What's the best DA

C

CAdetailer

New member
Jul 4, 2012
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Been using the Chicago Electric (HF) DA for 8 or so years and it finally kicked the bucket (it fell off a bucket and broke the body in two internally) so it's time to get a new one.

Not new to Polishing, started on rotary's back in the day, spent 8 years on the HF doing a couple cars a year. I just bought the GG 5" vented backing plate for the HF DA and it runs much cooler than the old Meg's I smoked on a boat gel coat. I'm also running Buff & Shine 5" flat reticulated pads so I'm fairly set up in the backing plate, pads, and product departments.

No production work all personal stuff that is generally well maintained but has a lot of real estate (1 black SUV, 1 mid sized sedan, 1 full sized Ram extra cab long bed with camper shell, 30 foot box trailer with 750 sqft aluminum enamel panels (no clear coat) + 250 sqft of roof, 30 ft boat, 22 ft boat. I really only do serious correction when something new comes in to the family as it's usually some clapped out piece of crap I'll fix & clean up. Most of my polishing is light contaminant removal and light clean up or thin enamel on aluminum panels with no clear coat.

Based on this I'm looking at the GG6 ($80) or the GG9 ($100) or the GG15 ($250). If I can plastic weld the body back together on the HF DA I'll keep it and run it with some 3" backing plates and pads I have for reaching smaller spaces. If I can't I'm also looking at a PC 7424 ($80) and a small pad/ back up machine.

From my research the GG6 and the GG9 are basically the same machine??? 6 has slightly less throw (8mm), power, & rpm range BUT does higher rpms (2800-6800) VS. 2000-6400 so these and the PC 7424 are pretty similar/ grouped together and the GG15 kind of stands on its own because of the throw?

Given what I use this for, how often I use it, what I already have, and what I can get these for what machine(s) would you recommend based on experience not what you think is best (I can guess for myself)?

P.S. I already have a rotary with wool pads set up so the really heavy lifting is done with that.

P.P.S. I was looking at the Flex 3401 but it seems like it a heavy correction focused machine and would probably eat right through my trailer panels in a hot second, so I'm thinking that's out?


Thanks
 
GG9 is way better than the GG6 in every way: power, smoothness, features. But I haven’t used the GG15 to compare. So I’d say the GG9.

But I hated dealing with the cord so I went with the Flex family of polishers and love the CBeast (Cordless Beast, XCE 8-125).
 
Earlier this year....decided to upgrade my 10 year DA. Have 3 medium suv's plus a 26 foot boat. Was tired of pad stall and wanted to improve my overall results. Took the plunge and purchased the Supa Beast (FLEX XCE 10-8 125 corded version) and also got the 6 inch backing plate. What an upgrade.
 
I have both the GG6 and the GG9 and the biggest differences are power and smoothness. The G9 has more comfortable grip and it runs a lot smoother with less vibration. The GG6 has an 850 Watt motor and the G9 has a 1000 Watt motor.
 
Cant see myself buying a polisher made in chyna
Pay a little more and get superior quality tool like the Rupes duetto & cut out the commies
 
No such thing as best DA. However, there is such thing as best warranty. If you care about being taken care of after 1 year, the only choice is Griot’s Garage. If you only want one machine, get the G9. If you think you could use two, get the G13 and G15.
 
Bruno Soares said:
No such thing as best DA. However, there is such thing as best warranty. If you care about being taken care of after 1 year, the only choice is Griot’s Garage. If you only want one machine, get the G9. If you think you could use two, get the G13 and G15.
Click to expand...

There is a "best" given my situation, that's why I provided so much info. Basically is it best to get a G9 or a G15 & PC?

Don't want to believe the latest hype on the G9 and buy something that doesn't work for my needs.
 
CAdetailer said:
There is a "best" given my situation, that's why I provided so much info. Basically is it best to get a G9 or a G15 & PC?

Don't want to believe the latest hype on the G9 and buy something that doesn't work for my needs.
Click to expand...
For what its worth, my buddy uses his rotary for heavy work and used a harbor freight da to clean up for years till it just shat the bed. He bought a g9 and loves it

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
CAdetailer said:
There is a "best" given my situation, that's why I provided so much info. Basically is it best to get a G9 or a G15 & PC?

