Flex or Udm for beginner?

G

gkcomp22

New member
Hi i'm new to detailing and i can't decide whether to get a flex or a Udm. The car I have is a 2008 Ford Explorer and its in pretty good condition. It has some minor swirls left from the dealers and I would like to fix them.



Both machines have their pros and cons. I like the udm because its easier to learn for a beginner, can get into tight spaces, price. The flex can correct more and faster then the udm. Since i'm a beginner do you think the flex is easy enough to learn and not damage paint? Price really doesn't matter, I just don't want to damage my paint if I get a flex. I don't want to get the udm and wish I got the flex later down the road.



Also I read that the flex isn't as good in tight spaces as the udm. Here is a pic of a car that is similar to mine, do you think the flex will work well on it? Or do you think there are to many tight spaces for the flex? Would a udm or flex be better for my car?



6460180799.240715609.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jpg


6460180800.240715609.IM1.02.565x421_A.562x421.jpg




Thanks for you time



George
 
I'm an amateur as well and IMO, get the UDM. Your ride is new and doesn't appear to need more than what UDM can easily handle. Later if you step up to a flex or whatever, you can keep the UDM for lighter jobs or turn it over to the next 'enthusiast to be'.



Just got my 1st ever machine no more than 4 hours ago from 'big brown' and it's the PC7424.
 
Yeah my ride is new, 1000 miles and garage kept so its in pretty good condition. Just some light swirls from the dealer when I got it. The udm/pc sounds good for what I need it for.



dublifecrisis - did you try out your pc7424 yet?
 
You can get the PC/UDM and be fine, but IMO it is outdated. Go with the Flex so that you can do better things faster. But this is just my opinion.
 
gkcomp22 said:
Hi i'm new to detailing and i can't decide whether to get a flex or a Udm. The car I have is a 2008 Ford Explorer and its in pretty good condition. It has some minor swirls left from the dealers and I would like to fix them.



Both machines have their pros and cons. I like the udm because its easier to learn for a beginner, can get into tight spaces, price. The flex can correct more and faster then the udm. Since i'm a beginner do you think the flex is easy enough to learn and not damage paint? Price really doesn't matter, I just don't want to damage my paint if I get a flex. I don't want to get the udm and wish I got the flex later down the road.



Also I read that the flex isn't as good in tight spaces as the udm. Here is a pic of a car that is similar to mine, do you think the flex will work well on it? Or do you think there are to many tight spaces for the flex? Would a udm or flex be better for my car?



If money doesn't really matter you can get both :p

now seriously i didn't tried flex but i find UDM a perfect tool especially for a new user.The problem is that all DA polishers have limited abilities comparing with rotary polishers.just check in that link http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/104667-honda-inspire-judge-my-work-29-pics.html

just to see what UDM can do and maybe will help you to decide

6460180799.240715609.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jpg


6460180800.240715609.IM1.02.565x421_A.562x421.jpg




Thanks for you time



George
Click to expand...



if money doesn't really matter you can buy both :p

Seriously now i never tried flex before but i can say that UDM is the perfect tool for a beginner.UDM has limited abilities comparing with rotary polishers but check here what UDM can do http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/104667-honda-inspire-judge-my-work-29-pics.html

hope that helps
 
A PC/UDM is a good tool to start with as a detailer. If you ever encounter some pretty tough swirls, you can get a good idea of what the capabilities are of the PC/UDM. Eventually down the road, you can upgrade to the Flex or in my case, a Metabo.



Oh by the way, the jump from PC to rotary really wasn't a big deal to me. I made a pretty smooth transition with minimal error (yet) due to heavy researching and watching videos.
 
I think the udm/pc might be the right choice for me. Which do you think is better the pc or the udm? The udm is more powerful but I read posts where people have reliability issues. I want something reliable and does what I need it to do.



thanks
 
Personally I wanted the UDM over the PC, but went with the proven history of the PC. If you chose the UDM, IMO your chance of having a problem is very slim. IF there is an issue, I know the Customer Service here is top notch and wouldn't be much trouble to replace it for you.
 
Denzil said:
A PC/UDM is a good tool to start with as a detailer. If you ever encounter some pretty tough swirls, you can get a good idea of what the capabilities are of the PC/UDM. Eventually down the road, you can upgrade to the Flex or in my case, a Metabo.



Oh by the way, the jump from PC to rotary really wasn't a big deal to me. I made a pretty smooth transition with minimal error (yet) due to heavy researching and watching videos.
Click to expand...





My experience was similar to Denzil's (PC 7336 to Flex 3403) and I still use my PC for light-duty correction work and polish/LSP application.
 
It seems that a a lot more people have the pc then the udm. So maybe thats the way to go.



How come some people choose the pc over the udm? It seems the udm if more powerful then the pc. How much better is the udm over the pc?
 
Funny how people forget the Cyclo. More powerful than the PC/UDM, ergonomic, and superb build quality. It is still made in the USA if that matters to you. People sometimes think the two heads prevent you from buffing small areas, but you learn to maneuver it to polish almost any area.
 
gkcomp22 said:
You're right, you don't hear much about the Cyclo. How small of an area can you get into with the Cyclo?
Click to expand...



Each head is only four inches I believe. That allows you to use just one head to polish a small area. As long as there is not too much polish on the pads, it will not fling polish everywhere. Like I stated before, you can maneuver it in all types of ways. Even if it can not get into as small an area as a PC/UDM, its other qualities more than balance out the this issue.
 
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