Don’t be fooled by the Grasshopper’s diminutive size. This little polisher is a true workhorse and is absolutely made for paint correction and removing swirls.
The Grasshopper 2.0 completes the Apex Customs range of Dual Action Random Orbital polishers and is an absolutely essential bit of kit for any detailer.
With its 12mm throw and 3” backing pad, the Grasshopper gets into the tight areas where the larger dual action polishers simply cannot get to. Think door jams, sills, tricky lips and lids.
Boasting a new rubberised grip, increased ventilation ports for improved heat dissipation and NSK bearings all round, the Grasshopper 2.0 was made for excellent ergonomics over prolonged use.
Combine this with a set of our Buff and Shine 3” pads to tackle any job at hand.
User manual: Download here
KEY FEATURES:
- Compact & precise 12mm throw to get you through tight spots such as door trims; side mirrors and curved edges
- 600 Watts of power for paint correction, polishing and waxing applications
- 2000 – 6000 O.P.M.
- 6 levels of speed with trigger lock
- Easy to use, great for beginners and experts alike
- Quality tested & CE certified
Included:
- Grasshopper Random Orbital Polisher 12mm
- 3″ backing plate
- Instruction manual
- Manufacturers Warranty (12 months)
What
Dual Action Random Orbital Polishers (DAROP). Afraid of damaging your paint in the process of paint correction? Look no further. We have the perfect tool at a third the cost of the industry’s leading unit.
Why
Well you know those cheaper rotary polishers you can buy? They are extremely useful at correcting paint. In fact, they correct paint really quickly, too quickly. Think of it as a scalpel. Highly effective but also dangerous in the wrong hands. They can correct so quickly that they can literally take the paint off your car.
How about the more basic hand buffers? Well they’re about as effective as using a cat to mow a lawn. As the other extreme of the rotary polisher, these hand buffers do not have enough grunt to correct paint.
How
D/A Polishers rotate through the momentum created by the high speed orbital motion. As there is no direct link between the rotations and oscillations, this makes dual action random orbital polishers the safest tools to use for beginners but also enables effective paint correction. The reason why they are safer is because they significantly reduce the heat generated by rotary and forced rotation polishers.
Think of throw as the reach of the orbital polisher. The larger the reach, the more surface area it corrects in one swift motion. This not only reduces your polishing time significantly but it also enables your product to be spread across a larger area resulting in less caking of your product on the pad.
Slinging occurs when product gets spun of the surface of the pad onto the car/environment as a result of the over-saturation of the pad. As a result of this larger surface area, we are able to reduce the amount of slinging that occurs.
The illustration below shows the total magnitude of the throw calculated off the centre of the polisher backing plate by adding the displacement from both opposite sides of the pivot point to give you the total throw (ie: 8mm; 15mm ; 21mm).
We are distributors for the Buff and Shine range of premium buffing pads:
Uro-Tec™
Foam Pads (available in 1″, 2″, 3″, 6″ and 7″) – Buff and Shine’s Uro-Tec™ Foam Buffing Pads come in four grades to cater to virtually any paint condition, any paint perfecting chemical, and any technician’s preferences. The Coarse Blue pad is for compounding and heavy cutting to remove heavy paint defects. Burgundy is designed to provide medium cutting ability and/or heavy polishing. There is also a Blue medium polishing pad with reduced cutting. Yellow is used for general-purpose polishing to remove minor paint imperfections. White is used for final finishing as well as application of wax or sealant.
Please note that the 6″ pads are designed for 5″ backing plates and the 7″ pads for 6″ backing plates, due to their tapered design.
Uro-Fiber™ Microfibre Pads (available in 3″, 6″ and 7″) – Uro-Fiber™ microfibre pads are perfect for both cutting, polishing and now finishing. The Black and White Microfibre Pad can cut even quicker than the Coarse Blue Foam cutting pads but the downside can be the heat built up. The unique patent-pending design of the Uro-Fiber™ Pad’s short microfiber knap allows all steps in paint correction and perfection to be performed with one type of pad. Please note that these pads are also available in 1″ and 2″ sizes.
If you like the overall performance and versatility of Buff and Shine’s Uro-Fiber™ Black & White Microfibre Pad but you felt like you needed just a bit more fine-finishing capability, then you will appreciate Uro-Fiber™ Black Finisher Pads. Buff and Shine listened to the feedback from end-users of Uro-Fiber™ pads and engineered a new microfiber pad with a standard pile height and shorter profile that provides great finishing results, especially on softer paints.
Uro-Wool™ Pads (available in 3″, 6″ and 7″) – Wool pads are the most aggressive of the cutting pads and produce faster, deeper results. The Buff and Shine White Uro-Wool™ pads are used for heavy blemishes when at least a two step paint correction process is required. This is because the wool fibres tend to produce micro-marring whilst correcting the paintwork, primarily due to the heat generated through the friction on the surface. This micro marring or hazing requires a polishing step to finish the correction process.
