FK1000p Beginner questions

Doesn`t sound like a lecture at all. I think my problem all stems from laying anything I use on way too thick, two to three times more than i should. I grew up in the 70`s helping Dad wax his car with that Turtle Wax paste. We put that on and remember when it dried the car was white. If you have ever laid on a heavy layer of that stuff on the whole car, and let it dry before wiping you know what I am talking about on something being tough to remove. The FK for me wasn`t quite that bad to remove but kind of reminds me of those days of Turtle Wax.

It is hard to get away from my thoughts of "if a little is good a lot is better" kind of mentality. It doesn`t help having enough to do my car 30 times over and would rather use it than throw it out. Example of usage, the can of FK1000p, if memory serves correct, is close to half gone. By memory I used it in the fall for winter protection 3 times I believe and I think for 2 of the spring waxes, all of which were 2 coats and at least one of those was a 3 coat application. If I out it on like I should I think as many times as I used it I should have used half of what I have.

I will say though it is a good wax I just need to learn how to use it.
 
skibik- Glad I didn`t come across like a pedantic [jerk].

I do indeed remember the waxes/etc. from the `60s/etc. :D Other than Meguiar`s #7/etc. I learned very young that "less is better", especially with stuff like the TW/Simonize/M16.

Heh heh...I gotta tease you about going through FK1000P so fast! That tiny (and dried-out) sample tin I got for free did dozens of coats on wheels and countless coats on big vehicles like my old Yukon XLD (including jambs/etc.), and still lasted me for years. The regular-size tin I have is gonna last far longer than the decade+ that I get out of most any tin of wax (and you may have noticed that I do believe in layering on many applications of my LSPs).

While doing the *really* thin applications strikes some as a PIA, I honestly believe you`re making things very hard on yourself by slathering on more than is necessary. But admittedly, what we do regularly becomes what we consider normal, and I`ve been doing this thin stuff since forever so I might have a skewed perspective.

Like...a really thin application of something like KSG can be virtually invisible on white/silver, but as long as there`s complete coverage (no missed areas) it`s still plenty. I think in terms of bonding to/covering the paint at the *molecular* level even if that`s an exaggeration if taken literally.

I focus on *feeling* the diff between waxed/not areas, rather than seeing the LSP on the paint, when I apply. Paint with LSP on it feels different from paint that`s still bare and also from paint with not-immediately-fresh LSP on it (even if that`s more subtle). I bet that a little concentrated, determined experience will make that obvious to you and then the lightbulb will come on :D

Not sure if you got complete coverage? Fog the surface with your breath (OK, some environmental factors matter...) and I bet you`ll see it on there after all. And I find that fogging contributes just enough moisture to make buffing off easier without compromising the results in any way.

Anyhoo...I`m glad it`s working well for you and that you think it`s a good LSP.
 
Accumulator - Yeah, if I can just tell myself that thin is better I probably wouldn`t have as much trouble as I do removing some of the waxes I use or have used in the past. A few years ago I picked up some BFCS to try for my spring and summer sealants so I wouldn`t have to mess with the FK1000p for more than once a year. I even have trouble on usage on that and have gone through more of the bottle than I should have considering the couple different times I have used it. The only one I seem to have properly put on is the BFWD, but have only used that couple times. Then of course I had to BFMS , have used that once or twice and at least on black it seemed a little easier to see exactly how much I was using.

Maybe I will learn one of these times to try and use sparingly. Although I can say if I don`t I don`t think I will run out of product in a while.
 
skibik- Heh heh, sounds like you`ve certainly, uhm...accumulated...plenty of LSPs! So yeah, other than making it hard(er) on yourself and maybe precluding the most effective layering, eh...you`re doing fine. You might work harder on the thin application than you currently work on buffing it off ;)

You sure did get my attention with that rate of FK1000P consumption though!
 
I have applied FK1000P by hand using a 4 inch lake country hydro-tech red pad which does not let the product sink into the pad. I really didn`t try to keep it too thin but after 1 panel took a short nap micro fiber and wiped lightly to even it out thin it out. Then let it dry completely wipes off easy after that just as easy as anything I have ever used. My new go to LSP
 
superdave592- Welcome to Autopia!

You`re in good company with that two-stage buff-off; Ketch (the guy who schooled me on so much FK and ValuGard stuff) advocated that too. (He thought it`d help make the immediate layering work out better.)

I never thought of doing that to level it out, that might be just the ticket for people who don`t want to do the thin THIN *THIN* applications, so thanks for sharing that.

Glad to hear it`s working out so well for you!
 
I got around to trying this LSP out on my headlights & other plastics first. I noticed the haze is pretty hard to wipe off. A single 30cm sq mircofibre cloth did not get most of the haze off no matter how many times I tried, just 80% & the left over would not absorb by the cloth. I had to use many tissues to get it crystal clear.

So how do you guys buff this haze off? Do you use many MF cloths of something? If so how do you wash these MF cloths after?
 
Tc99m said:
Sounds like it was applied on the heavy side. Thin, thin, thin layers is the key.
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Any pointers on how to get that thin application? It seems like a skill that once you develop it its second nature but until then it can be less than intuive. Is the amount you are loading the applicator the key or a light touch or something else?
 
