The GG polisher is as good as the 3401?

[O.C.Detailing]

lol I love how all of you are saying the Flex is BY FAR better, when it's not better. In SOME WAYS it's better, but for raw correction ability, the Griot's is the more powerful of the two. The forced rotation from the Flex offers a better initial finish, but it leaves a lot of defects behind that the Griot's removes.

VR8 and I work together and he uses the Flex and I use the new Griot's. My machine is more powerful and I get better defect removal, but his machine is more refined and leaves less marring.

I've had no real quality issues with my Griot's other than the C-clip holding the bearing assembly together wearing out, but that's after a good 60 cars or so and daily use at maximum speeds. I love it's power and correction ability, but I also love the Flex for it's ability to leave a cleaner finish with certain pad/product combinations.

Now, let me be clear, that's not to say the Griot's doesn't leave the same finish as the flex, as it does and does not require any extra passes or time that the flex doesn't. But both John (VR8) and I have noticed that the flex can leave a cleaner finish in some instances where the power of the Griot's can sometimes require a bit more "dialing-in" in terms of pad/product combination. Sometimes it's just too aggressive where the forced rotation of the flex allows a cleaner, more reliable correction with more predictable results and particular pad/product combinations.

The lifetime warranty of the Griot's is bulletproof. I tried to get a new C-clip to repair my old machine, but instead, they sent me a whole new machine, no questions asked. Have no fear that the warranty is "questionable". As it's not.

Hope I helped. Long story short, for more correction ability, go with the Griot's, but if you're looking for a more predictable finish with less "dialing-in" and your budget can handle the cost, go with the Flex.

[Clutch34]

How many weeks/months into your purchase did you contact Griot's for a new C-clip? Just curious..

[Irish]

I can't really fathom how you're coming up with all this.

lol I love how all of you are saying the Flex is BY FAR better, when it's not better. In SOME WAYS it's better, but for raw correction ability, the Griot's is the more powerful of the two. The forced rotation from the Flex offers a better initial finish, but it leaves a lot of defects behind that the Griot's removes.

VR8 and I work together and he uses the Flex and I use the new Griot's. My machine is more powerful and I get better defect removal, but his machine is more refined and leaves less marring.

I've had no real quality issues with my Griot's other than the C-clip holding the bearing assembly together wearing out, but that's after a good 60 cars or so and daily use at maximum speeds. I love it's power and correction ability, but I also love the Flex for it's ability to leave a cleaner finish with certain pad/product combinations.

Now, let me be clear, that's not to say the Griot's doesn't leave the same finish as the flex, as it does and does not require any extra passes or time that the flex doesn't. But both John (VR8) and I have noticed that the flex can leave a cleaner finish in some instances where the power of the Griot's can sometimes require a bit more "dialing-in" in terms of pad/product combination. Sometimes it's just too aggressive where the forced rotation of the flex allows a cleaner, more reliable correction with more predictable results and particular pad/product combinations.

The lifetime warranty of the Griot's is bulletproof. I tried to get a new C-clip to repair my old machine, but instead, they sent me a whole new machine, no questions asked. Have no fear that the warranty is "questionable". As it's not.

Hope I helped. Long story short, for more correction ability, go with the Griot's, but if you're looking for a more predictable finish with less "dialing-in" and your budget can handle the cost, go with the Flex.

Staying with this line of thought, rotary's are absolutely in the basement in terms of correction, seeing as they are 100% forced rotation, and random orbits are at the top of the food chain. In reality it's exactly the opposite.

A machine leaving behind defects is a product of:

- User error.
- Dirty pads.
- Very aggressive pads/compounds. Which should be corrected with a polishing step anyway.

[mixmaster209]

I would also like to add that with the correct oiling of the felt ring on the flex, the previous backing plate problem is now a thing of the past.

[turbos17]

Google it.

Sorry I ain't gonna google it, yahoo it, etc. Please feel free to provide the facts. Thanks!

[kbohip]

Man, I never thought this would be this hard of a decision! I figured the Flex was the one to get, but now I'm starting to think I should just save the money and go with the GG. Since I have the rotary now, I can use that for the heavy stuff and use the GG for everything else, including the finish work....or can I. Now I see adrock's post saying the Flex does better finish work.

