When asked what product has most excited me about paint polishing, without hesitation, the FLEX Random Orbital Polisher would have to be the tool. This could quite possibly be the tool that bridges the gap between a rotary polisher and a user-friendly polisher such as the Porter Cable DA Polisher.

When I first heard the claims made by the manufacturer, I was immediately skeptical, I have grown to love my rotary like my first born child because it was without fault, there wasn’t anything it couldn’t do. Unfortunately the list of things that it could easily do included stuff like burn through clearcoats and effortlessly strip paint down to the primer on panel edges if used improperly. Those negatives aside, it was the perfect professional’s tool because it could tackle anything you threw at it.

During a tech event with a client, we simply put the Porter Cable DA Polisher and the FLEX to the test on his BMW Alpina B7. We both used Menzerna SIP and our GP Orange CCS pad. I got one side of a deck lid, he got the other. In one single pass, the FLEX removed every bit of the defects that my rotary would have and the Porter Cable side was about 70% of the way complete; needless to say I was amazed.

I had heard good things about the FLEX, but in my head I was still comparing the FLEX to a PC, and I know now that it is an unfair comparison. If comparing apples to apples, I feel that comparing the FLEX to a standard orbital is much less accurate than comparing it to a high speed rotary. It has power like a rotary, you handle it like a rotary, and it corrects like a rotary. I didn’t understand any of that until I was faced with it and its results, and the real kicker was that it achieved the same results but without any of the inherent risk that I have grown to accept with the rotary.

The key concept that makes the FLEX and a rotary polisher effective is rotation. A rotary polisher rotates at a high speed, creating a high friction surface that can break down polishes through friction and through heat. The FLEX is very different from other simple orbital polishers in that it has a direct drive controlling its rotation. No matter how much pressure is applied to the polisher, it will continue to rotate, exactly like a rotary. But in addition to that simple rotation is its orbital movement, and that’s the advantage. Its random orbital pattern allows polishes to break down purely through friction, without involving the heat element. It also allows polishes to break down evenly over a paint surface, eliminating the possibilities of common rotary issues like buffer trails and hologramming.

After using the FLEX for some time now, I can easily understand my level of excitement. The FLEX Random Orbital Polisher marks a serious shift and evolution for the DIY detailer. It is true that the FLEX does still have some limitations which require me to still carry my rotary for details, but those limitations are so far on the fringe of normality that the DIYer will likely never even experience them. It takes levels of correction that only pros or seasoned veterans could achieve, and now tangibly puts them in the hands of a green DIYer, and does it safely.

Glistening Perfection isn’t just about how good Moe is as a detailer, or how good the work that he does. Glistening Perfection is about how good that work can be, no matter who is responsible for it. The FLEX is a tool that should be viewed as mandatory for every single DIYer, simply because it puts everything within reach for them. Perfect finishes don’t just need to be dreamt about or hoped for, struggled with or stressed over; with the FLEX they are attainable.