Initial Review- UDM!!

budman3

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First off I want to give huge thanks to everyone at Autogeek for giving me this opportunity to test out the new Ultimate Detailing Machine. The UPS guy delivered me a huge box from AG today. Inside were 6 or 7 pads, XMT pad conditioner and cleaner, a couple of German applicators, 5" backing plate, a buffer bag, and best of all the UDM. Sorry I do not have any pictures of the machine.

Of course it didn't take me long to unwrap everything and try it out. I was expecting this machine to be very similar to the Porter Cable 7424, but it is not. It sounds different and very smooth. I tested it out on the hood of my Jeep with a 5.5" light cut pad and it was very nice. Smooth, quiet, and powerful. I then tested it side by side with the PC with a 7.5" LC white polishing pad. I used the UDM with a 5" BP and the PC had a 6". Both machines worked the same... the results were very similar but I will need to do more testing before reaching any conclusions. I don't find the vibration on the PC to be overwhelming and the same is true with the UDM. I know that it isn't good for the machine to run it without touching the surface, but I did. I had the PC in my right hand and UDM in my left, no pads on either one. The UDM has less vibration than the PC under this condition.

Here is a little list that I put together while I was looking over the UDM:
-It is about 1/2" longer and wider than the PC
-The cord is 6' 1/2" long ... 3' 1/2" shorter than the PC
-The weight compared to the PC seems the same
-The dial is backwards from the PC, confusing for a PC user
-The head of the UDM where the counterweight is located is significantly larger than the PC
-The UDM has a very different counterweight- quite unique.
-The plastic housing does not rattle like the PC does, with or without the handle
-The front lip is longer which makes gripping the head easier (without the handle)
-The backing plate stops spinning, without any friction, about half as fast as the PC would... you know when you are polishing and lift your pad and turn it off, the pad continues spinning? The UDM reduces that spinning by 1/2.

Here is a video, well sound, of the UDM. Since I am not allowed to post photos of the machine, you'll have to look at a few of my detailing products. Make sure your speakers are on. These videos are again holding the machines in the air with no pads. I spent about 5 seconds on each speed setting, starting at 1 and working my way up to 6.

UDM:
Speeds 3, 4, and 5 are all very similar in speed.


And the PC for comparison:
Speeds 1, 2, 3, and 4 are very similar in speed.


In the above videos you can tell where the machine speeds are the same. There is a significant tone difference between the two machines. I haven't tested the machine enought to give you any field test information... thus making this an initial review :). Hope this helps give some information about this new polisher. Any questions???
 
Thanks for taking the time to do the sound by sound comparison. I opted to wait and get the "purty" model so it will be a few weeks before I get mine. How cool are U?
 
Meghan said:
I love the video sound idea!

I couldn't leave the other members hanging without anything! It'd get kind of boring with all text :p. Now I just need a few vehicles to play with. I let my girlfriend try it out today. She's used the PC before on speed 4 or 5 and she didn't like the vibration. I let her try out the UDM and on speed 5 she was fine :applause:. I pushed my luck and turned it up to speed 6 and she thought the machine was going to fly out of her hands! Quite a powerful little rig.
 
budman3 said:
I couldn't leave the other members hanging without anything! It'd get kind of boring with all text :p. Now I just need a few vehicles to play with. I let my girlfriend try it out today. She's used the PC before on speed 4 or 5 and she didn't like the vibration. I let her try out the UDM and on speed 5 she was fine :applause:. I pushed my luck and turned it up to speed 6 and she thought the machine was going to fly out of her hands! Quite a powerful little rig.
I have to admit I love the way it sounds, first time we turned it on, we all grinned! :D :D
 
Sounds like music, got to go high in the charts

Great rewiev.......................you teaser...

The UMD with euro el specs will rule
 
UDM on 6 sounds like it's got some b@ll$!! Sounds powerful!

Birthday coming up.....hmmmmm........may be time to upgrade:righton: Maybe I can get a special "birthday" discount;) lol....
 
