Groits 3" or a 5 1/2 polisher for a Morotcycle?

[dietdewboy]

Hi Everyone, new guy here. Does anyone have any experience with a Griot's 3" polisher on a Motorcycle? I'm just wondering if its a good investment or should I put my money into a 51/2" polisher and use 4" pads on it instead. The budget is a little tight to own 2 and I'll only do my bike once a year or so. Just a little concerned that the 51/2 is going to be a little too big size wise to do a bike. Any help would be great.
Thank you
Dave

 

[Matt S.]

The 3" polisher is great for waxing, but doesn't have much polishing ability. I'd personally go with a full sized DA (Griot's 6", Megs G110v2, PCXP) with a 3.5" backing plate and 4" pads.

 

[jmp09fg2]

:iagree:


BUT be careful with the GG ROP and 4 inch pads. The housing on the ROP is larger than the one on the PCXP which could lead to problems in tighter areas. If you are only going to be polishing a motorcycle I would reccomend the PCXP with small pads. This is about the only place, from my experience with both, that the PCXP is "better" than the Griot's. Now if you are going to be doing cars..... get the Griot's and just be careful with your motorcycle

 

[ScottB]

I do find the small 3 inch buffer handy for small choirs. The newer model is more powerful than the original and a nice value to those needing help in small areas over using hand polishing.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Since this is your first post... welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:

Hi Everyone, new guy here. Does anyone have any experience with a Griot's 3" polisher on a Motorcycle?

Like Matt said, the 3" Griot's is good for applying a wax or sealant but if you want to remove swirls this means you want to remove a little paint and a full size DA Polisher with small pad will give you much more correction power.


I did remove sanding marks using the new 3" Griot's Mini Polisher but I have a little experience in maximizing the features of a tool...


Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher - Extreme Demo - Warning!
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...sher-gen-ii-griot-s-garage-mini-polisher.html

Here's an article I wrote on Spot Buff Kits... the below is just the part for DA Polishers there's also info on Rotary Buffers that I didn't include...

Using a 4" Spot Repair Kit to Remove Paint Defects


It's important to remember that with a small foam pad you're going to bring a lot of cleaning and abrading action down to a very small sized area and this means it's very likely that it won't take long to remove enough paint off the surface to level the surface and thus remove the defect.

So focus on the task at hand!

In most cases you're going to need a compound, paint cleaner, swirl mark remover or medium aggressive polish and either a polishing pad or a cutting pad for your first buffing step, always follow the philosophy of use the least aggressive product to get the job done and do some testing.


DA Polishers
Porter Cable 7424XP
Meguiar's Dual Action Polisher G110v2
Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher
Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher

Rotary Buffers
FLEX L3403 VRG Lightweight Circular Polisher
Makita 9227C Polisher
FLEX LK603VVB Circular Polisher
Dewalt 849 Variable Speed Polisher

Dual Head Orbital Polisher
Cyclo Orbital Polisher



CCS Spot Buffs 4 Inch Foam Pad Kit

What's in the box?

2 each 4" CCS Orange Light Cut Pads
2 each 4" CCS White Polishing pads
1 each 4" CCS Blue Pad
1 each 4" CCS Gray Pad
1 each 2 7/8" Rotary Buffer Backing Plate
1 each Rotary Buffer to DA Polisher Adapter
1 each Rotary Buffer to Drill Adapter
2 each Cobra Blue Microfiber Polishing Towels
1 each Cobra Quick Clenz Pad Cleaner

Quote:

Warning
When using the adapter to connect the backing plate to a DA Polisher note that
it's possible to get your finger next to the counterweight while it's spinning, so
use a safe grip on the tool and keep your fingers away from the inside of the housing where
the counterweight is located. I've included some pictures below to drive this point home.​

Single Head Dual Action Polishers


Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher

Porter Cable 7424XP

Meguiars Dual Action Polisher G110v2

Just be careful with your fingers...

 

[Dubbin1]

I wouldn't even bother with that 4" pad kit just for the safety and the fact that it makes the machine so much taller. Why not just get the 3.5" Dual Action Flexible Backing Plate so you don't have to worry about your fingers and the height of the polisher.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I wouldn't even bother with that 4" pad kit just for the safety and the fact that it makes the machine so much taller. Why not just get the 3.5" Dual Action Flexible Backing Plate so you don't have to worry about your fingers and the height of the polisher.

