3 inch buffer

93fox

93fox

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Ive recently been needing a 3 inch buffer for small things where the 8 inch pads are not suitable. i mostly need it to buff out helmets and small areas on panels. i know there are some air supplied buffers but i need the electrical ones due to the lack of a compressor. pretty much i want a 3inch buffer that can do compounding on the toughest clears. or are there any good buffers that i can just put a 3 inch backing plate on it? does anybody here know witch is the best 3 inch buffer? has anybody used any that has given good results? i would appreciate it any suggestion.
Feed back please
 
well i mostly need it for major correction, such as wet sanding orange peel and buffing, fixing runs and then buffing! ive read comments about the griots garage 3 inch buffer and mostly everyone says its not for major correction. which is what i need one for, major correction
 
Flex lightweight rotary would work for the heavy stuff.
 
I've been looking at the flex as well. The thing is that i paint cars, and i need a buffer to buff out cars for when they are ready, i mostly apply 3 coats of clear and then wetsand a coat off and then use compound, swirl mark remover and polish. ive only used a dewalt once but i would like to know whats the best one out there for my sort of situation.
 
If you are wetsanding, you are going to want a high quality rotary.

Makita 9227c would be my choice for general work, then use the Flex Lightweight Rotary for tight areas with small pads.

You said earlier that you do not have a compressor, but you say that you paint cars? Does that mean that you use a rattle can?
 
well i paint cars at school, but at home i have a car i need to wet sand and buff out. and its home where i dont have a compressor. but im looking into the dewalt rotary buffer, or a flex rotary.
 
93fox said:
... im looking into the dewalt rotary buffer, or a flex rotary.
Click to expand...

As other have pointed out, you're not going to get much correction with a 3" machine. I've owned both the GG and Metabo 3" and have had decent results using M105 and 3" LC orange and PFW but it was a real chore. Slapping the smaller backing plate on the 6" GG worked better and using a 3 or 4" on a rotary better yet. The 3" works best light polishing small areas and spreading LSPs.

IMO, the Makita sets the standard for rotarys. The Dewalt is a good machine but I found it more difficult to manage, perhapos heavier. The Flex 603 is kinda heavy as well. I have the Flex 3403 lightweight and really love it's lighter weight for vertical surfaces. If you're going to be removing sanding marks and heavy duty buffing it isn't as stout as the full sized and they tend to get pretty warm with tough duty.

The new Flex that's due out after the first of the year or so appears to be the best of all worlds... and priced accordingly. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with a Makita with a variety of backing plates. There's a reason almost all the pros use a 9227.

If you find a need for a 3" later I recommend the GG for working in tight spaces. I got some decent correction using 4" Surbufs but if you exert much pressure you loose the rotation with 4" pads. Supply for 3" pads is kinda sparse but 3.5" LC PFW is around as are a few 3Ms and GG pads. Plus I recently sourced a supplier with 3.5" LC white and orange CCS pads.

TL
 
oldmodman said:
That's the one that i got. Works very nicely for getting into difficult to reach spots, but don't expect it to do major correction. But used alongside a Flex to augment it's abilities it does a great job. It can handle a maximum of a four inch pad if you expect it to revolve.
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What if you had a tight spot for major correction and needed to use a 3" bp what would you use? I was also thinking in getting this griot but like they say this one is not as strong as the griot with 6" bp. Which comes with a handle but do they sell 3" bp for this griot to replace the 6" bp?



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ExoticAutoDetai said:
What if you had a tight spot for major correction and needed to use a 3" bp what would you use? I was also thinking in getting this griot but like they say this one is not as strong as the griot with 6" bp. Which comes with a handle but do they sell 3" bp for this griot to replace the 6" bp?



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Click to expand...

Put a 3" BP on your Griots 6". This is what I have done and it works great. The 3" Griots I hear is super weak

I don't know if AG sells 3" BP's or Pads. If they don't, I can PM you someone who does
 
ExoticAutoDetai said:
What if you had a tight spot for major correction and needed to use a 3" bp what would you use?
Click to expand...

Work by hand or modify another tool to do the job. This is where having both the ability to remove defects by hand and machine comes in handy as you just can't use a machine for all areas of all cars.


Removing Scratches By Hand

1-Step versus 3-Step Process by Hand

Man versus Machine



ExoticAutoDetai said:
I was also thinking in getting this griot but like they say this one is not as strong as the griot with 6" bp. Which comes with a handle but do they sell 3" bp for this griot to replace the 6" bp?
Click to expand...

You can fit a 2 3/4 backing plate to either any of the PC style DA Polishers, including the 6" Griot's but when you fit such a small backing plate and pad onto the full size DA Polishers be "more" careful as it makes them kind of tippy since you've got this massive tool operating by comparison a very small pad.

Using the 2 3/4 backing plate we sell, (which is a rotary buffer backing plate), with a DA means using an adapter.

D.A. Adapter



Flash Gordon said:
Put a 3" BP on your Griot's 6". This is what I have done and it works great.
Click to expand...

It does work well in that the larger polisher will easily rotate small pads but it is a little on the tippy side so hold onto the polisher firmly and focus on the task at hand when using this combination.


Flash Gordon said:
The 3" Griot's I hear is super weak
Click to expand...

Well it's weak in comparison to the full size DA Polishers. The current version is more effective at keeping pads rotating under pressure better than the first version and in my opinion better than the Metabo version of the DA Polisher but it can remove swirls and scratches you just have to use very good technique and monitor your pressure and pad rotation all the time. It will mostly only be good for paint correction on flat panels as using it on edge will tend to stop the pad rotation and thus stop any paint removal.

That said, I've used it in the past for paint correction and am using it this week on a project car.

Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher - Extreme Demo - Warning!

pushingtheEnvelope003.jpg





Flash Gordon said:
I don't know if AG sells 3" BP's or Pads. If they don't, I can PM you someone who does
Click to expand...

Sure we do...


2-3/4 inch Hook & Loop Rotary Backing Plate

Griot's Garage 3 Inch Orange Polishing Foam Pads, Griots foam polishing pads, Griots orange foam pads


:)
 
Here's a handy use for the small 3" Griot's Garage foam polishing and the Optimum Rotary Buffer Extension for double sided pads and the 2 3/4 backing plates.

Sometimes it helps to be able to monitor the pad with the buffer out of the way and also sometimes it gets the body of the buffer out of the way from adjacent panels or components.

rotarybufferextension001.jpg


rotarybufferextension002.jpg


rotarybufferextension003.jpg


rotarybufferextension004.jpg


rotarybufferextension005.jpg


rotarybufferextension006.jpg


rotarybufferextension007.jpg


rotarybufferextension008.jpg


rotarybufferextension009.jpg



:)
 
Mike, thank you so much for the info now I know what I want :)

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Flash Gordon said:
Put a 3" BP on your Griots 6". This is what I have done and it works great. The 3" Griots I hear is super weak

I don't know if AG sells 3" BP's or Pads. If they don't, I can PM you someone who does
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info

Exotic Auto Detail via tapatalk
 
Now which DA would be better to go with I have tried the PC before and i love it. The griot that comes with 6" bp seems good and i like it so far if i can add a 3" BP for smaller pads for tight spaces. The flex looks great also that i hear alot that is also lightweight but is pricey!! The only tool i have so far is a dewalt rotary. So i am looking for a DA for small spots, apply wax, sealants and etc...
 
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