Taking the plunge (on a budget), getting a Griot's 6"...how does this plan look?

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Here are a few more pictures from the linked to thread above... note how all 4 DA Polishers have a similar spindle for the backing plate to attach to...


DA Polishers with Free Rotating Spindle Assemblies

From left to right...
Porter Cable 7424XP - Meguiar's G110v2 - Griot's Garage ROP - Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher

Close-ups...

 

[3Guy]

Hang on I think I have a picture...

Mike,

I got my GG polisher awhile ago, before the new model came out.

I attempted to add a photo below - you can clearly see the 4 screws securing the plate to the polisher. Is that any transition attachment I can get to convert this so that it will accept baciking plates with a spindle?

 

[3Guy]

Mike,

I got my GG polisher awhile ago, but the new model came out.

I attempted to add a photo below - you can clearly see the 4 screws securing the plate to the polisher. Is that any transition attachment I can get to convert this so that it will accept baciking plates with a spindle?

Mike,

I decided to take the backing plate off, and this is what I found - there is a screw in the middle of the disc, not a nut to accept the spindle??

Even if the screw is removed, the spindle wouldn't fit,

Do you know if some kind of a convestion kit is available??

Thanks

 

[3Guy]

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I hope these pictures are easier to see.

 

[Buckskincolt]

"I got my GG polisher awhile ago, before the new model came out."This is your problem,
The old Griots polisher does not have an interchangable backing plate. That was one of big knocks on it.

 

[3Guy]

"I got my GG polisher awhile ago, before the new model came out."This is your problem,
The old Griots polisher does not have an interchangable backing plate. That was one of big knocks on it.

Thanks - I'm well aware that this is my problem - but I'm glad you reminded me!

 

[3Guy]

Well I guess this is part of being a newbie, but I've come to the conclusion that if you own an older Griot polisher - the one I have that secures the backing plate with screws - you are limited to using the 6" plate that came with the machine.

I talked with the Griot rep and he said he wasn't aware of any way to adapt the polisher to accept a spindle backing plate, and Griort does not offer different size backing plates.

So if you're like me and have an older GG polisher, there apparently isn't any option to use different size plates.

Hey Mike, since AG now carries the GG line, any chance you could suggest to Richard that GG develop a retrofit for this polisher so that it can use spindle backing plates??

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Mike,

I got my GG polisher awhile ago, before the new model came out.

I think there's just a little confusion because the title of this thread implies it's about a member getting a "new" Griot's Garage polisher

Taking the plunge (on a budget), getting a Griot's 6"

And somewhere you tagged on to this thread about your polisher... sometimes it's better to start your own "Dedicated Thread" for your topic... lots of times I'm posting on the fly and little details like this can be missed... :laughing:


Regardless, you do have an earlier version they sold and even if you could adapt it to a different backing plate it wouldn't matter as the tool won't work anyways.

At our last detailing class, a guy brought in the same version and asked me to take a look at it, he said he was frustrated because he's read all the how-to articles, he's watched all the videos and he thinks he's doing everything right but the swirls still won't come out of his car's clear coat.

I placed the face of the foam buffing pad against the paint on the rental car we had been buffing on and turned on the polisher. For the most part it wouldn't rotate a pad under pressure at any speed setting, it was useless for removing swirls. You can spread out a finishing wax but that's about all.

There's a lot of "orbital wood sanders" in the wood sanding industry and a lot of people think that because it's the same "type" of tool it will work to polish paint, but the fact is the only orbital wood sander, (that I know of), that's ever been successfully moved from the wood sanding industry to the paint polishing industry is the Porter Cable 7 series and their relatively new kissing cousins, the "New" Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher and the Meguiar's G110 series... which are both patterned after the Porter Cable Unit.

So you need to give that tool to someone you know that sands wood and transition over to one of the new models or a PC or a Meguiar's unit.

I think I cover more of the history of the PC here,

The Free Floating Spindle Assembly - The Story Behind The Story...



Sorry to be the bearer of bad news...

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hey Mike, since AG now carries the GG line, any chance you could suggest to Richard that GG develop a retrofit for this polisher so that it can use spindle backing plates??

Wouldn't do any good, the tool itself doesn't offer the power or design to rotate a foam pad under pressure.

It was designed to rotate a backing plate with a thin piece of paper, (sandpaper), and that's worlds apart from rotating a foam pad, especially once you start getting the pad wet with product.

 

[3Guy]

Wouldn't do any good, the tool itself doesn't offer the power or design to rotate a foam pad under pressure.

