M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

[Justin Murphy]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Wow Joe.......again.

And that was finished out with 205 and the DA?
What pad?

[ShinyChevy]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Very nice work Joe! Could you elaborate on the steps - machine, pad, product, results?

[mb911]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

If you're just a home user, not using M105, beforehand, is M205 still good?

What would a home user ,use before M205? Nothing if the paint isn't too bad?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

M205 is a must=-have product because it just finishes out so nice and it's so easy to work with and wipe off which when buffing out an entire car is a real plus...

Working on an answer for your other post... have to do some checking for accuracy...

[Detail Union]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

I placed my order last night with ADS for 205, 105, super degreaser and "other things" that my wife is not pleased about ! It looks like I'll be having Christmas after all because it's supposed to arrive on the 24th...YES! My question is this....Due to budget restraints(WIFE) I only have Lake Country CCS pads: Orange, White and Blue. Will I still be able to use these pads for the above products...I'll be using PC mainly??? I'll be ordering the 2.0 pads when I get congressional approval for the bailout(WIFE)!

Thanks,
JP

[Tom Weed]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Yes, you can use those pads with the above products. With the orange pad, it's pretty close to the marron cutting pad I think and meguiars doesn't recommend using the marron cutting pad with the PC, so my advice would be to do a small test area when using it and see how it turns out. For what it's worth, I used too have that constraint too...

[Detail Union]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

LOL! I will definitely try a test spot first! thanks for the the reply and advice!

JP

[Mike Phillips]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

I placed my order last night with ADS for 205, 105, super

I only have Lake Country CCS pads: Orange, White and Blue.

Please update us as to how M105 and M205 work with these types of pads.

There shouldn't be any issues with the recessed pockets as discussed in the below thread when using products that use diminishing abrasives. See my comments in this thread...

Which Lake County CCS pad should i use with Color-X?


So please do take note and share with us your experience...

Thanks!

[Justin Murphy]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

I use LC's Green (soft German foam) CCS 6.5 with #105 all the time. Finishes out real nice and doesn't seem to clog that bad. Orange was horrible.

I use this combo with the rotary and G110.

[Detail Union]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Mike,
I will let the forum know how the pads work. I'll do a little write up with pics more than likely after the holidays!

Thanks, all for your replies!

JP

[sneek]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

wow Joe! I had to double take that second set of photos! Looks like the lights are physically on the car!!

[Kickin Griffin]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

For what its worth, here's my thoughts (as written for another forum) on this product having received a sample of it here in the UK ... been tinkering with it in my spare detailing time on various paints, and chose my Toyota test car for this specific testing on the rotary and comparison to Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish...

"Meguiars has a long standing reputation for producing high quality detailing products that are also excellent value for money ... No silly priced waxes, just a pair (#16 and #26) of high performing and very durable products that are amongst the best value of the market. Much the same can be said for the range of polishes they produce, two of the most popular being #80 Speed Glaze and #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish.

The #80-series of polishes have themselves been around for quite some time, and have gained a reputation for being high quality polishes that are reliable in use and capable of excellent correction and finishing abilities - certainly good enough to warrant their attention in the markets in which they compete! Times have been changing fast in the world of detailing however. German company Menzerna have in the past couple of years come to prominence in the world of detailing with a range of superb polishes including the mighty PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish and what is for me on of the best finishing polishes on the market - PO85RD Final Finish. These polishes have begun to overshadow Meguiars somewhat, certainly in forum air time. 3M have a recently revamped lineup including Fast Cut Plus and Ultrafina which have come very close to Menzerna in terms of performance (though in my opinion, ultimately they have not matched them).

With all of these recent product ranges, the air time received by Meguiars has diminished despite their #80-series being of superb quality and still able to hold their head high... However, Meguiars certainly aren't a company to sit back, and they too have now started in introduce a new range of exciting polishes to the market that are set to upset the apple carts of Menzerna, 3M and indeed any other company with a finger in the machine polishing pie! It started with the Ultra Cutting Compound, #105, which combined extreme cutting abilities with ease of use not normally known of heavy cutting compounds.

