Griot's 3" buffer

[Ruby13]

Having received and happily used the Griot's 6" buffer I'm looking at the 3". I know I can change out the backing plate and go down to 4" but for the price would prefer a separate machine. Getting in around spoilers and frames has me using a pad and I would prefer to automate.
Anyone using Griot's new 3" or another brand they are pleased with.. Any feedback would be appreciated
Thanks

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Bought mine and sold it. Not nearly powerful enough, IMO.

[arkus]

I agree !

[Mike Phillips]

The 3" Griot's Garage Mini Polisher works, that it is it will rotate the 3" Griot's Garage pad under light pressure but not much more. I would have to say in order to get good results with it you would have to already have good to excellent skills with a DA polisher.

I also know that after working with thousands of people over the years new to machine polishing with any type of polisher that most people will try it and think that it's underpowered and compared to a full size DA power and the ability of a full size DA Polisher, (not the Flex or Cyclo but tools with a Free Floating Spindle Assembly), it's not going to have the same type of power, not even close.

But... if you define the word "work" as able to remove defects than it does work but it does require using exact technique all the time you're trying to remove defects.

As for applying a non-abrasive polish or wax or sealant to small thin panels instead of doing it by hand it has no problem doing this...

I've used it to remove sanding marks so it does work...

Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher - Extreme Demo - Warning!

Warning! Please don't try this on your own car.

One section of the test hood was thoroughly wet-sanded using Nikken #2000 Finishing Papers




And swirls in tight places...

1994 Porsche Detailed for "Operation Comfort" Modeled by Brittany from Stuart, Florida

To work on the paint under the whale tail, I used the Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher...




The paint around the louvers and the louvers were the most difficult areas to work on and while the paint was greatly improved in this area there are still deeper scratches remaining that can be removed but will require more time to work out carefully by hand or machine...





If I work on this car again in the future I'll either have the owner check into having the black grill removed or I'll have to do it myself so that there's no risk of causing any damage to the grill or getting splatter on it from multiple machine polishing steps...

Most of the time when I look at areas like this detailed before me I find spatter or the other guy's wax...



Polishing and sealing were both done with the red finishing/waxing pads offered by Griot's Garage for their 3" Mini Polisher.





But don't expect the same kind of pad rotation power that you get with any of the second generation DA Polishers with The Free Floating Spindle Assembly

[TLMitchell]

Having received and happily used the Griot's 6" buffer I'm looking at the 3". I know I can change out the backing plate and go down to 4" but for the price would prefer a separate machine. Getting in around spoilers and frames has me using a pad and I would prefer to automate.
Anyone using Griot's new 3" or another brand they are pleased with.. Any feedback would be appreciated
Thanks

As Mike points out, the 3" GG isn't the best tool for serious correction. You'd be better off with a 3" BP on a PC or similar DA. That said, I use it for very mild correction and tight spots, especially handy for motorcycles. With a 4" BP and pad you can really cover ground spreading wax or sealants and easily work one-handed.

A variety of 3" pads is tough to find, AGO has a couple of 3M offerings I'll be trying later this week. They also have a few LCs as well as the GG's. Pretty limited selection. Lake Country makes their entire line in 3 & 3.5" but I've yet to find any vendor that offers a full selection. The Buff n Shine 3" pads are pretty crappy, IMO.

I had a 3" Metabo 400SXE which was about the same tool as the v1 GG 3", pretty anemic. I used it mostly clamped between my knees pad-up to polish small shiny bits. Once I picked up the 3" GG I peddled the Metabo.

YMMV... TL

[Buckskincolt]

I have the Griots 6" for my main polisher and like it. What I use for a small machine is a first generation PCXP with a 3.5" backing plate and 4" pads...works very well and does a good job turning the 4" pads.

[Mike Phillips]

[quote=TLMitchell;344619]

As Mike points out, the 3" GG isn't the best tool for serious correction. You'd be better off with a 3" BP on a PC or similar DA.


That's a good recommendation and here's an article with lots of pictures to show different variatons...

3.5" Backing Plates and 4" Spot Repair Pads on DA Polishers


Here's what the 3.5" backing plates look like mounted to DA Polishers with 4" pads, including CCS, Hydro-Tech and Surbuf and also I've included what the 3" Griot's Polishing Pad looks like for size comparison using the adapter and the rotary buffer backing plate to attach to a DA Polisher.



Pictured are the PC, GG and Megs DA style polishers... (Love this new cart)

I had a 3" Metabo 400SXE which was about the same tool as the v1 GG 3", pretty anemic. I used it mostly clamped between my knees pad-up to polish small shiny bits. Once I picked up the 3" GG I peddled the Metabo.

YMMV... TL

I'll back everything you wrote... I have a Metabo 400SXE and I hoped it would work great but it's pretty anemic. Like the version 1 Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher it is unable to effectively keep a pad rotating under pressure which means neither can be used to remove paint thus neither can be used to remove defects out of paint.

The newer version 2 of the Griot's Garage does a better job of keeping a pad rotating under pressure but it's still not as effective as using a spot repair pad on a full size DA polisher or even a rotary like you see here,


Pictures + Video of 1932 Ford Highboy Extreme Makeover

The Flex 3403 with a Griot's Garage 3" Polishing pad comes in so handy for working on thin panels and there were plenty of thin panels on this car to buff out.







The new version 3" GG Mini Polisher can remove defects but you have to use exact technique with it. Keep in mind not everyone is always trying to remove swirls and scratches, some people just want to machine apply wax or paint sealant to tight areas or do some light paint cleaning and polishing.