Meguiars DA Microfiber System--2007 Honda Pilot

[Shawn T.]

I recieved several packages of stuff for this summer when I start my business. One of which was the DA Microfiber System.

I decided to give it a shot on my dad's Honda Pilot which is abused and neglected as a work vehicle. But, I do my part to try and keep it shining.

Well, I began the day fresh at 9 am with a nice ONR bath. For those of you not sure about the cleaning ability of ONR, I have something that may surprise you.

The dilution was 2 oz. ONR per 2 gallons of water. Usually I would use 1 oz./2 gallons but this truck was especially filthy.

BEFORES:










AFTER THE ONR BATH:










I cleaned the wheels tires, and wells with APC+, ONR at 1 oz./2 gallons and various brushes.

Now that the car is clean, let's get to the fun stuff. Give me a few minutes to get the pics and videos up. It may take a but but I promsie it will be up soon.

[Shawn T.]

Now, let's get to the DA Microfiber System........

After the ONR bath I lightly clayed some problem areas and the other areas were fine.

I began by priming the microfiber cutting pad.




I set the machine to speed 4 and proceeded to work a 2' X 2' area with moderate pressure. I experimented with pressure and realized that I could really push down and still have pad rotation.

The smell of the compound is a nice cinnamon which almost matches the Hot Rims Mag and Aluminum polish scent but not as strong IMHO. It was pleasant to work with.

Some before/afters:






There was a slight haze left on the finish from the compound. It was very slight though and the camera really couldn't pick it up. This haze is to be expected though since we are in the compounding phase. As you can see, the second picture has increased clarity and all of the swirls from the first picture are gone.


I then went over the area with the DA Microfiber Finishing Wax on speed 3. I did not take any pictures of this because I am posting a video that will show the correction ability of the Finishing Wax.

It is interesting to note though that the Finishing Wax/finishing pad combo did leave an extremely light haze on the surface. It was very light but I could see it. But, because this is a work truck, a little haze was fine. I was only trying to make the paint clean and shiny and this combo did exactly that.

I worked the Finishing Wax with light pressure and increased and decreased throughout the process. I found that this system really likes more pressure than less. Even with the Finishing Wax/finishing pad I applied moderate pressure because less pressure just didn't seem to play right.

The smell of the Finishing Wax is like blueberries and is really addicting!!! In fact, the smell alone may push me to use this as my primary AIO in the summer. If I'm going to be spending a lot of time with something, I want it to smell good and boy does this stuff smell good. I put some on my sandwich for lunch and.........well, it's not ketchup.

Did someone mention dust? I hope not, because when I say there was no dust, there was absolutely no dust. I am used to dust with Ultimate Compound and M105 but this compound was awesome in it's cutting ability, finishing ability and lack of dust creation. Perhaps that was becasue it was 30 degrees out but the point is I experienced absolutely no dust.

The wipe-off of both the Correction Compound and the Finishing Wax was incredibly easy ond only required one pass with a microfiber towel. 99% of the compound was removed with one swipe which is quite remarkable when comparing this to Ultimate Compound and M105. Usually I have to use some detail spray or more product to help remove the residue but this did not need that.

Cleaning the pads
Cleaning is perhaps one of the most important aspects of this system. I cleaned the pad after every section and it worked beautifully. It only takes about 10 seconds and it really makes all the difference in correction ability and ease of application.

I did not buy the brush for the system and realized this when it arrived. I decided to try a terry cloth towel. I found a technique that works very well. Take the terry towel and fold it in half several times until a small, dense square is achieved. This will help when you are applying pressure so that you're fingers are not digging into the microfiber pad. After making this small, dense square you want to hold it flat against the pad, turn the machine on, and move the towel up and down, side-to-side several times. This will fluff the fibers again and remove excess product.
But, don't press the towel against the pad, just hold it so that the fibers of the terry cloth are rubbing against the microfiber fibers. If you use too much pressure, it will only flatten the microfiber fibers again.

