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Review: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax by Mike Phillips
Review: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax by Mike Phillips
Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax
First - Frequently Asked Questions
Or at least questions I think some of you may have..
Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax
Question: What is it?
Answer: D166 is a one-step cleaner/wax. It will do 3 things in one step,
1: Remove paint defects - both above surface and below surface.
2: Polish the surface to a clear high gloss.
3: Leave behind a durable layer of protection using a blend of polymers, silicones and carnauba wax
Question: Who is D166 for?
Answer: D166 is in Meguiar's Professional Detailer's Line of products, this means it's formulated and primarily targeted at the commercial detailing industry, i.e. detail shops and mobile detailers as well as dealerships and car auctions. Basically anywhere cares are reconditioned to look new again. Because Meguiar's has a strong and loyal following among car enthusiasts and do-it-yourselves, it will also be very popular with this segment of the market. The good news is it's available in both one-gallon jugs for those that use and prefer to purchase their products in bulk and also in 16 ounce consumer friendly bottles.
Question: What kind of cars is this product designed for? N
Answer: New or used cars, trucks, suvs. Historically speaking, a one-step cleaner/wax is for restoring neglected paint in a single step. That said, high quality one-step cleaner/waxes are also great products for refreshing the paint on new cars to remove light wear-n-tear and/or maintain that factory new finish.
Question: How should D166 be applied?
Answer: By hand, orbital polisher or rotary buffer.
Question: Which type of buffing pads are recommended to apply D166 by machine?
Answer: Meguiar's recommends a very wide range of their own brand of pads from soft foam polishing pads to more aggressive foam cutting pads and also their microfiber pads. The most important factor when choosing the right pad is to,
A: Use the least aggressive pad and in this case the least aggressive pad to get the job done.
B: Before buffing out an entire car, do some testing first and choose the that pad that does the best job of removing defects while at the same time does the best job of leaving customer pleasing results. Paint and paint systems are different and a pad that works great on one car may not perform the same on another car simply because the paint can react differently. A professional knows this important aspect of exterior car detailing and has an assortment of different pads to choose from when dialing in a process for each car they detail.
Question: Can D166 be applied by hand?
Answer: Yes. For best results, use either a clean, soft microfiber applicator pad like the Meguiar's Even-Coat Applicator or a clean, soft foam applicator pad.
Question: Should D166 be wiped-off immediately or can it be wiped off after applying to the entire vehicle?
Answer: D166 uses Meguiar's easy-wipe-off technology which means you can apply to the entire car and then wipe off all at once if you like.
Question: What type of abrasive technology does D166 use?
Answer: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax uses Meguiar's SMAT or Super Micro Abrasive Technology for it's defect and polishing removal ability.
Question: Can Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax be used to restore the paint on severely neglected vehicles?
Answer: It's formulated for moderately neglected vehicles but you could always try buffing the worst panels a second time.
Question: Is this product safe for clearcoat paints?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Anything else I should know about this product?
Answer: Meguiar's has been the world's leader in surface care technology for over 100 years. They have a reputation of making best-in-class car care products.
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Re: Review: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax by Mike Phillips
Continued...
Comments
This is a nice one-step cleaner/wax. Formulating a product that can do three things at the same time has always been a mystery to most people. In fact, I meet people that are even skeptical about products like these because it can be hard for some people to wrap their mind around how a single product can actually remove defects while at the same time leave behind protection.
The though process goes like this,
If at the same time the abrasives in the product are removing paint and thus removing defects... how can the product at the same time be leaving something behind?
Wouldn't the same abrasives removing paint remove itself?
Great question!
Me? I don't pretend to be a chemist and never play the part on discussion forums or facebook. Instead, what I do is put my trust in brands I've used for years that have a record of putting out quality products that do what the company says they'll do. That said, there is something called chemistry and that's the field of expertise of a real chemist and I trust that companies like Meguiar's actually hire real chemists that have the expertise to do their job just like I do my job.
The thing I look for in a "real" one-step cleaner/wax is where the directions state to allow the product residue after application to dry to a haze on the surface before wiping the residue off.
