DA Comparison: Ease of Use/Vibrations

C

cptzippy

New member
Currently have an aged (but not oft used) PC 7336. I've been toying with the idea of getting a new DA (part of me keeps fighting spending the money versus part of me that says 'oooo, new shiny thing). One consideration that just popped into my head is the ease of use. With a bad back and a pinched nerve that leads to numbness and loss of strength in my left hand, this is an important issue if there's a sizable difference.



Comparing the Flex versus Griots versus my venerable PC, what would be easiest on me? I know I could look this up but what about the weight/balance differences?
 
Cyclo Duel Head Orbital Polisher



The Cyclo Polisher is the only dual-head polisher on the market. Both heads move in an orbital motion, counter clockwise. The idea is to simulate hand polishing but at a much faster rate. Going over a scratch or swirl with both heads ensures that you are attacking it from all sides, so to speak. It is not an inexpensive machine ~ 300 USD but it does cut down on vibration significantly



It has been proven that operators face significant risk of muscle, joint and nerve damage caused by the inherent vibration of power tools. By reducing the amount of vibration you can reduce muscle and joint fatigue as well as the potential risk for permanent damage, as described in ISO 5349-1:2001- Mechanical vibration -- Measurement and evaluation of human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration.



One unique feature of the Cyclo Vibration Elimination System (VES) is that it is tuneable; the system's engineering allows the user to match the VES system to the various attachment systems available for Cyclo Dual Head Orbital Polishers - rubber pad holders or bonnets, carpet and scrub brushes, quick connect adapters with Double Precision™ pads, or other Genuine Cyclo attachments. This is achieved by selection of VES weighted inserts. Each weighted insert has been precisely machined to match and offset the vibration created by the orbiting action of attachments. By matching the correct VES weighted insert, operators reduce muscle and joint fatigue as well as the potential risk for hand, muscle and nerve damage.



In addition to the reduction of potential harm to the operator, the VES increases the polisher's stability during operation. Less vibration results in more consistent contact between the polisher heads and the surface being polished. Owners will benefit from a polisher that applies product more evenly and consistently and produces a higher quality finish.



Balance and Vibration Elimination



The dual orbital action heads produce an overlapping motion that simulates gentle hand-rubbed quality and eliminate the danger of heat build-up or swirl marks, with exceptional stability and smooth operation. The machine responds to pressure applied and polishes painted or unpainted surfaces with maximum safety and efficiency. It has two heads, spinning in opposite directions, so the machine remains balanced and produces minimum vibration
 
Get some MF pads. These will let run at lower speeds and less pressure, leading to reduced strain. I find polishing with a MF or Surbuf pad is much easier than with foam pads.
 
How does the correction ability of the cyclo compare to the others and my current one?



Thanks for all the replies.
 
If weight is an issue, then the Cyclo is out. The Griots has the most power, weighs pretty much the same as your PC, and with the MF pads as mentioned, will make polishing a breeze. To cut down on the vibration, don't grab the machine so tightly. Loose your grip a bit and you'll be amazed at how much the vibration is diminished. The Flex easily weighs 2-3 pounds more than the PC.
 
detailfanatic said:
If weight is an issue, then the Cyclo is out. The Griots has the most power, weighs pretty much the same as your PC, and with the MF pads as mentioned, will make polishing a breeze. To cut down on the vibration, don't grab the machine so tightly. Loose your grip a bit and you'll be amazed at how much the vibration is diminished. The Flex easily weighs 2-3 pounds more than the PC.
Click to expand...

Where are you getting these numbers? I have a PC 7336 - the same as the OP - and a Flex 3401. I weighed them on an accurate digital scale. Not including the cord or PC's side handle , the PC weighs 4.7 lbs and the Flex weighs 6.1 lbs - a difference of 1.4 lbs. A substantive difference, but not 2-3 lbs.



While I don't have much experience with my Flex yet, I find it more comfortable in my hands. The Flex's front grab handle and back portion fit my hands much better than the PC. More experience may change my mind, but right now I'm much happier with the Flex.



Whether this is the best polisher for the OP is a big question. OTOH, given the OP's Jag, he may need a lot of "horsepower".



Regards,



Dan.
 
