Side by Side Comparison of: DEWALT vs Griot's Garage

Excellent quality. highly recommended delivery was on time

Very good variable speed buffer. way cheaper than most, a bit heavy for long use.

Perfect.

love the variable speed this has

This was a gift for my son, but he did say he really liked it

As advertised about this wonder machine, this is an awsome buffing machine. Easy to operate, easy to control.

This does what you would expect an orbital waxer to do. I purchased this to help me apply 3 coats of wax and buff out my boat and it worked perfectly. Good product at a reasonable price.

My husband waxed his truck this weekend and he was super excited about how nice it turned out. I wish I took a photo, but he will be doing again to protect it from the beating sun!

Great polisher! I replaced an older polisher with this one from Griots and couldn't be happier. Polished and waxed 3 of our cars already, all with Griots products, and they're shining like new!

Only used on one really neglected paint car so far but it worked great. I realized that I do need more aggressive cutting products and foam pads as I used to use the big snap-on rotary buffers w/ sheep wool pads that get things done WAY quicker but can ruin things if you catch an edge of space out for a micro second.Gotta say the 25' chord is a must as it makes it easy to keep the chord wrapped and off the paint.This being a random orbital is pretty fool proof as you can hit pretty much anything w/ it and it is forgiving.I was hesatent to get a brand tool that I had never heard of and almost got the portercable but their reviews had gotten so bad.I am so happy I got this it looks as tho you can even take it down and replace parts if needed which is kind of a great throwback in this desposable eara.

This is an amazing machine, but I really like the entire company better. The entire Griot company is a class act. This polisher does a terrific job. I had a problem with mine, and they quickly exchanged it. No questions asked. I was amazed. If you have a car and like to make the paint shine....this is the polisher for you. Talk to them and they will recommend the right products for your application.

After a year of use and abuse, this buffer has held up well. Plenty of power for polishing or compounding jobs. And the random motion spreads product evenly on the paint.

Great tool

I haven't used this extensively yet. I'm in the process of wet sanding my car which will be followed up with this being used to apply rubbing, then polishing compound and wax. I used it on a small section just to test it and it seems to work pretty well. It's not too heavy, is easy to control, (using 6 inch pads), and feels good. The only thing I don't like about it, and the reason I took a star off doesn't have to do with the functionality itself, but that it only comes with a cardboard box. I've bought power tools that cost an eighth of this that came with a nice plastic case.I have three cars and a boat I plan on using this on and will update with a more thorough review afterwards.

great buffer

Can't beat this. Used a dewalt buffer at work for years and just had to get my own. My only concern was when holding the buffer with the side grip you can really feel the heat coming from the housing. Works flawless though! Would absolutely buy again.

A nice change from the Makita. I like the trigger response better most of the time. I think the Makita has a little better profile, but it's very similar

great product, shipped fast, reason for leaving a star off is the brushes go bad after a lot of real use,and so do the cords. Dewalt has seen this problem and thats why they make the newer ones with the cords as a separate piece, brushes you can order pretty cheap and the thing keeps going........for now. For Joe blow that wants to buff his car once a month this thing will last forever....NRK Auto Refinishing ~ 12 yrs in the car detailing business

Been using a Griot's orbital buffer and detailing kit for about 3 years. Pretty decent products. The polish that comes with this kit is not for anything other than minor swirls. You'll be working awhile to get any other type out of the clear coat.

The orbital is great but this kit was shipped with a red waxing pad not the orange correcting pad in the item description. So I had to send some emails to get the right pad sent to me. The one step sealant worked good but it was a little watery and runny. It didn't look the Griot's Garage videos. I did achieve some good results and eliminate some swirl marks and scratches that were annoying me. Overall I do recommend this kit.

Overall happy with the purchase. Could use a little more firepower but does an admirable job. Doesn't shake or vibrate nearly as much as the Porter cable, which is a good thing. Easy use of design.

The first time I used this 9/20/2014 one month (after the return time expired of course) the pin head broke! I tried writing to their customer service, and they are replacing it! Awesome!

I purchased the Griots kit because the handle position on the orbital polished seemed more comfortable than other machines. This is most apparent when buffing the sides of the car and rocker panels. The polished is substantial and not light so you don't need to press down hard for favorable results.Griot's Best in show wax is easy to apply and buff. Tip-Do The Clay Bar First! After that buffing is easy even on a humid day. Speaking of clay bar the Griot's was easy to press into a pancake and reuse.Haven't used the Micro Polish yet due to time constraints. The hook loop pads are holding up after doing each of our cars twice. Be sure to wash them as soon as possible after use.

