Dumb for first polisher?

[VISITOR]

What he said there customer service is useless, they are there just to provide answers not to help you.

IMO customer service is just as important as the product(s) themselves. more companies should take tips/notice (honest/business ethics) from companies like AG and GG to name a few who are tops...

[dlc95]

cg's aren't known for their customer service and if you encounter a problem then what...

Then you are screwed.

[Mike Phillips]

I know most people, or at least a decent amount of people start off with a PC or a Griot's or maybe even now the new Meguiars polisher.

I want to purchase my first polisher soon and have been doing a lot of research.

I was set on getting the Griot's for their wonderful lifetime warranty BUT after seeing on YouTube the new Rupes coming out I instantly wondered.


I see a lot of great remarks when it comes to Rupes, so my thought was why not start off on the perfect machine? so my question to you guys is; is it dumb of me to start off on a Rupes?

Should I go the route most people have with a PC or something in that nature?

Hi buddy,

Great questions and with all the cool tools on the market it can make deciding on which polisher to purchase first a tick confusing.

Here's my take...

When doing my research to write the RUPES how-to book one thing I discovered and shared in the book is that RUPES is not like other companies that sell tools. RUPES sells an "engineered system".

I explain this in great detailing in the actual how-to book but suffice to say, if you choose to go with a RUPES polisher I would highly recommend also choosing to go with RUPES pads and polishes as they truly are all engineered to work together and when used as a system you get top notch results consistently. The word consistently being a very important word in that last sentence.

Then, don't plan on just purchasing one RUPES tool but plan on STARTING with one RUPES tool and down the road adding one or two of the other RUPES offerings.

Then invest the time behind the polisher to become great with it and if you do you'll be able to make any of the RUPES tools dance on the paint till it's perfect.


If you opt not to go with the RUPES offerings then I would recommend either going with the Griot's 6" DA Polisher or the Flex 3401.

I actually prefer to use the PC over the Griot's for any work where I need a simple DA polisher if for no other reason because I feel safer when doing any work around water like machine scrubbing tires, machine scrubbing non-skid in boats, machine sanding and machine scrubbing carpet and upholstery.

But fact is the Griot's is a more powerful tool and has a better warranty so for most people it's a better deal than a Porter Cable. It would be nice to see Porter Cable do an upgrade because for them it really wouldn't be very hard to put out a new and improved tool for the paint polishing market but so far they seem to be happy with the status quo.

The Griot's DA with a couple of different backing plates and pad options can de-swirl a lot of cars and in simple words... get the job done.


The Flex 3401 is a beast due to it's gear-driven design and anyone that's purchased a copy of my Flex how-to book and has had it signed knows I sign it this way, that is,

The Flex 3401 is a BEAST!

This how to book will help you to

Master the Beast!

(That is how I autograph it)


For what it's worth I sign my RUPES book,

The Ferrari of polishers!


I think the Flex 3401 is the best tool for production detailing because with it's gear driven oscillating design you can power through a correction step without even being good and buffing, just get in and get it done.

I teach a class at Mobile Tech Expo each year called,

How to turn the Flex 3401 into a money making machine

And the premise is using it for doing production detailing. And again, that's because you cannot stop the pad from spinning (rotating) or oscillating.

I think free spinning random orbital polishers have the potential to finish out the best no matter what the make or model.

In my new boat detailing how-to book I share how to use ALL these tools to detail boats so in the big picture it really comes down "you" putting the time in behind the polisher or polishers you own and honing your skills to become great with your polishers.

Don't know if the above helped but one thing for sure, when you decide on which polisher to purchase you'll find you'll be able to get better results faster than working by hand and Autogeek.com offers the best customer support bar none including this forum as a resource for help (customer support) with all your future detailing projects.

[Junebug]

Everybody has their own style and likes/dislikes. I can't count how many times I researched some purchase to death and after getting it - was bummed out. If you can, reach out to some forum members close to you and see if you could come over, try their machines and see how you like it. You'd only be out the cost of the drive and maybe a lunch, plus you're likely to make a friend and have someone to try products with, trade and swap stuff.

[Zubair]

If you have the money buy a long throw DA and a forced driven one as inevitably you will get them both down the line. I enjoy both tremendously.

[RFrommann]

I learned on a rotary Dewalt. I purchased a gg6 and 5" and 3" backing plate. I can use 3",4",5.5",and 6.5" and use 8.5" on my rotary. And I just purchased a flex 3401. Come spring I will get a 21mm throw, and I'm Leaning towards another griots

[Mike@ShineStruck]

I was in this boat this past spring.

Reading various posts on this board it was quick to acknowledge the Flex forced rotation was the most popular, and the Cyclo was prob the most smoothest, but yet overlooked.
RUPES 21 bigfoot was tbe next popular behind the flex.

