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

**Mike Phillips** · 12-01-2009, 09:29 AM

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

Warning! Please don`t try this on your own car.

I`ve had a number of people ask me about the power offered by the new Generation II Griot`s Garage 3" Mini Polisher and so after scratching my head and trying to think of some kind of demonstration I could do and then share the pictures from I came up with the below Extreme Demo.

Please understand, it`s only common sense that this 3" Mini Polisher is not made for or intended to be used to remove sanding marks out of clear coat paints. In a best "worst case" scenario, you would finish out with #3000 or #4000 grit paper. I chose #2000 to make it extreme.

This 3" polisher definitely has more power than the first generation offered by Griot`s Garage but it`s not for removing sanding marks, it`s for removing light surface defects with an emphasis on the word LIGHT. It can also be used for applying wax or paint sealant to small or thin panels or for things like Motorcycles.

Note: There are more aggressive products you can use and it`s possible to make a more aggressive 3" pad but in my life I`ve noticed when working with small pads like this there`s a tendency for increased potential for haze and micro-marring when getting small. It is important to keep the surface slippery for this kind of defect removal.

And for what it`s worth... I`ve been doing this for a few years and sometimes a little experience in the craft of polishing paint can go a long ways...

Without further ado...
The polisher on the right is the first generation, the polisher on the right is the new Generation II Griot`s Garage 3" Mini Polisher. I chose the Wolfgang Twins because they are both very wet products and you need hyper-lubricity to help aid in pad rotation when removing below surface defects, or in other words to remove a little paint.

Meguiar`s #2000 Nikken Finishing Papers were used to give me an extreme test section and I used the Griot`s Garage foam polishing and waxing pads for sanding mark removal and final polishing.

Not pictured is the Detailers Pride Max Wax which I applied after polishing

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

If you look closely you can see a few very light tracers, in the REAL World, anytime you`re doing sanding you would remove the sanding marks using a rotary buffer and/or a DA Polisher if you have the knowledge and skill to use these two types of tools for this type of work. You would not use nor expect these kinds of dramatic results from the tool I used but I`ll let the results speak for themselves.

After results

Nikken reflection shot

Flipped horizontally...

In this shot I`m actually focusing on the sanding marks between the wall poster and the reflection of the wall poster.

In this shot I`m focusing on the reflected image...

In this shot you can see the subtle distinction between the seam in the poster in the reflected image.

And a self-portraight...

Question: Does the new Griot`s Garage 3" Mini Polisher have more power?

Answer: You betcha!

Should it be the only polisher in your detailing arsenal? No not at all. It`s a nice complimentary tool for thin panels, small components, motorcycle detailing and anything else you can find a use for it.

Products shown
Griot`s Garage 3" Mini Polisher
3-Pack of 3" Polishing Pads - You want lots of these, 2-3 packs
3" Waxing Pads
Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0
Wolfgang Finishing Glaze
Nikken Finishing Papers
Meguiar`s E-7200 Backing Pad

Not shown
Detailer`s Pride Max Wax
Cobra Supreme 530 Microfiber Towel 6 Pack

I use to live life on the edge of the razor blade... now I live life on the blade of the butter knife - Mike Phillips

Had to throw that last quote in there, I made it up years ago and after doing this extreme demo it seemed fitting...

**holland_patrick** · 12-01-2009, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek

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

Note: There are more aggressive products you can use and it`s possible to make a more aggressive 3" pad but in my life I`ve noticed when working with small pads like this there`s a tendency for increased potential for haze and micro-marring when getting small. It is important to keep the surface slippery for this kind of defect removal.

I use to live life on the edge of the razor blade... now I live life on the blade of the butter knife - Mike Phillips

Had to throw that last quote in there, I made it up years ago and after doing this extreme demo it seemed fitting...

How often?????

**Mike Phillips** · 12-01-2009, 05:58 PM

???

I meant when using small pads on your tools? Someone on Autopia asked about a more aggressive pad and here`s what I posted,

Here`s the Foamed Wool 3.5 inch Buffing & Polishing Pad on the Mini 3" backing plate, it`s a little oversize but that gives you a little safety margin as this buffing pad will flatten out quite a bit with just a little use.

These are small pads too, just a little larger than the Griot`s foam pads so I`m not sure how well they will work but I`ll give them a try.

**tuscarora dave** · 12-01-2009, 09:24 PM

I have 2 of the gen. 1 three inch polishers here, one of the two I was able to apply a coat of wax on one pickup thuck with it. The other unit went bad 20 seconds after I turned it on so it never saw any action at all. I gave up on trying to get a good one and just ate the $80. Tonight I disassembled both to inspect and try to make one good unit out of the two. below is a list of the problems that I found with them.

first unit:
bad circuit board, defective motor brush, bearing on brush holder side of motor was not fully pressed in causing the brushes to ride half on the commutator and the other half of the brushes were riding on the part where the north and south armature poles are soldered into the commutator.

second unit:

This unit was believed to have a bent shaft right out of the box, but apon a closer inspection it is clear that the assembler pressed the bearing in crooked in the dual action mechanism making it so the backing plate appears bent.

