Review: HD Speed (Holiday Giveaway)

[Audios S6]

First off I`ll get the housekeeping items out of the way. Thank you to David and HD/3D for putting together this giveaway. I can`t think of another company that is so generous with their product trials. To be clear, this product was provided to me at no cost, and in return, I agreed to provide a review of the product on autopia. I will do my best to keep my review as objective as I can.

Product description from 3D/HD`s website:
All-In-One Polish.
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.
Its exceptional open time allows longer polishing and waxing period, and less product use.
Product works best when applied in a shaded area but is sun friendly when used correctly.
Great for those who want quick, minor paint correction with protection.

Directions from 3D/HD`s website:
Shake well.
Best applied using a DA Random Orbital Polisher, may be applied by hand.
Set the DA Random Orbital Polisher on medium to high speed with a polishing foam pad apply a thin layer of product over the entire painted surface.
For those using a rotary buffer, reduce speed to 800-1000 RPM.
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 for a deep, high gloss finish.

For anyone familiar with HD products, it`s common knowledge that far less product should be used to achieve optimal results. I would like to note that this is not spelled out in the directions and for some it may be very helpful to know this when first trying their products.

I recieved a 16oz bottle of HD speed with a dispenser top. The top is slightly different than the one on my bottle of adapt and I have to say that it does not perform very well. When closing the top, product may squirt several feet [insert high school male joke here], I had it land on top of the car while I was sitting down ready to polish the rear quarter panel. This is my biggest gripe about the product and I would love to see the dispenser top changed. This particular one is very narrow at the top, while my adapt bottle top has much more flare and performs perfectly.

The product arrive at my house when temps were well below 0F. It was partially frozen, but I did not encounter any separation or issues while using it, which I can appreciate in my climate.

The test vehicle for this was a 2012 Hyundai sonata in metallic black. Note that I am writing this just after completing the top and passenger side so if anyone would like me to do a little experimenting tomorrow on the drivers side, please say so and I will try to accommodate the requests.

I used a rupes 21 with rupes UHS pads and HD speed. The pad was not primed in the traditional sense. The first section was done with 7 small drops of product and subsequent sections were done with 4-5 depending on size. Each section consisted of 5 slow passes at speed 4-5 with pressure and 2 quick passes at speed 2-3 with no pressure. One thing to note is that the UHS pads are extremely stiff and probably weren`t the best choice for all the concave panels on this car, but I couldn`t resist trying them out and they are already known to cut and finish well and seem like they will be a great compliment to AIO products. The paint on this car was beat, badly beat, and I feel this was a perfect opportunity to see the limits of HD speed. Speed has a mild grape fragrance from the bottle and changes a bit during use and I can`t really pin-point what it is, it is still a familiar scent and very pleasant, but I just can`t place it.

Before


50/50


As you can see from the 50/50, speed performed admirably. I was able to remove all of the shallow defect, minimize the moderate ones and greatly improve the RIDs. Wipe off is a breeze. Dusting in minimal and in my case was a function of using to much product and not cleaning the pad as often as necessary. This is a nice segue into my thoughts on the learning curve: one does exist, but it`s pretty minimal. You really need to use much less product that you may be accustomed to with meguiars or menzerna products. I use adapt a lot and I thought I had a good handle on HD products; but with speed, you need to be even more frugal with the product. You may think you are dry buffing at first, but I`m sure you`ll find that the finish is coming out perfect and you are getting no dusting. Also, over-using the product will clog up a pad REALLY fast. I don`t think that nature of HD product use is a bad thing, but perhaps HD should provide some indication in their directions, I know some of the videos cover this, but think the more it can be reinforced, the better.

Pros
Well priced
smells very nice
wipes off very easy
good correction
very light/no dusting when used correctly
minimal learning curve

Cons
fine line between too much and not enough
dispenser cap is terrible


Final thoughts: I would completely recommend this product for AIO work. I would also recommend that you put it in a different container until a better dispenser is provided with the product. If you`re not familiar with the use of HD compounds and polishes, spend 10 minutes reading up on how to use them before jumping in, they are great, but you need to know how to leverage them.

Thanks for reading. As I mentioned above, I still have to finish the drive side and bumpers tomorrow so if someone wants me to experiment with something or compare 50/50 to something, speak up.

[Dellinger]

Nice review. Speed would be my choice of AIOs if I could only have one choice. It cuts surprisingly well and finishes excellent. Like all AIOs, the faster you work it, the more it fills. When worked slow, minimal filling. Durability is terrible [3- 4 weeks tops... cover with HD Express for better durability, 6- 7 weeks, if time allows.]

Agreed on the `new` tops and less product on pad.

[David Fermani]

Thanks for doing this review! HD Adapt is our go-to product for quick dealer details. It supplies a nice amount of cut with leaving behind a nice amount of protection.

[ZL1Mark]

Nice review, OP.

You feel you can use more Adapt than Speed? I use use the same or less amount of Adapt compared to Speed.

[Angus]

Great tips! I also received a sample bottle of HD Speed from David and am looking forward to trying it out/ posting my experience. Your advice has already helped my new product learning curve.

[Pats300zx]

Great review !!! Wish it would warm up above freezing so that I could review mine lol...

[Audios S6]

Nice review, OP.

You feel you can use more Adapt than Speed? I use use the same or less amount of Adapt compared to Speed.

At the time of the original post, I hadn`t used them with the same pad yet to remove any variables (they were brand new rupes UHS pads for this trial). And that`s not to say that I couldn`t use less adapt and still get a good correction, but I don`t get any appreciable dusting with the amount of adapt I use.

Since the original post, I did use HD speed again on a recently repainted hood after wetsanding the Orange peel and compounding. This time with a LC tangerine pad with about the same amount of product as before and got no dusting, even at the end of the work when the pad was getting saturated.

So to answer your question: On the same pad with the same machine, but different paint, I was able to use about the same amount of speed as I would adapt with no dusting.