Dwayne makes a good point and in the full article I make sure to point out the safety issues.

This thread reminds me that we should probably either update our current kit or create a new kit with the 3.5" backing plate. I "think" that when the current Spot Repair Kit was created it was before we had the 3.5" backing plates for DA Polishers and when I wrote the article the current kit is the only "kit" that is offered but of course you can order individual components if you like.

Best thing to do is to call Customer Care when you get ready to order and let them help you pick and choose the backing plates and pads you need and that way you'll have everything you want.

1-800-869-3011

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Here's what the 3.5" backing plates look like mounted to DA Polishers with 4" pads, including CCS, Hydro-Tech and Surbuf and also I've included what the 3" Griot's Polishing Pad looks like for size comparison using the adapter and the rotary buffer backing plate to attach to a DA Polisher.

Sorry that a few of the photos are a little out of focus there's a lot going on behind the scenes and I took these photos just a few minutes ago, then cropped, resized and uploaded them to the gallery .


Pictured are the PC, GG and Megs DA style polishers... (Love this new cart)

Here you can see how these backing plates are a safer option...

With pads attached...

What it would look like in action...

What it would look like in action...

What it would look like in action...

Here's the 3" Griot's Polishing Pad inside the groove of a 1964 Ford Falcon

4" pad and 3" pad

Backing plates on the above pads for reference...

From an elevated point of view...

I have not used the small pad like you see above on a DA extensively, so I fired up one of the polishers with with the backing plate and pad you see above on the left and buzzed the polisher up to the 6.0 Speed Setting and it works fine but because the pad is so small the polisher is "tippy" so be sure to hold it carefully.

 

[dietdewboy]

I was reading another tread on here that talked about the height issue of the spot polishing kit. the 3 1/2 backing plate seems to be a safer idea. Right now I'm kind of leaning towards the Griots 6" with a 3 1/2 backing plate for polishing my bike. I just thought I could take the handle off when polishing the bike and put it back on when using it on the car, boat, truck and cargo trailer. What do you think? good idea or no?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I
Right now I'm kind of leaning towards the Griots 6" with a 3 1/2 backing plate for polishing my bike. I just thought I could take the handle off when polishing the bike and put it back on when using it on the car, boat, truck and cargo trailer.

What do you think? good idea or no?

That would work fine and be safe.

 

[TLMitchell]

Hi Everyone, new guy here. Does anyone have any experience with a Griot's 3" polisher on a Motorcycle? I'm just wondering if its a good investment or should I put my money into a 51/2" polisher and use 4" pads on it instead. The budget is a little tight to own 2 and I'll only do my bike once a year or so. Just a little concerned that the 51/2 is going to be a little too big size wise to do a bike. Any help would be great.
Thank you
Dave

I've used both the GG and Metabo 3" DAs on bikes as well as a PC7424 and a rotary with both 3 & 4" pads. The 3"ers are pretty tough to correct with but nicer to handle in confined places. The PC I used was the opposite. good correction and tougher in tight spots. It's a trade off. I'd definitely recommend the PC, GG or Meg's DA for versatility and correcting power. Plus then you'd also have a tool suitable for use on cars as well.

Regardless, there's still spots like the very front of the tank, front fender between the forks and other spots you can't get a polisher on. A good-finishing compound like M105 or Ultimate Compound is perfect for those spots you have to do by hand.

Bike polishing tip of the day, taping trim isn't enough. Trying to get polishing dust out of engine cooling fins and splatter off of inner fairings and out of nooks and crannies isn't much fun. I drape towels and cover anything and everything that isn't getting polished. Even then you're still going to see a spatter spot or dust somewhere when you're going down the road.

YMMV... TL

 

[jmp09fg2]

I think when you take it off you aren't going to want to put it back on. Just the way I feel about it.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I'd definitely recommend the PC, GG or Meg's DA for versatility and correcting power. Plus then you'd also have a tool suitable for use on cars as well.

Great point.


:dblthumb2: