Tweet
First I want to start of by thanking our MOL Moderator Andy M. for giving me a sample of M205, D151 and M105 and allowing me to test and compare the finishing capabilities of the two polishes. 
Now with the addition of the new SMAT particles in the Meguiars line and all the rave about how they finish down extremely well with high optic clarity I was stuck between buying one of the two products. I didnt want to buy a 32oz of M205 only to find out that D151 finishes out exactly the same and at the same price M205 could of gotten a gallon of D151. Price is not really a big factor here for me as long as the difference between the two is immense. Since I have not seen a direct side by side review of the two together I though I should provide the MOL community with this information.
Ok to start of here is the surface that we'll be working with. As you can see the paint is dull, surface is extremely swirled and there are stains/runs. Its a pretty good base to see what these two products can do in terms of cut as well is finishing capabilities.
Lets have a look at it under halogens.
This thing is hammered!! When I saw this I immediately thought, darn I might have to wetsand and compound this out first. 
...... Psh! I said the heck with it and just went ahead with my original objective now thinking it might not help or do much to this "horror from heck."
I started off with D151 first since it has a cut rating between Solo(M86) and DACP(M83.) My inital response with this product is its really thick and smells like the toasted almond ice cream.
Well I primed the pad via KBM and applied two small dots and began working in the polish. Im using a dewalt with 3m black foam polishing pad. Spread at 1000rpm, worked it in at 1700rpm with moderate pressure and back down to 1000rpm to jewel with only the weight of the machine. I have to say, wiping off the residue was like butter, extremely smooth and easy. I didnt let it haze. I checked under halogens again and this is what I saw. The majority of the swirls are gone!!! I did and IPA wipe down afterwards to remove anything that might interfere with the finish and it was the same. Only thing left was the deeper swirls, rids and scratches. One pass did this. I was actually suprised at how much was removed.
Next up M205. Nothing really stood out when I first felt the polish and smelled it. I has a really smooth and thin consistency. Scent was of a usual chemical smell of a polish. Same procedure as D151, I took out another 3m black foam polishing pad. Primed the pad, 2 dots and spread at 1000rpm, work at 1700rpm and finished at 1000rpm. Ok I did have one slight problem with this polish at first. It dusted slightly for me as you can see in the picture. It was strange because I dont hear of M205 dusting. I figured that it was just user error. This was actually a huge surprise to me on how much one pass did since M205 is rated with a cut of 4. Again only the deeper swirls, rids and scratches remain.
Here is the direct side by side under halogen. Both removed a large amount of defects only leaving behind the deeper ones where a wetsand or compound is needed.
In the natural daylight both looked good. Reflections on both side were crisp besides the factory peel. It is really hard to capture gloss, depth and reflection in a camera(especially so with a point and shoot) so its hard to judge from the pictures. If take a look at the sun spot in the corner you'll see deeper swirls that weren't removed. It might look like holograms but they are not. (NOTE: the speckles is not metallic. They are pits from rocks and sand known as "Peppering." This was evident over most of the hood.)
My conclusion between the two is both have a high amount of cut and can clearly remove some good sized defects. Both have a above average work time. Previous I said that I had a problem with M205 dusting slightly. Well I tried it again and had no problems this time. I believe my problem was I didnt use enough product to prime the pad. I know its hard to see in the pictures but there is a difference in look between the two. It was only a very slight difference. M205 has a slight upper hand in clarity with the reflections looking just a tad bit crisper. If you were looking side by side it would be extremely hard to see the difference unless you thoroughlyexamine it.
From my experience with the two Im going with a D151. My main points for choosing D151 is because of the pleasant scent to work with. It contains a wax for a nice one step(thought I always follow up with an LSP.) It has a bit more cut than M205 to remove more defects with less passes with extremely easy to remove residue(M205 residue is similar but not as smooth/buttery.) Plus I get 4x more product. I can live with the slight difference in clarity that is hard to notice unless your thoroughly examining the two side by side.
I know that maximum optical clarity can only be achieved with a perfect finish and I understand that. This is a quick review tested on severely damaged hood. I will add an addition once I have the time to do a full defect free correction to maximize the capabilities of both products.
