Is Griots Garage 6" a substantial upgrade from PC?

[Swanicyouth]

It`s a pretty good upgrade. It has more power. If you get it - you can use yr PC with 3-4" pads...

The thing is; I don`t know how tight money is 4 U - but the Rupes 15 is soooo much nicer. So, it`s worth the premium. But, remember - if you go with Rupes - yr gonna need pads as well...So, adds even more to the cost....

I was in yr shoes many years ago & got a GG6 V2 coming from a PC for $99. It was worth that fo sho...The GG6 will spin pads like a boss...

But, now I just use my PC with small pads and the Rupes...

[ManiZ]

Thank you. Certainly something to think about. Rupes 15ES is at a 1/3 price premium over the discounted SK. Price isn`t a huge deal to me but I do tend to have buyer`s remorse when an expensive purchase doesn`t get used to its full potential. I have posted here previously about my tons of expired detailing products before; it`s the same thing. I`d like to be able to use my current pads with the new polisher if it makes sense. BTW, I intend to sell my PC so I will be sticking with one polisher for everything.

Adams SK is looking better than GG6 right now and I just realized they are a local business to me so that is a plus. Their warranty is also better than Rupes.

Really appreciate all the input. Please keep it coming. I will place my order after the weekend.

[GearHead_1]

Having used both, I`d called it an upgrade...to call it a `significant` upgrade is subjective. If it were me, I might be inclined to go for a long(er) throw machine, up to a BOSS G15, and dedicate the PC to a 3" machine for those smaller spots.

Do yourself a favor and while upgrading the machine upgrade to the boss pad system

I personally think this is solid advice.

[pwaug]

Clearly the GG6 is a good upgrade from the PC. I started with a GG6 Gen 2 with a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads taking care of our 2 VW`s with rock hard paint. It did and admirable job and I have never been dissatisfied with it`s performance. However, I upgraded to a BOSS G15 simply because it is so smooth and much less tiresome on my old bones. Now the GG6 has the 3" HD backing plate for dedicated use on the tight bits.

Keep in mind the G15 has a lifetime warranty like the GG6 which I find comforting since I only use my units a few times per year--would have to spend $80-100 for repairs a few years down the road.

Also, IMO you can make any polisher more efficient with modern pads and polishing products--I have gotten much better results with much less effort since moving away from 105/205 .

[WaxAddict]

--I have gotten much better results with much less effort since moving away from 105/205 .

You can expect a phone call from the cartel soon.

[Accumulator]

..I have gotten much better results with much less effort since moving away from 105/205 .

Yeah, same here. Though M105 was a nice development back before M101 came out. It was M205 that I never liked....

[rlmccarty2000]

The best warranty is the one that you don`t have to use.

Pick up some microfiber pads for working on hard paint. Try Meguires cutting pads with D300.

[RTexasF]

I feel that it is indeed an upgrade from the PC, just get a smaller backing plate to accommodate your current pads. Cough up the small difference for the longer cord, and get a small backing plate for the PC to use 4" pads. I have 4" pads from my Cyclo and just re-purposed them to the PC. Now large or small areas can be done with ease.

[RaskyR1]

Definitely an upgrade and with some MF pads it can still do very serious correction, even on hard paints. The G15 will offer more comfort though and faster correction. You can use your PC for 3"-4" work.

[Accumulator]

..I have 4" pads from my Cyclo and just re-purposed them to the PC. Now large or small areas can be done with ease.

We Cyclo owners can use the Cyclo`s backing plates on the PC/GG6 too.

[EdLancer]

Hello all. I am an enthusiast detailer and weekend warrior. I bought my PC 10+ years ago and it has served me fine thus far, but I have never needed it for hard paints or serious correction. Light/moderate polishing and LSP application is all I have needed it to do and it is ok for that. However, I always feel that it bogs down and stops spinning at the required 10 lbs of pressure. I would like to upgrade to something a bit more powerful that would meet my needs now and in the future even if we buy a car with harder paint.

Reading through some threads here on the forums, it appears that GG6 is a good upgrade. But I also see a whole host of new DAs as well from the likes of Flex, Rupes, and even Griots themselves, though all of them cost 2-3 times as much as the GG6. I would like to spend less money but if something is more future proof for my needs, I might consider it. Based on what I mentioned above regarding me and the intended use, should I just get GG6 and be done with it or go even further?

With my PC, I have a hard 4.5 inch backing plate and a wide range of 5" foam pads w/ various degrees of hardness for correction as well a few 6" soft foam pads for LSP application. I would prefer to use all of those with the new polisher.

Looking forward to your input.

Some detailers don`t think the Griots machine is an upgrade and I would tend to agree with them. For that money you might as well get yourself a rotary to tackle the tougher corrections and use your PC to finish off.

[Accumulator]

EdLancer- The following might sound like an argument, but I think that by now you know that I`m just on the other side of a few fences So...

Noting that I`ve never damaged paint with a rotary, a whole lotta people have, and I just can`t ever see a non-pro using one enough to gain any meaningful proficiency with one.

My Good Painter, a guy who`s been using a rotary longer than I`ve been alive (and that`s saying something!), recently did irreparable damage to my 19K mile `85 Jag with his Makita and a mild Menzerna polish. Can`t get the right paint to fix it, gotta live with it for the rest of my life. He`s *really* good with a rotary...most days, but he wasn`t dialed-in for a few seconds and it happened that fast.

And really, I can`t imagine any non-pro *needing* to do any correction so severe that a RO/DA can`t handle it with MF/M101...even that combo is so aggressive that damage could happen quite easily if the user doesn`t have any idea how much clear each pass is taking off. My latest New-To-Me vehicles were so bad I quit on every panel over clearcoat thickness issues...just couldn`t take off enough to fix the marring (overdid it on the `93 Audi because I wasn`t using the ETG). Had *zero* trouble taking that much hard clear off, never even thought about needing to get out a rotary. It`s just SOOOO easy with a RO/DA these days.

Finishing off Rotary Work via PC/etc. can be trickier than one might think. That`s what I did for years, but seeing the holograms was very challenging, and sometimes those seemingly shallow things required a *LOT* of clearcoat removal for some reason. If somebody only leaves faint holograms, and has the right lighting/etc. to see them perfectly, then OK, no problem.

Hey, I first used a rotary (Milwaukee) back in the `70s. Still have my Makita and Metabo, though I never use them any more. And I do understand that some people 1) really like them and 2) really are *that good* with them. But to me a rotary is like a .357 snubnose- the people who oughta be running it already have theirs and don`t need any advice from anybody; the rest of the world oughta use something else.

[ManiZ]

Update: I just ordered GG15 kit from AG. Their current 15% promo made it an easier decision. I did a double take when I saw it since I had not seen their promos applicable to polishers in the past. This one applies to kits only and their basic kit was just $15 over the solo polisher anyway so I was going to order it regardless. It comes with a choice of 5 pads, some MFs, and a cleaner.

I thought about this decision for several days, then decided to buy the Adams SK15. Their lackluster pre-sales customer service left me feeling uneasy about the post-sales support, so I moved on to the Rupes 15ES. Went to order that from AG and saw the promo (which excludes Rupes BTW) so pulled the trigger on G15. Their quality, warranty and reputation give me a lot of confidence.

I will look into polishes later. For now, I will stick with my M105/205 until they run out. We currently have a late-model Silver Lining Metallic Lexus and Jet Black BMW (I can hear your groan from here!). Lexus has not needed polishing and JB BMW being as soft as it is, only needed M205 with a finishing pad for correction with a PC. That car is now being replaced by a 2018 BMW with `Silverstone Metallic` paint. But based on everyone`s feedback here, I am sure G15 will now be my polisher for life.

THANK YOU all for your help. Autopia has been my detailing home for 10+ years now and you guys are still just as helpful and knowledgeable as ever.

[dennis hiip]

You will be happy with your decision.

[briarpatch]

Pics of your results would make this all seem worthwhile.....just sayin`