Griot's Garage Machine Sealant Kit $200

[Vikas]

Finally took the plunge. I had been convincing myself to buy DA for over a decade but was never able to pull the trigger. Finally decided that life is too short not to splurge on something which I would have fun with. So whether I end up eating ramen noodles or slipping the garage for rest of life, I went for it! I have Meguairs burgundy and cream color foam pads which I should use with M105/M205 before using the provided orange kit with their sealant.

 

[docsteveg]

You won't regret it. Bought a Porter Cable kit a couple of years ago. Makes it much easier and faster to polish, wax, etc. Let's you wax more often because much less time needed with a DA.?

 

[Turk]

That's the unit I got. LOVE it.

My kit came with Machine Polish 3 and that was the worst ever to remove; threw it away. Glad you don't have it in yours.

Great & powerful machine; you won't regret it!

Supply us a review, ok?

 

[JC1]

Vikas,

Did you opt to the get polisher with the 25 ft cord? I've been looking at the Griots or if I should just pick up a cheap DA polisher at Habor Freight.

I like the longer cord option for the Griots. Let us know how it works for you.

Regards, JC.

 

[Pablo]

Hahaha - AMAZING. I JUST bought the same Polisher (only) with 25ft cord. Then I come here and see your thread!

My only confusion is their black pads. Are they saying no good for white paint?

 

[Vikas]

I went with the Advance Auto kit. They became smart and don't allow coupon on the DA only; so I had to get the whole kit. There is not much information on AA website. So it is going to be surprise as to exactly which version of the DA I am going to get. My existing Meguairs 6.5 inch pads should fit on this, correct?

 

[Vikas]

Another question; I have Meguairs 5" rotary backing plate and I have acquired a thread adapter, so that rotary backing plate can use this with DA. Extremely bad idea????

 

[The Critic]

The Griots Garage is a great unit for the money. It has plenty of power and has a lifetime warranty. In my limited use of it, I would be more than pleased with that unit if my budget was in the < $200 range.

With that said, I think the unit works best with 5.5" pads. I believe that it comes with a 6" backing plate, right?

Regardless of the size, one should get 4-6 pads for each polishing (or compounding) step because it is important to swap out pads periodically. Paint debris will build-up in the pads and negatively affect both your level of cut and your finishing ability. Cleaning your pads "on-the-fly" can only be done for a few times before the pads need to be washed.

I have not heard great reviews about the Griots compounds and polishes. I personally use a variety of HD, Menzerna, Meguiars and CarPro products.

 

[Turk]

I put the 6" Griots pads in the washing machine & they come out great.

 

[RTexasF]

Yes they will and it is strong enough to turn 6.5" pads but as Critic said the smaller ones work a bit better. Are you asking about the rotary back plate to use the 5.5" pads? It should work as long as it has hook & loop for the pads. The kits are generally the shorter cord model. The longer thicker cord is optional at extra cost.

 

[VicVinegar]

I have not had an opportunity to use it yet, but I grabbed one of the Amazon kits during Christmas season when it had a coupon. Basically the same kit but with towels and a couple pads. After consistently missing the deals on the standalone polisher, I just grabbed the kit. I see now they have since jacked the price up $50. Ouch.

I thought about getting the HF polisher, but figured I would go with something that is theoretically higher quality and has a lifetime warranty.

When I was considering the HF, I bought a 5" backing plate that should work in the Griots as well. I also have some Lake Country 5.5" pads ready to go when I finally have time to use it.

 

[Vikas]

Can I skip M205 and go directly from M105 to Griot's one step sealant? I would presume that the one step has minimal cut but should be similar to M205. We are talking about 15 year old vehicles paint here. So i am not looking for show room quality finish here.

I was asking about the double threaded adapter which goes on the rotary backing plate to convert in to DA backing plate. Are there any pitfalls in using that? I presume the direction of rotation is such that it will not come off on its own. This way I will have both Griot's original 6" backing plate and Meguairs 5" backing plate.

 

[qwertydude]

How trashed is your paint? Just to avoid removing excessive paint I'd say first use M205 with your cutting pad and see if you get the correction you need. You'll be surprised at how well it can remove damage with a DA. Then judge to see if you need to go again with M205 and a finishing pad, or if Griot's one step is enough to finish with.

Depending on how picky you are with absolute paint finish M105 on a finishing pad may finish just fine for your results but will be taking off more material rather quickly compared to M205 and a cutting pad. But likely M205 and a cutting pad may finish better and still have plenty of cut. It's longer work time also will give you a chance to correct and finish well.

M105 is trickier to really master compared to M205 and unless your paint is trashed AND you need quick results you're better off just working M205 til you remove whatever damage is left.

A strong polisher like the Griots should make relatively short work of anything short of completely oxidized paint with just M205.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Can I skip M205 and go directly from M105 to Griot's one step sealant? I would presume that the one step has minimal cut but should be similar to M205. We are talking about 15 year old vehicles paint here. So i am not looking for show room quality finish here.

I was asking about the double threaded adapter which goes on the rotary backing plate to convert in to DA backing plate. Are there any pitfalls in using that? I presume the direction of rotation is such that it will not come off on its own. This way I will have both Griot's original 6" backing plate and Meguairs 5" backing plate.


Since you are already investing in a quality DA polisher, then I would assume that you are not interested in being a hack?

If you are not interested in making it showroom perfect, then do not bother with compounding the car. Instead, just make it shiny and leave the deeper defects there.

I would use a medium polish such as HD Adapt or M205 with a polishing or cutting pad and make a couple slow passes with medium pressure. That should clean-up the paint fairly well and remove light swirls and haze.

If you chase defects and RIDS on soft Honda paint with 105, you're definitely committing yourself to at least one finishing step afterwards....unless you want a hazy and defect-free car...

 

[Vikas]

Looks like then I will go with M205 and cutting pad. Paint itself is in good condition but there are some slight RIDS and very hard to photograph. As far as deeper scratches are concerned, I can live with them. I have already tried my hand at fill up and wet sanding. It works but the metallic paint match is not perfect; so at a specific angle you can see the resultant patch.

 

[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?

 

[qwertydude]

Always try the least aggressive method first. M205 on a cutting pad will likely take care of those swirls. BMW paint is softer than my Caddilac two step clear and M205 easily took care of the swirling on a polishing pad so stepping it up to a cutting pad ought to work just fine if the swirling is bad.

 

[Vikas]

I am trying to establish baseline before doing any work. I took some pictures of the paint condition of the van (15 year) and the TL (almost 2 years). On the van I selected passenger door and the passenger side rear upper quarter window panel. That panel gets lots of experimentation. It was recently got the $20 Walmart wax spreader M105/M205 (or it was UC & SwirlX; same difference The van had total of two no-touch car washes in its entire life and two WPG applications after each car wash. About one per year. Ignore some of the weird artifacts on the 2-oclock and 7-oclock position of the flash. It is there in every closeup.

Here is the picture from the Odyssey door. Lots of random scratches.

Here is the picture of the upper quarter window panel.

Here is the closeup of that; I this looks lot better than the door one.

Here is the one from the Acura; here is the proof that if you never wash your car (and never wipe it) the paint can remain in great shape

I am hoping that I can get the van door to come out as nice as the Acura or at least as good as the rear window panel using the DA. Otherwise, it would be a complete waste of money and effort.

 

[The Critic]

I know what I would use from my stash of products to make that better, but it doesn't involve 105 or 205.

Are you open to buying new products?

 

[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.