Hey all,
So, I invested in a true workhorse DA, the GG 6" DA back in November, and just had a chance to use it on paint for the first time a few days ago. I'm super impressed with its power! I've used rotaries years ago, and for a DA, I have to say, the GG with a heavy cut pad and M105 does come somewhat close to the level of cut you can achieve when compounding with a rotary. I was doing a finish restoration on my minister's wife's 06' Camry as a gift, and the GG + new pads probably saved me 2 days of work vs using a cheap old DA and a "wax spreader".
However, when using what I thought was the correct amount of pressure and high speeds (5.5 to 6 for compounding with m105 on 4" yellow and orange and 6.5" orange pads, and 4.5 to 5.5 for polishing with m205 on 4" and 6.5" white pads), I was getting a huge amount of vibration out of the machine, which of course meant that most of that shock had to be absorbed by the tissue on my fingers and lower arms, and transmitted through each joint from the fingers up to the rotator cuffs. At first, I was getting the classic numbness and tingling in my hands associated with using a machine with high vibration levels, so I didn't think much of it. However, after two days of compounding and polishing, my hands swelled to the point where I couldn't even close them completely, an old wrist injury got re-aggravated, and the tissue in my forearms swelled, to the point of causing "tennis elbow" like symptoms, where the nerve passing through the elbow was actually pinched from swelling. Fast forward three days later, and the swelling has died down somewhat with anti-inflammatories, but I am still in pain.
Now, I ended up breaking it out of the box and checking the operation when I recieved the package from AG back in November. As it turned out, a cardboard stay had fallen away and left the rotary sitting at an angle on its backing plate for who knows how long before it arrived at my house. So, it warped the plate fairly badly. I contacted Griot's CS, and they gave me absolutely stellar service, replacing the plate no questions asked. The machine itself seems to be very well balanced, but of course, add in the forces of polishing that your arms have to react to, and you get a virtual jackhammer.
So, has anyone else experienced this kind of injury from using the GG, or other powerful DAs? Could it be my technique possibly? I was bearing down quite a bit throughout, trying to get used to the pressure required to keep the pad going at at least 1 RPS, but was stalling the pad at times. Also, could product application, pad priming, etc. make a noticeable effect on the net vibrations the user receives in the end?
Could it be that I'm just out of shape? I haven't detailed a car in a while, plus, I don't work in an active environment any longer, where those muscles are constantly challenged. I'm young still, but have had some forearm and wrist injuries from sports that tend to come back to haunt me in situations like this. It seems like this setup as is might cause some permanent damage if I continue to use it.
I've read that the Flex 3401 is better regarding the vibrations. I was hoping to ask some of you on here how much less vibration the machine transmits to the body.
It's ironic, as I was about to invest in one, but couldn't justify the extra $200 over the GG in my occasional-use situation. Wish I had read about this issue sooner, it just seems that nobody talks about it on here. Now I understand why GG is alone in this class in upgrading a standard "PC" style DA with an 850 watt motor! I wish there was a way to exchange it, but after 3 or 4 months of ownership, I'm guessing it's too late.
So, I invested in a true workhorse DA, the GG 6" DA back in November, and just had a chance to use it on paint for the first time a few days ago. I'm super impressed with its power! I've used rotaries years ago, and for a DA, I have to say, the GG with a heavy cut pad and M105 does come somewhat close to the level of cut you can achieve when compounding with a rotary. I was doing a finish restoration on my minister's wife's 06' Camry as a gift, and the GG + new pads probably saved me 2 days of work vs using a cheap old DA and a "wax spreader".
However, when using what I thought was the correct amount of pressure and high speeds (5.5 to 6 for compounding with m105 on 4" yellow and orange and 6.5" orange pads, and 4.5 to 5.5 for polishing with m205 on 4" and 6.5" white pads), I was getting a huge amount of vibration out of the machine, which of course meant that most of that shock had to be absorbed by the tissue on my fingers and lower arms, and transmitted through each joint from the fingers up to the rotator cuffs. At first, I was getting the classic numbness and tingling in my hands associated with using a machine with high vibration levels, so I didn't think much of it. However, after two days of compounding and polishing, my hands swelled to the point where I couldn't even close them completely, an old wrist injury got re-aggravated, and the tissue in my forearms swelled, to the point of causing "tennis elbow" like symptoms, where the nerve passing through the elbow was actually pinched from swelling. Fast forward three days later, and the swelling has died down somewhat with anti-inflammatories, but I am still in pain.
Now, I ended up breaking it out of the box and checking the operation when I recieved the package from AG back in November. As it turned out, a cardboard stay had fallen away and left the rotary sitting at an angle on its backing plate for who knows how long before it arrived at my house. So, it warped the plate fairly badly. I contacted Griot's CS, and they gave me absolutely stellar service, replacing the plate no questions asked. The machine itself seems to be very well balanced, but of course, add in the forces of polishing that your arms have to react to, and you get a virtual jackhammer.
So, has anyone else experienced this kind of injury from using the GG, or other powerful DAs? Could it be my technique possibly? I was bearing down quite a bit throughout, trying to get used to the pressure required to keep the pad going at at least 1 RPS, but was stalling the pad at times. Also, could product application, pad priming, etc. make a noticeable effect on the net vibrations the user receives in the end?
Could it be that I'm just out of shape? I haven't detailed a car in a while, plus, I don't work in an active environment any longer, where those muscles are constantly challenged. I'm young still, but have had some forearm and wrist injuries from sports that tend to come back to haunt me in situations like this. It seems like this setup as is might cause some permanent damage if I continue to use it.
I've read that the Flex 3401 is better regarding the vibrations. I was hoping to ask some of you on here how much less vibration the machine transmits to the body.
It's ironic, as I was about to invest in one, but couldn't justify the extra $200 over the GG in my occasional-use situation. Wish I had read about this issue sooner, it just seems that nobody talks about it on here. Now I understand why GG is alone in this class in upgrading a standard "PC" style DA with an 850 watt motor! I wish there was a way to exchange it, but after 3 or 4 months of ownership, I'm guessing it's too late.
