Used the UDM for the first time last night.. QUESTIONS!!!

canusa · 07-26-07, 08:15

So, i received my UDM the other day, and now after using it... i have a bunch of questions.

I don't have any pictures yet cuz i'm at work. So i apologize for that. The car i was working on was a 1999 Malibu. Teal. Very heavily swirled and water etching everywhere.

i used OC/Orange pad @ 3 to spread, then 6 to break it down.
I worked each section for at least 5 minutes (timed on my watch)
This combo got rid of the majority of swirls. However, the etching marks simply laughed at me. So after following the OC x2 , with OP via white pad. I have a very shiny, water etched car. Moving at about 3"/second. This seemed awfully slow. I also had a hard time figuring out how much product to use. It wasn't painful to take off or anything.. but i have nothing to compare it to. So now on with the questions.

1. Should i be going slower? i tried going as slow as 1"/sec but it made no difference to the etching.
2. Is 5 minutes enough to break down the OC?
3. How much product should i be using? (for say half the hood)
4. How much pressure should i be putting on the UDM during compounding/polishing? I tried to keep it near 15-20lbs but its hard to tell i'm sure i was putting more than that.
5. If i broke down the compound "too much" would it also be hard to take off?
6. How do you tell if you go into a dry buff?
7. I was cleaning the "caked" product off the pad after every panel. Is this normal?

I think thats it for now.

I thank you all in advance for the help.

DavidB · 07-26-07, 08:38

Your questions are open to very subjective answers.

First, IMHO, it's better to make the polish do the work, not the pad. So, polish as wet as possible without making a mess.

Polish requires friction (heat) to break down and do its job. To get the friction, you will need to apply some pressure. When doing paint restoration work (cutting), I recommend compressing the pad up to about 75% compression. Work it! The UDM can take the load.

If you burnish the compound into the paint (working it too hard), it will be difficult to remove. That's your clue to back-off a tad.

If your pad is going dry, you went into a dry buff. Prime your pad with detail spray befor starting. Keep it primed and clean. Shoot it with detail spray and wipe it off.

canusa · 07-26-07, 09:06

Hrmm so from what you've said David...

I think i may have been dry buffing. I still have no idea if i was using to much or too little product. In hindsight.. i should have taken pics of how much product i was putting on the pad.

I appreciate the reply

Danny318 · 07-28-07, 02:35

Its very hard to use too little product with optimum. They say get the pad primed, and then like 3 pea sized drops will do a good 2x2 section or more.

I doubt you were dry buffing.

Deep etchings are going to be hard to get out since they are usually much deeper into the clear than swirls are. Perhaps you should just get all the swirls out best you can and then finish it off with a good carnuba and see if it doesn hide the etches a bit. My paint has etches all over it but I dont see them unless im like 8 inches from the paint.

sounds like you are doing good though.

Danny318 · 07-28-07, 02:37

Oh also dont be afraid to try and yellow pad, or try with a smaler 4in pad. I have not had much better luck w/ the smaller pads, but some people love them and say they work a billion times better than the larger 6-7in ones.

canusa · 07-30-07, 08:21

Thanks guys,

I tried the same combo on another car with no etching just alot of swirls and i used less product (4 pea sized drops) and although it did take out some swirls it definately left alot of them there. practice will be my best friend for a while.

any other tips let me know.

Cheers.