Did my first full detail with my G9

Got a chance this weekend to do a complete detail on my wife’s Q5. I picked up a G9 during the 1st week they were available, and had high hopes for it when doing a quick test trunk lid when it arrived.

Here are my thoughts after getting some real time with it.

Products used: Settled in with Griot’s Fast Correcting Cream on Orange pads (both BOSS and standard, 5.5” and 6.5”), as well as Perfecting Cream on the Yellow BOSS perfecting pads (6.5”). 2nd Gen Griot’s 5” Vented backing plate for 5” mode.

Experience: I really, really like this machine. Upgraded from a 3rd Gen GG6. I was hoping for a better long-use experience, and it definitely delivered.

Noise: While I can’t speak for a direct comparison to the GG6 in terms of noise, I feel like this was slightly quieter. I use Bluetooth Ear Plugs (advertised at 27db noise reduction) for listening to music, so I never actually ran the machine without hearing protection. I never turned the volume up on my phone past about half volume, and even when I was close to the machine for doing the vertical panels, it never felt like the noise was too intense. I think one contributing factor is that I never felt like I needed to run the machine past speed 5 (I kept ending up around 4.5), so that helps keep the noise down

Vibration: When I first did the test trunk lid, I was slightly let down in that I didn’t feel like it was substantially smoother than I remembered the GG6. I then realized it had been so long since I’d run a machine that I was death gripping it. Much like go-karting or performance driving, you quickly realize there’s no need/benefit to holding on that tight. Once I loosened up, I really did feel that it was a smoother machine. Even with multiple steps, I didn’t get tingly hands like I remember getting sometimes with the GG6.

Ergonomics: This thing is super balanced. I also love the shape of this thing. You can hold it any way you want or need to, and it’s easy to keep the pad square and maintain whatever level of pressure you want. Even though the trigger’s not progressive, it’s nice to be able to blip it to spread product around before locking the trigger on. The speed control dial is also really easy to use if you want to do it that way (I kept going between the 2, I think just because I could).

Observations:
The digital speed control - I mention this just because it’s a feature they advertise. It’s not anything that you notice directly; the only time I remembered it was a thing was when I’d lighten up pressure to allow the pad to speed up a bit (bad habit, I know, but sometimes for RIDS I’ll unweight the machine, let the pad spool up, and go slightly on edge to focus the correction. Not a thing I make regular practice of). I’d pull tension slightly, and you’d hear the speed “plane out”. Not a bad thing at all, because it means for everything else you put it through it’s just humming along.

Trigger lock: During the test trunk, I kept having trouble getting the trigger lock to stay engaged. I found out during the full detail that if you don’t think about it and just hit it, it works like a charm. I was hesitant to even mention it since it felt like operator error, but I was a thing I noticed.

Does it stall: While during 98% of the time I used it, that thing would just keep the pad humming along, yes: you can get it to stall. On my wife’s Q5, the hood has some real body shape where it comes to the fenders, and in those areas I could get the pad to stop rotating. This was with the 5.5” BOSS pad. Which brings me to:

Pads: This is where I’m hoping for feedback from others, as I don’t have near as many square feet of machine use as most people here. Despite everything I read saying that the small throw polishers like 5” thin pads, I swear this thing really liked the 6.5” thick pads! It had no problem turning them, and interestingly with the big pads on, you couldn’t get it to stall in the situation listed above. One other interesting observation with the thin 5.5” pad - for certain spots (like the 1-2” strip below the window molding, with light pressure it would “counter rotate” as I’ve heard described on the longer throw Rupes machines.

Overall: Super happy with this machine. I’ve got a GG3 for tight quarters, so the chance to upgrade to a machine that stood to be more efficient and comfortable for longer term use felt like a no-brainer. If you only wanted to have 1 machine, then the GG6 is definitely more flexible since you can run the 3” backing plate and pads.

