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nhsmoker

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I have never done any detailing but am looking to keep my newer ride nice looking. I would like something I can learn with to keep my paint nice and shiney. I also have an older mini van that I would like to try and touch up some scratches so I will do some wet sanding and would like to polish the van afterwards, is it possible to do this with the same machine? I was thinking either the pc 7424 xp or meguires g110v2 are either of these acceptable for my scenarios. Again I have zero experience so I am trying to balance ease of use and functionality.

Thanks for your input.
Dan
 
Danube said:
Go Griots ..
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Just out of curiosity why this over the others? Where I am completely fresh if you guys could explain why one machine is a better choice for me over the other it will make my buying decision much easier. Again thanks for your help

Also if you guys want to throw out ideas of which package I should start with to accompany the machine I am looking for I am all ears. I know everyone has their personal favorite polishes etc. but I am looking for a starting point to keep my daily driver as nice as I can.
 
The Griot's DA has more power than the Porter Cable for sure. But if you are just keeping your vehicles clean I would stick with the Porter Cable. Mine has been going strong. You really can't go wrong with either, they all use the same principle of a Dual Action motion.
 
The PC is a very durable machine and works well. To me, the GG feels less durable but Griot's does offer a lifetime warranty. The GG has more power so time saving. As others say, you really can't go wrong with either.
 
Robert8194 said:
The PC is a very durable machine and works well. To me, the GG feels less durable but Griot's does offer a lifetime warranty. The GG has more power so time saving. As others say, you really can't go wrong with either.
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+1 That lifetime warranty is pretty hard to beat.
 
I just traded a friend my porter cable for his Griots and love it. It's got more power, is faster, feels better in my hand and I love the loop handle it has. You can also pay an extra 20 buck or so and get the 25 foot extention, which I would recommend. Plus as mentioned the lifetime warranty. I think the Griots has gotten overlooked some but it is top notch in my opionion.
 
if you order it direct from griots, you can use for 180 days (6 months) and if you don't like it, you can send it back for credit or full refund. what more could you ask for...
 
Hi Dan,

Both are quality machines and will serve you well. Porter Cable was the first and everyone followed suit and I think Meguiar's came out with there's next..

Personally, I have the Porter Cable 7424 1st generation. I would say it's about 12 years old and going strong to this day. While I used to use it for correcting it's main roll is now applying sealants and waxes as I've upgraded to the Flex 3401.

My Porter Cable 7424 still sees plenty of action and when I need to switch back and forth because of space constraints or products and pads it's right there in the mix...
 
upon researching I heard the griots can not use smaller backing plates as their backing plate design is different from the other manufactures. according to what I read they do not have the same center post design as the pc. can someone who has the griots confirm this? also is that a big deal to any of you? Is 1 size pad fine for all uses?
 
nhsmoker said:
upon researching I heard the griots can not use smaller backing plates as their backing plate design is different from the other manufactures. according to what I read they do not have the same center post design as the pc. can someone who has the griots confirm this? also is that a big deal to any of you? Is 1 size pad fine for all uses?
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I have no experience with the Griot's machine however all of the "Porter Cable" clones use the same attachments....I'm curious to what others have to say..
 
BobbyG said:
I have no experience with the Griot's machine however all of the "Porter Cable" clones use the same attachments....I'm curious to what others have to say..
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On another forum where I had found this info one of the guys that owns the machine said he pulled it apart and it was a 4 screw system and another member had said he called griots customer service and they told him that the machine has its own backing plate system that is not compatible with other da polishers. I ma wondering if things are the same now.
 
nhsmoker said:
upon researching I heard the griots can not use smaller backing plates as their backing plate design is different from the other manufactures. according to what I read they do not have the same center post design as the pc. can someone who has the griots confirm this? also is that a big deal to any of you? Is 1 size pad fine for all uses?
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I have the Griot's and have a Lake Coutry 5in backing plate on it now. You might be thinking about the Flex.
 
nhsmoker said:
On another forum where I had found this info one of the guys that owns the machine said he pulled it apart and it was a 4 screw system and another member had said he called griots customer service and they told him that the machine has its own backing plate system that is not compatible with other da polishers. I ma wondering if things are the same now.
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That was one or two generations ago...if you look at the current machine you can see it has a backing plate just like a PC etc. Griot's Garage 6 inch Random Orbital Polisher, Dual action buffer, DA polisher
 
nhsmoker said:
This was exactly the info I was looking for. I was wondering how current the info I had seen was. So basically the old griots did not have a interchangeable backing plate but current models do. Thank you very much
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I want to say the current version is the third. The first was clearly an adapted sander and still had the vacuum duct for dust removal as well as the fixed backing plate. It wasn't that you couldn't change the backing plate, it was just there were no other backing plates that fit it. This was circa Jan. 2006, BTW.
 
one more question. I have access to festool random orbit sanders at work and I have heard sanders wont have enough power to use as a polisher but I am certain this one will if I were to try it out what size pads would go with a 6" backing plate I also have makita orbital buffers but am not sure I want to try those out yet.
 
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