The Buff and Shine Grey Uro-Wool™ pad is a step below Buff and Shine’s 100% white wool pad in aggressiveness and enhanced with a proprietary wool blend. This pad is specifically designed to cut but leave a better finish than the white Uro-Wool™ pad.
Is there a power box on the cords of the polishers?
We do not have any power boxes on our cord as everything has been engineered to be contained within the polisher.
What is the difference between a dual action random orbital and forced rotation machine?
Dual action technology has the plate both rotating and oscillating at the same time. Random Orbital allows the plate to freely spin when too much pressure is applied. The dual rotating and oscillating action of these polishers reduces the amount of heat generated compared with rotary and forced rotation machines and will thus prevent you from burning or damaging your paint. Forced rotation machines do not stop spinning regardless of force applied. Don’t make the mistake of just getting any dual action polisher as there are also forced rotation dual action polishers.
Can I mount other backing plate types and sizes to your polishers?
The thread sizing across all our polishers are standard M8. Therefore you can technically mount different backing plates, however this is not encouraged as our machines have not been engineered for anything except for that which accompanies the polisher. The counterbalance in the polisher is made precisely for the backing plate(s) included and the throw of the particular machine. Any other combination will unfortunately lead to a sub optimal user experience.
Are your polisher backing plates compatible with other brands?
Yes, provided they have the same mounting groove. Please note however, that our polishers have been engineered to work most effectively with the backing plates included in our package.
Can I use a different handle types on your polishers?
The handle on the Karate Kid & Sensei polishers are actually bridged across both sides of the polisher to facilitate ambidextrous use. The Grasshopper does not have specific mounting holes for handles.
Do you sell replacement parts for the machines?
We have all spare parts for all our polishers. Feel free to contact us directly for any queries. Repairs can be done by the user but no warranty can be issued for independent repairs. All repairs done by the supplier come with a 3 month warranty.
How do I know what throw/orbit and model to select?
A quick rule of thumb is what is your budget. Money aside, we would encourage every customer to get the 21mm throw, 7” pad Sensei and the 12mm throw, 3” backing plate Grasshopper. The 21mm throw, 7” pad allows Sensei you to plough throw significant surface area in minimal time, but the tradeoff of this is maneuverability in smaller spots like door jambs and spoiler lips. Accompanied with the Grasshopper’s 12mm throw, 3” backing plate however, this will enable you to get through to those tighter spots easily and extremely effectively. Budget limiting however, we would strongly recommend the 15mm throw, 6″ Pad Sensei. Engineered to be a real workhorse in, this polisher will enable you to tackle a vast majority of situations with minimal fuss.
How long does the foam pads last?
We are distributors for the Buff and Shine range of buffing pads which are renowned for their durability with proper care. The life of the pad will depend on a number of factors:- the type of job it is used for, the type of machine it is used on, the pressure exerted by the user and maintenance procedures both during and after use. In order to extend the lifespan of your pads, we supply McKee’s 37 Polishing pad Cleaner which will quickly and effectively remove the vast majority of products from your pads whilst ensuring the integrity of your pads. Pads should be hand wash only. Expect a minimum 6-8 uses per pad, which can be significantly increased with proper maintenance.
When do you use microfibre pads?
Microfibre pads have been primarily designed primarily for heavy compounding of your car’s painted surfaces. They are an aggressive cutting tool and get through most scratches in a significantly faster time. Note however that due to the nature and the heat retaining nature of these microfibre pads, it is important to check them intermittently to ensure that they are not running too hot. Buff and Shine also supply a microfibre finishing pad which is suitable for higher finishing jobs where medium cut is still required.
Do you have any cleaning tools for the pads?
Yes, we sell a tool to clean our pads, although cleaning by hand is the safest and most effective way we’ve found. When using our pad cleaning brush, please be careful not to exert too much pressure on the pad, as you may risk damage.
Can I use other backing pads on your machines?
Yes as long as the thread and adaptor matches it will be fine. But as mentioned, the ones supplied are designed for our machines and the weight of the backing plates can also affect the overall balance of the machine. Hence other combinations of backing plates and pad density / size may cause additional vibration/noise which would result in a subpar user experience.
Does the polisher come with a carry bag?
All our polishers come in a cardboard box. Carry bags can be sold separately as kits or individually.
My polisher is not switching on, what do I do before sending it back for repairs?
This could be due to various reasons but below is a checklist to walk through before contacting us further for a warranty / repairs service request. Ensure that your power mains are connected properly and there are no visible damages to the power cable or connections to the machine. If there is, DO NOT switch the machine on and contact our support team directly for further instructions.
- Check if the carbon brushes are worn. To do so simply remove the casing of the polisher where the Philips screws holds them in place. The brushes are typically held down by a set of springs or coils and can sit in different locations depending on the model you are working on. A spare set of brushes are provided in the polisher box, however if you require additional sets you can also purchase them from our store.
- If step 1 above does not resolve the issue, kindly send us an email to describe your observations in detail prior to the machine malfunction and we will assess from there.
To find out more about our warranty claims, click here
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