Griot's Garage DA vibration too much, now what?

[Souldetailer]

Just saw the original post is nearly a year old. Hope things were resolved, or at the very least this helps others.

Peace,

Darrin

[smokeysbandit]

I recognize that this is an old thread, and that the OP has not been around for a while, but I have to share my experience in hopes of it helping someone else.

I’ve struggled with nerve impingements in my arms for a good portion of my life. They really started to have a dramatic impact on me when I was in my early 20’s. At this time, I was working professionally at a hot rod shop, using my hands and arms to build cars. In my free time I was doing body work on my own cars and rock climbing 3-4 times a week. In my case, this was a recipe for disaster. My arms would become basically unusable. The pain at times seemed unbearable. My nights were sleepless, and the most menial of tasks proved difficult. Carrying groceries, using the phone, typing- they all proved painful. After trying all sorts of exercises, pain and anti-inflammatory meds, and any other widget I could find, I decided to give up rock climbing and opted for a career change, in lieu of surgery, or further medical diagnosis. I don’t like the idea of going under the knife as I’ve had a number of friends over the years come out worse than better.

The following years were a mixed bag of results. It took almost a year for the numbness and pain to go away in a meaningful sense. After that, a rough weekend, a house project, or a detail would send me back into temporary hell. Sometimes something as simple as using my phone while lying in bed on vacation for a weekend would be enough repetition. Fast forward a few more years and I picked up a GG6 to add to my detailing arsenal. I did a number of completes the first year I had this machine, and each and every one would send me to hell for a week. I later purchased the flex and found some improvement, but not enough to not have a lasting reminder of the work I had been doing.

What I’ve learned in my 30’s—Buy yourself a Boss or a Rupes. I have the Boss, and it is by far the best machine I have ever used with regard to my arms, and pain. It is also a correction beast. The vibration is very low when compared to other high dollar machines, and there is no comparison to the GG6 and similar. The other important aspect is that the machine requires very little down force, and does not require me to “fight” the tool. Although I have incredible grip strength these days, if I have to squeeze and fight something for a long period of time, it greatly exacerbates my problem. When it comes to vibration, if you start to feel numbness, or tingling in your arms STOP! Walk away, take a break, get something to eat and let your arms recover. If you are really hurting, you need to let your arms recover before going back in inflaming the tendon more. After trying every snake oil, and whizbang I could find, the best recommendation I can make for therapy and strengthening is the Theraband Flexbar. The Flexbar comes in three different strengths, denoted by color. I started with the green (mid strength) and found it to be the right starting point. There are a number of exercise that can be done to help, and I’ve never found anything that stretches that tendon like the Flexbar. When I am on top of my exercises I can do a couple full corrections without batting an eye. If I’ve been lazy in my therapy, I can really feel it. Best of luck, and feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions.

[Matador]

It's funny, well not funny--but I felt similar pain to the OP last year when I got the bug again to start detailing with my GG6. I bought it in 2012 I think ?

I corrected a friend's ride and remember being so fatigued and arms hurting from all the vibration. I used it at 4.5 MAX, and I had pains afterwards and soreness for a couple of days. I said to myself, "i could never do this for a living."

After reading this thread, and hearing how the BOSS and others like Flex or Rupes actually is softer than the GG6, I decided to bite the bullet and get one of the more 'high end' machines. I have my BOSS 21 waiting to be used soon...

But it is pretty wild to think about the GG6 and if I had really had to use it everyday. I think also, improper use on my end may be the case back then. I would 'push' down really hard and 'fight the machine' almost like you said.

These machines do the work for you and you just have to let it work for longer times. My impatience forced me to not do that.

I think I will have a better go around this time with the boss. ;)

Love this site!