Flex Buffer

S

strum456

Oldtimer
I've had my Flex L 3403 VGR for about two years now. It is nice to handle and use but I always thought the gearbox got a lot hotter than it should. Now, after buffing no more than 5 cars it barely works. There is a serious blue arc coming from the left brush. I took the brush out, and it looks ok, with lots of material remaining. If I push on the brush a little while it is running, the arcing stops. The brush moves freely and the spring that holds it against the armature is in place.

The one year warranty period is up. Flex wants 24 plus shipping for brushes. I can't see anything wrong with the brush, but maybe it would be worth a try to get new ones? If it is not the brushes, I'm guessing that it would not be economical to send it to be repaired. Considering the price of this buffer, I would have expected a much longer lifespan.

Has anyone had a similar problem?
 
strum456;37960 said:
I've had my Flex L 3403 VGR for about two years now. It is nice to handle and use but I always thought the gearbox got a lot hotter than it should. Now, after buffing no more than 5 cars it barely works. There is a serious blue arc coming from the left brush. I took the brush out, and it looks ok, with lots of material remaining. If I push on the brush a little while it is running, the arcing stops. The brush moves freely and the spring that holds it against the armature is in place.

The one year warranty period is up. Flex wants 24 plus shipping for brushes. I can't see anything wrong with the brush, but maybe it would be worth a try to get new ones? If it is not the brushes, I'm guessing that it would not be economical to send it to be repaired. Considering the price of this buffer, I would have expected a much longer lifespan.

Has anyone had a similar problem?
Click to expand...

We bought one a couple of years ago because one of our go to guys here had good luck. We used it for about 3 months and had similar luck to yours. About all it has going for it is the light weight. Ours is in the "we'll need it sometime pile". Not a professional tool in my opinion
 
i have run mine to death and still going strong. dont remember how long ago i bought it. order history only goes back to 2012. the flex i had before i bought the b&d was about 10 years old when it died. but using it as a grinder is really tough on one. i usually find my brushes at ace or the starter rebuild shop here.

summer of 2011
 
Mine bit the dust last week, have not buffed 3 cars with it. 1 1/2 years old. Chunked it & replaced it with a Makita, last one of those lasted 15 years. Talked to Chemical guys, where purchased, sorry we just sell them. They are not much on service after the sale.
 
strum , take a brush and go to ace hardware . i rebuild all kinds of electric stuff here on the farm.
 
Anymore that seems to be the American way!!! Charge more, take no pride in what you sell tell'em sorry buy another. That's why it's so hard for me to make any money, cause I stand behind anything I do or fix. I wish a lot more people would take pride in what they do. Maybe i'll get a good buffer and not one of the one's built on Monday lol!
 
it has a 1 yr warranty . just like every other thing sold in this country . you honestly think chemical guys should send you a new buffer . they didn't take you in to raise they sold you a buffer.
 
1 year warranty that's mighty nice of them, maybe I need to up my prices and give less warranty!
 
tell me what has a longer warranty . anything other than a car. by the way they are recalling just about every model .
do you do this for a living ?
 
My point is stuff should be made to last longer than it does and people should take a little pride in what they do not just make some half a-- stuff to sell for some people a purchase is a investment that they need to work a long time for the money they spent . And no I don't do this for a living I'm retired I do it because I like to, But when I installed a a/c unit if it had a 10 year warranty or a 1 year warranty I stood behind it even if I had to replace it out of my pocket because I gave my word.
Didn't mean to start a peeing contest sorry if I offended you or anyone.
 
No, I did not expect them to give me a new one, in fact I called them before the warranty was out & they didn`t give a rats ass that I had a problem. No big deal, just know not to buy another one. I do not do this for a living either, but have been doing it as a hobby for 35 years. I am self employed in mechanical repair & you can bet I have dealt with my fair share of poor quality parts in my time. No offense to Shine or chemical guys meant at all.
 
One year warranties are a joke, but that's the world we live in, fast, and cheap. It's pathetic.

I would love to See the look one one of my f-18 pilots face when I told him the power plant I just built has only a year on it. Sorry. Good thing we install two in each plane...
 
once again show me something with a longer warranty . show me a retailer who picks up the factory warranty.
 
I have had a flex for over 15yrs and it is still going strong never a problem. They did awhile back stop making the one I have (I love that thing) and Porter Cable then had the same exact one performs and looks exactly the same, my understanding from what I was told is that Porter Cable bought that line and they are now stamped with their name and colors, I have one of those also and works just like the Flex. I do this for a living for what it is worth and they all get their work-outs. If you like/liked the original Flex buffer then I would look into Porter Cable mine is the exact same thing down to the weight and balance and never had a problem with it either.

Dave
 
I used a snap-on buffer for around 20 years and replaced a few switches and one power wire. The switch would wear and sometimes wouldn't fully return to off and would eventually burn out-I learned to give the switch a good flick and they lasted longer. I handed that buffed down to my son when he started as a collision tech and it made it another year but now they no longer make parts for it. I've been using a Milwaukee since-very well made and smooth operation, heavy though. When I buy something I expect to be able to get service parts for it and the more I pay the longer it should last before needing anything. I expect the Milwaukee will last a long time.
 
porter cable is a good tool. i have several that have served me well for years. and i think you are likely right that they are licensed to make the older flex. in todays world i doubt we will get 20 years out of tools any more. we have a 30 year old kenmore dryer thats still going. we bought a new kenmore ice box that only made 6 months before it quit. sears will not pay anyone to warranty so they put you off for 2 weeks knowing you will pay to fix it rather than loose all your food.

when it comes to buffing i will not buy a 9lb tool any more. if this flex gives me 5 years it will have paid for it's self. it's 4 years old now. but over the years like bob i have learned to replace switches, brushes and cables. living on a farm you learn to fix things.
the next polishing tool i plan to get is a rupes mini orbital.

as for makitas i will not own another tool by them.
 
Thanks for the tip Shine. I was just assuming that I would need to get a set of brushes from Flex, or they wouldn't fit. I'll see what I can find at the hardware store. I'll post back what I find out.
 
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