Initial Impressions: HD Polish & HD Speed

[TroyScherer]

Initial Impressions: HD Polish & HD Speed


Introduction:

This is really only a quick intro for me into the HD line-up and my initial impression on Polish & Speed. My time was limited so I did my best to get some basic video and pictures to document what I saw and my very first impressions of these products.

Product Description / Claims:

HD Speed
HD® Speed™ polishes and protects the painted surface in one easy and simple step. Removes light to moderate surface scratches and swirl marks. This remarkable product restores color, depth, and gloss while adding a long lasting wax to the surface. Great for those who want quick paint correction with amazing paint protection


HD Advanced Polish
HD® Advanced Polish™ has been scientifically designed to produce a dust free, swirl free, deep, high gloss paint finish. Using NANO Technology and super micro abrasives HD® Advanced Polish; is the most effective way to remove light to moderate paint defects for the highest shine possible. Product works best when applied in a shaded area but is sun friendly when used correctly. This product is Body Shop Safe, containing no silicone or fillers. Safe for use on fresh paint and soft clears. Amazing hologram and marring free results on all paint colors including jet-black/dark colored paints. Easy on and easy off.

Product Details:

Packaging: Black bottle with glossy high impact graphics
Directions: Clear and concise
Color: Polish - Light Gray
Speed - Light Purple
Scent: Polish - ??? Not really sure.
Speed - Grape Soda
Pricing: Polish - $24.99 - 16oz. / 36.99 - 32oz. / 119.99 - 1 Gallon
Speed - $19.99 - 16oz. / 29.99 - 32oz. / 89.99 - 1 Gallon

HD Polish:



HD Speed:



Directions:

HD Speed
1. Shake well. Best applied using a DA Radom Orbital Polisher, may be applied by hand. Set the DA Radom Orbital Polisher on medium to high speed with a polishing foam pad apply a thin layer of product over the entire painted surface. Apply in a cool dry place. Easy on and easy off removal. Just use a clean dry micro fiber towel and buff product off by hand to a deep, high gloss finish.

HD Advanced Polish
1. Shake Well Before Use. Use a foam polishing or finishing pad of your choice. For best results use HD® Pads.
2. Prior to use, condition foam pad by misting it with HD® Touch™. Apply 6-8 pea sized drops on to the pad and work on a 2` by 2` area.
3. Best applied using a DA Radom Orbital Polisher (speed: 5000-6000 OPM). Using moderate pressure let the machine glide over the surface, making several passes until desired shine and gloss has been obtained. For ultimate look add a small amount of additional product and repeat.
4. Just use a clean dry micro fiber towel and buff in a circular motion to remove the product.
5. For those using a rotary buffer, reduce speed to 800-1000 RPM.

Warnings or Precautions:

Health hazard rating: 1
Harmful if taken internally. Wash all contacted skin and eyes with plenty of water.

Testing:
Testing Conditions:

Truck Conditions:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kybw9faPYPU]HD Overview.wmv - YouTube[/ame]


Products Used:


Testing was conducted on rear passenger side corner panel on a black truck.

Pre-Polish Conditions:


To test the strength and finishing ability of HD Polish I started with a White LC CCS pas and then stepped up to an Orange LC CCS pad.
Post-Polish Conditions:


Here are some short video clips of HD Polish:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OXePMcNx3g]HD Polish 1.wmv - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hth4jXX1yBc]HD Polish 2.wmv - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK4vOQ_M9iE]HD Polish 3.wmv - YouTube[/ame]


Pre-Speed Conditions:


Post-Speed Conditions:


Under light:




Pros:

1. The grape scent of Speed is great!
2. Body shop safe.
3. The consistency of both products is just right. Not too thick and too runny.
4. Great looking packaging.
5. A small amount of product goes a long way.
6. Polish has good cut and finishes down very well. Even on black I think it may be good enough to not need Menz 85rd.

Cons:

1. I personally don`t care for the lid on the bottles. I would prefer a flip open nozzle or a self cleaning tip.
2. I felt like Speed didn`t have as much cut as I was hoping. I was only using a White LC pad, and I realize I could get more from a cutting pad but I don`t get the finish I am always going for. For me an AIO is just that a one step. So a polishing pad is what I use.
3. The durability of speed seems to be lacking. After a week it already seems to be losing it beading and water shedding properties.

Questions:

1. Will HD Polish replace M205 & Menz 85rd for me?
2. Once I spend more time with Speed, will I get more cut and better durability?
3. How much cut can I get from Polish? What is the greatest grit sanding scratches will it remove?
4. How does the cut and finish compare between DA and rotary as the bottles say best used with DA polisher.

Final Thought / Summary:

[INDENT]Unfortunately I didn’t spend a lot of time documenting and working with Speed. I personally have never really found an AIO that corrected and protected to the extent that I want. When I detail I offer a one step polish with a wax application. Speed will definitely give me another option when dealing with customers that only want and interior and wax job. It will give me some minor correction as well as protection for a few weeks hopefully. And the scent is a definite plus in my book.