It was designed to rotate a backing plate with a thin piece of paper, (sandpaper), and that's worlds apart from rotating a foam pad, especially once you start getting the pad wet with product.

Thanks Mike, I really appreciate the good and timely advice. I guess I didn't realize when I posted to this thread that the 'new' GG polisher was much different from the one I had, other than I noted it had an adjustable handle.

As to the usefulness of this older polisher, because the paint on my cars weren't that bad, I didn't realize I might be able to get even better results - I'm looking forward to a new polisher! (You're also a good salesman for AG!)

And since I do some woodworking from time to time - I can still use the the old 'sander.'

Thanks again!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Thanks Mike, I really appreciate the good and timely advice. I guess I didn't realize when I posted to this thread that the 'new' GG polisher was much different from the one I had, other than I noted it had an adjustable handle.

After I turned on the old style that was brought to the class I could tell in about 3 seconds it didn't have the power to remove swirls...

And since I do some woodworking from time to time - I can still use the the old 'sander.'

Thanks again!

Cool...


:xyxthumbs:

 

[mikek753]

Would you (OP) post pics icture: of results?
I'm very interesting in your experience as I just got new Griot's 6" as well.
Which pads would you recommend to get?

 

[miceandice]

I sure can. Gotta get rinse it off and I'll snap some later.

I got the Lake Country tangerine and red Hydrotech 6.5" pads. I can't say I recommend then as one blew up on me in a similar way as others have described. Also, it was impossible to get them clean. Of course, some of my difficulties could be because I'm just learning. But in the future I'll be sticking with LC regular pads or possibly some other brand.

On my red Nissan paint - supposedly a harder clear coat, but also chips and scratches very easily - the combination of the tangerine HT pad and Optimum hyper polish spray was not aggressive enough to get a good deal of the swirl marks out. With a great deal of pressure on the highest speed the combo was moderately successful, but I would think about getting a more aggressive pad and/or more aggressive polish. It looks very good under daytime outdoor lighting, but many are still visible under fluorescent light.

I also have been convinced a 5" backing plate (and 5.5" pads) is the way to go. Not so much because the Griot's bogs down with the bigger pad, but simply because a smaller pad will more easily fit into tight spaces and will be better able to navigate non-flat areas.

 

[miceandice]

Forgot to mention, I didn't need the optimum finish polish or the red HT pad. The tangerine/optimum hyper polish spray combo finished (to my eyes) as good as when I went the additional step and used the Optimum finish polish.

 

[mikek753]

tnx for the reply ;-)
Did you check or even tried LC Kompressor 6" as those have to fit GG6 plate and suppose to work in tight, curve spaces by design?
I didn't find much info about Kompressor pads - looks like not many using it.

Trying other pads is kind of expensive - isn't it? I wish there is other way to get perfect pads right a way...

 

[miceandice]

tnx for the reply ;-)
Did you check or even tried LC Kompressor 6" as those have to fit GG6 plate and suppose to work in tight, curve spaces by design?

No. Can'tt say I know anything about those pads. Other than the regular flat LC pads, the only other pads I have thought about trying are Griot's Garages as I've seen some people mention they supposedly have a similar finishing ability to the LC hydrotech. And it's not that the hydrotech pads were bad, it's just that the adhesive released from the center of the backing, and eventually (I could tell it was about to happen) when the pad spun up to a certain speed...poof! All gone. I didn't get any issues until I modified my technique to use a good amount of pressure. That seemed to produce a lot of heat in the pad, and likely the adhesive failure.

 

[Niele]

...I didn't need the optimum finish polish or the red HT pad. The tangerine/optimum hyper polish spray combo finished (to my eyes) as good as when I went the additional step and used the Optimum finish polish.

...On my red Nissan paint - supposedly a harder clear coat, but also chips and scratches very easily - the combination of the tangerine HT pad and Optimum hyper polish spray was not aggressive enough to get a good deal of the swirl marks out.

I think you you should try a cyan pad to remove the swirls. Take my advice with a grain of salt, though, since I don't actually have any real experience -- I just ordered my PC kit with HT pads and haven't actually taken delivery of it yet.

But, from all of the research that I have done on this forum, I am under the impression that the tangerine is a finishing pad, the cyan is the cutting pad, and the crimson is just to apply waxes and sealants. So, if you don't get enough cut with the tangerine on your test spot, then you should step up to the cyan and re-test. If that still isn't enough, then maybe try your test spot with a more aggressive polish.

I hope someone with more experience will pipe-in and set us all straight