Griot's Random Orbital Polisher

My new 6" HD Griot's unit arrived a couple of days ago. :) I took it out of the box tonight and plugged it in, just to make sure that it powered up and worked OK. One question: when the unit is off, the backing plate rotates freely. Is this normal? I don't remember my old Griot's polisher doing this. I want to make sure the pad rotates when going full tilt, but I have not had time to test that yet. If it's supposed to spin, fine. But there were no instructions as to the removal/replacement of the backing plate.

Your help is appreciated as always!!

PS: That 25' cord is going to be REALLY nice. Great idea.
 
karburn said:
One question: when the unit is off, the backing plate rotates freely. Is this normal?
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Yes.

Just by coincidence, I just buffed out the front clip of my Jimmy using XMT 360 with an orange cutting pad on the Griot's ROP. Came out nice and shiny.

JimmywithXMT360.jpg



:)
 
Workin' late tonight, huh? Thanks for the quick reply. I may end up in the garage yet!
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Here's a tip...

Don't wrap the cord around the polisher to store it, take the little bit of extra time to simply coil it up using a nice, large circular loop, this will keep it from getting twisted and horrible to use.


:)
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If you can get your hands on a old spool for ethernet cable or some other cable that comes on a cardboard spool that works great. That is what I wrap up my 25 ft extension cord on so it does turn into a mess.
 
As i'm still beginner. Can this Griot's compare to the Flex3401?
 
Buckskincolt said:
Mike you going to do a write up and some before and afters on this?:buffing:
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Going to try. Haven't buffed the truck out since before June so it's pretty rough by most peoples standards. It's not a great paint job to start with but it's new paint so it's staying put. I bought this off eBay about 2 years ago and it was a good deal but the paint is whatever was sprayed before I bought it so that's out of my control.

Believe it or not, it's single stage enamel.


nava222 said:
As i'm still beginner. Can this Griot's compare to the Flex3401?
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It compares in that they are both machines and working by machine is always faster than working by hand but they're really different kinds of tools.

See my comments about the Flex 3401 in post #10 of this thread,

1957 Chevrolet Belair Extreme Makeover - Flex 3401 & Wolfgang Smackdown!


:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Going to try. Haven't buffed the truck out since before June so it's pretty rough by most peoples standards. It's not a great paint job to start with but it's new paint so it's staying put. I bought this off eBay about 2 years ago and it was a good deal but the paint is whatever was sprayed before I bought it so that's out of my control.

Believe it or not, it's single stage enamel.




It compares in that they are both machines and working by machine is always faster than working by hand but they're really different kinds of tools.

See my comments about the Flex 3401 in post #10 of this thread,

1957 Chevrolet Belair Extreme Makeover - Flex 3401 & Wolfgang Smackdown!


:)
Click to expand...
I've been following most your write up since you're at autogeek, but as a newbie i also want the BETTER job not the EASIER one as i think that i can learn through and gain my experience and advise through autogeek. So i'm a bit on the Flex and without the price factor, what do you suggest???
 
I took the plunge and picked up the Griot's polisher earlier this summer on a killer deal from AG. I have to say it really works super well and blows the standard PC away. I also have a Makita and I am finding that the Griot's polisher does everything I need to do except remove the deeper scratches.

What I like the best is I can let a newbie use the Griot's to get a feel for how easy it makes polishing a vehicle.
 
OGauge4Me said:
I took the plunge and picked up the Griot's polisher earlier this summer on a killer deal from AG. I have to say it really works super well and blows the standard PC away. I also have a Makita and I am finding that the Griot's polisher does everything I need to do except remove the deeper scratches.

What I like the best is I can let a newbie use the Griot's to get a feel for how easy it makes polishing a vehicle.
Click to expand...

Are you using 5.5" pads or 6.5" pads? How much heat does it generate and how is the heat transfer throughout the different speed settings?
 
just ordered the Griot's after waiting more than half a year, ordered a nice package of goodies from auto geek, now have to wait til spring to actually use it on the car. guess I could do a little polishing on my spare/summer rims. can't wait!
 
I was doing an apples to apples cost comparison on the Porter Cable and accidentally ordered that group. Customer Service corrected it...with the smaller Lake Country backing plate included. Will this work on the Griots machine?

It was my first order and already screwed it up...LOL
 
The Griot's will accept the same size backing plates as the Porter Cable, so you should be fine.
 
I currently own a Portor Cable ( old model). Does it pay to layout $125+ to buy an updated version? Is there any real difference in performance?

Thanks
 
Yes, the difference is dramatic. I have a many year old PC7336. It has, and still does, serve me well. The Griots absolutely puts it to shame, no two ways about it. I even prefer the Griots over my Cyclo which I never could have imagined. I got the extended cord model and consider it worth the extra moola. Only you can decide if the upgrade is worth it to you.
 
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