Griot's Garage Machine Sealant Kit $200
- Thread starter Vikas
- Start date
- Status
Since I did not find any warranty card etc inside the box, I called them up. Man, these guys at Griot's Garage are on completely different plane than other company when it comes to customer service. To say that I am impressed would be an understatement. And this all before I have even used their stuff! Somebody like me who always looks for bargains and will not pay more than necessary, this type of service is pretty much unheard of! I don't care if I would have gotten similar product at HF for half the price, I am glad to pay the double for supporting this type of companies. I think TheCritic and JHZ are going to tell me "I told you so" 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: RTexasF
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Do I need to change the plan if I want to try my hand on BMW hard clear? The paint is swirled like crazy on the 1997 Black 740iL. I am tempted to go with wool bonnet on the pad with M105 or is that overkill?
In my experience I have found that some BMW paints are harder than others. Wool will indeed correct but another step or even two may be needed to remove the marring. Experiment with different pads & polishes, or compounds, on one single area to find out what works best. As advised previously go with the lightest correction possible until you discover the magic potion & pad.
Most BMW paints are on the harder side, but not all of them. Certain colors, such as Jet Black and Jerez Black, can be very soft.
What color is it?
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Do I need to change the plan if I want to try my hand on BMW hard clear? The paint is swirled like crazy on the 1997 Black 740iL. I am tempted to go with wool bonnet on the pad with M105 or is that overkill?
In my experience I have found that some BMW paints are harder than others. Wool will indeed correct but another step or even two may be needed to remove the marring. Experiment with different pads & polishes, or compounds, on one single area to find out what works best. As advised previously go with the lightest correction possible until you discover the magic potion & pad.
Most BMW paints are on the harder side, but not all of them. Certain colors, such as Jet Black and Jerez Black, can be very soft.
What color is it?
OK, here is the verdict
After using this combination:- GG, Meguairs Burgundy pad & M205
Is it flawless? It could have used M105 but I was quite happy with the results with M205.
Moving on the GG onestep sealant using GG orange pad. The sealant has some filler, so it is masking some defects. I did the passenger door and front fender. I will take more pictures in the sun when it shows up.
The hood has too much road rash, so I should not be sharing the pictures. After M205, I tried a small section with M105 followed by M205 and that came out very nice and all the minor random scratches were completely gone.
My prior experience was using HF rotary and Walmart wax spreader. There is no contest that DA is well suited for the weekender.
After using this combination:- GG, Meguairs Burgundy pad & M205
Is it flawless? It could have used M105 but I was quite happy with the results with M205.
Moving on the GG onestep sealant using GG orange pad. The sealant has some filler, so it is masking some defects. I did the passenger door and front fender. I will take more pictures in the sun when it shows up.
The hood has too much road rash, so I should not be sharing the pictures. After M205, I tried a small section with M105 followed by M205 and that came out very nice and all the minor random scratches were completely gone.
My prior experience was using HF rotary and Walmart wax spreader. There is no contest that DA is well suited for the weekender.
Looks good Vikas!
Nice job.
Regards, JC.
Nice job.
Regards, JC.
By the way, there was no way to stop the pad (6 and 6.5) from rotating with usual pressure on the machine. I recall reading that the pad should rotate slowly but even after applying significant pressure, it continued to spin quite fast. Mind you, I am not complaining! I am jut commenting on the power of this machine.
JHZR2
Staff member
Paint looks beautiful.
Why did you mark the pad to index it to the backer plate?
Why did you mark the pad to index it to the backer plate?
Looks good from the pictures.
One thing that is difficult to tell from pics, on metallic finishes, is whether there's any haze. 205/maroon pad is a fairly aggressive combination and I suspect that there may be some haze left behind.
Did you do an IPA wipe and check the panel in the daylight, to evaluate the gloss and see if there's any haze?
Originally Posted By: Vikas
By the way, there was no way to stop the pad (6 and 6.5) from rotating with usual pressure on the machine. I recall reading that the pad should rotate slowly but even after applying significant pressure, it continued to spin quite fast. Mind you, I am not complaining! I am jut commenting on the power of this machine.
The Griots has plenty of power. While it definitely does not correct as well as the larger stroke DAs, it's definitely the best DA out there for the money.
One thing that is difficult to tell from pics, on metallic finishes, is whether there's any haze. 205/maroon pad is a fairly aggressive combination and I suspect that there may be some haze left behind.
Did you do an IPA wipe and check the panel in the daylight, to evaluate the gloss and see if there's any haze?
Originally Posted By: Vikas
By the way, there was no way to stop the pad (6 and 6.5) from rotating with usual pressure on the machine. I recall reading that the pad should rotate slowly but even after applying significant pressure, it continued to spin quite fast. Mind you, I am not complaining! I am jut commenting on the power of this machine.
The Griots has plenty of power. While it definitely does not correct as well as the larger stroke DAs, it's definitely the best DA out there for the money.
Nice work Vikas.
Hopefully, if there was any haze, it should have been minimized by the Groit's Garage one step sealant with the orange pad polishing pad. Is it possible that even a polishing pad can leave the haze?