Don't want to believe the latest hype on the G9 and buy something that doesn't work for my needs.
Click to expand...

If the PC is in the running, I'd go with that all day long.

Get a 3" plate and some pads... you're golden.

I still use mine a lot more than I probably should, being that I have an assortment of Rupes and Flex tools.

Find an old pre "XP". Way smoother, and maintains rotation better, especially at lower speeds.

It could be that I'll end up with the PC 7424, Flex 3401, and the Rupes Nano.
 
CAdetailer said:
There is a "best" given my situation, that's why I provided so much info. Basically is it best to get a G9 or a G15 & PC?

Don't want to believe the latest hype on the G9 and buy something that doesn't work for my needs.
Click to expand...

I’d go with a long throw. I have a previous generation G15 and love it. I recommend the g15 to you due to the amount of real estate you have.

A long throw should cut a good amount of time spent polishing. Would recommend a long throw mini to go with it.

The g13 seems to be significantly better than the G8 and would be the one I would buy if my SwirlKiller mini wasn’t still kickin.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
CAdetailer said:
There is a "best" given my situation, that's why I provided so much info. Basically is it best to get a G9 or a G15 & PC?

Don't want to believe the latest hype on the G9 and buy something that doesn't work for my needs.
Click to expand...

The option of a PC with a 3” plate and a G15 is definitely the better one for you. The long throw will help with those large panels and you’ll have a polisher to use on tight spaces the G15 can’t get to. In the could replace the cheap PC with a G13 as it will be better but you might not use it enough to justify the added cost initially.
 
I upgraded last year from the trusty old Harbor Freight DA to a GG15 and GG8. I'm very happy with both tools. The Griots are far better than the old HF polisher in just about every way.

I only maintain my own vehicles and occasionally will do an odd job for a neighbor/friend or other family member. The paring of the GG15 and GG8 is perfect for my needs.
 
Thanks everybody for their feedback, it helps clarify things.

One last question, still Recomend the G15 at $260 (retail) over the G9 at $125? Is the difference between the two worth an extra $135?

I'm not sure I can use the long throw on my 750 sqft of enameled aluminum panels as their already thin? I'm not looking to eat through the surface but rather polish it and put a protective finish on it.

I know this last statement sounds counter intitutive as polishing is basically sanding the surface BUT I just did the trailer with the HF, B&S yellow flat pad, HD Uno, on speed 2.5 to 3, if I rotated the pad it ate the enamel/white color off faster and didn't leave a shinny polished surface just made it thiner faster. But...if I stalled out the rotation and just let it vibrate on speed 1 while I made my passes, it'd thin out the enamel slower and it'd leave a nice polished surface faster, and then I could hit it over 3 or 4 more times (re-doing the section, no passes) with same technique and it would polish up real nice and not be as thin as speeding up the pad and letting it rotate. So... In this case (I'm not sure about all enamel panels, or just my 20 yr old prevoiusly polished and oxidized ones) it was much better to not have it rotating. (And yes I tried all kinds of other pad & product combos before the yellow/Uno set up).

Time before the latest one I polished the trailer, I used HD Polish with a B& S Orange pad and it cleaned up and didn't thin out the panels but it didn't really leave a deep, glossy surface. It was shinny but not glossy and it didn't hardly maintain. It was returni g to oxidizing after 2 washes and waxes. So I polished the $#### out of it this time to see if I could create a surface that was easier to maintain and keep from reverting back to oxidising.
 
The difference between polishing and sanding is the aggressive grit. You should have (roughly) the same amount of machine work happening. Sounds to me like you need to kick up the machine’s working ability (speed & rotation) and dial down the aggressiveness of your pads and product. So maybe start with a light polishing pad and something like Griot’s Perfecting Cream and USE the machine. If that doesn’t give enough correction then try the Griot’s Correcting Cream. Then try a heavier polishing pad with the Perfecting Cream if the previous setup doesn’t work followed by the Correcting Cream. You should be dialing in a pad and polish/compound combo that works while letting the machine do the work it’s supposed to do. Otherwise, you will get inconsistent results if you’re trying to limit the machine because your pad and polish are too aggressive.
 
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