Infiniti I35 and first UDM and Ultima PGP use on a BMW 528i

S

Scottwax

New member
2003 Infiniti I35. The exterior was in really good shape, just some very light swirls and a few paint transfers. Interior wasn't stained but it was kind of grungy looking due to the light color which gets dirty the instant you touch it. Didn't even bother with interior shots though, they just don't come out well when the car is in the full sun. Exterior was polished with Clearkote's Pink Moose using green Edge Cyclo polishing pads and waxed with Carnauba Moose.



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1997 BMW 528i. I see this one once a year in the summer at his Dad's law office...along with up to as many as 19 others! Since they have so many cars for me each year, I give them a set price for cars and another for SUVs that include a full interior detail and a two step (light claying only) exterior detail. Any trashed interiors or finishes that really need more than two steps to bring back have two options. I do the $$$ amount of work on the car I am being paid for or the employee pays the difference. Only a few of the cars I have done there have been really bad and in all cases, no one wanted to pay extra. Anyway.....



This is parked outside, under a pecan tree, as you can see in these before shots:



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That is a mixture of pecan shells and rock chips on the hood.



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An Optimum No Rinse wash cleaned it up nicely but revealed some bird bomb etching, light rotary swirls, halo swirls, etc. I tried to capture the defects as best as I could in the bright sun. If you look close, I believe you can see some light horizontal rotary swirls on the trunk lid and verticle ones on the first hood shot. The headlights are horribly oxidized and only wetsanding is going to fix them. I didn't have any sandpaper with me and the owner of the car (the boss's son) is heading back to college this weekend so they said they might have me come out and take care of it and detail it again during Christmas break.



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I used my new Ultimate Detailing Machine on this car in conjunction with an orange Sonus Swirlbuster pad and Optimum Polish. I spread the polish out with the speed on 4.5 and then cranked it up to 6. First thing I noticed is that the sound isn't as shrill as the Porter Cable. Second thing I noticed was it still spins at pressures that only allow the PC to oscillate. Number three was that is removes paint transfers a lot more quickly. The combination of the UDM, Swirlbuster pad and Optimum Polish did a pretty good job on the vast majority of the defects. Some of the deep bird bomb etchings and scratches remained though.



This is after polishing only...



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I sealed the car with Ultima Premium Paint Guard Plus. I misted the supplied microfiber pad with UPGP and wiped it on the car. Dries and clears out very quickly, much like Optimum's Opti-Seal. It leaves a very wet and suprisingly deep finish, more carnauba to me than sealant looking. I was up against it on time so I didn't do any side by side with Opti-Seal for a visual comparison but I'll try to do that as soon as I can. UPGP is also very slick. BTW, I used it on my Cannondale road bike yesterday over an application of ZAIO/Z5 and it really amped up the wetness. First impressions...very good!



Sorry there is are no sun shots. By the time I finished, it has clouded up and anyone who knows Dallas traffic knows I am not waiting around for the sun to pop out when it gets towards 5 PM!



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Oh yeah, when I pulled the 528 around front, there was a black 528 a couple spots over....someone got hosed by a detailer, dealer or body shop! Bear in mind, this wasn't even a full sun shot either.



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Great work for someone who isn't a professional, you decided not to go with the toughguard? HAHA



Sorry, had to do it, anyway, that Beemer looks great, too bad you couldn't have shown that guy with the trails your work, a real detail. Nice job as always.
 
Scott, it had been a little while since your last c&b I was begining to think the rains wer holding you hostage again.



The all really look nice and your cutomers definitely get the most for thier money.

I'm a little suprised you'd buy a udm as well. Although i have never used a cyclo, I find it hard to beat the correction capablilities based on the pad size to begin with.
 
The BMW 528 looks so much better in the after photos, very wet and deep looking. I am also very impressed with the Infiniti too, never expect to see such great depth on a silver color car :2thumbs: .
 
Just awesome Scott as always Scott. :2thumbs:



I look forward to purchasing a UDM and running it through its paces. Are the backing plates machine specific or can you use any of the standard PC plates with it?
 
tdekany said:
Beautiful work Scott. Did you purchase the UDM? Did you trade your non working pc for it?
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I could never get an answer about trading in a non-working PC. I really wanted some Cyclo level polishing power in something as maneuverable as a PC for vehicle design that is awkward of the Cyclo (like Jeep Wranglers, and the back end of most cars) so I went ahead and got the UDM. I figured with the guarantee, I couldn't go wrong.



mr.ikon-if I am expected to two step that swirled black 528, then no, I hope I won't be detailing it. :nervous2:



gmblack3a-thanks! I just wish I could have done something about those headlights though. Oh well, he gets a new car when he graduates from college, which I believe will be in the spring.



gen2-Carnauba Moose is the most underrated LSP on Autopia. It looks great on all colors and is sun friendly to boot. I was going to use it on the 528 if the clouds hadn't rolled in. I wasn't sure how UPGP would work if I applied it to a hot surface but once it clouded up, I figured I would be okay. I was itching to try it out on something other than my bike anyway.



Mike-my understanding is that the UDM is very sensitive to backing plate weight so for right now, I am using the one it came with. I might try my 6" excel detail backing plate to see how it works out. A larger backing plate puts more even pressure on the pads but if it causes excessive vibration I don't know if the trade-off is worth it.
 
Great work on the cars Scott.

Scott, I have had no issues using a 6' backing plate with my UDM. And no increase in vibration. Though I do have alot more vibration with the edge pad system on the UDM then the PC.
 
Awesome as always Scott!! :woot:



What's your opinion about UPGP compared to AJT? Does it give a wetter look?

My AJT is running out so i'm looking for something new to try:p
 
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