Pads for the Flex

Im finally thinking about getting the Flex DA. I was wondering what size of pads should i purchase.

From my experiences, the 6.5 pads on a UDM do not correct that well on BMW 's hard clear. So i was wondering if the 6.5 pads are useless on the Flex for BMW hard clear as well and if i should pick up 5.5 pads instead for better correcting abilities

Thanks

I always recommend the 5.5" pads, for reasons you already mentioned, but smaller pads are also easier to control.

6.5's work fine on my Flex they are a little big but the power this machine has more than compensates. 5.5 might be pushing it since the backing plate is pretty big you would have no room for error. With a 5.5 you would literally have no extra foam hanging off the hard plastic backing plate or maybe even not enough coverage from the foam pad. That being said I want to get some 6.0 pads for mine not for of cut/correction but for ability to get into tighter/smaller crevices and spaces on cars.

For PC and UDM type machines 6.5 inch pads do seem to bog down the machine so I know where you are coming from.

I thought they came out with new backing plates for the Flex?

I usually use the 6.5" Lake Country Pads. The Flex has plenty of power to allow this pad to cut in to the clear coat and remove fairly deep imperfections. Let me know if you have any questions.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Originally Posted by DetailDan

I thought they came out with new backing plates for the Flex?

Yeah they did they are 5.5 inches. That is the one I have on mine currently. That's why I stated that using a 5.5 could potentially be pretty dangerous. If you don't really watch what your doing the hard plastic backing plate can nick part of the paint.

If you really wanted a smaller pad (for maneuverability purposes) I would go with the up coming edge adapter which enables you to use 4inch pads on the flex.

But for cutting purposes 6.5 works fine. I don't even go full speed on my flex and it cuts extremely well with SIP.