

 

 

EDIT:  Man the factory in China must be good negotiators, I just looked up Griots Chupes for grins and giggles, and their 15mm is $365 and the 21mm is $385, they don't even undercut the price point of Rupes?

 

Considering its a knockoff I would be expecting at least being sold for $100 less on each to show some value.

 

 

I'd rather give Adams/Marco and his team at Rupes my business on a machine than spend the same price for a late to market knockoff.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Ricky Bobby

[mc2hill]

 

Considering its a knockoff I would be expecting at least being sold for $100 less on each to show some value.

 

 

I was wondering that too when someone asked me about the GG machine.  Why pay the same price for a knockoff, when you can real deal for a few dollar more.