Review: Meguiar's D166 Ultra Polishing Wax by Mike Phillips

[ShoNuff]

These are a lot of fun and they completely flatten out the learning curve. Plus you get to use all the tools people talk about before you buy.

I live in Hawaii so not sure I’ll get to test anything.

[Belo]

If I recall someone mentioned that 166 can be used without tape? In that it doesn't leave residue on decals, trim, badges. Is this true? If so I'd love to maybe try this instead of 360 or hdspeed... but I do prefer the longevity of a sealant vs a wax. Curious if anyones ever done a comparison and how 166 compares to longevity/shine vs the popular all in ones.

[briarpatch]

If I recall someone mentioned that 166 can be used without tape? In that it doesn't leave residue on decals, trim, badges. Is this true? If so I'd love to maybe try this instead of 360 or hdspeed... but I do prefer the longevity of a sealant vs a wax. Curious if anyones ever done a comparison and how 166 compares to longevity/shine vs the popular all in ones.

I've used all three you mentioned. I've not had an issue with any of them staining plastic trim. For longevity, it's 360 all day every day and twice on Sunday. For cut, 360 is on top. For gloss and slickness, neither 360 nor D166 match Speed...no contest. D166 falls in the middle of the other two in those categories. All three are easy to work with, easy removal.

[Calendyr]

If I recall someone mentioned that 166 can be used without tape? In that it doesn't leave residue on decals, trim, badges. Is this true? If so I'd love to maybe try this instead of 360 or hdspeed... but I do prefer the longevity of a sealant vs a wax. Curious if anyones ever done a comparison and how 166 compares to longevity/shine vs the popular all in ones.

That was probably me I actually go over all the trims to make sure to remove micro scratches from the plastic and apply a protective layer to them. The only exception is if the trim is really oxydized and faded, then I try to avoid them so I can apply Solution Finish to restore them and I don't what the extra work of removing the sealant from them that D166 would leave behind.

[Calendyr]

Thanks, Calendyr! So you guys are using DA type machinery to do these cars? Am I crazy for thinking of doing it by hand? I don't want to screw it up nor do I want to buy expensive equipment to use one a year (maybe 6 months if I'm not tooo lazy haha).

I am sure D166 would work by hand, it's just more dedious to do. Meguiar's Ultimate and Gold lines are designed to be used by hand, you would probably have an easier time and a better result using them. Otherwise if you decide to go with a cleaner wax as a protection system for your car, investing in a DA polisher would be a good idea, since you will have to do this once or twice a year.

Something like a Harbour Freight DA or a Griot's garage DA is not overly expensive and will do a good job for using a cleaner wax. In both cases I would replace the backing plate to use a 5 inch backing plate from the same manufacturer as the polishing pads you decide to use. Autogeek sells Lake Country that are good quality pads, you only need a few of them. I suggest a cutting pad for when there are a lot of visible swirl marks, a polishing pad for when there are only a few and a finishing pad for when you can't see any swirls. This will maximized the gloss level you get and also reduce to a minimum the amount of paint to take off polishing the car. In general, cleaner waxes don't remove much paint compared to other polishes but with modern paint systems, you still want to remove as little as possible, especially if you do twice twice a year.

[fightnews]

If I recall someone mentioned that 166 can be used without tape? In that it doesn't leave residue on decals, trim, badges. Is this true? If so I'd love to maybe try this instead of 360 or hdspeed... but I do prefer the longevity of a sealant vs a wax. Curious if anyones ever done a comparison and how 166 compares to longevity/shine vs the popular all in ones.

I'd use the polishing wax then hit it with a wipe on walk away paint sealant like blackfire or 10 min paint sealant by mckees. You could probably apply the sealant right after you wipe off the residue from 166

[Belo]

I've used all three you mentioned. I've not had an issue with any of them staining plastic trim. For longevity, it's 360 all day every day and twice on Sunday. For cut, 360 is on top. For gloss and slickness, neither 360 nor D166 match Speed...no contest. D166 falls in the middle of the other two in those categories. All three are easy to work with, easy removal.

i used some poorboys AIO one time and got horrible staining and I cant recall specifically but remember some staining with 360 too where I didn't tape well enough. Basically anything porous will stain I think. Do you not tape with 360 or speed?

I'd use the polishing wax then hit it with a wipe on walk away paint sealant like blackfire or 10 min paint sealant by mckees. You could probably apply the sealant right after you wipe off the residue from 166

that seems like an extra step that I wouldn't need with speed or 360 though.

[briarpatch]

i used some poorboys AIO one time and got horrible staining and I cant recall specifically but remember some staining with 360 too where I didn't tape well enough. Basically anything porous will stain I think. Do you not tape with 360 or speed?



that seems like an extra step that I wouldn't need with speed or 360 though.

I've not taped with any of them.....360 did, however, stain the Griots BOSS pads

[ShoNuff]

Well, I washed and did the clay bar today and my arms are tired! I still haven't bought a DA polisher as I haven't picked one yet and have been busy. I did buy the Meguiars 3 in 1 so after resting for a bit I'm gonna go ahead and do the first one by hand. I'll feel one with the car and also ensure I buy a machine after this 😁

Some photos, the car looks better than when I picked it up already. Outside of the rock chips..

[briarpatch]

Well, I washed and did the clay bar today and my arms are tired! I still haven't bought a DA polisher as I haven't picked one yet and have been busy. I did buy the Meguiars 3 in 1 so after resting for a bit I'm gonna go ahead and do the first one by hand. I'll feel one with the car and also ensure I buy a machine after this ��

Some photos, the car looks better than when I picked it up already. Outside of the rock chips..

car looks good....let us know how you make out with the 3 in 1.....am curious to see your results/experience