This shows me that the product, that is the complete mixture of abrasives, polishing agents, chemical cleaners, good solvents, polishing oils and this is key... the protection ingredients, are all working together. Thus while the abrasive, polishing agents, lubricating oils, etc. are all working to remove defects and create a more clear more level and smooth surface, the protection ingredients embodied in this mixture upon being left on the surface to DRY (to a haze), are also doing their part and that is bonding to the surface or in simple terms, leaving themselves behind (on the surface).
You see, I can wrap my brain around some type of chemistry where when left on the surface, the protection ingredients form some type of bond to the paint and leave themselves behind via the drying process. A chemist once even explained this to me using scientific jargon like hydrogen bonding, whatever that is.
Now if you apply a cleaner/wax, work it and then wipe it all off... it's a tick harder for me to understand how its leaving anything behind? I'm sure there are great chemists and great products that do this I'm just saying for me personally, it's easier for me to wrap my brain around the idea, or in other words understand how a product can do all three things at once as long as there's some kind of science to the last aspect of an all-in-one product that actually does leave something behind on the surface to protect the paint (and make it look shiny).
I worked for Meguiar's as a Trainer, a Writer and Instructor, and I know from personal experience Meguiar's hires real chemists and this makes it easy for me to trust them and the products they create. There are other great brands out their where I also know the chemists and trust them and the products they create.
If you don't know any chemists that work for car care companies you're welcome to borrow my trust.
Detailing my daily driver truck
My daily driver truck is a 1987 Chevy Silverado 4x4 with 40" tall Toyo Tires and a 12" lift kit. I like a big truck, last I checked this is America and as long as we all obey the laws, have a job and pay our taxes, we're free to choose what we drive, be it a Toyota Prius or in my case, a classic Chevy truck.
The frame cracked due to the stress of the large tires. So a few months ago, I removed the engine and had the frame repaired and then installed a frame brace to prevent the frame from flexing and causing the frame to crack again. The result of having the truck down for a few months while the repairs were made meant the finish took a beating both in the paint overspray department and the swirls and scratches department.
Prepping to remove the engine
Engine out...
Here's a major crack behind the front crossmember...
These are cracks in front of the front crossmember...
Yep that's me cleaning out 30 years of oily, greasy grime in the engine compartment. I can run a buffer and I can also turn wrenches and prefer to do all my own mechanical work.
Here's the cracks after they were Ved out and then welded up by my good friend Robbie DiTerlizzi, (son of Robert DiTerlizzi)
This is a heavy duty frame brace from Autofab.com - A shout out to the owner who personally took my call and answered some questions about the front re-enforcement bracket.
This is the front re-enforcement bracket going in...
Two more grade 8 bolts and cap nuts and the front bracket is installed.
This is where the frame brace goes. This prevents the frame from flexing when you turn the steering wheel as the large tires will then twist instead of the frame.
Installed.
Motor back in...
Using a cleaner/wax - my choice for my daily driver
I normally maintain my truck using one-step cleaner/waxes. It's too tall to fit into a normal garage and because it is outside 7 days a week, 24 hours a day I know from experience and via all the articles I've written and shared on this forum that PAINT GETS DIRTY as in a film-build of dirt that builds up on the paint. I also know this takes place whether you use a carnauba car wax, a synthetic paint sealant or a ceramic paint coating. Yes - even ceramic paint coatings get a film-build of impacted road grime that builds up on the exterior of your car's finish.
Knowing this, instead of going hi-tech I go low-tech and simply use a one-step cleaner/wax to keep the paint on my truck looking good and looking shiny.
Because the paint was trashed after the R&R of the engine and because I normally use a cleaner/wax anyways, it was perfect timing for the launch of Meguiar's new D166 Ultra Polishing Wax and the perfect candidate.
Review
Just to be fair, I've only demonstrated this product on my primary black demo hood I use for all our car shows on my own daily driver truck and a BMW that we detailed last night, I'll include the links below.
It's a nice product. From my experience so far I would even say it's an exceptional product. From experience I would even say it's one of the top 5 one-step cleaner/waxes available on the market today that I've used.
It has a nice long smooth buffing cycle with zero dusting that I could see
This is a nice feature as it makes buffing on >you< easy. Some products are gummy and that makes physically moving a buffer over a panel difficult, not so with the D166.
