How do you maintain calm?

[PRND[S]]

I think part of the problem is the very sporadic rain here -- I think the amount we got overnight the other day was more than the rain total so far this year, and the water dislodged all of the oil, grime and other filth that accumulates and doesn`t get washed away as it does in other places. My car looked like it had freckles.

I took it to a do-it-yourself wash bay last night and blasted the car on the high-pressure rinse for two minutes, and then one minute of the spotless rinse cycle, then did the freeway blow-dry as JustJesus described. Looks much better now.

 

[Accumulator]

Far much more important things than to get worked up about my car being a little spotty. Priorities, man...Stay focused on whats important. Head up, eyes forward.

Heh heh, that`s one of the best things I`ve read on Autopia this year!

Life`s not a Car Show.

Anyhow, anger should be reserved for situations where it`s both appropriate and beneficial. Too many people get used by their emotions instead of using their emotions properly.

Washing and waxing your ride should be a relaxing and rewarding exercise...

Heh heh, I can vaguely remember having felt that way at one time in the distant past.[/quote]

 

[xspwrstang]

Yes, that`s the difference between a place that doesn`t get a lot of rain and one that does. I went to Florida for vacation and of course detailed my wife`s suv, only to hit a storm right before arriving at the rental home. I didn`t even unload, I took out all my supplies to do a wipe down and I was shocked when I didn`t see any of those "freckles" on paint. Down here, our roads are always dirty so any little rain will leave that cars looking brown!

 

[Accumulator]

;2078407]..If I lived someplace with real winters and road salt or sand, I would get a good ceramic coating, apply FK1000P for its high temperature tolerance, and invest in a high volume steamer to blast off whatever sticks to the paint. You wouldn`t need a huge volume of water, it could remove snow and ice, and it would be touchless and avoid scratching the paint.

Hey, you`re thinking! But ...EDIT....I`d wonder whether the FK1000P would adhere to the coating very well, and I`d think uit wouldn`t be needed anyhow.

On a perhaps brighter note, with the FK1000P applied, IMO the *coating* simply wouldn`t be needed! Nor the steam-it-clean routine since basically nothing sticks to FK1000P as long as it`s remotely close to healthy.

When the FK1000Ped Tahoe gets winter-nasty and I don`t have time to give it a real wash, just pressure-rinsing it (DI water for the final pass) gets it clean enough for Real Life, if not necessarily Autopian-clean. Just gotta remember that the undercarriage needs done properly on a regular basis, so I can only do a quickie like that a few times before I have to do a real wash.

I know I come across as Mr. Internet Fanboy where FK1000P is concerned, but it washes/stays clean/protects so well that I simply have zero interest in using a coating instead...and that`s based on how my OptiCoated wheels compare to my FK1000Ped ones.

 

[PRND[S]]

My car is Opti-Coated but I still put a sacrificial layer of Collinite 845 on it. I have had very good results with that and will keep on doing it (just got another bottle of 845 last week that I probably won`t have to open until sometime next year at the earliest), but if I was going to steam the exterior, I think FK1000P would be more durable due to its ability to withstand high temperatures. Anyway, that was my "what if" thinking for cars kept in miserable winter conditions.

I might give FK1000P a shot even though the 845 has not given me any problems. I haven`t seen anyone applying/removing it by machine, which I would prefer -- is that doable?

 

[JustJesus]

;2078551`]...
I might give FK1000P a shot even though the 845 has not given me any problems. I haven`t seen anyone applying/removing it by machine, which I would prefer -- is that doable?

Yes! I used a 3" pad on a small right angle drill with adapter backing plate thing. Worked well. If you`re close to me (Anaheim, or South Gate areas) you can totally have some of my FK1000 to try out

edit: I only machine applied it. Still removed it by hand.

 

[Accumulator]

] My car is Opti-Coated but I still put a sacrificial layer of Collinite 845 on it...

I edited my previous post to reflect that conventional LSPs can maybe bond OK to coatings...I shouldn`t have made assumptions!

I have had very good results with that and will keep on doing it (just got another bottle of 845 last week that I probably won`t have to open until sometime next year at the earliest), but if I was going to steam the exterior, I think FK1000P would be more durable due to its ability to withstand high temperatures. Anyway, that was my "what if" thinking for cars kept in miserable winter conditions.

