Review: Griot's G9 - 9mm Orbit Stroke Random Orbital Polisher by Mike Phillips

I’m one that has been wishing for a revamped short stroke polisher! Personally, I find need for DA that isn’t a long stroke. Sometimes finishing on select paints with a long stroke doesn’t give the results that a short stroke polisher will.

I often use my GG6 or PC for finishing. Maybe that doesn’t make me the cool kid on the block but I’m after results.

Now this machine............ I’m just going to say WOW!! price and features are stellar! I certainly don't need this but I’m certainly getting one!

Thanks for the detailed write up, Mike!
 
Like I said in the past Apex Details gives out honest info :)
 
Thanks Mike for the review.

I have to be honest and say first that i am a newbie so beware me with my questions. I received this toy today and will like to be clear before i start to use it on my 3 cars (Nissan 350z 2004, Ford Explorer 2011 and Mustang GT 2019). To me my paints are good as i always have maintained them manually.

Now where i want to be clear is with the Backing Plates and Pads to start.

1. The Backing Plate that comes with the Polisher is 6". Can i use 6.5 and 6.0 or 5.5 with this backing plate?
2. Can i use a 5" Backing Plate to use smaller Pads or vice-versa?

What will you recommend me for better combination?

Thanks in advance...
 
Apologies - I just now found your post.


wcharon said:
Thanks Mike for the review.

I have to be honest and say first that i am a newbie so beware me with my questions. I received this toy today and will like to be clear before i start to use it on my 3 cars (Nissan 350z 2004, Ford Explorer 2011 and Mustang GT 2019). To me my paints are good as i always have maintained them manually.

Now where i want to be clear is with the Backing Plates and Pads to start.

1. The Backing Plate that comes with the Polisher is 6". Can i use 6.5 and 6.0 or 5.5 with this backing plate?
Click to expand...

Yes. No problems.




wcharon said:
2. Can i use a 5" Backing Plate to use smaller Pads or vice-versa?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Technically you can use larger pads on the smaller backing plate but there won't be any "support" behind the outer portion of the face of the pad.



wcharon said:
What will you recommend me for better combination?

Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...

What I recommend and what I did for my own personal G9 is to put a Griot's 5" G9 backing plate on this tool and then use 5.5" pads on it.

Here's two recent articles on this topic I wrote.


Backing Plate Swap - 5 inch backing plate for the Griot's Garage G9


Foam Pad Options for the Griots G9 Polisher






:)
 
wcharon said:
...
1. The Backing Plate that comes with the Polisher is 6". Can i use 6.5 and 6.0 or 5.5 with this backing plate?...
Click to expand...

Mike Phillips said:
...

Yes. No problems.

...
Click to expand...

Just to clarify, I think Mike meant that you can use 6.0” and 6.5” pads on the included 6” backing plate; but if you’re looking to run 5.0” or 5.5” pads you’ll need the 5” plate. :xyxthumbs:
 
oneheadlite said:
Just to clarify, I think Mike meant that you can use 6.0” and 6.5” pads on the included 6” backing plate; but if you’re looking to run 5.0” or 5.5” pads you’ll need the 5” plate. :xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...

Yeppppppppp. Thanks for the clarification.

At least i already used the 6.0 and 6.5 on my Ford Explorer and i worked great. At least for me as a newbie. Next car will be a Mustang 2019 and a Nissan 350Z and i will see how those pads 6.0 / 6.5 works with them.
 
I started off with a GG6. Got the G9 when it first came out. I played around with 5.5" & 6.5" BOSS pads and the standard thickness Griot's pads when I was doing my wife's Q5. I was impressed with how well the G9 kept even the "thick" 6.5" pads turning. I don't think you'll be let down sticking with the 6/6.5" pads.
 
Thanks.... I will give feedback as soon as i do the other 2 cars.
 
oneheadlite said:
I don't think you'll be let down sticking with the 6/6.5" pads.
Click to expand...