That indexing! Funny you asked. Initially I hooked Meguair's 5" rotary backing plate to it via double thread adapter. That backing plate sticks out a lot being as it has rounded end and the DA mechanical are exposed. It is also black in the back and thus need to mark the pad. I also realized that Meguairs backing plate has raised center nub. Meguairs pads have hole where the nub goes but ther eis no such hole on GG pad. I also realized that swapping backing plate on DA is more work than swapping them on a rotary. On rotary, it is tool less operation. Here you need the thin wrench and then another wrench to take off the stuck thread adapter. So I swapped the original backing plate back and I then marked the backing plate.
That indexing! Funny you asked. Initially I hooked Meguair's 5" rotary backing plate to it via double thread adapter. That backing plate sticks out a lot being as it has rounded end and the DA mechanical are exposed. It is also black in the back and thus need to mark the pad. I also realized that Meguairs backing plate has raised center nub. Meguairs pads have hole where the nub goes but ther eis no such hole on GG pad. I also realized that swapping backing plate on DA is more work than swapping them on a rotary. On rotary, it is tool less operation. Here you need the thin wrench and then another wrench to take off the stuck thread adapter. So I swapped the original backing plate back and I then marked the backing plate.
By the way, I just re-read my original "base-line" post and looks like I made a typo. Reference to the "only two no touch carwashes in its lifetime" was my 2012 Acura TL, not the van that I experimenting on for last fifteen years! The van has got all kind carwashes ...
All direction says to prime the pad first. After the usage if wash the pad, all of the priming would be gone. So I have kept the dirty but primed pads inside ziplock bag.
False saving? Am I risking paint scratches by trying to save on the chemicals?
False saving? Am I risking paint scratches by trying to save on the chemicals?
Yes prime the pad. It doesn't take all that much. Just 4 lines across the pad in an asterisk. And not big fat lines either just thin continuous lines. You're really more trying to spread a normal amount of polish as evenly across the pad as possible. Some people spray detail spray to help the small amount of polish spread out. I don't like to use it because water tends to modify the properties of the lubrication and in some cases causes polish to stick to paint making removal difficult
Don't be so cheap. If you wanted to pinch pennies so hard Lincoln screams, why buy the Griot's Machine when the HF one would let you afford to buy all the polishes you want with the savings.
Don't leave old polish in the foam. Besides risking scratching your finish with polished off paint debris, the petroleum distillates in some polishes will do one of two things, soak into the foam making cleaning much more difficult and two can soften the glue holding the velcro causing you pads to both deteriorate and the velcro backing to fall off.
Don't be so cheap. If you wanted to pinch pennies so hard Lincoln screams, why buy the Griot's Machine when the HF one would let you afford to buy all the polishes you want with the savings.
Don't leave old polish in the foam. Besides risking scratching your finish with polished off paint debris, the petroleum distillates in some polishes will do one of two things, soak into the foam making cleaning much more difficult and two can soften the glue holding the velcro causing you pads to both deteriorate and the velcro backing to fall off.
Last edited:
Why can't the polisher have a fat surface where your hand guides it? If I take off the D-handle, I can not put it down as it will tip over and the pad will touch the ground. If I use it with the handle, it gets in the way and prevents the buffer from reaching some of the places on the vehicle. Any home made contraption to keep the buffer on the floor without the D-handle? I feel like making a personal rant to Richard Groit myself and chewing up his ears He claims to have designed this himself rather than just stamping his name on a generic Chinese buffer, surely he could ask to change the mold slightly to make sure the buffer can lie on its back without falling over.
He claims to have designed this himself rather than just stamping his name on a generic Chinese buffer, surely he could ask to change the mold slightly to make sure the buffer can lie on its back without falling over.
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Why can't the polisher have a fat surface where your hand guides it? If I take off the D-handle, I can not put it down as it will tip over and the pad will touch the ground. If I use it with the handle, it gets in the way and prevents the buffer from reaching some of the places on the vehicle. Any home made contraption to keep the buffer on the floor without the D-handle? I feel like making a personal rant to Richard Groit myself and chewing up his ears He claims to have designed this himself rather than just stamping his name on a generic Chinese buffer, surely he could ask to change the mold slightly to make sure the buffer can lie on its back without falling over.
I have no such issues with my Rupes Duetto.
Mine has a nice round head that makes it easy to control, and it has a rubber piece that allows it to sit flat when placed on the ground -- so it will not tip over.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-...l-polisher.html
It's not too late to return yours....hehe
Why can't the polisher have a fat surface where your hand guides it? If I take off the D-handle, I can not put it down as it will tip over and the pad will touch the ground. If I use it with the handle, it gets in the way and prevents the buffer from reaching some of the places on the vehicle. Any home made contraption to keep the buffer on the floor without the D-handle? I feel like making a personal rant to Richard Groit myself and chewing up his ears
He claims to have designed this himself rather than just stamping his name on a generic Chinese buffer, surely he could ask to change the mold slightly to make sure the buffer can lie on its back without falling over.I have no such issues with my Rupes Duetto.
Mine has a nice round head that makes it easy to control, and it has a rubber piece that allows it to sit flat when placed on the ground -- so it will not tip over.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-...l-polisher.html
It's not too late to return yours....hehe
Last edited:
What do you mean killed them? What did you do? Pads usually last me 20-30 cars at least.
Also what damage happened to the pads?
If you get new ones, doing the same things to them certainly would mean an early death for them too.
Also what damage happened to the pads?
If you get new ones, doing the same things to them certainly would mean an early death for them too.
- Status