Review: Griot's G9 - 9mm Orbit Stroke Random Orbital Polisher by Mike Phillips





Griot's G9 - 9mm Orbit Stroke Random Orbital Polisher





Review
Below are some pictures of a real-world paint correction I did to a blown 1979 El Camino that belongs to my buddy Ike. (thanks Ike for letting me use you Elky). But to just cut to the chase and read my thoughts on this new tool from Griot's, here you go.


LOTS OF POWER!

This is the first tool I've used in my career where I didn't feel the need to go to the highest speed setting, which is 6 on the speed dial. It's that powerful, or better said, it's spins the pad so fast. I found myself running the tool on the 5 speed setting the majority of the time. Why is this important? Because I know my audience and they are looking for power. And in the context of a free spinning random orbital polisher power means the ability to maintain pad rotation under pressure.

This tool has TONS of power.

I used this tool in its factory configuration, that is with the factory installed 6" backing plate. I know most of you that have been reading my articles or have attended any of my classes know I show and recommend 5" backing plates for tools like this. Two reasons for this are,

1: With a 5" backing plate you can use 5.5" diameter buffing pads and simply put, smaller diameter pads tend to fit thinner body panels on modern cars better. That is you can buff out a section of a panel that has an edge on one side and a raised body line on the other side so you're never buffing on top of the edge or the body line. (good best practice)

2: Smaller, thin pads are easier for tools to maintain pad rotation. While this has been an issue historically, this isn't a problem with the new Griot's G9 - like I mentioned above, it has a TON of power.


Besides the most important thing I know you are all curious about there's the other things you're looking for,

Low vibration, smooth operation. CHECK. The tool is very smooth and very low vibration at any speed during operation.

Well-built. CHECK. This new G9 polisher, like the BOSS polishers, feels so SOLID, it feels stout enough that you could drive nails through wood with it. It's as solid as ANY tool I've used and even more solid.

Ergo design. CHECK. The forward handle and rear grip give you plenty of leverage over the tool and make controlling it easy.

Switch and lock button function and location. CHECK. The speed trigger is progressive and smooth. The ambidextrous speed adjust is available on either side of the tool. The lock button is angled to match your thumb placement when buffing.

Noise level. CHECK. For this I ran this new tool side-by-side with the Griot's 6" Random Orbital Polisher, but on speed 6 and the G9 is a tick louder. My comment is, it's the side-effect of MORE POWER. And from reading comments in the detailing cyber-world since the Internet was invented, I think this is something that you folks always want - more power.

Detachable Power Cord. Check. This is a cool feature and I think everyone is going to love this new idea. Because the power cord LOCKS into the rear of the handle it won't come unplugged. Then at the end of the day you can remove the cord. This makes it easier to store the tools and makes it easier to coil-up your cord to prevent damage to the cord. (no more wrapping the cord around the tool)



From Griot's Garage


Innovative features

• Patent-Pending Fan-Cooled Counterbalance extends tool and pad life
• Quick-Connect Power Cord makes tool storage a snap
• Quick-Access Brush Ports for easy maintenance
• Temperature Management System monitors machine and shuts down when it exceeds normal operating temperature
• Unplug Safety Kill Circuit preventing inadvertent uncontrolled power


Features

• Precision wound 1000 watt -8.5amp finely balanced motor
• Low-resistance premium Japanese sealed bearings
• Constant-speed control for consistent power and rotation
• Intake vent screens to prevent internal contamination
• Precision machine gears with a 45% increase in strength over current
• Lubricated with Mobil® Mobilux™ Premium Grease


Ergonomics & Design

• Extensive double-shot rubber enhances comfort, grip, and control
• Ergonomic counterbalance shroud grip, platypus head, and rear pistol grip
• Lower finger-grips enhance control
• Comfortable, lockable on/off trigger




Review
The first car I buffed out with this new tool was a 1968 Shelby Mustang. This car was restored a few years ago and has a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint system. It had light swirls and scratches throughout the vertical body panels with deeper scratches on the hood and trunk lid. Not knowing what to expect, I did a few test spots and dialed-in a process using BOSS Creams and BOSS pads that removed a majority of all the "removable" scratches in the finish. What caught me by surprise however was after dialing-in my process on the hood, I found myself turning the speed down on the tool to buff out the rest of the car. Normally I run all my orbital polishers on the highest speed setting when doing correction work. With this new tool I turned the speed setting down to the 5 speed setting and it had MORE THAN ENOUGH POWER to maintain excellent pad rotation over all the various body panels.

Next I buffed out a 1979 El Camino. This Pro Street streetrod also has a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint system and like the 1968 Shelby Mustang, it had light swirls and scratches throughout the vertical body panels with deeper scratches on the hood. (El Caminos don't have a trunk lid). For the El Camino, (pictures below), I dialed-in a process where I used the Fast Cut Correction Cream with the white aggressive foam BOSS cutting pad for the hood and this removed 99.9% of the defects, everything I was comfortable removing. I then used the BOSS Finishing Sealant and the BOSS Orange pads to knock out the vertical panels. From start to finish it took me around 2 hours to do the correction work and the polishing/sealing step. The tool easily powered-through this project. And like the Shelby Mustang, I used the 5 speed setting for the entire job as I found I didn't need to go all they way to the 6 speed setting to maintain pad rotation.

For years I've been sharing the Griot's 6" Random Orbital Polisher as THE best bang for you buck when it comes to getting into machine polishing. And it was the best bang for your buck. But now this new tool is going to take it's place as the best bang for your tool investment for this category of polisher. This is the perfect tool for hobbyist and professionals as well.








On Autogeek.com

Griot's Garage G9 Random Orbital Polisher