I really like this polisher really brought the paint on my 1980 Trans Am back and gave it a deep shine. I'm giving this product a 4 out of 5 because now that I've used it I realize how quickly you'll go through the Speed Shine, and also that it should come with either a second bottle of it or more polishing compound or cloths.. It's a lot of money for this tiny kit. You will use a little more than half of the bottle to clay bar an entire car. Speaking of clay bar, you only need half of what comes with it, as soon as you open it, put the other bar in a sealed baggie, and the one that you are using, when you're finished put it in its' own baggie separately. The kit itself should also come with the #2 polish for the deeper scratches & an extra bottle of Speed Shine. It would be a 5 star for that, but that's just my opinion, especially when the polisher can be bought separately for $60, there's not $150 worth of products with the polisher. Don't get me wrong, I do like the product, it's very easy to use, just in hindsight, I think it was a little over priced. Be sure to read the instructions first, it will tell you how much product to use and the pattern to use it. There is a specific pattern to which they recommend using the polisher and they nailed it perfectly. Any newbies, the polisher & chemicals are great products, I just feel that this package didn't make me feel I got my moneys worth, usually you would get more value in a package like this. Upon opening it I was excited and unpacking it I quickly figured out that I may have over paid for the products included. Again, polisher is WONDERFUL, the additional chemicals were just not enough for 5 stars. I would suggest searching a little harder, buy the polisher on its' own, and then products separately.

I had to return mine. The abrasive I was polishing with messed up the roller switch on the speed control. I don't think it was sealed. If your using waxes and liquid compounds you should be fine. If your polishing stone or glass, the dust caused may interfere with the electrics in the handle. It did perform strongly while it worked and the soft start is cool.

It says 7 and 9 inch but I have not been able to find a 9 inch backing plate and for sure not one that is flexible.otherwise like most Dewalt tools it is a quality machine

Didn't receive the free gloves or the bag that was advertised in the description and didn't get the 20$ off from father day deal that's why only 3 stars . The dewalt buffer is it a 5 star machine .

I've only used once on my car. It did the job as required and has good balance.

Quit working right at the 2 year mark! We use polishers more than most shops because we work with gel coat. Our polishers see a lot of non stop hours of use. My Mikita's last three years. We will see what Dewalt's 3 year warranty will do.

I really really wanted to like this wheel. I have had it for some time now. I think I bought it back in 2011 or 2012. Now Jan 2014. I am an auto painter. So yes it gets used quite a bit. I am coming from a Makita which had lasted much longer than this wheel.First off, yes it has a great feel and soft start is great. Also can say same about Makita. After extended use seemed to have a burning smell. I would blow it out to see if any fur was getting caught up in the motor, none. Than it had some jerky stopping and starting here and there. Brush springs would apparently get hot and break off from brushes. This wheel does get hotter than used too. I had to order brushes on Ebay...overpriced. Everywhere I looked at that time they were on backorder. Replaced brushes. All good. Than same type of problem occurs again.At that point I have had it. I order a new Makita from Amazon. Didn't want to spend the money. So while I am waiting for the new wheel I took this apart to find the motor had some heavily burned out parts on it. There was a Dewalt service center down the street. It was a 100 dollar part. Bought it, cause I am too cheap. Sent the Makita back to Amazon had to eat return shipping.What it comes down to. I can still smell something burning after prolonged use of this wheel even with the new motor. Yes I get the feeling I should have kept the Makita. I use an appliance extension cord with it. I know its not an amperage problem. I give it 4 for features. If your a garage guy, this would be excellent. Maybe even just doing polishing on boats where it really won't have to dig to remove wetsand scratches. Gelcoat is soft. 3 for longevity.

Good machine although it was very heavy and hard to use due to that.

Very solid-built polisher. However my polisher won't spin if I put much downward pressure on it. It will just vibrate. It takes about the weight of my arm on the polisher before it stops spinning. From looking at the other reviews, I don't think this is typical.

worked great

Not bad, but not much different than the $60 version you can get at Harbor Freight.

Been using the Griot's product for years. Only complaint about this packet is that they don't give you enough polishing or waxing pads to complete a waxing. According to Griot's Cust Support you need three orange pads minimum per vehicle polishing. This is because the pads get saturated and weakened by heat. My polish pad blew up on second car. So you need to buy another set of pads BEFORE YOU USE THIS KIT ON YOUR CAR. Figure you'll have to pay another $60 to get what you really need to polish and wax a car.Would give five stars if I didn't feel this was an intentional oversight.

The Lifetime Warranty gives you that peace of mine. This is really a nice polisher. Has more power then the Meguiar's Dual Action Polisher, but a little bit heavier. I'm not a professional detailer so can't comment on the $400.00 dollar polisher You don't have to use the Griot 6.5 inch pads, you can used other manufacturers pads as well. I like to use the Lake Country pads 5.5 inch pads. Just make sure you use the 5 inch backing plate otherwise the 6 inch backing plate will damage the 5.5 pads. The reason I'm giving it 3 stars was because the speed control dial no longer works. Speed setting 1 and 6 are the only speed settings that work. Switching out under 30 day replacement. Hopefully this will be good.

