Dual action polishers: 4" 7424 vs Griot's 3"

[sig2269mm]

Greetings all:

I was studying my new Corolla, and wondering the best way to polish and wax this thing. I am aware of the tremendous popularity of the 7424, but there are plenty of places on the car where a 6" applicator is far too big. Autopia sells a 4" applicator for various places, and Griot's Garage will soon sell a new machine that accepts their 3" applicators.

The Griot's unit is probably black and decker, or some other vendor, and obviously is not Porter Cable, Milwaukee, Bosch, DeWalt, Makita, etc. If given the choice, I'd much rather have a Porter Cable, albeit with a smaller buffer for the tighter spots.

So,

Does anyone make quality 3" pads and velcro backings for the 7424?

If not, anyone using the 4" pads for tight spaces? How well do they work?

Or is the 3" Griot's the way to go, when it gets here? I'm not worried about how long it would take with a 3" unit to wax entire car. time is not an issue. Nonetheless, if given chance, a PC with 6" and 3" pads would be perfect.

Thanks in advance

[Pb]

The Griots buffer, which is actually a Mosay 8812 http://www.mosay.com/proinfo.asp?pl_id=173 is pretty much just a sander. Check out the dust collection housing. They market it as a fan cooled buffer, but the fan is actually just there to suck in wood dust. Just a slick marketing spin. It does appear to be a beefy buffer, but what makes the PC the best machine is versatility. I have not found another DA that has a threaded backing plate spindle. This allows a wide range of backing plates and brushes to be used with the PC. Until another tool maker figures this out, the PC will still be the machine to have.

I can get to almost any place with a combination of the 6" and the 4" pads. If I can't get to it with the buffer, then I'll just do that little area by hand. No big deal. It only takes a minute. I don't see where a 3" pad would be very beneficial over a 4".

[Pb]

I just realized that you were talking about their new 3" buffer, which is different from their porter cable style buffer.

I wouldn't bother with that 3" buffer. I can get to most any part of any vehicle with a 4" or 6" pad on my PC 7424. The small areas that I can't get to, I just polish by hand. Usually the area under the mirror and under a rear spoiler is the only places I can't totally get to with the buffer pad. I doubt a 3" pad would do much better.