If the results and time were the same as PC...seems like it wouldn't really be an upgrade from a PC user...might as well get a Cyclo or Rotary?
 
Awwww... you stole my idea. ;) It was actually one of the first questions I got on another board about the differences between the two machines. They seem to think the PC is loud for some reason. lol I figure anything with power is going to be loud. I appreciate the intial review though. :) Thanks!! I'm excited to get mine so I can duplicate your review with pictures to illustrate what you were trying to say. Is it possible to get video of it spinning without getting the machine in the shot? Maybe just the pad edge or something? Mask the whole machine in blue painters tape to simulate that OJ Simpson trial blue dot. lol
 
Don't think he stole he your idea..Budman3 is a natural genious...nice idea with the video
alright,alright.. your reviews aren't so bad either..
 
I got my UDM today as well with all the goodies as listed above! The sound was raw and powerful !! I know for a fact that this machine will cut the MUSTARD if need be. I put the UDM on speed 4 with a 5.5 orange pad and I couldn't bog it down with my own strength !! This thing has the torque "Cut and dry."

Thanks to all of AG for giving me the opportunity as well!! Can't wait to try Menz and UDM on some black swirled up mess! :)
 
Surfer said:
If the results and time were the same as PC...seems like it wouldn't really be an upgrade from a PC user...might as well get a Cyclo or Rotary?

We shall see;)
 
Mine will be coming today, can't wait to try it out. I plan on doing a side-by-side comparison with the PC in the coming days just to get a better idea of the improvements that have been made and how they translate to performance. Nice initial review man, I can't wait to try mine!
 
UDM sounds like a small turbine Jet. Actually sounds louder than the PC, but more pleasant to the ears.
Thanks for the review. I hope these go on sale before my birthday. I Couldn't think of a better gift. Anyone try the edge adapter and pads with the UDM?
 
By sound alone the UDM seems a lot smoother in note. Like Mike T said it sounds like a turbine spooling up. Kinda like a Formula One car going from 10,000 rpms to 16,000 rpms smooth like butta. While the PC sounds like a Rotory motor, makes power just sounds funny. :D
 
Just a bump to this thread. I've used the UDM some more and it is more powerfull than the PC. I went from one machine to the other and speed 6 on the PC seems like speed 5 on the UDM. It is very difficult to get the par to stop rotating. The only way that I could get it to stop rotating was with the pad lifted on an angle. I applied a lot of pressure to it to see how it would hold up ... the machine, BP, and pad (7.5") all got warm. Since excessive pressure isn't needed, I let off and everything was fine after that. The results between the two machines aren't different, IMO. Working time is quicker though. I still need to do some more testing with various pads and products to see if I can get better results via UDM vs. PC. Stay tuned.
 
Thanks for the update. Looking forward to getting mine too.
 
budman3 said:
Just a bump to this thread. I've used the UDM some more and it is more powerfull than the PC. I went from one machine to the other and speed 6 on the PC seems like speed 5 on the UDM. It is very difficult to get the par to stop rotating. The only way that I could get it to stop rotating was with the pad lifted on an angle. I applied a lot of pressure to it to see how it would hold up ... the machine, BP, and pad (7.5") all got warm. Since excessive pressure isn't needed, I let off and everything was fine after that. The results between the two machines aren't different, IMO. Working time is quicker though. I still need to do some more testing with various pads and products to see if I can get better results via UDM vs. PC. Stay tuned.

I did a PC vs UDM today with Black Silverado and XMT360.

First I primed the green edge2k wave on the pc and smeared the product then spread on 3 and worked it in on 6. I kept experiencing boggin with the PC on 6 with light pressure. Unfortuneatly I switch the adapter over to the UDM and tried the same thing and I was on speed 4.5 on the UDM and it wasn't boggin at all with moderate pressure. I don't understand how I've survived without the UDM, I rarely use speed 6 because it would be like a speed 8-9 on a PC :D
 
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