FLEX XFE7-15 150 Orbital Polisher 6 Inch Long Stroke - First Look

By Tim Johnson
April 4, 2017

If you are a car detailer and haven’t used a FLEX polisher, then do yourself a favor and find one to try. The dark maroon and black colors of the FLEX brand give it a somewhat vanilla appearance, however their performance is far superior. The new FLEX XFE7-15 150 orbital polisher 6 Inch long stroke is dubbed The Finisher and may be posed to set new standards with orbital polishers.

We’ll find some time in the next few weeks to release a full review, but we wanted to take the opportunity to give our first look impressions of this new long stroke polisher. At first glance, the same FLEX quality is present with several apparent feature upgrades to prior polishers that we have tested from FLEX.

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FLEX XFE7-15 150 orbital polisher 6 Inch Features

Detailing and polishing is all about covering surface area. To be more efficient, you have to cover more area in a shorter time, as a result the FLEX XFE7-15 Long Stroke polisher does just that. The 15mm stroke is Huge in the polishing world. Let’s quickly calculate this for all our imperial or fractional audience out there; this is over 1/2″ (0.59) stroke. For example, this almost doubles the 8mm (5/16″) stroke of the FLEX XC 3401 VRG orbital, and it more than doubles the 7/32″ orbit of the Makita BO6050J 6-Inch orbital polisher. Now, bigger isn’t always better, but we do have to recognize that it will cover a lot of ground – or painted sheetmetal.

15mm (.59″) Long Stroke

With a long stroke like the 15mm orbit, you have to overcome the out-of-balance issue. In other words, the further the pad is thrown off the axis, the harder it is to change that direction and bring it back. The larger the orbit, the more vibration, or shake, that the user will feel when polishing, unless a countermeasure is added to equalize this atypical anti-balance action. FLEX has added counterweights to make this XFE7-15 150 long stroke orbital a smooth operator. If you shake The Finisher you can hear a rattling noise. This isn’t broken pieces in the polisher, rather this is the counterweights that have been added for balance.

I try to learn from professionals in any trade or profession. If there is one thing that I have realized after being around many detailers, they like to get down close to their work and they like to feel at one with the tool. This is even more true with the finer polishes. FLEX has added a rubber overmold on the head of the XFE7-15, hence making it comfortable for the professional to cup their hand on the rubber overmold to gently guide the tool where they want.

The Finisher – FLEX XFE7-15 Long Stroke Specifications

Max. Polishing Pad Diameter: 3″
Max. Back-up Pad Diameter: 6.3″
Speed Without Load: 2,900-6,800 RPM
Orbital Speed: 3,000-9,000 OPM
Orbit Diameter: 15mm (0.59″)
Power Input: 8.6 AMP
Weight: 5.2 lbs.
Drive: Rotary Orbital

XFE7-15 150 Long Stroke Orbital Polisher Features Continued

Covering more surface area with longer strokes and adding comfy SoftGrip handles is great, but a good polisher has to perform and last. After all, these polishers get a workout every day. FLEX adds extra cooling vents and optimal airflow in the XFE series to prevent overheating and make for a more enjoyable ergonomic experience for the pro. The VR microprocessor controller provides soft starts and constant speed control, hence the user maintains better control of the tool and the product being applied. In addition, the VR microprocessor also provides continuous speed control trigger, restart protection after power failure, overload protection, temperature monitoring and speed selection. Finally, a flat gear head keeps the body of the tool, and the user, close to the surface, as well as the trigger lock provides constant speed without finger fatigue.

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Our Take

Since we already have the FLEX XFE7-15 150 orbital polisher 6 inch in our hands, it will only be a matter of days until we have it in the hands of one of our professional detailers. We will be sure to give the FLEX some extensive testing and report back with further details. Expect some video and in-use photos to follow. Until then, it looks like FLEX is delivering with their typical high-quality tools, and even enhancing on this.