I've been using MF pads in a production setting for over a year now and once through the learning curve with them I'll likely not reach for a foam pad for the first cutting steps again. Practically speaking, for doing dealership trade ins, you could essentially get away with one set of section passes using D-300 to produce a very acceptable looking (lot ready) finish.
In many cases I'm able to take a heavily swirled trade in and run a few section passes with MF pads and M-105 to produce the "lot ready" look rather quickly (2 - 3 hours) and apply a quick coat of UPGP and call it a done deal. The exception would be black paint and some bright reds, where they typically need either a quick finishing pass or often times D-300 will produce the right look in one stage of polishing but this doesn't do a whole lot for deeper RIDS.
The MF pads (if used with M-105 or D-300) can simply be tossed back into the cabinet after use without (soap and water) cleaning. This is because these particular compounds seem to dry well on the fibers and since they dry on the fibers instead of gumming up on the fibers, the brush and blow method is all that is really required for a compound ready MF pad. The next time you go for them, simply brush the fibers a bit and then hit them with some compressed air and they're ready to use. On the other hand if you use an AIO product containing a wax, the MF pads tend to get pretty gummed up with the product and will require soap and water clean up.
I attempt to cut out every unnecessary step that I can, and cleaning pads with soap and water is something I try to avoid if possible. I have several MF pads that have never seen soap and water, but rather brushed with a pad cleaning brush to dislodge any spent compound/abraded off paint, then blown off with compressed air to remove all the dried stuff that the brush breaks loose from the fibers.
To each his own though, if someone wants to spend the time detailing their detailing tools, more power to them.
Like mentioned above, my go to is MF pads (LC UltraFiber) with either D-300, M-105 or both, one set of section passes over the entire vehicle, followed by a quick application of UPGP to include the trim, plastic mirror housings, wiper cowl, glass etc. UPGP makes it all look nice enough for the used car lot and it's the quickest method I've found through lots of trial and error.
The trick to using MF pads and getting them to last a long time is to not allow them to get too saturated with product, and don't allow them to get too hot if they do get saturated with product. If the MF pads get too saturated with product combined with too much applied downward pressure, they'll begin to steam as they begin to heat up due to over applied pressure. If this happens, Stop and use your compressed air to cool them back down, then continue to use them without applying any more compound until the compound that's saturated into the pad has been used up and the pad becomes more dry.
Trust me when I say this...if the pad is saturated with a SMAT compound such as M-105 or D-300 and then blown to cool off with compressed air, there will be plenty of effective abrasives left in the pad to continue compounding your next panel with.
I lucked out and bought a lot of discontinued 3M 5" DA backing plates with the holes in them. These backing plates with the holes in them work great to keep the MF pads cool and to extend the life of the pad while using them hard in a production setting. To my knowledge, the only backing plates available with the cooling holes in them are the Mirka 6" backing plates that Kevin Brown stocks. If I didn't have these 3M backing plates, I'd buy some of the 6" Mirka plates with the holes in them and cut them down to work with a 5" MF pad.
Using the standard backing plates without the holes, you'll spend more time blowing the discs with compressed air to keep them cool (if you're working them hard) and this of course means less time getting the work done on the paint. I think that LC or anyone that makes backing plates for that matter needs to come out with some 5" DA backing plates with cooling holes in them. This would make life easier for the serious production oriented paint polishers of the world.
Just some of my own personal experience with MF pads, hope it helps...TD
No time to edit for grammar and spelling...got to go...
