Do you have flex rash?? (the backing plate burn?)

Hey guys,

My flex (even though I tightened the BP before use with allen key) has the Flex Rash! I was using it on speed 6 throughout my entire detail, and it turns out when you apply pressure using this, the back of the backing plate (black part) rubs against the metal part (steel or cast-iron, i dunno) and burns and wears it down. It makes a horrible burning smell but all in all I finished the detail just fine.

My concerns are, the foam barrier between the two surfaces probably isn't strong or durable enough to prevent this from happening, but the reason I continued was that if this rubbing was going to occur, it would wear down the black part to a point where there is a big enough gap not to worry about it.

Is this a problem I should claim under warranty or live with it?

 

im not too sure what to do either. mine burnt out of its housing today durring a detail and fell out. she still runs fine though...

 

Reading all the posts about the dreaded flex rash, i try not to apply pressure on an angle. i try to stay perpendicular to the paint at all times, just letting the machine do the work. imo i feel that if your not straight the machine seems to pull you.

-Sam

 

I have used my flex for 20 plus hours of some HARD work.. I did a black G6 that was HAMMERED and got about 90% correction with at least 13lbs of pressure and I have had ZERO issues.


here is my theory: the BP and actual inner drive have *teeth*, these *teeth* must be perfectly aligned...

I can put my bp on and see if the post is not 100% flush with the mating BP area... You will actually hear it click when it is fully seated.

When I was first messing with the machine before even putting pad to paint (something everyone should do with any machine) I realized that putting the BP on when not fully seated could be a VERY easy thing to do.

 

+1

When showing a friend the difference between the Flex and UDM, I had the backing plate off to show him the "gear-driven" BP. When re-installing the BP, I experienced a click as well, and the bolt tightened further.

 

so what are you saying? Take off the backing plate and keep trying to put it on until I hear a click?

 

Well, I know that while I had the spindle lock button pressed, I stuck the BP on there and twisted it. Doing so produced a click, the spindle lock button was pushed deeper, and the BP felt as if it had also set more firmly.

I think you can get a new BP from Powerhouse Distributing?

 

The centre of mine got so hot it melted the velcro:yikes:

 

I have used my flex a half dozen times now and no issues...I did re seat my plate when it arrived and tightened the screw also...now I did read some where ..forgot where ..but the felt ring in the housing can drop and cause the cutting of the backing plate..it was said to add a few small drops of glue at like 12...3...6...9...o'clock on it and reset it in...then to put a light machine oil across the whole top of of it ..I guess it's a fiber Teflon composition...

I myself do not add any added pressure down wards on it..I let the machine weight do it all...its not like a PC where you have to do this for it to do corrections....the Flex is direct drive and the orbit is consistent...

I am sure this issue will be worked out soon for those having problems...but for now try just letting the machine do its work under its own wieght..and see what comes of it

Al

 

same thing happened to me

i used this technique on my second car w/ the Flex and everything worked fine. for my first car w/ the Flex i probably applied too much pressure and that's when i melted the velcro.

 

I got the Flex rash the first time I used the machine back in December.

A long 50ft cord, a new Orange CCS pad (that probably wasn't kept flat) on speed 6 and boom....smoke and pieces of the felt ring flew everywhere.

There is not a lot of clearance between the bp and the metal housing, the long cord caused the housing to get too hot, the new pad was stiff, poor technique (first time using the machine) and perhaps a bit of perssure all contributed to the problem. I did remove the bp before I used it and made sure it was tight.

I did get a new felt ring and bp from powerhouse, however I still continue to use the "shavaed" backing plate now without any problems.

I now use the Flex on speed 5 for most work with a 25ft, 12 guage extenstion cord. I don't apply pressure and my technique is a lot better now that I have gotten used to the machine. I have used the Flex about 4-5 times with the new cord, etc without any issues.

 

I bought mine from AG, what do I do about my problem? I need a new felt ring.

 

I thought i was one of the lucky ones but, after doing about 10 cars my backing plate melted and the felt ring stuck to it. I check to make sure its tight before i use it everytime ,why now after 10 cars? Who do we go thru to get a new one? What are they doing to correct it?
__________________