I was just about to pull the trigger on a Griot's 6 1/2 inch RA when I noticed they offer an air powered one. Since I have a nice 35 gal. compressor over in the corner of my garage is there any reason not to get the pneumatic version? Is there something better for the money? I see the Porter cables are well reviewed and a favorite. Which one?

 

I've both the 3" and 6" from Griot's Garage!!
www.griotsgarage.com

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001DB...629011-0772050

 

If you're a newb to polishing I would NOT recommend a Flex. You'll want a D/A like Griot's or Porter Cable because the random orbital action is much more forgiving than a Flex. Go with a Griot though, it has more amperage (power) than the Porter Cable.

 

I'd go with the standard electrical one. You're more likely to be using it somewhere where there is power versus compressed air (assuming you may take it over to a friend's house to show them use one or detail their car). I have the Griot's 6 1/2 in one and no complaints here...

 

I use my Festool Rotrex 150 FEQ. More expensive but when you check out guys using it you may be surprised. Check it out on their forum = festoolownersgroup
The best part of it is you will also end up with one of the finest sanders in the world.

 

I hope you have not bought the air buffer

a 35gal compressor is NOT going to keep up with a buffer .... or any 'continuous use' tool for that matter ... 'burst' tools work fine - impact wrenches, ratchets etc but even HVLP paint guns will usually overrun a compressor in your size. I can get away with my setup and a decent spray gun with 15 psi at the nozzle IF I work slow and wait for the compressor to catch up every minute or so . . .

I have 50 gallons and after a couple of minutes the compressor is running almost continuously if I try to run a buffer or a sander at the recommended 45 psi. When considering a tool you need to look at the CFM - cubic feet per minute - required by the tool vs what your compressor can provide. And if you have an "oil free" compressor, running frequently for an hour will probably burn it up (ask how I learned this one . . .) And unless you have installed the compressor in a sound cabinet, the noise is killer . . . Another factor to consider if your compressor runs a lot .. you want to look at the "duty cycle" of the compressor motor. Most are down near 20% which means in a 10 minute period they are designed to run for 2 minutes. If they run more ... they burn up.

Air buffers, sanders and cut-off wheels work great in commercial garages with 250 gallon + air tanks installed outside or in sep' rooms, but for the rest of us electric is usually the way to go.

over at Miata.net, a site like this for the Miata crowd, they have a forum for TOOLS. This topic has come up several times (air tools vs ..). You might want to check it out. I've suggested to the grand pooba here that a tools forum would be useful but the idea was poo-poo'd. (Miata owner 1995 - 2007 .... GREAT CAR)

 

Thanks capt BJ. The first thing I did after posting was do my research and found out my big/little compressor was not big enough. I am going to order the griots with a 25 foot chord.