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:
HD Overview.wmv - YouTube


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:
HD Polish 1.wmv - YouTube
HD Polish 2.wmv - YouTube
HD Polish 3.wmv - YouTube


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:

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. Thanks to HD for the opportunity to test of these 2 new products.

[Dan]

Nice review!

[Thomas Dekany]

Very thorough review for a "short" review. Great documentation as well.

I know that white ccs pad very well.

I highly recommend that you try SPEED on an orange pad - it will cut better and WILL still finish fantastic. Better combo for a 1 step. In my opinion of course

Great stuff, thanks for posting.

[Thomas Dekany]

PS: Price difference - pocket change even for a pro, I mean both HD SPEED and HD POLISH are much more versatile products. Being sun friendly is one big advantage. Removal of product is another. No oily residue to chase after what so ever.

Will you do alcohol wipe downs when comparing 205/POLISH? Please? Thanks

PPS: what camera are you using? Great pictures.

[MCA]

Thanks Troy for the review! It was very well done - thorough, concise, and to the point

On a related note: I was not aware that HD Polish was a DAT product. For anyone out there, what abrasive-type is UNO AC?

[RZJZA80]

Excellent review and thoughts, I basically agree and have said everything you wrote here, my opinion is the same, and ironically, I ended up asking myself those same questions. What I didn't know is that Speed is body shop safe, that's very good to know!

[TroyScherer]

Nice review!

Thank you Dan.

Very thorough review for a "short" review. Great documentation as well.

I know that white ccs pad very well.

I highly recommend that you try SPEED on an orange pad - it will cut better and WILL still finish fantastic. Better combo for a 1 step. In my opinion of course

Great stuff, thanks for posting.

Thanks Thomas.
I will definitely try Speed with and orange pad.

Question to go along with that: By using an orange pad I will get more cut. In turn will I lose durability? I guess are cut and durability directly proportional?

PS: Price difference - pocket change even for a pro, I mean both HD SPEED and HD POLISH are much more versatile products. Being sun friendly is one big advantage. Removal of product is another. No oily residue to chase after what so ever.

Will you do alcohol wipe downs when comparing 205/POLISH? Please? Thanks

PPS: what camera are you using? Great pictures.

I can agree with the cost. I guess I was looking at it from a Pro POV that already has his "go to" products and may not want to spend the extra try them out or switch.

I did do an Eraser wipe down on the Polish test section and there was no change. I do like the fact that there are not the "extra" oils.

The camera is a Sony DSC-H20. It is a 10.1 Mega Pixel point and shoot I got my wife that works very well.

Thanks Troy for the review! It was very well done - thorough, concise, and to the point

On a related note: I was not aware that HD Polish was a DAT product. For anyone out there, what abrasive-type is UNO AC?

Thanks.

I am assuming that Polish is DAT based on how it breaks down. But I very well could be wrong. Can someone clarify this for us?

Excellent review and thoughts, I basically agree and have said everything you wrote here, my opinion is the same, and ironically, I ended up asking myself those same questions. What I didn't know is that Speed is body shop safe, that's very good to know!

Thanks. Thats good to here that we are on the same page.

I saw the body shop safe logon on the bottles.

[Thomas Dekany]

Troy - using an orange pad may even help durability - you are working the LSP into the paint.

A member here (Bence) years ago told me, he saw SCHOLL detailers applied wax at 3000rpm with an orange pad. ????

Don't hate me, I am just telling you what he told me.

UNO is also non diminishing

[reeeko99]

Very Nice Review.

Thx for taking the time.

[pwaug]

Very thorough review for a "short" review. Great documentation as well.

I know that white ccs pad very well.

I highly recommend that you try SPEED on an orange pad - it will cut better and WILL still finish fantastic. Better combo for a 1 step. In my opinion of course

Great stuff, thanks for posting.

Thomas--I seem to remember a number of posts indicating that 3D products perform better with a flat pad rather than CCS pads-- is this true??

[Thomas Dekany]

Thomas--I seem to remember a number of posts indicating that 3D products perform better with a flat pad rather than CCS pads-- is this true??

Never heard of that. I think flat pads are better design then ccs pads. It works with any pad I have ever used them with. Including ccs pads.

Hope this clears things up.

Thanks for the question.

[Ben@Autopia]

Excellent review and thoughts, I basically agree and have said everything you wrote here, my opinion is the same, and ironically, I ended up asking myself those same questions. What I didn't know is that Speed is body shop safe, that's very good to know!

There is some silicones in Speed (although a very small %) so it is technically not 100% Body Shop safe. You would have to practically polish 2 feet from a fresh paint to have issues though.

HD Polish is certified Body shop safe though.