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Hey everyone,
First of all, it is truly an honor to be one of the test candidates for the Meguiar's Microfiber DA System. This new line pushes the boundaries of what was previously possible with a DA polisher.
So, what do these pads look like?
The cutting pad vs finishing pad thickness:
Microfiber from afar:
Macro:
The first test vehicle was a '73 Dodge Charger in B5 Blue that I completed back in November. To say that the test conditions were not ideal was an understatement. The forecast called for 55 and sunny. In reality, it was 45 and cloudy with a bit of wind.
The owner recently purchased this vehicle and wished to bring it up to a higher standard. Overall, the paint was in good condition, albeit a little thick (15mils+). There were some minor swirls, but nothing terrible.
Because the paint was so thick, I decided to do a bit of sanding on the trunk to level it a bit better.
To push the boundaries of the pad, I sanded the area with 1500 Unigrit disks.
I primed a 5" MF cutting pad with the D300 DA Compound on my trusty 7336.
Not bad!
It was quickly apparent that these pads LOVE pressure. You can really bear down on the pads and it will remove 1500 grit sanding marks. Plus, there are no holograms or middle steps. For most vehicles, you can turn a two step polishing session into a single step. This is definitely a huge time saver.
After one more pass:
It looked like the body shop forgot to sand out a section of the front quarter. The texture was not even close to the other areas.
Using a Unigrit 1500 / 3000 process, I leveled the paint to match the texture.
Added three dots of polish to a pre-primed pad and set to work
Perfect!
Texture is gone and gloss was improved.
We also polished up the rest of the car to remove any remaining swirls.
This is how paint should look:
In early January, I drove up to Indy to meet up with a good friend of mine, Paul S (2old2change). He's the proud owner of a cherry '95 Firebird Convertible. The convertible top looks like it has never seen a drop of rain!
There were two areas of concern. The hood and trunk had more orange peel than normal. Because this car is not driven frequently, we decided to take off a little and match it to the other parts of the car.
Trunk:
After 1500 / 3000 and some polishing:
Primed and ready for polishing:
Everyone is a sucker for the 50/50 shots. Here's the hood after some 1500 grit sanding:
After some leveling and polishing:
The Firebird responded very well to the 5" MF cutting pads and D300 DA compound. There was a tiny bit of hazing after the initial cutting step (much less than a rotary compounding), but it was quickly removed with a MF finishing pad and M205.
Notes:
What can I say? I am a firm believer in the power of a DA polisher, but this new system takes it to eleven. It may take a bit longer to remove the deeper defects, but you end up eliminating the middle step (holograms and hazing). Comparing the MF cutting pads to the Surbuf system is a bit tricky. The Surbuf pads will level quicker, but the Meguiar's MF system will finish better and last longer (no shedding fingers). Also, you can use one pad to do an entire car.
This is what a pad looks like after polishing an entire car and then cleaned with a bit of compressed air:
Looks almost like new!
Of the two pad sizes, I found the 5" MF cutting pads to be far superior in the sever defect removal category. It takes less passes to remove the same amount of defects compared to the 6" MF cutting pads. However, If I were polishing out an entire car with mild defects, I would get the 6" MF cutting pads to save some time. For the finishing pads, I didn't notice much of a difference. The purpose is to get the finish to an absolutely perfect state. In theory, the 6" MF finishing pads would finish better because it will absorb more of the DA's energy. Both work great.
The 3" cutting pads are sweet! I really like them for edge work. It makes it much easier to polish in tight spots, too.
I have done a few comparisons between foam pads and the MF finishing pads. From my experience, the MF pads seem to produce a higher quality finish than any of my foam pads.
For those paranoid about any filling, I did a wipe down after each step using undiluted glass cleaner. No defects returned.
This system is really easy to use. Even for beginners, this is a safer option that can accomplish more. If there is a learning curve, it is a realization that the pads must be primed and pressure must be added. Not too hard.
In summary:
- Be sure to prime that pad!
- Don't be afraid to really add some extra pressure
- Clean the pad often with a spritz of water and compressed air
- MF finishing pads finish better than foam
I would once again like to thank Meguiar's and Jason Rose for giving me the opportunity to test such an outstanding product line. I also need to thank Mick and Paul for letting me test these products on their cars.