A bottle of 845 does indeed last a long time! I got nearly a decade out of my last one, mostly doing big vehicles.

I wonder if anybody here has done that Steam-centric carwashing? I guess the FK1000P might indeed hold up better (given it`s "Hi Temp" labeling..assuming you trust such stuff). But it really does clean up just fine without anything esoteric (and my vehicles can get so winter-filthy that you literally can`t tell what color they are).

I might give FK1000P a shot even though the 845 has not given me any problems...

I`m sure glad I switched from Collinite to FK1000P, but it might not be right for everybody. 845 is pretty foolproof on trim while FK1000P is in the "don`t try this at home kids!" category there. If 845 is working well for you, might oughta just stick with it.

I haven`t seen anyone applying/removing it by machine, which I would prefer -- is that doable?

While I like applying a lot of LSPs via machine, I`ve never tried it with the FK1000P because I can get a thinner application by hand (always, every LSP), but that`s just me and I`m pretty fanatical about the "thin application" thing especially with that particular product. That said, I think it`d go fine as long as you really do concentrate on not using too much.. Be *ESPECIALLY* careful in that regard if you already have some on there and want to add more as the "solvent-action" type problems can *really* bite you with FK1000P.

The FK1000P buffs off fine by machine IME, though like other LSPs it seems that I always end up doing a little by-hand final buffing to get that last 1% buffed properly.

But overall, if you want to do it by machine (something I can fully understand) I wouldn`t expect problems with the FK1000P. It`s just not as foolproof as 8475 usually is.

 

[Stokdgs]

Awesome Feedback Guys !!!
Every post a Winner !!!
Thank you -
Dan F

 

[Kean]

That said, I think it`d go fine as long as you really do concentrate on not using too much..

....thought this was worth a second mention.

I love the properties of this product but it can be a real PITA if you just slap it on (e.g. trim, crevices/edges, too thick). I made that mistake in a couple of areas my first time. There were spots where the residue set up like concrete. Obviously, I`m being a bit dramatic but it set up quite hard in those areas and was a bear to remove. I remember having second thoughts on using FK1000P at the time. It wasn`t until after it was applied and the subsequent weeks/months later that I was able to really appreciate the qualities of the product. It was also later that I reflected on that time I spent removing the hardened product and it made sense to me then why this stuff was likely so resilient.

I have talked to a couple of folks who have used machines to apply it with good results. I usually apply by hand but the thought did occur to me when I recently applied FK to my `86 4Runner. The paint on that truck is already thin so I prefer not to do any correction. ....plus the fact that I just don`t care so much about those things anymore. Being single-stage, I found a product like FK (with its solvents) tends to do well with helping remove oxidation as it`s applied. I wonder in that scenario using a machine with something like a white LC pad might be a good idea.

 

[PRND[S]]

I guess the FK1000P might indeed hold up better (given it`s "Hi Temp" labeling..assuming you trust such stuff).

Wasn`t FK1000P originally a mold-release product from the casting industry?

Be *ESPECIALLY* careful in that regard if you already have some on there and want to add more as the "solvent-action" type problems can *really* bite you with FK1000P.

Was that in regards to an existing coat of another LSP, or an existing coat of FK1000P?

 

[JSFM35X]

I stay calm watching the tiny heads slide off the paint.

 

[Stokdgs]

I Opticoated all our vehicles, and I never had that much work to do after that, to get me down...
If the paint was prepared correctly and the coating applied correctly, there really is not much sticking to it for a few years..
I never put anything on top of it either..
Just wash it with CarPro Reset, and let the coating do its reject dirt thing..
No disappointments ever for me..
Dan F

 

[jfelbab]

How I stay calm... One or two of these puts me in a very calm state no matter what the weather.

 

[Accumulator]

Kean- Hey, that`s a *VERY* good point about how the solvents in LSPs like FK1000P can do some cleaning. Heh heh, it probably borders on Autopian Heresy for us to talk about that, since True Autopians would clay/otherwise prep before reLSPing.

