Anyone tried the new random orbital from griot-
http://www.griotsgarage.com/search.jsp?searchtext=10925

One guy on the meguiar's forum liked it, but preferred the porter cable, as he felt the griot's was not aggressive enough for him-
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...0&pagenumber=5

Sounds like if your finish is in pretty good shape, the griot's might be the way to go--smaller polishing pattern, slightly higher speed, etc.

 

The GRIOT's Polisher is designed and built just for GRIOT'S. PSMINI just did a detailing session at GRIOT's Garage (25 MINI's showed up) and they did a demo of the new polisher / buffer. It is great much better than the Porter Cable, actually they carried the Porter Cable prior to designing the new one. I went to the store to purchase the Porter Cable and they showed me the new one and @$50.00 less I was sold. I have used it on my MINI and it is great. The buffer should not be what is agressive, it is the polishes that you use. GRIOT'S sells 3 different levels of polish #1 is the most agressive, up to # 3 which is very mild. And to do a proper job if you use #1 then you need to use #2 and the # 3 followed by a good wax. I learned alot from GRIOT'S.

 

Who makes the RO polisher for Griot's? I have been very happy with the performance and reliability of my Porter Cable tools and wouldn't consider an RO at the same price without knowing the brand.

I also found the following claim somewhat suspect.
"has ... an internal fan to cool off the backing plate (thus, no heat build-up in our pad, or on your paint)"
If the fan is blowing on the back of the pad, it's not going to keep the pad/paint interface cool through an inch of insulating foam.

 

Griot's has the unit built for them. The fan does keep it cool and the paint stays cool. I compared it to the Porter Cable and it is a better unit.

 

That's what I'm asking. Who builds the unit for them? Central Machinery? Ryobi? Skil? Makita? Black & Decker/Porter-Cable/DeWalt? Big differences in quality.

And I have no doubt that the paint stays cool.

 

[quote=ThreeAlarmChiliRed]That's what I'm asking. Who builds the unit for them? Central Machinery? Ryobi? Skil? Makita? Black & Decker/Porter-Cable/DeWalt? Big differences in quality. quote]

They are not saying.....it looks like the Porter Cable with a few different features. It is completely tagged GRIOT'S. They also offer a six month satisfaction guarantee and lifetime warranty. It is a quality product.

 

Dave,

Thanks for the input--sorry I missed that clinic at Griot's--sounds like it was a good one!

 

One of the guys (I think it was on the Meguiars forum), tracked down the manufacturer of the Griot's unit--some Chinese company--I'll see if I can find the link.

 

check this link:

http://www.mosay.com/proinfo.asp?pl_id=173

 

So does the group buy go for the 20- or 40-foot container?

 

I love this "marketing". So does Griots sells polishers for wood working? That shroud (aka cooling fan) is an exit for a dust bag when you work on sanding wood. If this tool was really made just for Griots, why would they need that on a car??

Hmmmmm.

 

I did not research where they came from, I talk with Richard and Gary (Griot Owners) and they told me about the RO. They stated it was built for them.

 

I got the Porter Cable polisher for Christmas and two days later a new catalog arrived showing the improved model. I called Griots and their rep said the switch was made because Porter Cable had been acquired by a new company, and they were concerned about future quality issues. I asked point blank about returning the Porter cable and saving some money. Their reply was that the Porter Cable was an excellent unit and much lighter than the new model. They still were using them in their shop. So now what do I do with my so far unused polisher? Return it or be happy that I got one of the last Porter Cables they sold? :impatient

 

"Future quality issues?!?"

Porter-Cable was bought along with Delta and some other brands by Black & Decker back in 04. B&D has owned Dewalt for over 40 years and the Dewalt brand is good quality. I doubt that PC as a brand will suffer.

That said, if you're concerned with PC quality, Bosch makes an RO for just over $100 more than the PC.
http://www.boschtools.com/tools/tool...=54925&I=55096

 

I got a detailing kit with the PC polisher from Griots, and it's a really good polisher. I now use it with Zaino and the red foam polishing pad from Griots. Uhhh...should I be doing that? It is the less aggressive pad so I assume it won't hurt the paint, but is there a better foam pad to use? the orange Griots pad?

-Paul

 

The link confirms my fear about the new Griot's polisher: Made in China. Can somebody check on their Porter Cable -- is is also made in China?

I'm afraid the "new and improved" polisher from Griot's doesn't mention its biggest "improvement" -- a bigger profit margin.

Sigh...

 

Hi Paul,

I'm not a Zaino zealot , but I use the red foam pad for laying down wax, and the orange one for polishing compounds. Unless you're looking to polish your paint using one of the various Zaino treatments, using the red foam pad as you are currently doing should be ideal.

Hope that helps!