But not until you go from one to the other can you truely judge the device. i.e. I was using a cordless goodyear impact wrench for a while. When it died I got a hold of a cordless Dewalt impact.
WOW! Broke lugs free much quicker and with less fuss. Had more weight but also more power. Battery charge last much longer.
Things I wouldnt have know had I not used them both.
Very good point.
All three of the DA polishers have more than enough power to keep a pad rotating on the 5.0 and 6.0 Speed Setting and for the most part this is the issue of prime importance as most people hanging out on a forum and moving from hand polishing to machine polishing are
- Tired of working by hand
- Want true show car results
All three of the popular DA Polishers will solve these two problems...
Here's a few observation but by no means a complete list...
Meguiar's
The Meguiar's has the slow rev feature which is nice and it also has the cruise control feature. People confuse this feature or circuit as a component that adds more power when you need it but that's not correct, it maintains the power the tool already has, that's different than adding more power.
The Meguiar's comes with a soft-touch or kind of a rubberized coating around the entire tool which is a nice touch. It comes with a hoop handle which some people really like and can be a good thing for Newbies as it helps you to place pressure directly over the head of the polisher which in turn helps you to keep your pad flat against the surface and this is very important for someone new to machine polishing.
The Meguiar's Polisher has nice fit and finish and feels like a quality tool when you hold it and use it.
I've used ALL of the Meguiar's polishers from the time they first introduced THE WORLD to machine polishing with a DA Polisher, (everyone else has simply jumped on the bandwagon, not that this is a bad thing but due credit where credit is due and Meguiar's introduced the car world to the wood sander we all call the PC now days.
See page 1 of this thread...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-mike-phillips/21476-porter-cable-7424xp.html
Mike Phillips said:
Remember, the Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher was originally introduced as a
wood sander. It was introduced to the detailing world as a paint polisher by Meguiar's in the early 1990's. The oldest Brilliant Solutions Catalog I have in my collection goes back to 1995 and it shows it in there. That was long before most of these popular discussion forums even existed, let along the online stores.
Here's some pictures of my oldest catalogs... am trying to find out if there's any older catalogs than this...
The one on the left is from 1995 and the one on the right is from 1996, the catalog from 1995 documents Meguiar's introducing the G100 at least 13 years ago and before this we were showing people in the Professional Trade how to use air powered DA Sanders to polish paint by using our W5500 Foam Polishing Pad, which if you look closely is the actual pad on the Porter Cable unit pictured below, not a W-8006 on a W64 DA Backing Plate.
Photos courtesy of MeguiarsOnline.com
The lettering is kind of fuzzy but you can make out that it says Porter Cable
With a thin piece of sanding paper attached to the backing plate the counterweight might make a difference.
With a comparatively thick foam buffing pad and especially after it becomes wet with product, it doesn't seem to make any difference.
YMMV
Griot's Garage ROP
I was surprised when I first used this tool because I looked at the red color and together with being the new kid on the block I had some assumptions about it that were completely proven false in the first few seconds of turning the polisher on.
It too feels good as far as fit and finish goes and definitely has the most power out of all the tools plus a limited, Lifetime Warranty, someone here on the forum has already contacted Griot's and clarified what the warranty includes and it is a stellar warranty.
I've met Richard Griot and he's the real deal and that gives me confidence in him and his products and also earns my trust as a fellow car guy.
Check out what I wrote here,
Griot's Random Orbital Polisher
and what my good friend Nick Chapman wrote here,
Got a chance to play with the Griots DA for a while....
I've known Nick since when he first got into car detailing and since then he's become a recognized professional and the real deal...
Porter Cable 7424XP
This is the tool that stated it all and sets the standard for reliability. Often times in my life because I tend and trend to work on special interest cars, the owners of these cars won't drive them to you so you have to drive to them. Seems like it's never a short drive either...
So when driving to a long distance customer you want to pack what you need and no more, if for only one reason and that's when you get home and your dog tired you don't what to spend hours unpacking.
I know I could take my Makita Rotary Buffer and my Porter Cable DA Polisher and tackle anything that comes my way and feel confident the tool would hold up over the course of the job.
I've run my Makita in over 100 degree temperatures all day long where the buffer was so hot I couldn't hold onto it without a glove and you could smell the plastic around the electrical wires burning and it never let me down.
My old trusty, dusty Makita Rotary Buffer
I've run PC's in the same way and never been let down. I've worn a couple out, but that's after years of abuse and that's why if you detail cars professionally it's a good idea to have a back-up anytime you're driving long distances to a customer's location.
Below: On location, over 100 miles away from home during the video shoot of
How to use the PC for Show Car Results.
This is a true and accurate statement...
If it can go wrong... it will go wrong...
Pack a back-up if your a mobile detailer, that's not to say the PC is not reliable as it is, it's just common sense to be a good Boy Scout and
always be prepared...
... well I think I'll just push away from the keyboard now 
My Griot's with a 6.5" pad on speed 6 is almost impossible to stop without actually picking up and working on just the edge of the pad.
I want a Flex in my arsenal simply because of it predictability and refinement, but for correction, I'll stick with my GG.
