Griot's Garage

Want to be · 04-29-2006, 03:46 AM

Anybody going to the PCA event today in Indiana.....

I had no idea their plant was in Plainfield Indiana..

It appears that several clubs are meeting today.

Looks like rain...

I also heard Richard Griot is going to be there too.

cheers

jpc

Want to be · 04-29-2006, 10:43 AM

I was truly suprised of the ware house Griot had. Richard was a great host. I believe he has sold me on his polishing machine and will purchase one SOON!

NIce products!

Great comany! FUN PCA/Mercedes/BMW/Mini event....

cheers

jpc

randywebb · 04-29-2006, 11:14 AM

The products are nice - they are also very expensive. You are paying a premium for him searching for these products and putting them all in one catalog -- i.e. you are paying for convenience & his guarantee. (I'm not saying that it may not be worth the price for many people.)

I'm curious re the "plant"... did you tour it? I ask b/c everything they sell seems to be made by someone else. Hence they do no manufacturing.. or so I thought. Was it just a warehouse?

Want to be · 04-29-2006, 11:58 AM

They moved everything to Indiana to be more centralized in the United States. I believe the only thing left in Seattle is the headquaters.

Indiana land far cheaper than the west coast. plus i believe he rec. a huge tax reductions too.

The plant/warehouse is located in plainfield indiana.. located near an airport...

Yes his product is expensive, but it appears worth it to MOST.

I ALMOST purchased a new polishing set up but decided to wait for now.

cheers

jpc

mjshira · 04-29-2006, 12:04 PM

I heard about this, any pics?

rouxroux · 04-29-2006, 12:18 PM

I recently purchased the new random orbital from Griot's. I've used my tried and true trusty Porter Cable unit for many years. I find the new Griot's unit MUCH easier to use, lighter in weight, better balanced. (with the PC unit I always felt as if I was using an angle grinder)...This unit seems to operate "cooler" than the PC as well. I was so impressed, I polished/waxed 5 of our cars in 1 weekend. I also remember seeing in some catalog that he manufactures all of his chemicals. Never had any problems in many, many years of ordering. (the only negative is I think he sends out catalogs TOO often...could probably save a bit of money there).

mjshira · 04-29-2006, 12:20 PM

do you use his wax or do you stick to another brand?

Want to be · 04-29-2006, 12:26 PM

I plan to in the future...

Easier aplication and great results.

And yes i rec. his catalog tooooooooooo much.

jpc

David E. Clark · 04-29-2006, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rouxroux
I recently purchased the new random orbital from Griot's. I've used my tried and true trusty Porter Cable unit for many years. I find the new Griot's unit MUCH easier to use, lighter in weight, better balanced ... (the only negative is I think he sends out catalogs TOO often...could probably save a bit of money there).

I have the Griot's air powered orbital and absolutely love it -- you should give it a try. Couldn't agree more that the catalogs come out too often; I also think that he shouldn't send a new catalog until he has at least one new product in it.

blucille · 04-29-2006, 01:03 PM

I have been quite pleased with everything I've bought from Griots, which is a lot. That being said, I found he used to have better things than he does now. It seems now many of his items are the same as are available elsewhere. I think this is pretty common in this day and age of mass distribution, and shared warehousing.

As I said, I'm still a loyal customer, just now I have more of a tendency to shop around.

-Lewis

DougM · 04-29-2006, 01:08 PM

Richard purchased a car from me in October and I delivered it to his place in IN. Part of our deal was a $750 shopping spree

His stuff is expensive, but all the waxes and polishes are made on the premises and work very well. He's not just buying from a supplier and putting his label on it. There are hugh vats there that they mix it all up in. I was impressed with the operation.
As mentioned above, the orbital should be the first purchase made. It is really nice and you can get it with a detail starter kit. He also has a great book on detailing the car.

randywebb · 04-29-2006, 01:09 PM

"product is expensive, but it appears worth it to MOST"

- My point is that he is not making anything (unlike say SRP or Wevo) nor is he designing anything or even spec'ing anthing -- except maybe a label. He is simply finding other products and reselling them.

Case in point - the elec. ramdon orbit polisher is simply a Porter-Cable unit for more money. Or maybe he found something else - the post above is unclear. Air tools are always lighter than elec., so I'm not sure what that says.

Now, that may be worth something - see my post above.
I have purchased a few things from Griot's over the last decade or so. But usually I just Google up the description and find the exact same item from somewhere else for much much less.

What I really found enlightening was one of the small pull boxes in his catalog a few years ago... it explained which direction to turn a nut to put it on and to take it off. That is valuable information -- but it tells you the level of mechanical sophistication of his main market.

rouxroux · 04-29-2006, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by randywebb
[B]

Case in point - the elec. ramdon orbit polisher is simply a Porter-Cable unit for more money. Or maybe he found something else - the post above is unclear. Air tools are always lighter than elec., so I'm not sure what that says.

