lets talk buffers

ok the buffer and my shipment from chemical guys showed up today so I wanted to follow up here and give a little feedback. now I have not used the buffer yet but my response when I opened the box was WOW what a nice tool. very solid and well made machine. feels way more solid than my Makita did and that was a super quality piece that has lasted me well over 12 years or so I guess. there is nothing on this that feels cheap, lightweight or light duty at all. wanted to post a pic of it in my hand. as far as that goes its just what I was looking for. that is the position you are supposed to hold this thing so it is very comfortable. it does come with a side T handle but I don't have that on. I do like the switch much better than my Makita which was the standard trigger with the side button lock. this one you just push forward to lock it in place in the on position. as for longevity...well time will tell on that one but so far there is nothing disappointing about it. as for the chemical guys stuff. their backing plate is very nice. very similar to the lake country one I have but a lower profile. the hexlogic pads are very nice. I got the 7.5" once because they are self centering so the back pad sits down into the pad. got a kit with the yellow, orange, white and black foam. I have a 57 chevy I am shooting here in the next couple days so I will be testing all this stuff out on that. IMG_5182.JPG

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so i got to use this thing today. got 1/2 of the 57 buffed out this afternoon. very nice tool and my right arm is grateful too. not only is it a little lighter than the makita but i dont have to grip it so hard because my hand actually fits around the motor housing. there was very little heat. the motor and gear housing were barely warm. so far so good. great tool. the hexlogic pads are nice too. had to break those in a little. i hate brand new pads.
 
anyone using the hexlogic pads.......I have a yellow and orange cutting foam pad here. the yellow is the heavy cut, orange medium. the yellow is definitely a coarser foam but have any of you noticed that the orange cuts twice as fast as yellow? I'm buffing atleast twice as fast with the orange pad and it leaves a finer less grain finish. its really a nice pad. just thought that was odd. only thing I can figure is that the pores are smaller making for more contact with the surface. more efficient?
 
I use the orange and black along with the pad spray and their compound. The pad spray makes one hell of a difference you can cut for a longer time before you have to reapply more. I have only tried what Shine said to use and love it. Compared to other pads I've used in the past I wont be switching any time soon if ever.
 
yeah orange pad is great. black too. I also have a white which I have not tried. the yellow works but not as well as orange. it would probably work well with a heavy compound like for gelcoat or the old school gritty compounds. all this newer tech compounds that are real smooth and fine don't go so well with it.
 
Any uptades on the Metabo buffer? I have been looking around locally, I'm starting to think about retiring the old Makita. I have a car in the shop that need a good cut and buff....
 
I'm curious too. Jim C, what did it end up costing you? How much were the pads also?

Danford1
 
i have used the metabo quite a bit now. bad ass. love it. its powerful, the motor section where you hold it never even gets warm, its light and easy to hold one handed. definitely an awesome piece. ordered it on homedepot.com. i believe it was $269 and free shipping. they had one of the best prices. as for the buffing pads, i cant remember what those ran. prob around 11-12 a piece. thats about average for a good foam pad. i think i got a small kit though. backup plate and 3 pads which i think was about 50 bucks or something like that.
 
Shine posted this on the SPI facebook page so I thought I would paste it here :

"jimc . i had the opportunity to use a metabo for a min or so. i like it . little small for my big old hands but i think i may get one for finishing work .
on the pads i have all of them but just use the orange and the black . the lake country pads are nice also. they do not have all the cutting edges and really bring it out in the final buff. might want to check them out .
still cant log on so hopefully you'll see this post ."
 
Metabo makes a quality tool. I have used their grinders for years. They run smooth and don't get hot under long and heavy use. I just used a flex for the first time. WOW! It was a nice unit. The seem pricey but they are high quality. Anyone have any experience with other flex knockoffs?
 
I have a bunch of Metabo grinders. they are incredible in comparison to the other grinders I have. With all of the heavier gauge fabrications projects we have got over the years, we use the crap out of them. They take a beating, I wouldn't expect anything else from this company.
 
Just ordered one myself, can't wait to try it. Got it from the Home Depot, was almost half price than one distributor listed on the Metabo website.
 
Finally received it yesterday. Straight out of the box, it feels lighter. Had the chance to try out this morning, I used it without the side handle and it felt pretty good, I wasn't doing a big polishing job, just buffing out a few nibs. I think if someone that in the market for one, it's worth having a look at the Metabo. I have never tried a Flex, but I am pretty happy with my purchase. I have a Makita, and it's still a very good polisher, but this feels even better.
 
Used the Metabo yesterday, still wasn't a big job, but enough to get a feel of the machine. I will need some time adjusting to the way I hold it since it doesn't have the traditional handle like a Makita, you have to grab it by the motor. Motor feels smooth, there's a lot of adjustment for the speed and there's a nice feature that if you forget it locked in the on position and unplug it, when you plug it the next time it won't start until you reset the on switch.
 
thats interesting. didnt know it had that feature. i have still had zero issues with mine and i use it all the time. i had it shut down on me for over temp but then i realized i was holding it by the very end and my hand was covering the intake vents to cool the motor. it was a large flat panel so i was workin it really hard as well.
 
I did the same thing, I guess were used to holding it like a Makita. I noticed the vents, so I am trying to get used to holding it closer to the pad.
 
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