Ok got this today and thought i would give it a little go, for those who dont know its the Ultimate detailing machine,i only managed a quick test, firstly i did a weight test, the UDM felt a little heavier than the PC so i weighed them and the UDM weighed in at 2200g and the pc weighs in at just 2000g so its a little heavier than the PC, I'm guessing this is because of the new beefier motor.
Parts of the machine feel quite well built, others not so like the ON/OFF switch on the top which doesn't feel to strong, but it may be fine it just doesn't fill you with confidence, and on taking it to pieces :clown: you see that they use a big slider that's about 4 inches long that fits under the new switch and slides to turn of the original switch at the bottom of the old switch (similar design as the PC), diagram below :-
The other bit that appears not to be too strong is the weight surround (which is bigger than the PC version), not sure what its made from but i feel if you drop it you could damage it (again i could be completely wrong)
I firstly suspected it to be a pumped up PC, but on taking it to bits it became apparent that although it looked very similar most parts were different to those on the PC :-
The power switch seems a bit notchy on my version, but not unusable and again very similar to the PC.
The rest seems well built, the majority of the bodywork is being protected by a plastic outer sleeve.
In action
Ok, how does it work, well i didn't have loads of time TBH but i did a quick test with some 4" white spot pads on a sonus 3.5" backing plate, i tested this on the wing of the wife's car using Menz IP and FP2, i started on a low speed of 1 and found that the pad sort of bounced of the paint which concerned me a little but i found by reducing the pressure this stopped, i put the speed up to 3 and found it easier to use at this speed than it was at 1 , i applied more pressure and there was no bounce like there was at low speeds so i felt a bit better about that, i then pushed it up to speed 6 and again felt quite controlled and quite a bit faster than the PC was (as it is in all speeds)
I have to say after hearing a few bad reports about vibration issues i found it to be ok with spot pads (BUT I ONLY WORKED THE MACHINE FOR 5-10 MINS) , not any worse than i found the PC.
I then put on the 5" sonus backing plate and grabbed the nearest pad (which happened to be a Meguiars pad), i then attacked the door of the wife's car this time with just the Menz FP2, the machine again felt quite controlled, seemed to have more power than the PC and didn't bog down (same as when using the 4" pads too), again vibration was no worse than the PC, AGAIN OVER THE SHORT PERIOD I USED IT.
so my conclusions are (don't forget the very limited time i used it) im quietly impressed, it seems ok, i haven't tried any decent defect removal with it though (as i don't have any to test it on) but I'm reasonably sure it will do as much and more than a PC will, and it will be probably be below what a rotary will achieve, whilst still remaining fairly user friendly (and good for beginners too)
Should you buy one ??, Possibly but perhaps give it a test first and see how you get on with it as i know of others that say it vibrates to much !!!, and wait for more reviews, as i may be a numb nut who is easily pleased LOL and i have worked with quite heavy and hard to work machinery in the past so i may have a greater pain threshold
Some comparison shots
Please do remember this is a 10 minute review and i will need to do some serious testing before i would properly recommend it to anyone
Parts of the machine feel quite well built, others not so like the ON/OFF switch on the top which doesn't feel to strong, but it may be fine it just doesn't fill you with confidence, and on taking it to pieces :clown: you see that they use a big slider that's about 4 inches long that fits under the new switch and slides to turn of the original switch at the bottom of the old switch (similar design as the PC), diagram below :-
The other bit that appears not to be too strong is the weight surround (which is bigger than the PC version), not sure what its made from but i feel if you drop it you could damage it (again i could be completely wrong)
I firstly suspected it to be a pumped up PC, but on taking it to bits it became apparent that although it looked very similar most parts were different to those on the PC :-
The power switch seems a bit notchy on my version, but not unusable and again very similar to the PC.
The rest seems well built, the majority of the bodywork is being protected by a plastic outer sleeve.
In action
Ok, how does it work, well i didn't have loads of time TBH but i did a quick test with some 4" white spot pads on a sonus 3.5" backing plate, i tested this on the wing of the wife's car using Menz IP and FP2, i started on a low speed of 1 and found that the pad sort of bounced of the paint which concerned me a little but i found by reducing the pressure this stopped, i put the speed up to 3 and found it easier to use at this speed than it was at 1 , i applied more pressure and there was no bounce like there was at low speeds so i felt a bit better about that, i then pushed it up to speed 6 and again felt quite controlled and quite a bit faster than the PC was (as it is in all speeds)
I have to say after hearing a few bad reports about vibration issues i found it to be ok with spot pads (BUT I ONLY WORKED THE MACHINE FOR 5-10 MINS) , not any worse than i found the PC.
I then put on the 5" sonus backing plate and grabbed the nearest pad (which happened to be a Meguiars pad), i then attacked the door of the wife's car this time with just the Menz FP2, the machine again felt quite controlled, seemed to have more power than the PC and didn't bog down (same as when using the 4" pads too), again vibration was no worse than the PC, AGAIN OVER THE SHORT PERIOD I USED IT.
so my conclusions are (don't forget the very limited time i used it) im quietly impressed, it seems ok, i haven't tried any decent defect removal with it though (as i don't have any to test it on) but I'm reasonably sure it will do as much and more than a PC will, and it will be probably be below what a rotary will achieve, whilst still remaining fairly user friendly (and good for beginners too)
Should you buy one ??, Possibly but perhaps give it a test first and see how you get on with it as i know of others that say it vibrates to much !!!, and wait for more reviews, as i may be a numb nut who is easily pleased LOL and i have worked with quite heavy and hard to work machinery in the past so i may have a greater pain threshold
Some comparison shots
Please do remember this is a 10 minute review and i will need to do some serious testing before i would properly recommend it to anyone