Yes, the OLDER unit was the Porter Cable. That was the one I had been using for many years. The new one IMHO is much better (and less expensive). The reason I got the electric instead of the air-powered one is that I use the orbital in more than one of my garages, and only 1 has a compressor.

I realize that many of his "other" products are sold by other vendors as well. I've seen these things come and go (and sometimes when he closes them out on his website you can get some real deals)...But his chemicals are pretty nice. I do use other waxes than "Best in Show" (went through the Zaino & NXT phase), but I've found overall his products AND service to be top flight.

89911 · 04-29-2006, 01:48 PM

Sounds like many attending fell under his mind control and immediately ordered his cans of $30 wax!

randywebb · 04-29-2006, 03:29 PM

Griot's reminds me of the Hamacher-Schlemer Co. - they don't make anything but do check out or test and locate quality items that they bring together in a catalog. That saves a lot of time for people with time-demanding jobs (I suspect they sell a lot to people in Manhattan), but is counter to the DIY thrust of many on this bbs.

I got 3 questions:

1. By new unit, you are referring to an electric unit? not an air powered one?
- It's always possible he has gone into manufacutuing or spec'ing things... or maybe P/C updated their units, or he is using some one else's now.

2. Did you find his wax to be better than the NXT? Also, does it last as long?
- people have speculated where he buys his wax & chemicals from, but no one seems to know for sure.

3. Is that a light roux, or a nut brown one, or a real dark one?

S2GART · S2GART's Garage

I recently bought his new buffer. He doesn't specify as to who makes it for him. Previously he made no secret that the buffer he was selling was Porter+Chester. The new one has a handle above the unit and has variable speed. He even placed a lable by the on switch tell you what speed to use for wax vs. polish. I have also in the past bought his terry towel fender cover that has magnets in the corners to keep the cover in place. The magnets can come out so that you can through the cover in the wash. Alot of his stuff is steep, and makes you think twice before buying it.

makaio · 04-29-2006, 09:12 PM

I've been using his waxes and other products for years now. Yes you can find some of the things in his catolog cheaper elsewhere. But for me his quality and product testing is piece of mind, not to mention his satisfaction garante is second to none.

rouxroux · 04-29-2006, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by randywebb
Griot's reminds me of the Hamacher-Schlemer Co. - they don't make anything but do check out or test and locate quality items that they bring together in a catalog. That saves a lot of time for people with time-demanding jobs (I suspect they sell a lot to people in Manhattan), but is counter to the DIY thrust of many on this bbs.

I got 3 questions:

1. By new unit, you are referring to an electric unit? not an air powered one?
- It's always possible he has gone into manufacutuing or spec'ing things... or maybe P/C updated their units, or he is using some one else's now.

2. Did you find his wax to be better than the NXT? Also, does it last as long?
- people have speculated where he buys his wax & chemicals from, but no one seems to know for sure.

3. Is that a light roux, or a nut brown one, or a real dark one?

1. Yes, the new electric unit. PC does not have one like this in their catalog. Plus, even when he was selling the PC's. his pad mounting system was better IMHO than others I saw for the same unit which were mainly hard plastic and could really transfer alor of heat.

2. His wax is pretty good, but a completely different animal than NXT. I am using NXT on my new vehicles that are base coat/clear coat, but I use other waxes on some of my other vehicles that have up to 14 coats of lacquer and no clear (the paint on my '66 Corsa is now 22 years old, and still places high in paint in shows).
As far as his chemicals, yes, he produces them on-site.

3. As you can see, I'm from Louisiana and well-versed in all roux, just depends on the final dish you are preparing...Glad to see someone else knows and appreciates the difference!

randywebb · 04-30-2006, 10:22 AM

I grew up in BTR, and tho I live in Oregon now, I've never missed a year to go back for at least a week or two...

Thanks for listing the differences on the buffer & chemicals -- interesting that he mixes them on-site. Maybe they aren't just relabels after all.

lateapex911 · 04-30-2006, 11:16 AM

here's why Griots is cool.

You get the catalog..it has pictures...Moms and wives can understand easily what things are, and then when they call, the staff speaks excellent English and bends over backwards to get exactly what is needed out in time. You never worry about quality, and you never worry about being screwed, or not getting it in time. That is very valuable around gift purchasing time.

That said, some of his stuff is original, and is great, while some of it is just maked up. Its easy to tell. But when it comes to things like wool floor mats, the extra $20 is well spent, because it's likely that the matt will fit well, feel better, and last longer than the "Untried" cheaper one.

But...the $500 aluminum jack? I got the exact same one for $130...and I could done better if I had waited for it to come down further! The only difference was that his measurements were the metric equivilents!

His chemicals ARE good. Maybe the best, maybe not, but close enough for debating.