Excellent correction ability
Meguiar's pioneered Super Micro Abrasive Technology with the introduction of M86 Solo back in the mid early 2000s. With SMAT, the abrasives are microscopic in size, uniform in size and uniform in cutting action. The cutting is fast and the results are equal to the results from a high quality polish, not the scouring that is common to a lot of abrasive technology.
Easy wipe-off
This is an AWESOME feature. No one thinks about wipe-off until they have to wipe-off. Easy wipe-off is a true blessing because it makes wiping off product residue easy on you and that prevents you from becoming tired and drained but also makes wiping off an entire car fast and easy.
Excellent shine and clarity
When I type or talk about polishing car paint I always talk about clarity or clearness. That's because most of us are working on clearcoat paints and the key to seeing the beauty under the clearcoat is making the clearcoat as clear as possible. Inferior products will cloud the surface by dulling it down, so products that create clarity or clearness are vital to the end result. D166 creates a very clear finish and this makes for a very beautiful finish and you can see the full richness of color for the basecoat.
Durable protection
Yeah I have nothing on this... I've only used it three times as of the date I'm typing this and to be honest I buzz around my truck often, like every other month or so because it's so fast and easy to machine buff. I don't have to bend over to reach lower panels, there's zero trim to tape-off and all the panels are flat, this makes my truck truly fast and easy to buffer out and because it's fast and easy to buffer out I enjoy buffing it out often. This is another reason I use a one-step cleaner/wax.
A one-step cleaner/wax will,
1: Clean the surface, this means remove all the road grime that builds up on car paint.
2: Polish the clearcoat clear and glossy.
3: Leave the paint protected with excellent shine.
So while I don't have any experience with durability, for me it's a non issue. If durability is an important factor for you when choosing a one-step cleaner/wax then my guess is you can expect about 3-6 months of actual protection as long as you wash your vehicle CAREFULLY and don't scrub the paint when you wash the vehicle. Scrubbing is also micro-scratching and if you wash your car carelessly then it doesn't matter what you use for protection, you're going to micro-scratch it off. Make sense?
Versatile
You can apply D166 by hand or with ANY orbital polisher, (both free spinning and gear-driven), or rotary buffer. You choose. My recommendation for using one-step cleaner/waxes is to use the least aggressive "foam" pad to get the job done because on softer more finicky paints, sharper, coarser foam and fiber cutting pads can leave micro-marring. That is the pad itself can be the culprit leaving the micro-marring, not the cleaner/wax. So try to use foam polishing pads for consistent high quality results but if you need more cut then be sure to TEST more aggressive pads on the car in front of you to make sure you're getting the results you hope and dream about and your customer will appreciate.
Final thoughts...
Overall I was impressed with Meguiar's new introduction to the cleaner/wax category. If you already like and trust Meguiar's products then pick up a bottle or even a gallon of the D166 Ultra Polishing Wax. If you detailing for dollars, then get the gallon as this is a great value for your detailing dollars.
On Autogeek.com
Meguiar’s D166 Ultra Polishing Wax
Meguiar’s D166 Ultra Polishing Wax 128 ounce (128 ounces = 1-gallon)
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Super Member
Re: Review: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax by Mike Phillips
Great write up Mike. Your truck looks great and it's tucked away safety to survive the hurricane.
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Super Member
Re: Review: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax by Mike Phillips
Great Review as always! Be safe from the hurricane! My prayers that everything will be all right! God Bless!
CJ
2013 Mustang GT w/Track Pack 6-Speed Manual
Save the Manual!
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Re: Review: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax by Mike Phillips
Great job on the mechanical and detail work! Always loved seeing your truck parked outside when I would stop by. Robbie is awesome at building and welding trucks. Good guy to have on your side.
Once my current bottle of HD Speed runs out D166 is on the list to pick up. Wishing you and everyone there well and praying everyone stays safe!
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Super Member
Re: Review: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax by Mike Phillips
Awesome review Mike.
Where else will you ever get to see one vehicle polished out with all those different tools, answer, nowhere else.
Thanks for taking the time to use all of those machines and take the time to do such an extensive write up.
Especially with Irma heading our way.
2013 Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track Edition
2015 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 2016 Pearl White Nissan Altima SR
2019 Nissan Rogue SL
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