HD Polish Review and Polish Comparison.

Daniel Shook · Jul 31, 2013

So I took the time to do a 4 way polish comparison/review. Let's get to it.

Polishes:
HD Polish
Sonax Perfect Finish
CG v38
m205

Tests:
Most Cut
Best Finish
Easiest Use
Best Smell (Just for fun)

To even this out I wanted to be able to test all 4 on more than one paint. I have used all 4 of these polishes on vehicles and figured they were worth comparing.

What I'm going to be testing them on:

I have a single stage paint black trailer and a repainted black test hood from a junkyard (medium-soft paint). I also did a 2006 GT with HD Polish this past weekend.

Let's get to it. To make it fair each polish got it's own brand new green bns foam pad. That is my favorite foam pad at the moment. Great finishing ability with decent cut. Great for 1 stepping most colors/vehicles. That is the pad I'll be doing the testing with.

Also to make it all even, I wetsanded the test hood with 3k grit trizac in order to make sure the level of defects were even across the board. The trailer was already in bad shape everywhere.

Disclaimer: This is what I experienced with each polish on these specific paints. Different paints will show different results. Also none of these photo's have been edited in any way shape or form. I imported them to my computer and exported them with the watermark.

Process I followed:
Washed surface
Stripped Surface
Clayed Surface
Prep'd each pad with product (no QD/Water)
Polished each section with 4 passes (last pass w/ less pressure) at speed 4.5
Removed Polish Residue
Eraser Wipedown

Condition of trailer:

Products/Tools Used:

HD Polish Pad Prep:

m205 Pad Prep:

Sonax Perfect Finish:

v38 Pad Prep:
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2872/9404102079_d3c00dc6f7_b.jpg

Eraser Wipe Downs:

HD Polish Results:

m205 Results:

Sonax PF Results:

v38 Results:

Cut Test (in this scenario) It is hard to tell in the photo's:
1. m205
2. Sonax PF
3. HD Polish
4. v38

m205 CRUSHED this test. By far cut the most. Sonax PF and HD Polish were really close and nearly interchangeable. Here is a picture of how much paint was removed. From left to right Sonax PF, v38, m205, hd polish:

Knowing a polish wouldn't be removing all the defects from that paint I moved onto something more fit for a polish. The test hood. This test hood was bought out of a junkyard and has been repainted. I put a 3k grit sanding disc on the Rupes 21 and wet sanded it before hand to even out the defects:

First I wanted to test cut on another type of paint with the same polishes. I put the polishes to the test to see how much they would correct after wetsanding with 3k grit sandpaper. The m205 did come out on top again but this time The HD Polish and Sonax PF were about the exact same. v38 was not far behind at all.

After that I brought the HD Cut and MF cutting pad out to put some micro marring on this paint. I wanted to test how it would clean up micro marring/micro swirls from a cutting pad (which is generally what a polish would follow to clean up). I bumped the speeds up to 6 and with hd cut and the cutting pad and removed all the sanding marks and only left micro marring/micro swirls behind. This should be a true test of any polish in this comparison.

What was left for the polish to clean up. Same situations on each panel:

After 4 Passes at speed 4 with moderate pressure and 1 pass with light pressure at a very slow arm speed:

HD Polish:

m205:

Sonax PF:

v38:

Then I turned the flood lights off and looked for closer inspection. Clarity wise, from this hood I would say:
1. HD Polish
2. v38
3. Sonax PF
4. m205

There was VERY light marring on m205 where there was not with the rest of them.

Easiest Use:
1. HD Polish
2. Sonax PF (HD and Sonax were EXTREMELY close in this aspect, there was a tad bit more oil and filler in PF than I found with HD Polish)
3. v38
4. m205

Best Smell (Obviously personal preference):
1. HD Polish (Grapes)
2. v38 (no idea but it smells good)
3. Sonax PF/m205 (both have a chemical smell)

Most Dust Created:
1. Sonax PF
2. m205
3. HD Polish
4. v38

So back to the HD Polish review. This is a polish a lot of people speak very highly of, which created high hopes for me. I was not let down in this test nor have I been let down in the other cars I've used this product on. I will break down why this was actually my favorite product of the 4 and a product I would actually buy over the others:

1. The ease of use of this product is un-paralleled. When it comes to application/work time and removal there are none like it. It spreads easy, works quickly and removes as if it was sealant. Even on Subaru paint this is an easy off product, which is saying quite a bit. The product works quickly. There is no need for 5 passes to break down abrasives to get the finish you are looking for. I found that 99% of the time after 3 passes with a slow arm speed and speeds 3-4.5 on the Rupes 21 on a foam polishing pad I was getting the results I wanted. This product (when used correctly) does not clog up the pad, like what I would consider one of it's close competitors, Sonax Perfect Finish. I have experienced a slight amount of dust throughout this test and the 2 vehicles I have used it on but it is usually when the pad needs to be changed.

2. The Price. This polish costs less than half of Sonax PF, about the same as m205, and less than v38. For cost to results I would chose HD for every 2 step job I was doing.

3. No fillers what so ever. I did Eraser wipedown after wipedown and after every wipedown it looked the same.

4. Clarity. After using the 4 polishes the clarity and gloss on hd polish was awesome. There was a noticeable difference between

Where I think HD Polish could improve:

1. Cut. This would an amazing 1 step product if there was just a bit more cut. As a 2 step product that would follow HD Cut or FG400 or m101 this stuff is the way to go. As a 1 step I may reach for something with a bit more cut depending on how bad the car is and how hard the paint is. There is a small amount of cut to be desired as a 1 step product. On soft paint this would still be a great one step product but if the paint has heavier defects then this may not cut it.

All in All this will be my go to polish for 2+ step corrections or for really soft paint. Between the price, the ease of use and the finish I think it's one of the best if not the best I've used. I am very happy with the product and would have no problems recommending it to others. For 1 step corrections on medium/hard paint with moderate/heavier defects I may pick up m205 or something a bit more abrasive but I'd be willing to say when I use a polish, it will almost always be HD Polish.

A picture of the clarity after 3k wetsand, hd cut on an mf cutting pad, and hd polish on a green foam bns pad:

Thanks for reading.