Now, Meguiars have introduced a new finishing and light cutting polish - squarely aimed at the likes of 3M Ultrafina SE, Menzerna Final Finish: #205. A light cutting and finishing polish, not yet available in the UK but it will be soon - for now, and thanks to pete001 for the sample, its time to put the product through its paces!

Starting with our favourite - a nicely swirled test panel, in this case a metallic silver grey bonnet of a Toyota Carina II:



Previous testing has revealed this paint to be fairly soft so one would expect easy correction from a light to medium polish, though the bigger challenge with the soft paint will be achieving a high quality finish - just the paint to put a finishing polish through its paces!

Given the recent market for machine polishing, I would venture to say that one of the best finishing polishes, and certainly one of the main competitors for #205 is Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish... so this test will compare both of these products and look to see just how close to the mark Meguiars has come with this new product.


Correction

While finishing polishes are not really aimed at correction, those with a light cut can be used for this purpose, especially on lightly marred or softer paint types, for example the Toyota in this test. So it was certainly interesting to see what #205 and 85RD would be able to do with the same heavily swirled bonnet, full of swirls and general RDS as shown:










First up - Meguiars #205. Previous testing has revealed that with this product, the super long working times of the #80-series polishes may be becoming a thing of the past as the #205 cuts faster (abrasive cut quicker and break down faster), and finishes down in less passes than either #80 or #83.

For correction purposes here, the polish was tested using a Meguiars W8006 yellow polishing pad, and applied using a Zenith point technique as follows:

• Spread at 600rpm
• Couple of passes at 900rpm to begin working
• Up to 1200rpm for a couple of passes
• Then work on speeds 1500 - 1800rpm until residue goes clear (two mins tops)
• Refine at 1200rpm for a couple of passes
• Burnish at 900rpm to a finish

The polish responded smoothly, spreading easily and working without pulling or dragging on the pad. As mentioned above, the correction you could see occur more quickly than with #80, and in this test, also more quickly than 85RD. The overall working time was shorter than both also ... indeed on soft paints, #80 would have left light hologramming with a short work time, while #205 left a hologram free and crystal sharp finish as shown below:











The correction level from the polish is also very good here with all of the light to medium swirls corrected, leaving only the deeper RDS as one would expect from a light cutting polish. This deeper scratch served as a good marker to show what was remaining:



A high standard for sure set by #205 ... It also has shown to be a little more user friendly this far than #80, as shorter working times deliver better cut and better finishing, while the #80 requires a little more practice to ensure it is fully worked. Not that #80 is a difficult to use polish, but Meguiars have made #205 just a little more easy to use.


So over to Menzerna 85RD, an established finishing polish reknowned for its simply superb finishing abilities, but not known for its specific correction abilities... The other version of Final Finish, 106FA, is the better option for correction and is the more flexible of the two polishes, however for the purposes of this test I wanted to compare them products as finishing polishes.

85RD was worked with a W8006 Meguiars finishing pad, as follows:

• Spread at 600rpm
• Couple of passes at 900rpm
• Couple of passes at 1200rpm
• Worked at 1500rpm until the residue went clear
• Refined at 1200rpm for a couple of passes
• Burnished at 900rpm for a couple of passes

The polish spread easily and worked smoothly on this paint... much is said of problems with Menzerna in cold temperatures, but in <10degC the polish worked easily here and there was no evidence of the sticky paint. Correction was slower than #205, but in the same set it achieved equivalent correction on the swirls and nearly as much correction on the more moderate marks. The finish, as you would expect from 85RD, was crystal sharp and hologram free:







Looking at the deeper mark used as a guide, we see an improvement to the mark but not quite to the level delivered by #205 in the flesh...



Certainly not a lot in the correction levels however, as this close up shows:

Meguiars:


Menzerna:



Overall both products here offer notable correction on the soft paint, even for finishing polishes and both also offer ease of use and a lovely crystal sharp finish. Meguiars #205 worked a little faster than 85RD, but both polishes worked smoothly from start to end of the set with no machine chatter or squeal and no dragging of the pads.

Very little if anything to tell them apart in this part of the test, the edge maybe slightly with #205 for the slightly better correction of the deeper marks.



