Opinions on 3" polishers

Opinions on 3" Polishers?

What's that saying,

It's not what you know, it's who you know?

I'm kind of flabbergasted by this, but now that Chris Metcalf has gone from Flex to work at Vision/Sonax/Autogeek, Autogeek has some sort of exclusive on this polisher.

I'm not sure who this guy is in the video with Chris, he looks familiar but I can't place him

Hi Mike,

Setec Astronomy said:

Opinions on 3" Polishers?

What's that saying,

It's not what you know, it's who you know?

I'm kind of flabbergasted by this, but now that Chris Metcalf has gone from Flex to work at Vision/Sonax/Autogeek, Autogeek has some sort of exclusive on this polisher.

Click to expand...

Chris Metcalf has always been a standup guy. He always conducts himself in a professional manner both in the real-world and in the online-world. And he's smart enough to know to never burn a bridge. The results from this long-time conduct has put him in a unique and even powerful position. And true to form, he's just being himself - a professional in our industry.

It's a Win/Win/Win deal for Vision/SONAX/Autogeek.

Setec Astronomy said:

I'm not sure who this guy is in the video with Chris, he looks familiar but I can't place him

Click to expand...

We've been torture testing one of the prototypes since the May 3-Day Detailing Class back in 2024

And Yancy and I have a full video review and picture-intense review article that will be made public on Tuesday, November 3rd as I always honor the request by companies that trust me with prototypes.

Here's the most recent project that I've been using this newest addition to the FLEX line-up.


1958 Chevrolet Apache 31 ½-Ton Pickup Truck





Shooting a video tomorrow with this old 2-door Chevy on the topic, How to use a rotary polisher (to cut HARD).

Mike Phillips said:

The only 3" polisher I would consider is a short stroke option. And to my knowledge, the only short stroke option is the Griot's G8

FWIW

See what I share in this video.

Mike

Click to expand...

I have a 12mm 3 inch cordless polisher.

Also, I see that sometimes you move the pad over the raised body line in that video. Doing that always worries me, since years back reading a post (probably from you) about paint being very easy to burn through there: is the trick to not put any pressure on the pad when moving over the body line? And similarly, when polishing the contoured area right next to the raised body line, make sure the pad pressure is in the contoured area and no pressure is being put on the raised body line?

Setec Astronomy said:

It appears there is a new entry from Flex which will be available January 2027 and will premiere at SEMA. It's called the PCXE and it will have a forced-rotation mode, and it's cordless. It was introduced this month at the Automechanika show in Germany (thank you, internet). I'm betting Mike's lips are sealed on this one until SEMA.

Not sure if this will replace the "PiXiE", or will be an additional model in that range. I believe the version shown in Germany is not exactly the version we will get here in the US.

I have been advocating for a mini version of the 3401/XCE for a long time, and this machine isn't exactly that, but it's interesting.

Click to expand...

That's good to know. Not sure I want another 3 inch polisher, given I have a 12mm one (whoops), but Mike Phillips saying "the only 3" polisher I would consider is a short stroke option" has me wanting one!

Depending on the price point and 1/2 inch capabilities maybe I'll consider it. Although I worry it might be priced a decent amount above the "PiXie"'s current price point