First of all, it is truly an honor to be one of the test candidates for the Meguiar's Microfiber DA System. This new line pushes the boundaries of what was previously possible with a DA polisher.
So, what do these pads look like?
The cutting pad vs finishing pad thickness:
Microfiber from afar:
Macro:
The first test vehicle was a '73 Dodge Charger in B5 Blue that I completed back in November. To say that the test conditions were not ideal was an understatement. The forecast called for 55 and sunny. In reality, it was 45 and cloudy with a bit of wind.
The owner recently purchased this vehicle and wished to bring it up to a higher standard. Overall, the paint was in good condition, albeit a little thick (15mils+). There were some minor swirls, but nothing terrible.
Because the paint was so thick, I decided to do a bit of sanding on the trunk to level it a bit better.
To push the boundaries of the pad, I sanded the area with 1500 Unigrit disks.
I primed a 5" MF cutting pad with the D300 DA Compound on my trusty 7336.
Not bad!
It was quickly apparent that these pads LOVE pressure. You can really bear down on the pads and it will remove 1500 grit sanding marks. Plus, there are no holograms or middle steps. For most vehicles, you can turn a two step polishing session into a single step. This is definitely a huge time saver.
After one more pass:
It looked like the body shop forgot to sand out a section of the front quarter. The texture was not even close to the other areas.
Using a Unigrit 1500 / 3000 process, I leveled the paint to match the texture.
Added three dots of polish to a pre-primed pad and set to work
Perfect!
Texture is gone and gloss was improved.
We also polished up the rest of the car to remove any remaining swirls.
This is how paint should look:
In early January, I drove up to Indy to meet up with a good friend of mine, Paul S (2old2change). He's the proud owner of a cherry '95 Firebird Convertible. The convertible top looks like it has never seen a drop of rain!
There were two areas of concern. The hood and trunk had more orange peel than normal. Because this car is not driven frequently, we decided to take off a little and match it to the other parts of the car.
Trunk:
After 1500 / 3000 and some polishing:
Primed and ready for polishing:
Everyone is a sucker for the 50/50 shots. Here's the hood after some 1500 grit sanding:
After some leveling and polishing:
The Firebird responded very well to the 5" MF cutting pads and D300 DA compound. There was a tiny bit of hazing after the initial cutting step (much less than a rotary compounding), but it was quickly removed with a MF finishing pad and M205.
Notes:
What can I say? I am a firm believer in the power of a DA polisher, but this new system takes it to eleven. It may take a bit longer to remove the deeper defects, but you end up eliminating the middle step (holograms and hazing). Comparing the MF cutting pads to the Surbuf system is a bit tricky. The Surbuf pads will level quicker, but the Meguiar's MF system will finish better and last longer (no shedding fingers). Also, you can use one pad to do an entire car.
This is what a pad looks like after polishing an entire car and then cleaned with a bit of compressed air:
Looks almost like new!
Of the two pad sizes, I found the 5" MF cutting pads to be far superior in the sever defect removal category. It takes less passes to remove the same amount of defects compared to the 6" MF cutting pads. However, If I were polishing out an entire car with mild defects, I would get the 6" MF cutting pads to save some time. For the finishing pads, I didn't notice much of a difference. The purpose is to get the finish to an absolutely perfect state. In theory, the 6" MF finishing pads would finish better because it will absorb more of the DA's energy. Both work great.
The 3" cutting pads are sweet! I really like them for edge work. It makes it much easier to polish in tight spots, too.
I have done a few comparisons between foam pads and the MF finishing pads. From my experience, the MF pads seem to produce a higher quality finish than any of my foam pads.
For those paranoid about any filling, I did a wipe down after each step using undiluted glass cleaner. No defects returned.
This system is really easy to use. Even for beginners, this is a safer option that can accomplish more. If there is a learning curve, it is a realization that the pads must be primed and pressure must be added. Not too hard.
In summary:
- Be sure to prime that pad!
- Don't be afraid to really add some extra pressure
- Clean the pad often with a spritz of water and compressed air
- MF finishing pads finish better than foam
I would once again like to thank Meguiar's and Jason Rose for giving me the opportunity to test such an outstanding product line. I also need to thank Mick and Paul for letting me test these products on their cars.
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