Meguiars DA Power System

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texasman

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I recently had back surgery so i cant wax by hand anymore. Ive been looking around for a inexpensive alternative. I cant really afford a true polisher but i came across this Meguiars DA Power System. Is it worth the money? Ill mainly be waxing with maybe some polishing. The products i have are Chemical Guys Extreme Depth Liquid Carnuba Wax and Deep Relfections XP. I'm open to any other suggestions towards machines. Thanks for any help. Also needs to be lightweight. Price point around $100 if less would be better.
 
You can usually pic up a Griots Garage on amazon for less than $100 if you keep your eye out. I think I paid $89 for the HD version. There is also the Harbor Freight option as well.
 
I did think about Harbor Freight. Didnt know if i was throwing my money away with that or not. If i went with the Harbor Freight one should i upgrade the pads and backing plate?
 
Throwing your money away, save your $$ up and when u can get a Griots GG6. You'll just end up getting one later anyway.

And way more versatile, you can use 5" and 3.5" backing plates so 2 machines in one.
 
Another strong vote of NO on the power system for waxing and paint cleanup. GG6 all the way. More versatile (can use multiple pad sizes) and value over the long run can't be beat.
 
I got the DA power system as my first "Machine" but hated it, vibrates way too much, does no correcting work...at least not well and I just hated it. It just sits in the back of the closet till I find some use for it.

Now own a flex 3401 and haven't looked back since :xyxthumbs: extremely smooth, powerful, does everything correctly!

I too suggest waiting it out and buying something worth it, cannot suggest anything but the flex as its all I own, but what the others mention are spot on :)
 
texasman said:
I did think about Harbor Freight. Didnt know if i was throwing my money away with that or not. If i went with the Harbor Freight one should i upgrade the pads and backing plate?
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The Griots DA would be the way to go -- great power, lifetime warranty--but if you're really trying to save a few bucks the HF is not a bad alternative. I think it's going to be on sale soon and with a 20% coupon you could get it for about $45. But you'll need to replace the backing plate with a quality 5" and get some quality flat pads like LC or Buff & Shine. (Even with the GG you'll need to spend a few bucks on a 5" backing plate as it comes with a 6" BP)

Then in the future if you really like machine polishing or just want a more poweful machine you can always use the HF with a 3 or 3.5" backing plate for the tight areas so it won't go to waste.
 
Not to be negative on the first small buffer that came out but I bought one. First time I used it was on a one year old car that had minor swirl marks and some fine scratches from drying with an improper towell. After running this small machine for about 5-10 minutes, it started heating up. It finally became so hot that I was afraid I would burn it up. Additionally, there wasn't enough power to really buff out the problems so I had to really press down hard. Even doing that did not take out all the scratches. I haven't used it since then.
 
ski2 said:
The Griots DA would be the way to go -- great power, lifetime warranty--but if you're really trying to save a few bucks the HF is not a bad alternative. I think it's going to be on sale soon and with a 20% coupon you could get it for about $45. But you'll need to replace the backing plate with a quality 5" and get some quality flat pads like LC or Buff & Shine. (Even with the GG you'll need to spend a few bucks on a 5" backing plate as it comes with a 6" BP)

Then in the future if you really like machine polishing or just want a more poweful machine you can always use the HF with a 3 or 3.5" backing plate for the tight areas so it won't go to waste.
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Just curious. Why use ONLY the flat pads?? I've found they build up heat a lot faster than using the newer versions of pads.
 
Harbor Freight was mentioned. Just my .02 but as somebody else said, don't waste your money. I've bought large and small, electric and air buffing machines from this company and I really kicked myself for doing so. I finally trashed all of them and spent a little more money and bought the PC, Flex and others and have not regretted it since. As the 'ol saying goes: "Sometimes the cheapest way to go can be the most expensive."
 
I asked this question to a group on Facebook few days ago. Someone said a orbital sander with a polishing pad will work well. Any one else try this or even heard of trying this. Or has anyone tried the Ryobi Polisher you can get from Home Depot. Thanks again.
 
slidder said:
Harbor Freight was mentioned. Just my .02 but as somebody else said, don't waste your money. I've bought large and small, electric and air buffing machines from this company and I really kicked myself for doing so. I finally trashed all of them and spent a little more money and bought the PC, Flex and others and have not regretted it since. As the 'ol saying goes: "Sometimes the cheapest way to go can be the most expensive."
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It seems the HF DA is better than most of their tools. A number of Pros use them day in and out and are happy with their performance and durability.
 
slidder said:
Just curious. Why use ONLY the flat pads?? I've found they build up heat a lot faster than using the newer versions of pads.
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I find the pads with dimples or grooves are more difficult to clean on the fly and product and removed paint can build up in the grooves/dimples and cause marring as you are polishing. Seems most pros use flat pads--more foam in contact with the paint.

Heat shouldn't be a problem if your using enough pads per step ie 4-6 for compounding, 4 for polishing. And you can rotate pads to allow them to cool down.
 
Also was thinking about using a Harbor Freight polisher with a Lake Country Backing Plate and Pads. Thoughts on that?
 
texasman said:
Also was thinking about using a Harbor Freight polisher with a Lake Country Backing Plate and Pads. Thoughts on that?
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This is what I did. I've been having it a little over a year. I polished 4 cars and waxed/sealed them at least 10 times between all 4 and it works great. No problems at all.
 
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