Griot`s new DA?

[CharlesW]

Anyone own one of these yet?
Anyone used one that would want to share their opinion of the machine?
Any vendors want to sell me one cheap and I can share my opinions with the forum?

[Mike Phillips]

I`ve actually written quite a bit about it on the AG forum, here`s the skinny,

The new Griot`s Garage Random Orbital Buffer, (GG ROP), has the most amps and watts out of the other similar dual action polishers that use a Free Rotating Spindle Assembly for a drive mechanism.


trichard posted this over on AG, post #7

G110v2 ---4.2 AMP 430 watt motor
PCXP-------4.5 AMP 500 watt motor
Griot`s-----7.0 AMP 850 watt motor


Out of the 3, it`s the PC 7424XP that has the longest, time proven track record of being a reliable tool that will withstand years of abuse without breaking down.

So each person needs to look at the features and benefits of each of the 3 tools and decide which features and benefits are best for them.

To be honest, if a person is starting out with a swirled out black 4-door Honda Accord, all things being equal, you`re going to work on the on average just as much from start to beginning no matter which tool you buy.

When I lived in Apple Valley, California a lot of times I would have to drive a great distance to get to a customer`s location to detail their car. Taking the distance and traffic into consideration as two factors that contribute to the driving time to the location, (not to mention gas), the last thing I want to happen is to have a tool quit working on me so I can`t complete the job.

So for me, reliability is one of the most important factors when purchasing a power tool.

One time I drove to a location around the Newport Beach, California area and my Porter Cable 7424 broke somewhere in the motor/drive gear area. It had become inoperable.

I called the local Lowe`s and Home Depot but neither had another polisher in stock. I ended up stopping the job and because I was just starting when it broke I also removed myself from the job as I determined the car owner had unrealistic expectations and I didn`t want to work for him.

So in a way it was a blessing that the tool broke. It also taught me to always take at least 2 dual action polishers to a job more than 10 minutes away from my house.

Even though this particular PC broke down on me, it was after years of use and abuse by me so I felt I got a good value for my money and would buy another one.

They`re all good tools, just evaluate yourself and see what`s important to you and then evaluate the features and benefits of the tools and see which one matches best to your preferences.


Porter Cable 7424XP




Griot`s Garage Random Orbital Polisher




Meguiar`s G110v2

[CharlesW]

Thanks Mike.
I did read all of the threads I could find at AGOL covering the new Griot`s DA.
While both sites have a lot of the same members, I thought I might get some input from users here.
Either we don`t have any Griot`s DA users here or they aren`t talking.

One thing that I keep thinking about is the fact that the increased power will probably let me grind away more paint in less time. I`m not sure that is a good thing.
It`s not uncommon for me to keep a vehicle a long time, and there is always the possibility of eventually damaging the finish. My once or twice a year with something like Optimum Poli-Seal and my PC is not likely to do much damage.
My most aggressive product would be something like Meg`s #80 or #83 amd then only where really needed. I don`t think I have ever had to do the entire exterior of one of my vehicles.

[Mike Phillips]

One thing that I keep thinking about is the fact that the increased power will probably let me grind away more paint in less time. I`m not sure that is a good thing.

Vindicated.

Somewhere on some forum when the topic of the most powerful DA style polisher came up I mentioned that not everyone needs or wants the most power polisher as some people just want to apply a coat of wax by machine, not turn their car into a flawless show car.

Of course you can always run a more powerful tool at a lower speed setting.

As is often said: "Don`t fix what ain`t broke" and "Find something you like and use it often"

(Both statements are stolen from somewhere and while I`m not sure if they are copyrighted or not, I did find them in the public domain.)

Here`s one that I like a lot and people have referenced me with...

"If it ain`t broke, fix it till it is"