Noise level comparison between Harbor Freight DA and other DAs

Sometimes it's hard to understand other people's financial situations. If spending $150 bucks was in the cards, by all means I certainly would. But economically for myself and my family that doesn't make sense. It doesn't mean I use this as a "support line".

I'll be buying McKee's all in one here, I'll be buying a nanoskin mitt here, I'll be buying a pinnacle rinseless wash and bucket kit here, I'll buy some sort of exterior trim product here, you get the idea. But for me, the HF will do the job, and I won't feel bad about it collecting dust for the next 6 months or year.

There is no way it could be sold here. That's just senseless.

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mwemaxxowner said:
Sometimes it's hard to understand other people's financial situations. If spending $150 bucks was in the cards, by all means I certainly would. But economically for myself and my family that doesn't make sense. It doesn't mean I use this as a "support line".

I'll be buying McKee's all in one here, I'll be buying a nanoskin mitt here, I'll be buying a pinnacle rinseless wash and bucket kit here, I'll buy some sort of exterior trim product here, you get the idea. But for me, the HF will do the job, and I won't feel bad about it collecting dust for the next 6 months or year.

There is no way it could be sold here. That's just senseless.

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Totally agree. Many people only use a DA once or twice a year (if that) so don't want to invest a bunch of money in a polisher (or even a penny more than they absolutely have to). I too have a HF DA. Then I came here and bought $300 worth of products to cover every single other aspect of car maintenance.
 
On the Chinese Quality Issue. The Chinese can make extremely high quality products, but they ultimately have little if any real price advantage over any other country when they do. So when comparing cheaper products made in China, they simply wont compare to products that are more expensive made elsewhere. Its more than just cheap labor that makes the products cheap. Case in point, the Meguiars MT300. Its a nice operating machine. However, I have first hand witnessed its lack of durability. And with the HF, its a $69 tool. Does it work? Yes. But when it comes to how it operates, etc, its inferior to anything more expensive.

And one more point, ultimately, the highest quality Chinese made product will still fall short compared to a similar product manufactured in a first world industrialized nation. People who can actually afford to buy the products they manufacture make better products. Ill take anything made in the USA, Germany, Italy, Korea the UK etc over something made in China when it comes to quality.
 
But it still works! For some of us on a budget, 'tis good enough.

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Jaretr1 said:
And with the HF, its a $69 tool. Does it work? Yes. But when it comes to how it operates, etc, its inferior to anything more expensive.
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I'd be willing to bet good money that the HF DA works better than the PC.

And as far as the noise factor... I just did an equal test between the HF DA and the Griots Boss 21. Both had a 5" backing plate on without a pad. Both on speed 5 the same exact distance from my phone.

Both clocked in @87 decibels.

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My HF DA is just about as smooth as my Boss during the free spin.
 
No grease mod or anything... I've had it for 2+yrs. now, runs like a champ.
 
Eldorado2k said:
No grease mod or anything... I've had it for 2+yrs. now, runs like a champ.
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Four years for me and runs great. I wear hearing protection when operating power tools, so the noise is a non-issue for me. I only use it a few times a year and simply can't justify paying more in my situation.
 
One other thing that hasn't been mentioned is the warranty. The HF DA has a 90 day warranty. I bought a GG6 for less than $50 more than the HF costs, and the Griots machine has a lifetime 'no questions' warranty.
 
You must have found the Griots for a screaming deal.

I picked up my HF for around $50~$55. It was on sale, and I used a 20% coupon on top of that. I could have picked up an extended warranty for around $5, but for the price paid I really wasn't too concerned. My philosophy was if I could successfully master using tool and enjoyed machine correcting my vehicles, I'd upgrade to a "better" tool if/when it broke. At this point, it's beginning to look more like a case of "if", rather than "when".
 
Yeah, you can get the GG6 at a good price if you know where to look. And I'm not knocking the HF machine. I only detail my own car and occasionally a friend's. So my machine only gets used maybe twice a year. I understand why someone wouldn't want to cough up the extra cash. But Griot's customer service is something to be considered. This is actually my second GG6. The first one had a serious overheating issue. It would get almost too hot to touch after 5 minutes of light use. Griots replaced it without hesitation. They would have done that if it was a week old or 10 years old.

Prior to the GG6 I had (still have) a PC7424 that I bought back in 2002. It has been bulletproof with zero issues. I only decided to upgrade because the paint on my current car is like granite and I need the extra power to get any noticeable correction.
 
brettS4 said:
One other thing that hasn't been mentioned is the warranty. The HF DA has a 90 day warranty. I bought a GG6 for less than $50 more than the HF costs, and the Griots machine has a lifetime 'no questions' warranty.
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Hf offers an extended warranty for 2 years, they're about 55 new with the coupon.
 
Love the pc with a 4" bp and the hf with a 3" bp. Both machines can get the job done, it kind of depends on knowing how and when to use them.
 
Quietest DA I've come across is a Shurhold. Felt a tad underpowered (unsure, didn't do any side by side comparisons), but it operates extremely smooth and it's sound is not obnoxious, it's a soft noise.
 
Zubair said:
I wonder howmany more of these HF DA threads are going to pop up...

Also if it were a decent polisher wouldn't AG have stocked it as an entry level, door opener into the detailing, machine polishing world?

I'm beginning to think all these HF owners only use the AG forum as their support line.
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Wow, ^this is lame. I'm looking for the thread with the mods for upgrading the HF and see this crap. We can choose what products we want to use and in the way we want to use them that best suits our needs. Furthermore, feel free to support AG, just don't become a snooty fanboy that thinks everyone should buy the most expensive item out there. Maybe it's too late LOL. Just because AG doesn't sell something doesn't mean it's not a decent product.
 
I found the info you're looking for on YouTube. It basically just involves removing the cheap grease and packing it with more and better grease.
 
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