Griot's Garage BOSS G21 review on an 18 year old Miata

[haris300]

Hi everyone. As you may know, I was lucky to be selected as the winner for the recent Griot's Garage BOSS G21 polisher giveaway from AutoGeek. I am primarily a Flex user but I do have quite a bit of experience with the Rupes 21ES and various other free spindle DAs.

When I found out I was going to be receiving the G21, I immediately contacted Nick and placed an order for a 5 inch backing plate and some 5 inch pads. From my experience with the Rupes, this is a killer combo with a long throw DA.

I chose to use the polisher on my recently acquired 1997 Mazda Miata STO Edition with 28k on the odometer. This car has a clear coated Twilight Blue paint as opposed to a single stage paint like various other earlier Miatas of the same generation. Although it didn't have very many miles on it, the paint was an absolute mess. It was riddled with swirls, scratches, holograms, water spots, and all kinds of other nasty imperfections that would take some serious work to get rid of.









To prep the car for correction, it received a thorough 2 bucket wash, Iron X chemical decontamination, and a Nanoskin mitt mechanical decontamination. Wheels were cleaned with Adams Deep Wheel Cleaner and a Speed Master wheel brush. The top was cleaned with D101 and a bug sponge.









More of the car's condition.









Now on to the polisher itself. I was immediately impressed with the build quality of the machine. It definitely has that "built like a tank" feel you get with a Flex polisher.

The included polisher bag was also a great way to hold all my polishing supplies.





I brought out my Rupes 21ES to compare it since they are both very similar in design. You can definitely tell the G21 was built from the ground up. The G21 has rubber grips on it, one of which is placed in the center for when you don't want to hold it from the trigger handle. This is very handy for working on vertical panels. It also has a variable trigger and in my opinion a superior locking mechanism compared to the Rupes. Both polishers have thick cords about 61mm thick. The G21 does feel a bit heavier than the Rupes but not by much.























Now lets get on to machine operation. Unlike my Rupes which has a delayed start, the G21 kicks on right away. Both machines are extremely smooth and make around the same amount of noise. The G21 just seems to have a lower pitch sound.

I did some test spots with the 6.5 inch pads that AutoGeek sent me. I used the white foam cutting pad and the microfiber cutting disc with the Fast Correcting Cream and the less aggressive Correcting Cream. The foam cutting pad felt great as did the microfiber discs. Very smooth pad rotation and minimal vibration.

I decided on sticking with the microfiber cutting discs and Fast Correcting Cream for the initial cut. I then threw on my 5 inch backing plate with the included "Kevin Brown Style" washer mod. Now this thing was an absolute power horse.







Although this is a free spinning DA, it is still very easy to keep your pad rotating. If rotating slows down on curved or vertical panels, you can adjust your speed accordingly and/or change your grip to the center rather than from the trigger handle. For tricky edges, you have to tilt the pad just right to keep rotation going and continue correction in hard to reach spots. Hard pressure is not needed as the long throw operation takes care of most of the correction.





Vertical panels are a breeze when you hold the polisher like so.



As you can see, the correction results were very impressive. Fast Correcting Cream finishes down amazingly.





In sunlight.



The microfibers discs work very well and appear to be extremely durable. Clean up is also a breeze.



I did a spot with my Rupes (with washer mod) and a Meguiar's cutting disc and noticed that the G21 was just a little more forgiving when it comes to pad rotation. I then tried out the Griot's microfiber disc and Fast Correction Cream with the Rupes and got similar correction results.






I also tried out some various other brand pads on the G21 and this is what I noticed.

• Lake Country flat foam pads tend to vibrate and wobble a lot more than the Griot's pads at high speeds.
• Rupes pads work pretty well with the machine and feel smooth.
• Meguiar's thin foam cutting pads are smooth.
• Meguiar's microfiber cutting discs are smooth.

From what it seems, long throw machines really like thin pads. The Griot's machine, polishes, and pads work very well as a system, but you can still get great results with other brands pads and products. Stick with the thin stuff and you should be good.

I also compared the Fast Correcting Cream with FG400 and got what I'd say were identical results. The Fast Correcting Cream has a very long work time and the dusting is very little to nothing. Both products cut wonderfully and finish down to almost LSP ready.

[haris300]

There were a few really bad scratches on the hood and trunk from what I'm guessing were animal claws. I had to get rid of these to maintain uniform correction around the entire car. I used a 3000 grit Meguiar's Unigrit disc and a foam interface pad to level these defects out with the G21. As a machine sander, this tool is wonderfully smooth.







I did end up using my other Griot's polisher with a 3 inch backing plate for some of the more intricate areas. I also used it with PlastX to clean up the plastic top window.





My final step was the finishing sealant. Since this is an all in one product with fine abrasives, I used it with the Griot's perfecting pad. I also tried it out with a white Lake Country pad and got similar results but with a little more vibration.



I chose not to use the compound on the textured areas of the doors and instead just hit them with the finishing sealant.



The finishing sealant really left behind a nicely refined finish. I'd say I got around 90% defect removal on this car. These old Miatas have notoriously thin paint and there were some RIDS left over, but nothing that was enough to bother me. Tires were dressed with Meguiar's D170. Wheels and glass were coated with Gtechniq C2V3. Top was protected with 303 Fabric Guard.

I gave the interior a quick vacuum and wipe down and brought it outside.







I'll try to get some better sunlight photos when the weather permits. From how it looks, I'm very happy with the results and the performance of the G21.

















This polisher is definitely a valuable addition to my detailing arsenal and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to purchase a long throw DA. Thanks again AutoGeek for this wonderful opportunity.

[haris300]

Thanks for reading everyone! Sorry for the double post.

[custmsprty]

Great review, and amazing results. A testament to your skills and The "Boss System"

[trekkeruss]

Awesome review and great detail. Thank you.

[Marc08EX]

Over the top review! Very detailed!

I enjoyed reading it a lot. Thanks for doing this.

[RaskyR1]

Awesome review! Great work on the car too!

[fly07sti]

Very nice review. Car looks outstanding as well.

[The Guz]

Great review. You did a great job.

[le-brazil]

Thanks! Great job!