Griots Garage 6" or Porter Cable 7424xp

[jwjw777]

Hello Mike,

I am currently on the market for a polisher but have never used one before. I am either going to purchase the Griots Garage 6" or Porter Cable 7424xp.

If you were in my shoes which one would you buy and why?Feed back please Please dont tell me they are both equal :D. They are almost the same price so the price is not a factor.

I am having a tough time deciding on which one to get. However you have used both the Griots Garage 6" and Porter Cable 7424xp. Therefore i would appreciate your advice in terms of which one is overall a better polisher overall.

I am going to be working on correcting the paint on my 1993 Lexus LS400 in White/Pearl color. Mainly there are scratches not swirls. A lot of the scratches look deep. I believe they penetrated the clear coat. Is it possible to take the scratches out with a Polisher especially the deeper ones that probably went past the clear coat? Both sides of the car aren't really scratched up at all. Its mainly on the Trunk and Hood.

I would appreciate any suggestions in terms of the polisher, buffing compounds, and the pads in order to specifically take out scratches not really swirls. I am completely new to this but you are an expert on what pads, and compounds to utilize in order to get scratches out.

[Emm]

I have both of these polishers, and I prefer the PC. To me it has a better feel to it. They both perform well but I am more comfortable with the PC.

[BobbyG]

:welcome: To Autogeek!

Here a like with some great information that might help you to choose.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/22263-how-choose-right-polisher-your-detailing-project.html

[Old Tiger]

I got the Griots to replace an older PC. I prefer the Griots handle. It is more powerful and has one of the best warranties in the biz. Build quality is better on the PC, IMO. Either way get a 5" backing plate.

[Gunslinger]

I also got a Griot's to replace an older PC...great machine. I wasn't really unhappy with the older machine but the new Griot's outclassed it in every way. As soon as you turn it on the difference in torque is amazing. After a year of use it still impresses and I sold the older machine at a swap meet.

Not saying you'll be sorry with a new PC...my comparison isn't really fair since I haven't tried PC's latest...just saying you won't go wrong with the Griot's.

[ScottB]

Both are nice machines but I might also choose the Griots if I needed to replace an original PC.

[James442]

I used to have an older Porter Cable, it worked and worked and worked. If I was to buy a new machine, it would be a flex or a cyclo.
If you plan on detailing full time consider the better machine. I do think the PC is a great tool and useful in many ways. I think I used mine for 4 yrs with no problem and that is using it 3 or more times a week.

[Grizzlee72]

The one thing to note with the flex is "It cannot" use the smaller pads. I think there "was" an edge system adapter but it's on back order or not availiable...

I think you can readily adapt the pc/Griots down to a 4" pad....

- not sure, maybe someone can chime in here?

[Perfections]

Now that I've had the chance to use both on the same car, I would choose the Griots hands down. The problems I found when using the PC were not found with the Griots. For example coming up to a curved surface with a decent size pad, and having it stop rotating. The new Griots has alot of power. And also you'll find after hours of use the Griots doesn't beat your hands up as bad :) Well built machine with a crazy warranty. On a side note I would take the hoop handle off if you go with the Griots.

[IOMCAMARO]

Would you guys pick up a PC for $100 if you saw it on sale locally? I can get one locally for $100 and it already has the 6" counterweight.
Side note. I already have a Griot's Garage DA. I'm just wanting a PC for the 4" pads and wax pads so that I don't have to constantly switch.

[Mike Phillips]

Would you guys pick up a PC for $100 if you saw it on sale locally? I can get one locally for $100 and it already has the 6" counterweight.



If it's the new XP model then yes.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

Hello Mike,


Since this is your first post...

Welcome to the Autogeek Online Discussion Forum! :welcome:





I am currently on the market for a polisher but have never used one before. I am either going to purchase the Griot's Garage 6" or Porter Cable 7424XP.

If you were in my shoes which one would you buy and why? Please dont tell me they are both equal :D. They are almost the same price so the price is not a factor.



You can't go wrong with either tool, in my experience, the Griot's can maintain pad rotation at the 6.0 speed setting as good or better than the PC 7424XP but the reality is that both tools will easily keep a 5.5" pad rotating under pressure so they will both do correction work about the same speed.

You won't finish a complete detail dramatically faster with one over the other. I've commented on this forum and other forums that with the right pad and product combination, using the Griot's was like using a safe version of a rotary buffer. This is because as long as the pad is rotating it's basically doing the same thing a rotary buffer would do only the pad can be stopped.

See this article to understand why the pad can be stopped...

The Free Floating Spindle Assembly - The Story Behind The Story... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/23995-free-rotating-spindle-assembly-story-behind-story.html)



The Porter Cable has around a 25 to 30 year history of reliability for this specific design and that's a feature only time can validate. They are both great tools but if I had to pick one for myself I would pick the Porter Cable 7424XP, I like it's smaller size and again, as long as I'm using 5.5" pads, there's really no performance difference between any of the DA Polishers, this includes PC, Griot's, Meguiar's, and all the emerging copies of the Porter Cable unit.





I am going to be working on correcting the paint on my 1993 Lexus LS400 in White/Pearl color. Mainly there are scratches not swirls. A lot of the scratches look deep.


These are called RIDS, see my article on this term here,

RIDS - The Definition of RIDS and the story behind the term... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/24045-rids-definition-rids-story-behind-term.html)





I believe they penetrated the clear coat. Is it possible to take the scratches out with a Polisher especially the deeper ones that probably went past the clear coat?


No.

You don't remove a scratch or a swirl, you remove the paint surrounding the scratches and swirls. If a scratch is down past the clear layer, then to remove it would mean to remove so much clear paint as to level the surface level of the paint to be equal to the lowest depth of the scratch or scratches you're trying to remove, this would mean removing all the clear and exposing the basecoat.

The basecoat is dull and you will ruin your car's paint job if you remove scratches that are deeper than the layer of clear paint.

What most people do is buff the car out and remove all the shallow swirls and scratches, which dramatically improves the appearance, especially for a car in the manner in which you describe yours, and then live with the deeper scratches or pay for a new paint job.






Both sides of the car aren't really scratched up at all. Its mainly on the Trunk and Hood.


How did the deeper scratches get into the paint in the first place?




I would appreciate any suggestions in terms of the polisher, buffing compounds, and the pads in order to specifically take out scratches not really swirls. I am completely new to this but you are an expert on what pads, and compounds to utilize in order to get scratches out.


If you buy a DA Polisher, then get 5.5" pads and one of the below systems,


Meguiar's Tag Team - M105 and M205
Meguiar's Tag Team - Ultimate Compound and SwirlX or sub M205 for SwirlX
The Wolfgang Twins (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wolfgang-car-care/28324-wolfgang-twins-picture-links.html) - Total Swirl Remover and Finishing Glaze
Menzerna Polishes - SIP and 106FA are good combos but all the Menzerna polishes work great.

For a final finishing polish, pretty hard to beat the Menzerna PO85RD. On a light colored car you wouldn't need to do this last step as the above finishing polishes will get your paint to where you want it to be, but for black or dark colors, then "some" Pro Detailers and Online Enthusiasts will opt for this extra step to maximize gloss and clarity.

"Taking your car's paint to it's maximum potential" (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/27081-taking-your-car-s-paint-s-maximum-potential.html)

Here's another one...

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done" (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/28505-use-least-aggressive-product-get-job-done.html)



:)

[jwjw777]

Thank you for the replies everyone. Appreciate the advice.