Overall my initial impression of HD Polish is that it is a nice polish. It has good cut and finishes down very well. I think the cut is less than M205, but it finishes down slightly better from my first testing. The work time is on par for other DAT products for me. I can see using this in place of certain Menzerna products to simply my product selection.
In looking over the pricing and I did notice that the HD product around $2+ dollars more than their comparable counterparts. For me as a weekend warrior it may not be as big of a deal as I don’t go though as much product as others. But for professionals I can see this being one thing that might hold them back especially if they already have products and combos they always reach for.

I plan to do quite a bit more testing on both HD Speed & Polish. I am currently compounding and wet sanding the black test truck and will be using Polish as well as M205 to compare. Any and all comments are welcome.

[mjlinane]

Great write-up! Have too much polish to even consider getting more. Or do I?

[Pats300zx]

Fantastic review Troy. Love the videos as well.

[classofshine]

Thanks for the review, I was wondering about these products the other day.

[Todd@RUPES]

Very nice review!

[rwright]

Nice review Troy! I`m curious if you`ve tried Optimum Hyper Spray Polish? I personally would love to see a side by side by side of Opt vs M205 vs HD Polish. Did you wipe down the panel with IPA or anything to check for filling?

[TroyScherer]

Great write-up! Have too much polish to even consider getting more. Or do I?

Thanks. Can you ever have to much polish or to many options?

Fantastic review Troy. Love the videos as well.

Thanks Pat

Thanks for the review, I was wondering about these products the other day.

Your welcome. So far; so good.

Very nice review!

Thank you Todd

Nice review Troy! I`m curious if you`ve tried Optimum Hyper Spray Polish? I personally would love to see a side by side by side of Opt vs M205 vs HD Polish. Did you wipe down the panel with IPA or anything to check for filling?

Thanks Richard.

I have not used Optimum Hyper Spray Polish. I would like to especially if I start applying OC/OG more often.

I actually just spent all week after work compounding and polishing out the truck for an application of OG. I used a combo of M205 & HD Polish just to get a better feel for HD Polish. I did do Eraser wipe downs to check for filling. There was non. The one really nice thing about HD Polish is that is doesn`t have the "special" oils that M205 has. So when you wipe off a panel what you see is what you get. I think M205 has a little more cut initially but HD Polish finishes down great. I had compunded with Megs D300 / M105 depending on how bad it was using my Flex 3401 & PFW / Flex PE14 & Cyan Pad. HD Polish had no problems cleaning up for these combos.

[daveinsweethome]

thanks for the excellent review and the time spent. i have been using hd uno polish and like it. how does it or would it compare with the new polish? it was also nice to put a face with your name after all the posts i have read do you recommend a jeweling type finish polish i could try? thanks dave

[TroyScherer]

thanks for the excellent review and the time spent. i have been using hd uno polish and like it. how does it or would it compare with the new polish? it was also nice to put a face with your name after all the posts i have read do you recommend a jeweling type finish polish i could try? thanks dave

Dave,

I have not used HD UNO, so I can`t compare the two.

For a jeweling polish I would suggest Menz 85rd.

[Addicted2Bling]

Excellent review, how would you compare speed to any other AIO durability wise? I noticed the durability is lacking here...

[BobbyG]

Hey Troy,

What a tremendous review, there`s nothing about this thread not to like. This is more like a tutorial complete with photos, documentation, and videos!!

I like the idea of using a tripod to capture everything clearly.....

Top Shelf all the way!!

[TroyScherer]

Excellent review, how would you compare speed to any other AIO durability wise? I noticed the durability is lacking here...

Thank you
The jury is still out on the durability. It was suggested to me by HD product support that to try an LC orange pad to get more correction and also to "work in" the sealant. I will need to conduct more testing to get a true sense of the durability. So far initial reports are not all that great.

Hey Troy,

What a tremendous review, there`s nothing about this thread not to like. This is more like a tutorial complete with photos, documentation, and videos!!

I like the idea of using a tripod to capture everything clearly.....

Top Shelf all the way!!

Thank you Bobby!!!

[pwaug]

[QUOTE=TroyScherer;437166] It was suggested to me by HD product support that to try an LC orange pad to get more correction and also to "work in" the sealant. QUOTE]

Can`t speak to the the durability as I topped with POXY after using Speed, but I used a 5.5" B&S Orange pad on my VW Passat (GG RO on Speed 6) and removed 95% or more of the minor wash marring. Car was well cared for with proper washing technique, never been through a commercial car wash, but had not been polished for 6 years. Didn`t remove the 3 or 4 deeper scratches (which I didn`t expect it to)

This was my first attempt at Machine Polishing and I found the Speed to be very easy to use--very long working time, no dust and it buffed off as easily as any sealant.