I truly recommend cleaning the pad every section and not every panel. It really helps cut down any dusting and improves overall buffing process.

This cleaning process applies to using the Finishing Wax and the Correction Compound.


Now, here comes the videos of different techniques.

[Shawn T.]

Ok, here is a video of the DA Microfiber Correction Compound on a panel. This is only after the compound with no other refinement:




A lot of people have been asking about the DA Microfiber Finishing Wax as an All-In-One. However, very few people have commented on its correction ability and so forth which has frustrated me. Well, here is a video describing and showing the correction ability of only the Finishing Wax:





But, how does the Finishing Wax work with the cutting disks? It's funny you ask because I asked myself the same thing. I noticed that it didn't play all that well with the cutting disk for some reason. I really liked it on the finishing disk but didn't care for it at all with the cutting disk. It was designed for the finishing disk and works best with the finishing disk IMHO.

There was also no real change in correction ability between the two pads which surprised me. I worked both of them at speed 3 and about 5 passes each.




I have not been a fan of D151 Paint Reconditioning Cream for quite some time because it simply never worked right with foam pads. I realized that it worked much better and spread much easier with the microfiber pads. I think this is because its viscosity allowed it to soak into the foam too quickly while the microfiber allows it to spread instead of absorb.

While making the video, I thought that D151 would be my new go-to All-In-One for the summer but the same thing happened upon removal that always happened. D151 simply is not easy to remove when you let it dry. I don't know why but I have used it half a dozen times and whenever I let it haze, it is a bear to remove.

This is where the Finishing wax takes the cake because it applies easily and wipes off in a breeze. Plus, it just smells fricken awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Finally, the afters of the entire project:

Tires and wells were dressed with my new Hyper Dressing at 2:1.












Alright. I think I am actually done now!! Questions? I am sure you do. Please ask and I will definitely answer to the best of my ability.



Just an FYI. The video where I tested the Finishing Wax as an AIO on the fender, the fender was a repaint and the system worked beatifully as you can tell.

This may account forn the difference in correction ability from the fender and the hood.

[Klink10]

Thank you for posting. I learned alot.

[05xrunner]

Sounds like you experienced the same as I did using the Finishing pad and wax..I did the car and realized it left very light haze and swirls after..I mean really light you have to catch the sun hitting at right spot but they were there. Doesnt seem to play well with black so far.

[thedirtyshow]

i (my wife) have the same truck but an '08. what would you use to buff out the remaining haze left after the finishing?

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Sounds like you experienced the same as I did using the Finishing pad and wax..I did the car and realized it left very light haze and swirls after..I mean really light you have to catch the sun hitting at right spot but they were there. Doesnt seem to play well with black so far.

I remember you saying this before, but I don't remember if you said the car had been re-painted?

[Shawn T.]

I remember you saying this before, but I don't remember if you said the car had been re-painted?

The interesting part is that the Finishing Wax alone finished out fine on the repainted fender when used by itself but left a slight haze on the OEM finish after using it after the Correction Compound.

[dietdewboy]

Thanks for the great info, I've been looking at this kit to do my wifes 02 Rav4 and your work has convinced me to try it. I'm not a pro just a weekend enthusiast and this system seems to take some of the confusion out of the mix.
Couple questions,
1- do you recommend some kind of last step sealant to remove the light haze and give it more durability?
2- what is ONR?

[BobbyG]

Shawn,

What a fabulous writeup on the same product I'm interested in. I asked a few questions and came across your thread and I'm amazed at the before and after shots, truly impressive.

I really found the test with Meguiar's D151 interesting and the results were outstanding and certainly not expected. More great information on product combination and their results!

If I remember correctly you mentioned that you used Optimum No Rinse solution to wash. Is there any particular reason you used this instead of a traditional soapy solution wash?

Thanks again for such a complete post including the photos and videos!!