Some sorta-random thoughts follow, and note that I can suffer from "white finger" so vibration is a genuine concern for me:



-Yeah, the Cyclo is the smoothest with regard to vibration, but it won't correct like a Flex or a Griot's. Much to my surprise, in side-by-side tests I even got better correction out of a PC with a 4" pad! Yeah, I know..the Cyclo doesn't bog down, so how could that be?!? Beats me, but that's how it worked out; similarly I've accidentally damaged clear via heat/etc. with a PC/4" and I couldn't do that via Cyclo even when I really tried...it's simply weird about the differences between the two



-That said, the Cyclo is still my favorite polisher to use and IMO it's incredibly user-friendly. The weight is no biggie IMO and I find it very easy to use with one hand. Before I got the Griot's I was doing perfectly OK using the Flex for aggressive work and following up with the Cyclo. Like the Cyclo so much I have two of 'em



-The Flex doesn't have the same kind of vibration that the PC does, but it has a peculiar type of, uhm..."recoil"; you do have to struggle against ("fight"?) the forced rotation and some people find that a deal-breaker. FWIW, it doesn't bother me and I do *NOT* get the same kind of vibration-induced numbness/tingling/"white finger" that I get with a PC



-The Griot's *does* vibrate/etc. the way a PC does, but not *nearly* as severely. Whether it'll be too much for somebody will be an individual-user type of thing, but hey..there's always the satisfaction guarantee to fall back on
 
I've alway liked the looks of the cyclo. Do you think it would take care of this...

DSC_3171.jpg
DSC_3165.jpg


DSC_2584.jpg
 
captzippy- I'm inclined to say something like "with todays products, sure it'll do the job!" but honestly, I just can't say. One thing, AFAIK they don't make MF pads in 4" and I hesitate to recommend the SurBuf ones since they don't work as well for me as they do for others.



But IIRC, Meguiar's makes their bugundy foam cutting pads in 4" these days, that those, wtih an aggressive compound, will do a lot.
 
BookemDano said:
Where are you getting these numbers? I have a PC 7336 - the same as the OP - and a Flex 3401. I weighed them on an accurate digital scale. Not including the cord or PC's side handle , the PC weighs 4.7 lbs and the Flex weighs 6.1 lbs - a difference of 1.4 lbs. A substantive difference, but not 2-3 lbs.
Click to expand...



My bad. Recently weighed my 7424 and 3401 on my digital scale and difference was almost 2 lbs, not 3. My apologies.
 
Ended up watching two guys garage and thought 'wouldn't it be funny if they had the autogeek-mike phillips spot on the cyclo on it?' Well, guess what. Wonder if that's a sign ;)
 
detailfanatic said:
If weight is an issue, then the Cyclo is out. The Griots has the most power, weighs pretty much the same as your PC, and with the MF pads as mentioned, will make polishing a breeze. To cut down on the vibration, don't grab the machine so tightly. Loose your grip a bit and you'll be amazed at how much the vibration is diminished. The Flex easily weighs 2-3 pounds more than the PC.
Click to expand...



Cyclo - Weight: 6.5 lb

Groits - Weight: 5.75 lb

PC - Weight: 5.75 lbs

Flex - Weight: 5.73 lbs
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
Optimum makes them in 4.25", which would probably work acceptably on a Cyclo..
Click to expand...



Eh, I doubt it :think: The way the Cyclo's pads overlap you have to be careful to get the 4" ones centered just right. That tiny little extra 1/4" would probably be a dealbreaker.



Some enterprising person could maybe trim them down to fit, but I bet *I* would botch that up if I tried it.
 
On the weight difference, I'm a little hard-pressed to see it being a big deal. I have *never* noticed the weight difference being remotely significant. The handling characteristics are another matter though...



Oh, and is anyone actually (happily) using vibration-reducing glves with a polisher? I have a set for use with other equipment (and yeah, they meet the ANSI-spec [whatever] ) and they sure aren't anything I'd want to have on when I'm polishing the car.
 
Seems like tradeoffs with whichever - although the cyclo has always been appealing to me for some reason. Think I'm going to give it a go with the old PC first and see how I do. Going to order some MF pads as well as some uber foam ones. Guess I can always spend my money later If it doesn't go as planned ;)
 
captzippy- Get the little MF pads, not the big 6" ones; remember that the PC is overwhelmed by big pads.



The only problems will be a) the vibration and/exacerbated by b) the time it'll take to do the work. I used 3" Meguiar's MF cutting pads with Uno to do some nice correction on Audi clear (switched to the Griot's so I could use those 6" pads when doing larger areas though).
 
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