I agree, the new G9 has plenty of power, I prett sure I pointed this out in my review.

The only reason I use and steer other people to use smaller diameter pads than the normal 6.5" pads is not due to pad rotation, (with this specific tool), it's because smaller pads fit body panel designs better.

I've been meaning to take some pictures to show what I mean but the nutshell version is - it's a good practice to NOT buff on edges or raised body lines, accepting this as good protocol, then smaller pad fit smaller body panel designs better than larger pads.


:)
 
If I only use is around once per year (or should I say one car per year as one full paint correction could be splitted into several weekends doing different sections of the car each day) as hobby for paint correction for personal cars, should I upgrade for the regular Griot 6" Random Polisher to this?

I think the upgrade would be around $50-$70 if I sell my current one to buy the G9.

Is it worth it or should I just keep my GG6 (third gen) if I'm not a professional detailer that uses it every week
 
Considering how little you use your machine its really not necessary unless you are after a newer tool with more power. The GG6 has enough power and will serve you well.

Another option is to convert your GG6 to run 3" pads for smaller areas and pick up the GG9 with 5.5" pads for the larger areas.
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Considering how little you use your machine its really not necessary unless you are after a newer tool with more power. The GG6 has enough power and will serve you well.

Another option is to convert your GG6 to run 3" pads for smaller areas and pick up the GG9 with 5.5" pads for the larger areas.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. My current tool seems to work pretty well, it's very ergonomic I have no complains at all in that area, has the nice 25 ft cord and I can very easily and quickly switch to the 3" backplate/pads when detailing small sections. Seems that the only reason to upgrade would be if the extra power would give me HUGE time savings like fully compound a car in 5 hours instead of 10 hours, but if it's only like 9 hours instead of 10 (or like 10% less time), I might just keep my current one a few more years.
 
I have used (and LOVED) my GG6 for a few years now.

I was just gifted a G9 from a great friend here on AGO, and it will be tested early tomorrow morning.

I will post back in this thread after I have used it for a real world comparison.

For tonight, I will just "guesstimate" that while the G9 is an improvement, I am not convinced it is double the machine the GG6 is.

Test tomorrow.......... :)
 
PaulMys said:
I have used (and LOVED) my GG6 for a few years now.

I was just gifted a G9 from a great friend here on AGO, and it will be tested early tomorrow morning.

I will post back in this thread after I have used it for a real world comparison.

For tonight, I will just "guesstimate" that while the G9 is an improvement, I am not convinced it is double the machine the GG6 is.

Test tomorrow.......... :)
Click to expand...

looking forward to your update!
 
PaulMys said:
I have used (and LOVED) my GG6 for a few years now.

I was just gifted a G9 from a great friend here on AGO, and it will be tested early tomorrow morning.

I will post back in this thread after I have used it for a real world comparison.

For tonight, I will just "guesstimate" that while the G9 is an improvement, I am not convinced it is double the machine the GG6 is.

Test tomorrow.......... :)
Click to expand...

Interested to hear what you think. I made the same switch and went from a GG6 to the G9 (both with 5" backing plate). Going to the G9 made me realize I had some bad habits that needed to stop.
 
vwite said:
Thanks for the reply. My current tool seems to work pretty well, it's very ergonomic I have no complains at all in that area, has the nice 25 ft cord and I can very easily and quickly switch to the 3" backplate/pads when detailing small sections. Seems that the only reason to upgrade would be if the extra power would give me HUGE time savings like fully compound a car in 5 hours instead of 10 hours, but if it's only like 9 hours instead of 10 (or like 10% less time), I might just keep my current one a few more years.
Click to expand...

IMO, you wont gain that much time. You'll get down to the 8 hour mark but I think what you will find is that you will save the most time by having a second machine set up with a 3" plate and pads ready to pick up and get to business on the smaller areas rather than switching between plates on one tool.

Even in your scenario of just using a few times a year it would be beneficial to have 2 machines ready to put to work. You will save the most time going this route IMO.
 
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