picked up the FESTOOL Shinex RAP 150

Georg Weidmann from Swissvax recommended me to try out FESTOOL tools, since that's what's used at all the Swissvax Detailing facilities. So recently i saw that they came out with their latest rotary polisher, the Shinex RAP 150, and i had to try it out. I looked around online and all the online stores seemed to be on backorder, so i decided to look around for a local solution. i found a lumber and hardware store here in Miami that is a full dealer for FESTOOL. I stopped by a week ago, placed an order for two of the machines, and i picked them up today.



My initial impressions:

-comes with it's own backing plate. similar to the 3M one.
-Very light
-Quieter than the makita
-seems to vibrate less
-better hand position
-longer power cord, hopefully it won't fail like the makita did
-2 prong plug, does not have a ground.
-seems very solid

I'll be trying it out for the first time on Monday, and I'll post my impressions after using it.

If you are looking for one you can order it from Shell Lumber in Miami. Ask for Alvaro in the Mill shop.

 

how much was it if ya dont mind me asking

 

Last I read they are 400.

 

Quieter than the Makita sounds impressive. How is the maneuverability with the grips/hand location?

 

Got it for $400

I can't say much about the grips because I haven't used it yet.

 

What's the thread size on it? M14 or 5/8?

 

M14!!!

 

I would love to find out how does this new polisher compares to new Flex...

 

This thread isn't really very detailed, but at least it's the first comparison I've seen of the two machines. Again, this thread might help a littl or might not.

http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/rotary-forum/28964-my-thoughts-flex-pe14-2-vs.htm

 

I've been looking at maybe picking up the new Flex but looking at this Festool, my mouth is watering lol.
The crappy cord on my Makita is going again.

By the way, i just saw a thread on AGO about a new Dewalt coming out?

you can read about it here:

http://dewaltownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=656.0

 

Cool anticipating the review

 

So i used the FESTOOL yesterday to polish a E46 M3... pictures coming soon...

It was GREAT! Miles ahead of the makita! the only bad thing that i found was that the polisher overheated once after like 3 hours of continuous polishing. Keep in mind that yesterday was a VERY hot day in miami, around 90 degrees and 100% Humidity. when it overheated it went into like a "safe mode" where it didnt go past speed 1

PRO's:
-Much lighter than the makita, thus my arms and hands never felt even the slightest bit of fatigue
-much easier to control due to better grip position and lower center of gravity
-VERY quiet... well compared to the makita... you can actually hold a conversation without yelling while you are polishing
-Hand grips stay cool and do not heat up, however the motor itself does get very hot, but the polisher was engineered to not let the hand grips get hot.
-longer power cord helps a lot

con's
-Overheated
-M14 spindle (couldn't switch backing plates with the makita)
-the backing plate it came with is very stiff compared to the 3M one

 

Thanks for the update my friend!
You know, you can always buy a 3M backing plate with the M14 fitment. 3M part number 09552.
Good luck!

 

That is a sexy machine. Nice purchase

 

lol, feel free to add your own review of the two

- I replaced the original Festool BP to the 3M one, when I got it - I also found it too hard/stiff. M14 thread is great for us europeans, heh. It's weird that your machines are overheating though, my shinex hasn't done it yet. It does get a bit hot, but no overheating.


Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

Thanks for the review, i'll have to look into this to add to my collection! Eventually...

 

Don't the Festool's come with the snazzy green cord anymore? :thinking:

 

They come with the black cord. If it's a adapter like 20Amp -15, it will be the funky green...
I have quite a couple of sytainers with Festools if not their vac as well...

 

Bought it and totally impressed,great polishing machine.Anyway i'm proudly the first owner of RAP 150 on Indonesia

 

wow nice..... what's the polisher right next to the festool? Looks almost identical.