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Super Member
G8 - Initial Impressions
I just took a test drive with my new G8 and BOSS pads. The route traversed one saddle bag from my 2019 Harley Ultra Limited. Obviously, I'll finish the trip over the whole bike but wanted to share my initial impressions so far.
I take good care of my bike so it's not in need of any serious correction, yet it can always benefit from a light polishing. I chose Meg's D166 as the polishing agent.
I have to say my overall impression with the G8 is good. It does exactly what you would expect and does it well. I didn't experience any limitations beyond those typical of any free-spinning polisher. And the 3-inch size was near perfect for the part I was working on. There were a few areas where a 2-inch (which is included with the G8) or even 1-inch would fare better, but not better enough for me to take the time to swap out backing plates. Whatever corners and such that I couldn't get with the 3-inch pad were simply finished by hand.
I started with the black Boss "finishing" pad. Too soft for my liking, even though I wasn't chasing defects and was only looking for a nice final finish. I did the complete bag using the black pad, then decided to try the yellow BOSS "perfecting" pad. I went over the whole bag again with the yellow pad and like it much better. If there was any compromise in the finish quality moving from a black pad to a yellow pad, it was certainly not obvious to my eyes. I also have the orange BOSS "correcting" pads but haven't gone there yet.
Since most everything has both pros and cons, here's a couple cons...
For the G8, and this is certainly no deal-breaker, I'd prefer a single, one-way, variable speed trigger throttle over the dual-pivot variable speed trigger throttle the tool has. I've never been much for "gimmicks" and the dual-pivot switch fits squarely in that category to me. I just don't see any benefit to the dual-pivot switch and would much prefer a more conventional "singular" trigger.
For the pads, I'd like to see a little foam shoulder around the edge of the velcro backing. When polishing the saddle bag lid, as you can see in the pics, there is a corner, or lip, all the way around the lid. When polishing into that corner you have to be very careful not to allow the velcro backing (or the backing plate itself) to contact the opposing surface. If it did make contact, you'd have some serious marring. A little more foam around the edges would minimize that risk. Note that with the Griot's pads and the Griot's backing plate, the velcro backing on the pad exceeds the edge of the backing plate by about 1/8" circumferentially, so it would make contact before the actual backing plate.
That's it... My initial impressions after about an hour of use.
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Super Member
Re: G8 - Initial Impressions
Great real life info. Love it!
It is no coincidence that man's best friend cannot talk.
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Re: G8 - Initial Impressions
I also received my G8 recently and used it to polish some areas of my truck. I was really impressed with this polisher. I agree with your assessment and I also like the locking trigger, the easy to see speed dial, and I think it has plenty of power with minimum vibration
2008 Toyota Tacoma 410,000 miles and still going strong.
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Re: G8 - Initial Impressions
Originally Posted by MX5HIGH
I also received my G8 recently and used it to polish some areas of my truck. I was really impressed with this polisher. I agree with your assessment and I also like the locking trigger, the easy to see speed dial, and I think it has plenty of power with minimum vibration
Man, that's a lot of sleigh rides.
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Super Member
Re: G8 - Initial Impressions
It's a very nice little machine for the price. To me, the Griots BOSS pads are on the less aggressive side anyway, so I'm not surprised you went to the yellow pad with D166 from the black pad. I consider the yellow pad a light polishing pad, and the orange a light cutting/heavy polishing pad.
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Re: G8 - Initial Impressions
Originally Posted by 2black1s
Since most everything has both pros and cons, here's a couple cons...
For the G8, and this is certainly no deal-breaker, I'd prefer a single, one-way, variable speed trigger throttle over the dual-pivot variable speed trigger throttle the tool has.
I've never been much for "gimmicks" and the dual-pivot switch fits squarely in that category to me. I just don't see any benefit to the dual-pivot switch and would much prefer a more conventional "singular" trigger.
Rod Kraft and I made video last year where Rod went over all the design features of their new tools. If you start watching around the time stamp, Rod explains the function behind this dual-pivot variable speed trigger.
It's definitely some out of the box thinking.
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Super Member
Re: G8 - Initial Impressions
Originally Posted by Mike Phillips
Rod Kraft and I made video last year where Rod went over all the design features of their new tools. If you start watching around the time stamp, Rod explains the function behind this dual-pivot variable speed trigger.
It's definitely some out of the box thinking.
Thanks Mike, That's the 10:00 mark... I had to search LOL.
I've seen that before and I'm aware of the design function of the switch, but I'll still take the conventional switch. Maybe with time I may change my tune but these were my initial impressions.
As for controlling the trigger with your pinkie finger if you're holding the tool mid-body as Rod shows, that's great in theory, but in the real world, the coordination of my pinkie has nowhere near the coordination of my index finger, so having full and complete control of the switch/trigger with my pinkie is not a realistic/practical option.
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Super Member
Re: G8 - Initial Impressions
hello 2black1s....as you know, i have this G8 as well and i know exactly what you are talking about when you reference that little lip on the bag cover
I neglected to look at the thickness of some replacement pads and found them to be thicker than the one that I originally bought
I'm thinking the thicker pad may be better to use for those spots, what are your thoughts?
btw, great product review....i have no regrets, it's a quality tool
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Super Member
Re: G8 - Initial Impressions
Originally Posted by CaffeineBuzz
hello 2black1s....as you know, i have this G8 as well and i know exactly what you are talking about when you reference that little lip on the bag cover
I neglected to look at the thickness of some replacement pads and found them to be thicker than the one that I originally bought
I'm thinking the thicker pad may be better to use for those spots, what are your thoughts?
btw, great product review....i have no regrets, it's a quality tool
Yeah, a thicker pad would be a slight benefit in that particular area, but I don't see myself changing pads to accomplish. As long as you are aware of the potential risk and don't run the velcro or backing plate into the corner you're ok. And if you're extra cautious and stay away from the corner then it's actually pretty easy to do that area by hand.
I will look at other pad options when the time to resupply comes around, but right now I have enough of the Griot's pads and I'm going to use them.
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