Finds: Griot’s Random Orbital Polisher
By Chuck Cage
Griot’s Garage carries some pretty cool stuff, and we’ve purchased car cleaning supplies from them before. But when they sent us notice of their new power tools — specifically the random orbital polisher — we didn’t see anything particularly special about it. Then we noticed that it has a cool feature: a speed control.
Think of it as a polisher designed specifically for car applications. It varies between 4,000 and 7,000 RPM, and it’s got a pretty comfortable-looking handle. It also features an internal fan that cools the backing plate to help prevent heat damage during polishing.
On the downside, it’s a bit expensive at $129, and it’s available only via Griot’s Garage. If any of you have experience with one of these, we’d love to hear about it.
Random Orbital Polisher [Griot’s Garage]
December 6th, 2006 at 9:56 am
How is this any different from the Porter Cable 7424 or 7336 random orbital polisher? I picked one of those up last spring (a 7336, paid $140 with case) .. and I’ve used it only once to polish my windshield.. Next spring I’m committed to doing the full detail on my old bimmer and my wife’s truck.
But this seems to be pretty much the same thing.. and they both even have the speed control. Granted… those aren’t cheap either.
December 7th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Anyone? Bueller?
What’s the difference?
January 21st, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Not sure Griot’s older model was a porter cable, not sure where the new one has come from. I like my Porter cable unit, works well and makes my old Porsche 914 look like a new car.
June 25th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Griot’s model has an integral fan that cools the buffing pad and prevents heat from building up. The porter cable unit doesnt have this feature. The Griots unit was designed specifically for polishing and waxing vehicles. I have had mine for about a year now and I am very happy with it. It was also cheaper then the porter cable model.