My recommendation is a thin, round foam applicator. Place it in the tin and give it a 90 degree twist with just a little bit of pressure to pick up a small amount of FK1000P, and then use that to cover an entire panel.

After you do this a few times, the applicator will start to get saturated and you won`t have to replenish it as much. When you`re done, store the applicator in the tin.

If you use more than what looks like a greasy palm print, you`ve used too much.
 
`PRND[S said:
;2113069`]My recommendation is a thin, round foam applicator. Place it in the tin and give it a 90 degree twist with just a little bit of pressure to pick up a small amount of FK1000P, and then use that to cover an entire panel.

After you do this a few times, the applicator will start to get saturated and you won`t have to replenish it as much. When you`re done, store the applicator in the tin.

If you use more than what looks like a greasy palm print, you`ve used too much.
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^ This about sums it up.
 
Regulars here have probably heard all this from me before, and if I had All The Answers people wouldn`t keep asking the same "how do I make this application process go easier?!?" all the time! But anyhoo, here I go again:

I too use the regular round foam applicators. When I do it, I get a minimal amount on the applicator, fold it in half and rub the "application/loaded" side of it together so the minimal amount of product gets uniformly distributed on the face of the applicator, then...very important... I try to scrape as much product back out of the applicator (on the edge of the tin) as I can.

No matter how diligently I do the above, I always get more product transferred to the applicator than I need, but oh well, that`s usually enough to do a rather large area, and I try to transfer a minimal amount of fresh product when I reload the applicator, always trying to scrape out any excess on the edge of the tin`s rim. I DO NOT rub the applicator together aggressively, and I sure don`t wipe it across the product in the tin with any more force than I need to transfer a minimal amount of product to the foam. I think of it as wanting the product to be "on" the foam rather than "in"/saturating it and if I only get enough to do part of a panel then I got it right.

I never give any thought to how firmly I`m pressing when I apply, though I guess I try to not overdo it in case some contamination somehow gets on there. I go over the same area a few times to ensure that I get a uniform application since there`s so little product being used. I usually go in overlapping circles, only doing straight-line when the area calls for that (e.g., thin pillars).

I suppose that practice/experience factors in...I`ve been aiming for "so thin I can`t really see it" with all my LSPs for decades so I oughta be pretty dialed-in by now. I go by feel rather than visual cues; the applicator glides over (re)LSPed areas more readily than it does over the areas I haven`t done yet.

For easier buff-off, try fogging the surface with your breath. This can also make it easier to notice skipped areas.

End-of-process test- If I can squeeze an appreciable amount of product out of the applicator at the end of the job, then I had it loaded with *WAY* too much product.

Use however many buff-off MFs as *you* need. Just because I can do a large vehicle with only one (well, at least sometimes..) that doesn`t mean much of anything relative to anybody else.

I don`t leave the applicator in the tin for very long these days. I`ve found that it can apparently (and only sometimes) soak up additional product, which is the last thing I want, and if I leave the applicator in there long enough (I can go many months between applications) the foam sometimes deteriorates a little bit (maybe it`s not real deterioration but rather just that soaking up additional product, but whatever happens I don`t like it).

I dunno...I just don`t get it..and please don`t take that as some kind of put-down. I`ve used "hard to buff off" LSPs since forever, and I`ve simply never experienced that other than when I missed an area done with M16...now *that* will take a bit of effort after a few weeks! Heh heh, the ladies who intro`ed me to M16 back in the day said how *EASY* it was compared to Simonize, they thought it was some miracle product with regard to user-friendliness! And M16 is a lot less forgiving than FK1000P. Gee, wonder if Floyd had *that* in mind too when he came up with the stuff...
 
I think FK is easy to remove if applying it thin, do you consider to use some DA polisher after applying by hand? I`ll give it try next after washing my car

Sent from my Grand2 using Tapatalk
 
Thanks Accumulator and PRND[S, really useful tips on applying thin. Its good to know you do overlapping circles with no solvent issues Accumulator.

Years ago I used some Nufinish, now that stuff is hard to buff off!
 
Thanks for the lesson Accumulator. I am going to have to give that a try. It is the end of June and car needs protection bad. I guess my applications go far beyond thick seeing your procedure. I guess I don`t need to swirl the applicator around in the tin 3 or 4 times every half panel then, huh! B)
 
Mic575 said:
Thanks Accumulator and PRND[S, really useful tips on applying thin. Its good to know you do overlapping circles with no solvent issues Accumulator.

Years ago I used some Nufinish, now that stuff is hard to buff off!
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If it wasn`t for finding this site I would still be using NuFinish and only remember having trouble removing it when I did it in direct sunlight(no garage at that time to work in). Otherwise I liked that stuff for how easy it went on and came off. After some thought I kind of wish I wouldn`t have found this site and got the detailing bug. I would have one polish, one wax(maybe two) a handful of towels(cotton, the old school stuff), one car wash soap, and wax twice a year and maybe polish once in the time I own the car. All products could be found at the local hardware or auto parts store and no special ordering.

