New to the UDM, questions... (pics)

[dontsleeponit]

Hey everyone, well I practiced on the beater a few times, this being my first time polishing a car ever, and today I decided to go for the GTO.

I did the whole process washed, clayed, then I went to use XMT360. My car is in excellent shape to begin with (only 3800mi), so its hard to judge results, but I felt like the results just weren't very noticeable. Also I found it to break down very very fast, much faster then SSR 1 or 2.5, and I realize it is suppose to because of what 360 is, but it just didnt seem right.

I primed the pad with XMT conditioner a few sprays, then loaded up with 360, a few good lines and dots, spread it on slow then go to 6. It seemed like it wasnt even enough to spread over the whole area, which was about half my small trunk lid. After 1 slow pass it was almost completely invisible. The results are ok, very slick, but not a huge difference. Again my trunk wasn't bad at all to begin with.

These pictures I got are really bad, I have a bad digital camera (usually I borrow my sister's nice one). I may buy a new camera tomorrow...

So heres my pad after the first section, and how much polish I was about to use for the second section.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa225/dontsleeponit/AGO%20order/360whitepad.jpg

Heres my pad when the top of the trunk was done
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa225/dontsleeponit/AGO%20order/360whitepad2.jpg

Heres a 50/50 shot, driver side done with 360. I cant tell much of a difference, even in person.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa225/dontsleeponit/AGO%20order/trunk5050.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa225/dontsleeponit/AGO%20order/trunk50502.jpg

This shot is better to show the end result of the whole trunk lid 360'd with a quick coat of max wax as well.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa225/dontsleeponit/AGO%20order/trunkxmt360MW.jpg

So I am going to finish up tomorrow with the rest of the car, and take some good pics and see how it all turns out.
I'd appreciate any advice you guys may have, Im not entirely sure this is working as good as it could.

[Pauly6401]

I used 360 for the first time the other day with my PC. I noticed that on speed 5, I had to move quite slowly for it to break down. On speed 6, I could move about one inch a second and it would break down the XMT 360. It made polishing the whole SUV go very quickly.

Also, it doesn't spread nearly as much or as evenly as XMT 1-4, and breaks down much, much faster. It was removing the swirls and cleaning up the paint though, so it seemed to be working as advertised. I would say that if you already had a nice, clean car to begin with you won't see a huge difference with it. It's when you start with lots of swirls, especially on a darker car that you really see the difference.

Since your car was so new, and obviously well cared for by you, I wouldn't expect to see a crazy difference because it was in good shape to start with! It also looks cloudy in your pics, direct sunlight helps to see the difference.

I used a similar polishing/cleaning/sealing agent via the PC on my yellow ZX2 which was in good shape to start with. While the paint was slick and smooth, I also couldn't tell a huge difference on a clean, light-colored, well cared-for car with that either. I don't think you are doing anything wrong - go find a messed up car and see what you can do!

[dontsleeponit]

I'm gonna go ahead and agree with you entirely... hard to notice a difference on a panel that was near perfect to begin with, it was cloudy out today, and I think it makes it extra hard to see a difference because the car is silver.

I was hoping the 360 would make the finish shine and "pop" more....

[klumzypinoy]

I'm sure the lighting wasn't efficient enough to see the difference. Yes, silver is harder to see swirl marks, but with the right lighting you will be able to see them well. Are you using the stock UDM backing plate in those pictures?

[dontsleeponit]

Are you using the stock UDM backing plate in those pictures?

Sure am, why do you ask?

[klumzypinoy]

Sure am, why do you ask?

Just wondering if you're using a bigger backing plate. If you were, I wanted to know if you have increased vibration.

[dontsleeponit]

Just wondering if you're using a bigger backing plate. If you were, I wanted to know if you have increased vibration.

nope its the backing plate that came with it. However, I'm pretty sure I did notice increased vibration with 6.5 pads over 5.5 pads, possible because the 6.5s are harder to center, but I know in the end, overall I liked working with the 5.5 inch pads better.

final results of all this are here (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/9246-06-gto-my-first-s-s-reviews-long.html)

[klumzypinoy]

nope its the backing plate that came with it. However, I'm pretty sure I did notice increased vibration with 6.5 pads over 5.5 pads, possible because the 6.5s are harder to center, but I know in the end, overall I liked working with the 5.5 inch pads better.

final results of all this are here (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/9246-06-gto-my-first-s-s-reviews-long.html)

Replied to your thread :). I wish AG would carry 5.5 inch CCS pads... Or else I have to find it somewhere else :p