Now with the addition of the new SMAT particles in the Meguiars line and all the rave about how they finish down extremely well with high optic clarity I was stuck between buying one of the two products. I didnt want to buy a 32oz of M205 only to find out that D151 finishes out exactly the same and at the same price M205 could of gotten a gallon of D151. Price is not really a big factor here for me as long as the difference between the two is immense. Since I have not seen a direct side by side review of the two together I though I should provide the MOL community with this information.
Ok to start of here is the surface that we'll be working with. As you can see the paint is dull, surface is extremely swirled and there are stains/runs. Its a pretty good base to see what these two products can do in terms of cut as well is finishing capabilities.
Lets have a look at it under halogens.
This thing is hammered!! When I saw this I immediately thought, darn I might have to wetsand and compound this out first. ...... Psh! I said the heck with it and just went ahead with my original objective now thinking it might not help or do much to this "horror from heck."I started off with D151 first since it has a cut rating between Solo(M86) and DACP(M83.) My inital response with this product is its really thick and smells like the toasted almond ice cream.
Well I primed the pad via KBM and applied two small dots and began working in the polish. Im using a dewalt with 3m black foam polishing pad. Spread at 1000rpm, worked it in at 1700rpm with moderate pressure and back down to 1000rpm to jewel with only the weight of the machine. I have to say, wiping off the residue was like butter, extremely smooth and easy. I didnt let it haze. I checked under halogens again and this is what I saw. The majority of the swirls are gone!!! I did and IPA wipe down afterwards to remove anything that might interfere with the finish and it was the same. Only thing left was the deeper swirls, rids and scratches. One pass did this. I was actually suprised at how much was removed.Next up M205. Nothing really stood out when I first felt the polish and smelled it. I has a really smooth and thin consistency. Scent was of a usual chemical smell of a polish. Same procedure as D151, I took out another 3m black foam polishing pad. Primed the pad, 2 dots and spread at 1000rpm, work at 1700rpm and finished at 1000rpm. Ok I did have one slight problem with this polish at first. It dusted slightly for me as you can see in the picture. It was strange because I dont hear of M205 dusting. I figured that it was just user error. This was actually a huge surprise to me on how much one pass did since M205 is rated with a cut of 4. Again only the deeper swirls, rids and scratches remain.
Here is the direct side by side under halogen. Both removed a large amount of defects only leaving behind the deeper ones where a wetsand or compound is needed.
In the natural daylight both looked good. Reflections on both side were crisp besides the factory peel. It is really hard to capture gloss, depth and reflection in a camera(especially so with a point and shoot) so its hard to judge from the pictures. If take a look at the sun spot in the corner you'll see deeper swirls that weren't removed. It might look like holograms but they are not. (NOTE: the speckles is not metallic. They are pits from rocks and sand known as "Peppering." This was evident over most of the hood.)
My conclusion between the two is both have a high amount of cut and can clearly remove some good sized defects. Both have a above average work time. Previous I said that I had a problem with M205 dusting slightly. Well I tried it again and had no problems this time. I believe my problem was I didnt use enough product to prime the pad. I know its hard to see in the pictures but there is a difference in look between the two. It was only a very slight difference. M205 has a slight upper hand in clarity with the reflections looking just a tad bit crisper. If you were looking side by side it would be extremely hard to see the difference unless you thoroughlyexamine it.
From my experience with the two Im going with a D151. My main points for choosing D151 is because of the pleasant scent to work with. It contains a wax for a nice one step(thought I always follow up with an LSP.) It has a bit more cut than M205 to remove more defects with less passes with extremely easy to remove residue(M205 residue is similar but not as smooth/buttery.) Plus I get 4x more product. I can live with the slight difference in clarity that is hard to notice unless your thoroughly examining the two side by side.
I know that maximum optical clarity can only be achieved with a perfect finish and I understand that. This is a quick review tested on severely damaged hood. I will add an addition once I have the time to do a full defect free correction to maximize the capabilities of both products.
Comment