Between the remarks about the Flex walking, the Rupes stalling on curves, and the cyclo not really notable in regards to correction abilty quickness. ...I opted to wait and tbe boss G21 come out..

The Bigfoot 21 to me sounded more enticing, and the Boss G21 sounded like it would pickup where the bigfoot 21 is said to fall short off.. so i purchased a Griot boss 21.

With that being said with a several cars in..
You can get same results with just about every polisher..some take more time to acomplish the same thing as another. Forum members results support this statement.
Also each type require a different technique to accel in optimum results

Id say, if you only plan to have 1 polisher, go with the Cyclo
If you plan to buy multiple
Then the new Rupes 21 Mark to to start off with...then Rupes 75E mini and upcomming Rupes Nano.

If you plan to do lots of correction perhaps the new flex forced rotation with backing plate and adapter for smaller pad changes
But all can get correction done

[cardaddy]

If you're only going to have one then get the Griot's. It gives you plenty of power and the option of 3", 4", and 5" backing plates.

if you don't do many cars or just the families and maybe a few friends then buying a $350 polisher may not be a wise choice. i've said it many times, but every detailer/enthusiast should own at least one traditional PC-style DA and with that said the GG6 (it's been used and proven by many) is a great choice. packs plenty of torque/power, excellent (no nonsense) customer service (GG is known for), and phenomenal warranty. with the plethora of pads/backing plates and polishes/compounds out these days (technology keeps advancing as well) there isn't much that it can't handle. if it breaks down after the other's (competition) warranties expire (usually only 1 year), no problem GG they will take care of you...

Griots Garage 6 Inch Random Orbital Polisher

yes, it has 2-3 times more (throw) coverage but it shouldn't be your only DA. the GG6 can be equipped with different size backing plates so you can cover more areas on the car. money being no issue the GG6 and G15/21 would be an excellent combo, otherwise the GG6 can do it just as well but with a little more time. if i were only doing a few cars a year (including family) then there would be no reason to buy a more expensive polisher when the GG6 can do it all...

and with x 1000

The thing is... the Griot machines have corrected the paint on million dollar, one of a kind vehicles, and have been the backbone of detailers everywhere for YEARS. Plus, they are SOOOOOO easy to change backing plates on, that you can have a 4", 5" and a 6" plate and used them with TONS of pads, not to mention brushes that'll fit the arbor.

Does a large throw, or direct drive (like the Flex) machine offer a bit of a time savings when correcting? Well yes they do sorta. But only if you're doing the entire thing all at once, and don't plan on stopping. Even then, it's not going to cut your time in half.

Mike Phillips did a thread a few years ago and put a clock in the frame doing half a car with on and half with the other. It was something like 45 minutes MAX that he saved. All in all that's not that big of a deal, ESPECIALLY when you consider you can buy TWO GG6 machines and have money for pads left over for what a single Rupes or Flex will run you.


Oh.... and Advance Auto Parts sells the GG6, and they regularly have 30% off coupon codes, that'll bring it under a hundred bucks. Nick did come out a while back that AG will match it, so that might be an option as well.


Wanting a nice buffer as your first one isn't a 'stupid' idea at all. What I'd consider bone headed however is buying a new buffer and NOT buying AT LEAST a dozen pads! Better yet about 18 MINIMUM, when you start thinking about adding Meguiar's microfiber pads to the mx is what you'd need to get you through anything you might run across. Buying that buffer and having only 2 orange, 2 white, and 2 blue, or even worse ONE of several colors will be a HUGE mistake!

This is where the Rupes "system" really starts to get expensive. As Mike said... Rupes has engineered their product offering as a "system" to go from start to finish with their pads, their (liquid) products. So much so that their pads and their compounds and polishes are color coded to match. It's a great 'system', and provides great results... but it get prohibitively expensive in a hurry.

Not that you cannot use Lake Country pads with a Rupes machine, just that the 'system' wasn't designed that way. I think I have something like 14~16 Rupes pads but not more than 3 of any one color for my Duetto. When using that machine I'll more often than not just use those pads, (although I have probably sixty 5½" pads and another fifty 6½" pads) just because the work with that machine so well.

Like I told clients over and over again when I was doing home theaters for them, "Nothing is really 'expensive' if you want it.... you just have to quantify your LEVEL of want".

In this reality however, a GG6 and a couple dozen pads, plus all sorts of compounds and polishes can be had for what a bare bones higher end machine will cost you.

[Marina]

And if I already made the hasty choice of getting rupes 21 mark II as my first machine, which would be a better companion machine: rupes mini, ibrid nano, or the griot's 3 inch?

[postaltwo]

If u have the cash imo the ibrid is the best choice . With the mini second