Taking the step to Griots 6"

Hey all. After awhile of bs'ing around im now in the market for the Griots 6' da from E-shine here in Canada. Im mainly looking to keep my Ivory G35 looking clean. Its in great condition so im looking for help in selecting the right pads and polishes and glazes...Do the Lake country pads loop onto the Griots backer?...Im so new at this its silly........Opinions and suggestions are highly recomended.

Thanks.....

 

Rupes 21 would be my suggestion

 

If you get the Griots I recommend getting the 25' cord version. The Griots comes with a 6" backing plate but IMO you'd be better off primarily using a 5" backing plate. They are quick and easy to switch. Either backing plate will work with appropriately sized hook and loop pads from just about any manufacturer. Personally, I don't like the Lake Country CCS pads. Their Hydro-Tech pads are, IMO, better but the cyan pad in particular tends to be somewhat fragile. I like Buff & Shine pads, sold under the Uber name through Detailers Domain or you can get them from Autowerkes Exclusive. There may be other dealers in Canada too that I'm unaware of but I can recommend Ken at Autowerkes. These are the flat B&S/Uber pads, not the waffle pads, that I am referring to.

The Rupes is, I'm sure, very nice but the price bump is not insignificant for someone just maintaining their own car. Of course if you're in high cotton that is non-issue.

 

Congratulations on getting a new machine to learn about and use on your vehicles !

I do not have this machine, but from years of watching and reading about the Griot's machine, it appears to sometimes implode, and of course they will replace it on their Lifetime Warranty.
Lets hope this doesn't happen to you with yours...

It is a very capable machine from all that I hear, so you should be able to make your paint look really nice.

Good luck !
Dan F

 

I agree with LostHighway, the longer cord and 5" backing plate are good options to go for with the GG polisher. The smaller backing plate will you give your pads more power behind, especially helpful when doing correction. You could switch back to the 6" for applying glazes and sealants, or just leave the 5" on permanently, it doesn't take much work to swap them out.

As for pads, any hook and loop style pad will work for the GG. I've used Chemical Guys MPT pads, Lake Country CCS and foamed wool, and the uber pads and they all work well. Just find a set that will work for your budget and make sure to get more than just one of each pad.

You could also look for a nice package that comes with pads and polishes, it will help ease you into the process of polishing and selecting pads/polishes.

 

Don't forget about Auto Obsessed, they have a massive selection of products. Definitely would recommend going with a 5" backing plate and the 5.5" pads. Makes things a little easier especially if its your first time polishing. And do you have anything picked out for polishes yet?

 

Wow...Thanks for all the great advice...I never comsidered the smaller plates. Seems to be the consensus here..M3ride I havent as yet looked that closely yet...both eshine and auto have the top brands and i can get the here...Keep them coming...thanks.

 

You can even get backing plates and pads for 4" and 3" sizes now, and of course foam pads for those sizes too.

I use a Meguiars G110V2 with a 4" backing plate to polish out scratched headlights and taillights all the time. This size also works great when you are polishing out the glass as its easier to get around the glass without hitting the rubber trim around it. Even on speed 6...

The 5"backing plate on a random orbital will always be a great improvement. As has been already said, it will allow faster rotation of the pad which helps correct faster, and it is just easier to handle the smaller pad with on the machine.

I use the 5" backing plate on my Flex 3401VRG forced rotation machine with great success. Much more manageable..

Dan F

 

My friend owns a body and Ive been nagging him for years to teach me finishing...Maybe i have to push harder now that i may take work from him...lol...He uses a product called --Farecla--

 

Just picked up a Griots 6" as well. i did pick up white, and orange LC CCS pads from eshine, as well as their 4" CCS Starter kit.

I havent started yet (im hoping to this weekend) but i also picked up Megs 205 and 105 which i think it a good starting point. I'll certainly be looking at getting a 5" and pads to match as well.

Thx for making this post, ive learned lots as well

 

Post back and keep us informed as to how you made out...im interested for sure.

 

I didn't make out too well. I only have an orange and white CCS pad. Orange w/ 105 got rid of my swirls but it took a lot of passes to even touch a very light scratch / marring. I do have a vw so I'm thinking a yellow pad would have been better as the paint is quite hard.

 

You could try some microfiber or Surbuf pads, they might do the trick without as much haze left over.

 

Hmmmm. I hadn't thought of that. I don't know a shmick about using them tho... Time to research. Thanks!

 

Kyle -
Pls describe your process and technique you used on the car.
I find it hard to believe how a L/C orange foam pad and Meguiars 105 did NOT get you a pretty decent result.

Tell us how much pressure you put on the the machine at what speed, how many passes you made, how many times you did this, and could you see any difference, etc... Did you have any moisture on the pad during the correction? Did the compound dry out quickly, and you stopped ?
If you have any pictures, that would help too.

DanF

 

I tried to keep constant pressure but not enough to make the pad wrinkle around the hook & loop. I went quite slow and used a cross hatch pattern. My first pass I used 4 pea size drops to prime the pad. Afterwards I used 3 and a misting of detail spray.

I was able to remove swirling, but anything deeper than that wouldn't budge. I saw zero improvement on a few small, Minor scratches. These were not deep enough to catch a nail on so I figured it would be fine to buff out. I did stop after i did several passes, I cleaned my pad thoroughly and went through my process again with no improvement. The car does look much better, just not what I expected.

I used speed 5 and moved up to speed 6 to see if there was any improvement