Sorry to hear that you learned about the thin *thin* *THIN* application the hard way, but yeah..products like FK1000P and M16 (which *were* both originally developed as mold-release products, so you`re correct there PRND ) seem especially finicky in this regard.

PRND- Nah, didn`t mean to dissuade anybody from layering the FK1000P, just gotta go about it right. The Accumulator-proof way is to do one coat at a time, with at least a few days between coats (like waiting until the next regularly-scheduled wash), and *not* overdoing it...three or four is as many as I`d ever do (four resulted in time-delayed pseudo-holgrams once...huge PIA that only showed up after the vehicle sat unused, and indoors, for a while), and I usually just do two and then refresh when needed. And again, don`t reapply aggressively lest that solvent-action do something you don`t want.

Noting that of course !YMMV!, two coats of FK1000P is sufficient to prevent etching from bugs/birds IME. I wouldn`t be surprised if one coat were sufficient.

 

[Kean]

Kean- Hey, that`s a *VERY* good point about how the solvents in LSPs like FK1000P can do some cleaning. Heh heh, it probably borders on Autopian Heresy for us to talk about that, since True Autopians would clay/otherwise prep before reLSPing.

I mentioned it before but I`m just not really motivated these days in regard to detailing. .....especially on my 4Runner. I just applied the 2nd coat about a week ago (giving a week between applications). The oxidation wasn`t that bad (just where it begins to dull the finish)

Since I`m confessing, I would have to admit that I sometimes (like I just did with the 2nd coat) will not wait the recommended 15-20(?) minutes and will wipe it off sooner. ....almost WOWO but not quite. That has more to do with saving time than anything though. In this case, I really just needed to throw something on the truck to mitigate the oxidation issue and give it some protection since it sits outside 24/7.

Sorry to hear that you learned about the thin *thin* *THIN* application the hard way, but yeah..products like FK1000P and M16 (which *were* both originally developed as mold-release products, so you`re correct there PRND ) seem especially finicky in this regard.

Yeah, that really sucked. I simply didn`t realize how hard this stuff could set up until I experiences it myself. Live and learn I guess. Luckily, that was just on a fender and not a larger section.

About a 2nd coat..... In my humble opinion and based on my limited experience, I really do believe 2 coats make a noticeable (dare I say significant) difference in the performance of this product. I know a lot can depend on several factors but that has been my own experience. ....and I`m not one to typically subscribe to the whole "layering" thing beyond assuring adequate coverage. There are few products I would and this is one of them.

 

[Striker]

That`s why you gotta get over it in your mind- there are daily drivers and garage queens.

I just bought a brand new fiesta st in black. I polished it. Sealed it with 845 and the i didn`t wash it for 2 weeks. It rained every day and I drive 60 miles a day for work. It would have been a waste of effort and time and product to wash it. Instead once it cleared up I washed it again and my hard work underneath all that crap was still there.

The garage queen cars are always clean. But again. They don`t drive


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[Accumulator]

That`s why you gotta get over it in your mind- there are daily drivers and garage queens...

Perhaps a different view here- I separate vehicles into "Winter use" and "non-Winter use". Though even my most pampered garage-queens have seen some terrible winter weather, salt and all.

Other than the "do I get it all salty?" the only diffs for me are related to the inevitable patina that any vehicle gets given enough use.

 

[Striker]

Ya. No winter modes for me on the trans am and mustang. They will remain like this as the daily takes some driving

.

Caught twice in the rain.

 

[Accumulator]

Striker- Gee, that`s *NICE*! Here I`m always talking undercarriages but that`s probably nicer than any of mine. Heh heh, even my Jag has been salt-encrusted all over more than that and I mean *UTTERLY* encrusted from top to bottom I haven`t had anything that nice for years (the Mallett `vette was though )

OK, so the [EDIT, brain-pause... Fiesta?] is gonna get the hard use, right?

 

[Striker]

Yep. The trans am is....I don`t even know what. An ornament? It`s my first "real car" I bought.

The mustang coupe is a project that I`m slowly beautifying.

Some random shots. Super clean but I took off between 1-2lbs of clay like rust springing on the back side of the car and the bumper support.

Fiesta will be driven but still babied as much as possible.


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