Finishing

The bigger challenge, and that is of the finishing abilities of both of these finishing polishes... The polishing pad was swapped for a Meguiars W9006 tan finishing pad in both cases, and the same regions of the bonnet were machine polished again to look for improvements to the finish from the best working technique.

First up was #205, and again the first thing that became apparent was the shorter working time of this product, especially compared to #80 but also comapred to 85RD ... Indeed, if worked for too long this product would dry causing the pad to drag and squeal, contrary to 85RD that could be worked on and on and on. On the one hand, #205 is easy to use with a nice short working time and no tendancy to leave light holograms if only worked for a short period of time. On the other hand, it looses out a little of its userfriendly nature as when taken too far in working time (and many detailers like a long working finishing polish, myself included) it becomes draggy and the pad will squeal.

To get the best from this product for finishing, I worked it as follows:

• Spread at 600rpm
• Begin working at 1200rpm
• Work at 1500rpm for a couple of minutes until the film looks clear on the paint
• Couple of passes at 1200rpm to refine
• One pass at 900rpm to burnish a little further

Much more than a couple of minutes at 1500rpm would result in pad squeal on this paint. However, despite this short working time, the finish was highly impressive with a crystal clarity and sharpness and the metallic flake proudly pinging through:







No hologramming, and a beautiful finish certainly setting the bar high again for Menzerna.


85RD felt perfectly at home with a finishing pad and worked with a traditional Zenith point technique to get the best from it, you could be flexible with hte working time and the polish would just keep working... here, to get the best results on this paint, I went for the following method:

• Spread at 600rpm
• Begin working at 1200rpm
• Work at 1500rpm until the residue goes clear (three to five minutes)
• Refine at 1200rpm
• Burnish at 900rpm

The results were the typical crystal sharp finish we've all come to expect from 85RD, the finish that sees it rated as one of the best finishing polishes on the market today...








In terms of finishing ability, there is again very little to choose between these two polishes - they are both excellent, and IMHO they are both at the top of the market in terms of finishing ability and good though 3M Ultrafina is, both of these polishes show it a clean pair of heels on very soft paints in terms of ultimate sharpness and clarity...

But to choose between the two on test was very difficult indeed! Under the direct light of the Sun Gun, with #205 you could make out just a little mote of the detail of the light in the reflection but this was very slight, and may just be a figment of my imagination, so close are these two products... In ultimate finish I would say that there really is nothing in it between these two, however 85RD has the edge on ease of use here as it is more forgiving of long working times... By contrast, #205 has the advantage of being the faster working polish and where time is a little more important, it holds an advantage over 85RD here...


But ultimately there is little to nothing to choose between these two products, as these final pictures show: Meguiars on the passenger side, Menzerna on the driver side and the difference in gloss and clarity under the garage lighting is impossible to see:
















So how does #205 stand up?

It has shown itself in this test to be at least a match in performance for one of the best finishing polishes on the market: 85RD. In terms of correction it offers a little more yet retains an ability to finish down with equal clarity and sharpness, and perhaps arguably just a little extra in terms of finish. It looses out slightly in terms of ease of use to 85RD by being a little more finnicky when overworked, and has a restricted working time... However, it does work and cut faster, which in itself is an advantage depending on your polishing style.

There is little or nothing to choose between #205 and the best finishing polish on the market - Meguiars is here with a product to rival the best, and knowing Meguiars it will be well priced!

I for one am looking forward to seeing this product arriving on our shores in the UK :thumb:"

Thats my thoughts at least, impressive product and I very much look forward to it being readily available for purchase in the UK.

[Justin Murphy]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Again Dave, awesome review! Mine is own the way.

Have you used it outdoors? I'm curious to see how it acts in mobile detailer territory.

[Kickin Griffin]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Again Dave, awesome review! Mine is own the way.

Have you used it outdoors? I'm curious to see how it acts in mobile detailer territory.

Hard to get much opportunity outside at the moment, as its pretty damp and wet over here in Scotland ... I tend to hide indoors these days! But if I try it outside I'll let you know

[akimel]

Re: M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Haha! I have been wondering what the "KG" stood for in your online alias "Dave KG." Now I know--"Kicking Griffin"!

Great review, as always Dave. Thanks!

Al