Thanks for reading, sorry this ended up way longer than I meant it to!!! I’m in no way a pro, but thought it’d be helpful to share my observations even still.

Oneheadllight- Hey, that was a good review, thanks for posting it.

I agree with Accumulator, that was a great review.

Thanks for taking the time to think through the review.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the great review!

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Originally Posted by Oneheadlite

Pads: This is where I’m hoping for feedback from others, as I don’t have near as many square feet of machine use as most people here. Despite everything I read saying that the small throw polishers like 5” thin pads, I swear this thing really liked the 6.5” thick pads! It had no problem turning them, and interestingly with the big pads on, you couldn’t get it to stall in the situation listed above. One other interesting observation with the thin 5.5” pad - for certain spots (like the 1-2” strip below the window molding, with light pressure it would “counter rotate” as I’ve heard described on the longer throw Rupes machines.

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Funny you bring this up. While not directly related to the GG9, I had a similar observation with pads last week while doing some work on my car. I use a HF DA polisher which has plenty of power so thin pads were never a must have item for me. However, my pad inventory includes a mixture of both LC Thin Pro and normal Flat pads. While working on my car which has all sorts of strange contours, I found myself reaching for all my Flat pads and leaving the Thin Pro`s in my bin. While stalling has never been a problem, I just found the thicker pads to be easier to get a good "contact patch" on most of the panels. The only place I could use the thin pads to their best effect was the roof, trunk lid, and small flat parts of the hood. I may start going back to using thicker pads more often due to their versitility.

Excellent review! Thank you!

Good review. I like your feedback on this.

BTW, that "counter rotate" you mention is the wagon wheel effect. It`s just an illusion.

Nice thorough review...thanks for posting!

Thanks for the kind words gang.

I basically typed it out as fast as I could during my lunch break, so I was really hoping it would be coherent for others.

Things I forgot to mention:

Quick Release Cord: I love this feature. Mainly because it makes it super easy to put away when you’re done, but I also found myself disconnecting it to bring the polisher to my “home base” table to change out pads when working on the opposite side of the car. (Long story short, my garage was terribly set up when built, so I have 1 outlet to work from. Got tired of stepping over cords...). While I get Accumulator’s reservations as a potential failure point, in my mind it’s akin to your battery contacts on a cordless tool - those see many cycles but I’ve yet to have a failure there. I did make sure to fully depress the release tab as to not wear the housing (just in case). Not sure I’d make a habit out of it during the detail, but again absolutely love it for putting it away.

Heat: Or, better put: lack thereof. Not like I was running it at speed 6 with a pad loaded enough to do 3 cars, but at no point did I ever notice the machine getting hot. Even checking the pad after longer section passes, it was still cool.

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Originally Posted by JustJesus

Good review. I like your feedback on this.

BTW, that "counter rotate" you mention is the wagon wheel effect. It`s just an illusion.

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Everything I thought I knew was a lie... :ph34r:
:lol::lol::lol:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oneheadlite

While I get Accumulator’s reservations as a potential failure point, in my mind it’s akin to your battery contacts on a cordless tool - those see many cycles but I’ve yet to have a failure there...

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Heh heh, my less-than-optimal experiences of rechargeable Dremels come to mind ;) But OK, maybe this will be more like my experiences with the Milwaukee M12 :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Accumulator

Heh heh, my less-than-optimal experiences of rechargeable Dremels come to mind ;) But OK, maybe this will be more like my experiences with the Milwaukee M12 :D

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Doh! Ok, maybe bad analogy. I was thinking of my Milwaukee and Snap On tools. Can`t count how many times some of those batteries have been on/off the charger/tool. I`ve got tools and batteries that are from 2013 that have been swapped at the very least once or twice a week, plus the occasional "accidental discharge" when gravity wins again and a tool hits the deck...

Oneheadlite- It`s swell when stuff just keeps on ticking, huh? :D Except that ya get spoiled, and [ticked] off when something doesn`t!