Normally I wouldn't agree but after seeing what happened today, I'm not so sure. I was polishing the hood on my wife's old black '91 Maxima. Heavy scratches and the clearcoat was spiderwebbing (right term?). Anyway I used the Dewalt 849 and a wool pad to cut through it all and it did a great job. I then turned to my Cyclo to get the various swirl marks and scratches the rotary left off. To my amazement the Cyclo made things look worse. I had to follow up what the Cyclo did with the rotary using a white foam pad and a finer polish! I never thought the Cyclo could leave swirl marks, but it left some bad ones. I'm really wanting to get rid of the Cyclo now. Some before and after pics of the roof. The car's paint is a mess so it's perfect to learn how to use a rotary on.

Before:


After:

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I can't really fathom how you're coming up with all this.



Staying with this line of thought, rotary's are absolutely in the basement in terms of correction, seeing as they are 100% forced rotation, and random orbits are at the top of the food chain. In reality it's exactly the opposite.

A machine leaving behind defects is a product of:

- User error.
- Dirty pads.
- Very aggressive pads/compounds. Which should be corrected with a polishing step anyway.

[Mike Phillips]

I just read through this entire thread and there's some pretty strong opinions being posted and there's nothing wrong with having a strong opinion but do try to post it in a way that maintains respect for your fellow forum members...

Thanks!

Also, as someone pointed out, the Flex 3401 is really in a class by itself as far as the design of its drive mechanism compared to a PC style tool, a rotary buffer and the Cyclo. I wrote an article that separates all of these different polishers into categories with pictures to show the differences. See the link below...


How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project

[turbos17]

07 z-oh-6, got me that link?

[O.C.Detailing]

I can't really fathom how you're coming up with all this.



Staying with this line of thought, rotary's are absolutely in the basement in terms of correction, seeing as they are 100% forced rotation, and random orbits are at the top of the food chain. In reality it's exactly the opposite.

A machine leaving behind defects is a product of:

- User error.
- Dirty pads.
- Very aggressive pads/compounds. Which should be corrected with a polishing step anyway.

You talk as if you think the Flex is a rotary...the Flex 3401 is a DA with ADDED forced rotation. The difference is that the flex doesn't have the same power output as my Griot's. It doesn't oscillate or spin the pad as fast as my Griot's is capable of doing.

Get this straight, this is coming from someone who has worked next to another skilled detailer on pretty much a daily basis for about 6 months, he's using a Flex, I'm using a Griot's. I'm not talking out of my rear here. I'm giving you hard evidence in the form of strict observations.

Due to the CONTROL the flex has over oscillation and speed of rotation in relation to the forced rotation mechanism, I'm attributing that to it's ability to leave a cleaner INITIAL surface, but leaving more defects behind (pre-existing defects, not marring or hazing left from the machine) than my Griot's leaves. My Griot's, on the other hand, is violent in that it offers no real control when it comes to a constant oscillation or rotation speed depending on the surface you're working on, whether it's flat, or rounded, the speeds and oscillations can vary greatly where, with the Flex, they do not. That being said, it's BECAUSE of the power it has that it's able to CLEAN the paint of pre-existing defects faster, but it also leaves it's own marring behind that the Flex doesn't, on most occasions, but that depends on the quality/hardness of the vehicle's paint you're working on.

When it's all said and done, neither one is "faster" than the other because you need to go over defects a bit more with the flex to get them out, but you need to go over what you've corrected with the Griot's to remove hazing/marring/ghosting you've left behind. Sometimes, the story is the same for both of our machines. I WILL be getting a Flex ONE-DAY, but I don't NEED a Flex. I just want it so we can have the same machines and because I really admire the technology behind it, not because it does a better job, because it doesn't.

Like I've said in previous posts, if money isn't a factor...GO WITH THE FLEX, but if money IS a factor...then GO WITH THE GRIOT'S. All of the other machines on the market don't even come close to either one of these machines in terms of correction ability or value for the money (Lifetime warranty on the Griot's).

Ultimately, it's your choice on which machine you want to go with. I chose the Griot's because of the power and my ability to "tune" that power to the correction I need based around pad/product combination I choose and the ability of my machine to correct defects in paint while saving myself a LOT of money.