M205 VS D151 Comparison

[Andy M.]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

Hey Alan,

Nice review!

Thanks for taking the time to show your results and document them in pictures and words. We really enjoy when members do this.

As far as the samples......Don't worry about it I'm glad I helped you make a decision in which direction you want to go. Plus, it was nice to meet a fellow MOL'er!

Andy

[Lasthope05]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

Would d151 be more aggresive than swirlX for removal of swirls/scratches

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28407

That part is not really clear. Since both swirlx and d151 are above M83 in terms of abrasiveness. Someone with experience on both will need to chime in on this. I dont really find cut to be the main factor in removing defect as pad selection and working pressure also attribute to the level of defect removal.

[SpinsB]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

Would d151 be more aggresive than swirlX for removal of swirls/scratches

[BarryK]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

nice write up.
I have M105/M205 and I also have D151.

I only use the M105/M205 combo if a customer wants a full paint correction. On my normal everyday details I use the D151 since it does have the polishing ability to take out minor paint issues (minor swirls, scratches, etc) and it's very convenient as a one-step product so it's also my LSP. saves me a lot of time and effort when I only have to do one step and i can achieve excellent results.
Time is money and when i can use D151, save a lot of time AND not give up quality to me it's a no brainer.
I've learned to depend on D151 as my day to day standard product - unless I'm doing a full paint correction job in which case as mentioned i'l pul the m105/m205 off the shelf

[Zuke]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

Thanks for the great write up! I've been hearing more and more good things about the D151.

[AeroCleanse]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely try it out. How does it finish out with just wool? I know I'll need to follow up but Im just curious.

It finished out well for me with W4000 wool pads.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

Great write up - thanks for taking the time to document your process in both words and images. And thanks to Andy for putting the product in your hands.

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely try it out. How does it finish out with just wool? I know I'll need to follow up but Im just curious.

That will depend, obviously, on which wool pad you're using and what your skill level is with wool. But you've just proven that you can follow up the D151/wool with D151/foam polishing and get stellar results, which has to have you pretty excited.

Both products certainly have their place and were designed for different markets and for different purposes. M205 is fantastic as a finishing polish, especially when you really finesse it (no 3M pun intended), which you can do for a good, long time as the buffing cycle is quite long. Even on a D/A it can present a brilliantly clear finish, especially when taking advantage of that buffing cycle. Without having tested D151 in this way the same can't definitively be said about it, but then again it wasn't developed with the thought of achieving a show car shine, but rather to aid large volume reconditioners achieve a high standard in a single step.

Nonetheless, SMAT can do some crazy wonderful things no matter how aggressive the formulation. We've all been a bit shocked at how nicely M105 can finish out, and it's the strongest cutting compound Meguiar's makes!

Good stuff, Lasthope05, and thanks again!

[Caress Detailing]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

D151 is some good stuff indeed

But I still prefer M205 because of the oils.

However, cost wise D151 vs M205 is a no brainer. D151 is much cheaper as far as bulk is concerned. M205 at $85 a gallon is pricey.

[Lasthope05]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

Try D151 with a wool pad, you'll be amazed at how well it does.

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely try it out. How does it finish out with just wool? I know I'll need to follow up but Im just curious.

[AeroCleanse]

Re: M205 VS D151 Comparison

Try D151 with a wool pad, you'll be amazed at how well it does.

[Lasthope05]

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.