This unit also has a bad circuit board, one of the brushes had melted into the brush holder, I gently pulled in the lead wire coming from the brush and it came right out of the brush. The fan on the armature of this unit was also pressed on crooked.

These problems in my oppinion are simply poor workmanship and inferior parts quality.

It is nice that you were able to do such correction on that spot of that hood with the gen. 2 unit but if this new polisher is actually manufactured by the same company that manufactured the first gen. polisher, I have my doubts that you could repeat that test more than a few times.

**Mike Phillips** · 12-02-2009, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by tuscarora dave

I have my doubts that you could repeat that test more than a few times.

A few comments...

First just want to note that my review and extreme demo of this tool isn`t an endorsement of this tool, if anyone re-reads my initial post that started this thread I stated that I`ve had numerous people ask me if the new version indeed has more power than the first generation and the purpose of my demo and this thread was to answer those questions and show that it has more power.

I think my post and the demo accomplished that goal.

Second, I don`t know who manufactured the first generation and I don`t know whose making the second generation. The first generation looks like a red Metabo, (Metabos are green), and it worked just like my old green Metabo which by the way I never used because it didn`t have enough power to rotate a pad thus it didn`t have enough power to do any correction work.

As for how long it will last that`s anyone`s guess. I have to use the black panel for another project this week so I need those sanding marks removed which I`m going to use a rotary buffer to remove them, but... I will test out the purple foamed wool pad to a similar sized section and see how the foamed wool pad works on this tool. That will kill two birds with one stone, it will test out the wool pad and it will see if the machine will tackle another test spot like I quoted you from your post.

Will update this thread afterwards.

**JaredPointer** · 12-02-2009, 09:13 AM

This looks like a great little tool that could be useful, but I have seen several threads about bad parts, quitting working, etc. It would be nice to see you put it through the gamut and see if the 2G unit holds up.

**tuscarora dave** · 12-02-2009, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by JaredPointer

This looks like a great little tool that could be useful, but I have seen several threads about bad parts, quitting working, etc. It would be nice to see you put it through the gamut and see if the 2G unit holds up.

I second Jared`s post, I hope no offense is taken by my post. I really do want to have a good mini polisher in my arsonal of tools as I do detail a lot of motorcycles. I just hope to see some continued information as to how this tool holds up. I would and will give it a go if it looks like this tool is going to last a while.

**Mike Phillips** · 12-02-2009, 05:04 PM

Just to update...

I few minutes ago I tried the 3.5" purple foamed wool pad with the GG 3" Mini Polisher and the tool did not like this pad at all. It was very hard to keep the pad rotating. It`s really the wrong pad for this kind of tool and remember, this tool was never designed for this kind of work so keep that in mind.

Pictures...

Heavy Duty Compound

Testing the Purple Foamed Wool Pad on #2000 Grit Sanding Marks

Not working good. The wool pad was too hard for this tool to keep rotating at a good clip.

Tried again with more product, pd still not rotating...

Switched over to foam pad and it rotated much better. Still a struggle as this tool is not designed for this kind of extreme correction work.

After spending some more time with this tool it is for light correction work. You still have to use good technique with it just like any other DA style polisher.

**scrubs147** · 01-16-2010, 07:22 PM

It`s too bad that the people at Gariots Garage aren`t a little more subsceptible to the consumer. What I mean by that is, even though the 2nd generation may have fixed some of the issues with the 1st generation, the 1st generations are still being sold knowing that these polishers will break down within the first few months or even weeks. To me that is very poor customer concern. These units do have a warranty however, the problems are only prolonged by replacing bad parts with the same poorly designed parts that caused the problem in the first place. To be more reputable of a business you would think they would take these poorly designed polishers off the market rather than try to continue making more money from people who are eventually going to leave with a bad immpression of how Gariots Garage does business. OK, so supposedly the 2nd generation is supposed to fix everything, meanwhile those who have thrown $80 away are now going to purchase yet another same brand guinea pig experience into the fire ring. The solution here is to purchase a well proven product such as The Metabo Heavy Duty SXE 400 Random orbital. It is German made and the manufactures have absolutely no problems in supporting their design.

**Tex Star Detail** · 01-17-2010, 07:21 PM

I don`t know the exact size, but what would be the benefits of this machine over, say a PC with a 3 inch pad? Does it have that much more power??

**TLMitchell** · 01-18-2010, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by TexasTB

I don`t know the exact size, but what would be the benefits of this machine over, say a PC with a 3 inch pad? Does it have that much more power??

One of the benefits I`ve found is the ability to use it one-handed. Yeah, you can use a PC one-handed but it`s a lot easier with the smaller machine. You get get it into tighter spots as well.

One of the things I use a 3" machine for is polishing small bits and pieces. I hold it between my knees with a wool pad facing up and polish bits of chrome and aluminum. Don`t think that`d work too well with a PC.

TL