The best stuff I ever used for ease of removal was AutoFom. It was kind of left an oily film that took extra cloths to buff off.
 
skibik said:
If it wasn`t for finding this site I would still be using NuFinish and only remember having trouble removing it when I did it in direct sunlight(no garage at that time to work in). Otherwise I liked that stuff for how easy it went on and came off. After some thought I kind of wish I wouldn`t have found this site and got the detailing bug. I would have one polish, one wax(maybe two) a handful of towels(cotton, the old school stuff), one car wash soap, and wax twice a year and maybe polish once in the time I own the car. All products could be found at the local hardware or auto parts store and no special ordering.

The best stuff I ever used for ease of removal was AutoFom. It was kind of left an oily film that took extra cloths to buff off.
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Back when life was simple is what you`re saying :), bet you only had one bucket too. I used the Nufinish liquid and I think I must have put it on like I was frosting a cake. I think that this is not the approach that Accumulator is getting at here :)
 
Mic575 said:
Back when life was simple is what you`re saying :), bet you only had one bucket too. I used the Nufinish liquid and I think I must have put it on like I was frosting a cake. I think that this is not the approach that Accumulator is getting at here :)
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Yes! I may have two buckets now, and have tried the two bucket method, but back to one when I hand wash. It might be just me but I don`t see the benefit of using two and yes I have done the research.

I laughed when you mentioned "putting it on like frosting a cake". That brought me back to my teen years helping Dad wax his new Chevette and using the TW Hardshell, liquid even and putting that on and when it dried actually looked like we had frosted the car. LOL!
 
As a kid I over-applied M07...no big problem, just took forever to buff off/out of the ss lacquer of the day. But then I went to wax over it, and !uh-oh! over-applying M16 was a quick lesson in What Not To Do.

Wonder if any Marine places sell the FK...and remember that brink-and-mortar Autobody/paint supply places often sell decent detailing supplies (along with sometimes OK/not off-brands).

Some guys here have actually done OK with NuFinish...IIRC they use it for non-critical areas on customers` vehicles that aren`t headed for the how circuit.

Mic575 said:
Its good to know you do overlapping circles with no solvent issues Accumulator.
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When I *did* get the solvent-action issues (well, I assume that`s what caused the pseudo-holograms) I figure it was from trying to layer too much/soon. I had the same issues on sections where I did/not use circles/straight lines, didn`t seem to matter.

Some people make a big deal out of the "wax in straight lines!" idea, but that flies in the face of how well LSPing works via RO/DA. Speaking of which...

Time expenditure-wise, I probably LSP a lot faster if I just do it by hand (get out polisher, set up, etc. etc. compared to just grab applicator and go) and I just can`t do the minimal product/thin application stuff as well. Do (did?) like applying Collinite/M16 by machine though...and once it`s on there...

ariezhai5 said:
...do you consider to use some DA polisher after applying by hand?
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I might be the only guy here who buffs off LSP residue with a machine on a remotely regular basis...and I don`t do it all the time. No matter how I do it, I always have to do some by-hand buffing too, not just for tight spots but also to get that last 1% of product off and ensure a perfectly clear buff-off. Whichever I do first, I gotta do the other as a follow-up, so I usually use the machine first and then go over it again (fogging with my breath) by hand.

I`ve used plush and suede-style/no-nap MF bonnets and other than the latter being *utterly* unforgiving if some abrasive contamination gets caught in `em, I found no appreciable diffs. (The argument that "plush MF bonnets pull the wax off! Gotta use the suede-style ones to avoid that!" did NOT prove true IME.)

If you use a wool for the backing pad (that the MF bonnet(s) fit over), I would *NOT* turn the bonnets inside-out to get a second time`s use out of them lest some wool get transferred and cause marring. For that matter, I don`t do it period because I like using the bonnets over fairly firm/large-pore cutting pads and I don`t want their (foam) material getting transferred either. I usually use the Meguiar`s burgundy cutting pads with 5-6" bonnets and LC yellow cutting pads with 4" ones. After a while the backing pads compress and IMO that`s the time to get new ones. The only time I used a pad that was supposedly specific to this task it did NOT work well at all; the bonnet slipped around way too much to be effective (you need a pretty tight fit).

Often, the outer edges of the bonnets get loaded with product residue *MUCH* sooner than the rest and IMO you`ll need more bonnets than you`d expect, even if you put LSPs on as thinly as I do. Maybe a lot more.

While I do think it takes more time, and yields only *VERY* minor appearance benefits (and not always..), doing this stuff by machine is a very different motion and was the only way I could do such stuff when I had shoulder issues. And it`s an excuse to run those Cyclos I like so much :D
 
I have done some searching about how exactly you are suppose to clean the buff off microfibre cloths? I tried a typical hot soak with soap powder but it doesn`t get all the wax off resulting in a dry cloth that is a bit hard & may cause swirl, aswell probably won`t absorb well when buffing as it still has wax on it.

I then tried wax & grease remover a few times by hand which gets most of the wax out. Then let the hydrocarbons evaporate completely & then a soapy wash. After that the cloth is very clean with no smell & buffs off the wax well.
 
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