Let me begin by saying that the machine itself, once outfitted is an excellent one. Notwithstanding that as a wood worker, it's not a machine that's not directly in my wheelhouse. We needed it to do a final polish on 18 high gloss nail salon tables. Deadlines being what they are I ordered thru prime & scheduled 3 workers to move, prep & polish pieces. Then we discovered that the enclosed disc did not fit. This led to a frenzied rush around NYC (3 boroughs) w Dewalt website in hand, to secure correct disc. Kind of like "Zen & the art of motorcycle maintenance" in which even the most magnificent bike can be reduced to the value of a broken screw. My client fretted & my workers stood idle for several hours. Does this refer badly on the tool, or indeed the entire dewalt line, not exactly. My general experience with dewalt is varied. Their screw guns (a staple tool for us) feel a bit oversized & heavy. Router s generally ok but cinchy levers, adjusters et al rendered them inoperable too quickly. I did have a dewalt trim router, with accessories that was "killa", particularly it's off set base. It was stolen, so sadly it's "killa" for some one else now. Amazon? They didn't put the wrong disc in the box but once they sell & profit on a product, it's their baliwick as well. And me? I should've anticipated need & ordered sooner. So the above rant is less an indictment of the tool then the company & an endorsement of brick (ok, cinder block) & mortar transactions over quick ship. Incidentally, I tried prime on another "pants on fire" item, but it wasn't eligible, so transactions:2 prime:0.

Just received it and I hope Amazon and Tool topia takes responsibility. Both the image and the description shows a buffing pad attached. I just received a machine with no pad to attach my buffing pad on.

The origin was "Made in USA".The one that was shipped to me is "Made in China". Only reason I order is because of the quality.Now,I was not so sure.

I bought 2 so far in the past 18 months....neither one is working now. One is only 8 months old. yikes

This was descibed a being a 7" and 9" set. But only the 7" was sent. Now I habve to buy a 9" FALSE ADVERTIZING!

Can use with one hand on car roof with control. Not too heavy. Recommend the 25' cord which is great. Pads (GRIOTS) stick and Dont come off.BUT! Its being returned because of faulty power button. 6-8 times during one car the power button did NOT do anything!!!! Tried again later in the house and on fourth try, no power. So for now i am getting a refund and need to decide if I want to spend $469 on a Rupes.

Constant issues with powercord losing power. It intermittently loses power

Really bulky and heavy for a small-medium sized person. Did not seem to make a difference on light-moderately oxidised fibreglass after hours and repeat sessions using the appropriate compound.

I have used Griot's products in the past and have always been impressed with the quality. This polisher has great torque but stopped working after 1 hour of use then would only work on the higher settings not recommended for waxing thus making it useless and emitted a very strong burning electrical smell.. Very disappointing, clearly a manufacturing issue. I will be returning it for full refund due to defective manufacturing safety issue.

Decent, but not as good as my Rupes. Spend more money and get a Rupes.

I felt comfortable ordering this polisher after reading the reviews. I have quite a bit of experience using the Porter Cable 7424xp. The threaded shaft broke within 15 min. after opening box. VERY DISAPPOINTING!!! I am returning the unit.

Product description indicated would come with bag and gloves. No bag and gloves included.

We bought this and after one circle around it stopped working. I haven't ever read anything bad on this brand or tool but I got searching and found that alot of people are having issues with the switch stops working for no reason. I have another one on the way but if it does it again I will send it back and not buy another one

Lasted a whole 2 months before needing to go for repair.

If this product actually worked that would be great, I buffed one panel in a full year of owning this buffer. I sent it out to get worked on and got back in the same condition it was before. This product has been garbage since I got it and I just have to hope stores can fix it because it's been over one year that I've owned it, so I can't get a replacement or even warranted service.

Just as heavy and bulky as my old one, not impressed, still using my old one.

The DeWALT DWP849X 7-Inch/9-Inch Variable Speed Polisher was great! Fresh from the box; however after using the polisher for 6 to 8 hours the motor would stop running. Mine is now broken and will be returned. Warning to others when you buy through Amazon the window of return is small and you should use the product quickly in case you need to return it. Scott

Mine worked great, but unfortunately broke soon after I purchased it- it got wet and stopped working. I would love a replacement.

I bought a 6" random orbital polisher. It's is probably a good machine, I guess I'll never get a chance to find out. I used it twice and somehow the threads in the head where the backing plate screws in stripped out. Probably my fault. Where I have a problem is that when I called Griot's to find out about getting a part to fix it, I was told that we don't carry parts. When I asked where I could find the part if not through them, they had no answer. I was told to take it to a repair shop and they might be able to. I asked how when they can't get the part to fix it. No good answer. Selling a product, no matter how good, that I can't get a part to fix makes me give this a one star rating.

what is this i thought this was supposed to be new???

A little disappointed. The product looks like it has been used and not new.

Not a good start with this m/c started it for the first time and it sparked and through paper or cloth out of the vents had to shut it down right away. I have sent it to my repair man for him to investigate not happy as i was looking forward to using this m/c.

I've had a porter cable xp since they started making them and done 100+ cars with it and this buffer lasted about 10 at the most..something with the switch..Keeps cutting out and now won't work at all. Love the buffer as far as power and ergonomics but need to work on the switch design.