Quietest Polisher

**Romans5.8** · 12-15-2013, 08:10 PM

My Griots Garage 6" DA is super quiet!

'Course, it could be because of my earplugs...

**hollerstiltner** · 12-16-2013, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by Romans5.8

My Griots Garage 6" DA is super quiet!

'Course, it could be because of my earplugs...

The sound of my GG doesn't bother me too much. However it drives my wife in the bedroom above the garage crazy when she tries to sleep.

Earplugs are a given when I use almost any power tool. I'm still too young to go deaf.

**Lowejackson** · 12-16-2013, 02:42 PM

Normally dB readings are done at standard 1 meter distance however when polishing some panels i.e. vertical ones the ear is much closer to the machine and consequently it is much louder.

I really do not understand why more effort is made to make these machines quieter or why there is not a demand to buy quieter machines.

My Silverline rotary is officially 92 dB (one meter) and I think it was about 95 when measured working on the car.

For your garage I would consider sealing all the doors with some draftproofing material, even a small gap will allow a lot of sound to travel through the hole. Most garages are full of hard surfaces so any soft materials will help a little

**Romans5.8** · 12-16-2013, 03:03 PM

As far as demand, there ARE quieter machines but they are expensive. I can't answer for everyone but I can answer for me and why I chose to buy a louder, cheaper machine;

I just don't polish that often. Maybe I'll polish once a year. As I don't have a garage, I typically hand apply waxes and sealants. I have to 'borrow' a garage to use my DA. So, in my situation, I can just stick some earplug in and deal with it and spend the money I saved on things I use all the time; like microfiber towels, waterless wash, tools, and other things that help me to maintain my finish! In a day to day basis, my Mercury 2.0 bottle was a great investment over a cheap bottle since I do a waterless wash at LEAST 4 times a week (4 vehicles weekly). More frequently when rain, snow, and ice are a factor. So a $20 plastic bottle? A couple hundred in microfiber towels? Sure. But an extra $100 or $200 for a polisher just because it's a little quieter and smoother- in MY situation; no, it's not high on my priority list.

That's my $0.02. I just got done polishing, sealing, and waxing my car- all by machine. Loud and lots of vibrations but it really was no big deal. Not when the next time I'll use it may be spring when I do my wife's car and PERHAPS my car again should I decide to go a coating route in the spring (and I'll polish again to ensure a perfectly clean surface.).

**Desertnate** · 12-16-2013, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by ezriderga

earplugs

I get a small box of them at a hardware store for cheap. Since I wear them when I mow/trim the yard too, I always have some on hand.

**hollerstiltner** · 12-17-2013, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by Lowejackson

Normally dB readings are done at standard 1 meter distance however when polishing some panels i.e. vertical ones the ear is much closer to the machine and consequently it is much louder.

I really do not understand why more effort is made to make these machines quieter or why there is not a demand to buy quieter machines.

My Silverline rotary is officially 92 dB (one meter) and I think it was about 95 when measured working on the car.

For your garage I would consider sealing all the doors with some draftproofing material, even a small gap will allow a lot of sound to travel through the hole. Most garages are full of hard surfaces so any soft materials will help a little

Thank you for the information. It sounds like a rotary may not be as quiet as I originally thought. I may also have to invest in some insulation in the garage. The bedroom is directly above so I'll have to see what my options are.

Originally Posted by Romans5.8

As far as demand, there ARE quieter machines but they are expensive. I can't answer for everyone but I can answer for me and why I chose to buy a louder, cheaper machine;

I just don't polish that often. Maybe I'll polish once a year. As I don't have a garage, I typically hand apply waxes and sealants. I have to 'borrow' a garage to use my DA. So, in my situation, I can just stick some earplug in and deal with it and spend the money I saved on things I use all the time; like microfiber towels, waterless wash, tools, and other things that help me to maintain my finish! In a day to day basis, my Mercury 2.0 bottle was a great investment over a cheap bottle since I do a waterless wash at LEAST 4 times a week (4 vehicles weekly). More frequently when rain, snow, and ice are a factor. So a $20 plastic bottle? A couple hundred in microfiber towels? Sure. But an extra $100 or $200 for a polisher just because it's a little quieter and smoother- in MY situation; no, it's not high on my priority list.

That's my $0.02. I just got done polishing, sealing, and waxing my car- all by machine. Loud and lots of vibrations but it really was no big deal. Not when the next time I'll use it may be spring when I do my wife's car and PERHAPS my car again should I decide to go a coating route in the spring (and I'll polish again to ensure a perfectly clean surface.).

Thank you for the explanation of where you were coming from with your answer. I agree there are more important things than a polisher, but it seems like all my free time is at night when everyone else is asleep. That's why I was hoping to see what my options are. I'd like to be able to polish when I have the most time.

It looks like I'm going to have to spread my polishing out over a few sessions so I can eventually get it done. Just try to set aside an hour a week to do one panel. My wife's new car is uncorrected and it's killing me.

Thank you all for the advice.

**Lowejackson** · 12-20-2013, 05:41 AM

Originally Posted by hollerstiltner

Thank you for the information. It sounds like a rotary may not be as quiet as I originally thought. I may also have to invest in some insulation in the garage. The bedroom is directly above so I'll have to see what my options are.....

Just to clarify my comments, my rotary is a cheap unit as I only polish a couple of times a year, I have no doubt some of the more expensive units are quieter but I have not tried any of them. However, comments made by others would indicate the better polishes are quieter than the cheap ones

**PPLd** · 12-20-2013, 05:49 AM

The quietest and smoothest polisher i have used is DAS6.

**vet** · 12-20-2013, 08:58 AM

Congrats on the new addition to the family!

Perhaps instead of trying to find a quieter DA, you could look into some sound deadener material to put on the garage walls/ceiling.

Just a thought.

**Indiglofish61** · 08-18-2018, 04:26 PM

I just compared the rupes lhr21 mark2, against the torq22d, I ran them together and one at a time. My choice for less noise and vibration was for the torq22d, to me there was a significant difference in noise and vibration, so I decided to send back the rupes, and save some money, since I just detail for myself and family and friends.