3" pad setup on PC

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dfoxengr

New member
I am looking to do smaller areas and I came across a few kits for 3" pads and even the griot's 3" machine. Is there a 3" pad conversion for the PC?
 
Various vendors offer 3" backing plates and large selection of pads. They will fit all of the major random orbital da's except the 1st generation Griots 6" machine . The newer Griots will accept the 3" set-up. The Griots 3" machine will also work but dosen't have the power of the larger machine IMO.
 
dfoxengr said:
so I guess the balance weight isnt needed for the smaller pad on the PC?
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You don't take the counter weight off. The tool would fall apart if you did that. Just change the backing plate and use the machine.
 
Yeah, I have the 6" counterweight on both my PCs and I just leave it there when using the 3" pad setup. It *might* not be the optimal setup, but it works OK as best I can tell. Actually, these days I'm just leaving the one PC set up that way all the time for spot-repairs.
 
I have both the Griots 3" and 6" machines. The smaller machine gets into smaller places with ease but as I mentioned before it is no mactch for the larger machine when it comes to power.
 
so probably would just be bestm if no tight spots (machine size) but more like thin areas like door sheetmetal, to just get the 3" setup for the PC.
 
Accumulator said:
Yeah, I have the 6" counterweight on both my PCs and I just leave it there when using the 3" pad setup. It *might* not be the optimal setup, but it works OK as best I can tell. Actually, these days I'm just leaving the one PC set up that way all the time for spot-repairs.
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What is a better set up if you only have one--4" or 3" (in addition to a 5.5" set up) ???
 
pwaug said:
What is a better set up if you only have one--4" or 3" (in addition to a 5.5" set up) ???
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Whichever one best fits *your* particular needs.



I wanted something small, so I'd be doing true *spot*-corrections, like correcting individual RIDS, and 3" is plenty big enough for that.



But If you wanted to do a different-size area, or use it to up the aggressiveness over what you get with larger pads, then maybe the 4" would be better.
 
I was thinking something to be able to polish tight areas and smaller areas like the bumpers, mirrors etc
 
Accumulator said:
Whichever one best fits *your* particular needs.



I wanted something small, so I'd be doing true *spot*-corrections, like correcting individual RIDS, and 3" is plenty big enough for that.



But If you wanted to do a different-size area, or use it to up the aggressiveness over what you get with larger pads, then maybe the 4" would be better.
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I was thinking something to be able to polish tight areas and smaller areas like the bumpers, mirrors etc
 
it's a hard enough task to get me to detail the car anyways, lol.

so switching back and forth for 2-3 products on say 6 panels total is not an option. I'm pretty lazy so I'd either get another PC for 3" or get the griot's
 
Changing plates back-and-forth is a hassle, but whether it's enough of a hassle to justify buying another machine is gonna be one of those subjective decisions. This particular subject buys the additional polisher(s) ;)



pwaug said:
I was thinking something to be able to polish tight areas and smaller areas like the bumpers, mirrors etc
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Sometimes the smaller pad *is* the solution, other times it's not (because the body of the machine is what gets in the way). But yeah...I do use it for such areas, just note that you can often do it with the overhanging part of a larger pad too.



dfoxengr said:
what is RIDS? ..
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Sorry, didn't mean to be inscrutable. RIDS = Random Isolated Deep Scratch(es). Sometimes they're not all that deep, but the standard term for such stuff is still "RIDS"....I sometimes say "RISS" for shallow ones but that can make it even more confusing!



What I meant here is like, uhm...when you get one scratch/"swirl"/etc. on an otherwise OK panel and only want to fix that limited area.
 
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