New Car Questions (FK1000p, etc)

T

ThatsSoSpursy

New member
Hey All - I have been a longtime lurker and have enjoyed reading this forum over the years to get tips and recommendations to help take care of my family`s cars. My wife got a new car this month and I want to make sure I do a couple of things right from the get-go to take good care of it. It is a white Honda and will be parked in a garage every night. Our goal would be to hand wash it weekly. I bought a few products recently to help me get started. I bought some Optimum Car Wash (already had and use DG901). I wanted to compare those 2. I also bought some FK1000P and 425 to go with it.

I practiced on my 13 year old Toyota last weekend and I think it went well. The wax went on very easily and came off very easily. It looks good so far and I am pleased for sure. I had some old Duragloss 501/601 that I put on first in an effort to clean the paint up a little. One of my questions would be do I need to do something like that on the new car since it has new paint and is in much better shape? Or would I just wash and apply the FK1000P? On the Toyota, I put it on the paint, glass, wheels and chrome trim.

However, I did not want to attempt to apply this to the black plastic trim. That leads me to another question, what should I do to start protecting the black trim pieces on the car. The Toyota`s is old and graying and I would like to take better care of the new car`s trim. But I am unsure what to do there.

I am also unsure of what to do about tire cleaner/dressing. I guess depending on the trim product, there may be some overlap to what I use on the tires but I am just unsure what`s out there. I prefer a non-glossy finish on the tires. If i maintain the car like I hope and use the FK1000P on the wheels, I expect that I wouldn`t really need a strong wheel cleaner but I don`t want whatever tire cleaner I use to eat through the wax on the wheels.

My goal in all this is to not make things overly complicated. I don`t mind ordering products on the internet or picking something up OTC. I just want a few basic items in my arsenal that will help me maintain our new car for a long time. I appreciate any help and advice.
 
Those are great products you have - old school and proven. I always enjoy using 425.
So, regarding the new car, no one can give you exact advice without first seeing the condition of the paintwork, but if I had your white Honda, I would definitely do the following before applying the FK “wax”:

Wash the car twice, or in other words go over each panel twice, with your Opt car wash.
Dry the car.
Use CarPro Iron-X on the car.
Clay the car.
Wipe down with CarPro Eraser.

Then “Wax” the car with the FK1000. Wait 12+ hours. Wax it again.
 
Welcome to Autopia!

Your lurking probably had you suspecting that I`d see the title of this thread and chime in :D

I bet that FK looks great and worked fine over the DG. IMO, whether the new Accord needs it or not would depend on what *you* think, same as with decontamination/etc. Some new vehicles need it (and white does show any rust-blooms from ferrous contamination once it oxidizes) while others don`t and I wouldn`t fix what isn`t broken (nor neglect fixing what is).

Exterior Trim: While the 845 is a good choice that`s worked well for me, in the future you might consider a Trim Sealant (I use Ultima`s Tire & Trim Guard + ), which *for some of us* lasts a lot longer.

I usually prep trim for 845 with an AIO, usually Klasse. I don`t know whether the DG is a good choice for that or not, but even if it is I`d employ a "wipe on wipe off" approach rather than letting it dry on the trim (I almost always do the 845 that way too). An AIO might help bring back the Toyota`s trim, and/or there are other approaches to improve it if you want to get more involved about it.

For other trim prep jobs, I like Griot`s Rubber Prep, which works great on plastics as well as rubber and provides a good prep for the Ultima TTG+.

ThatsSoSpursy said:
Hey All - I have been a longtime lurker and have enjoyed reading this forum over the years to get tips and recommendations to help take care of my family`s cars. My wife got a new car this month and I want to make sure I do a couple of things right from the get-go to take good care of it. It is a white Honda and will be parked in a garage every night. Our goal would be to hand wash it weekly. I bought a few products recently to help me get started. I bought some Optimum Car Wash (already had and use DG901). I wanted to compare those 2. I also bought some FK1000P and 425 to go with it.

I`m of the same mind regarding not stripping the FK off my wheels by using the wrong Tire Cleaner, so I`ve been using Griot`s Rubber Cleaner, which is *awfully* mild ("awfully" is the precise word..it`s so gentle it hardly hurts the dirt and will be too much so for many). If/when I switch to something more potent, I`ll probably go with Tuff Shine`s cleaner, and might use their Tire dressing too..haven`t decided. DG makes a low-sheen one that`s also on my short-list (I`m using up stuff that I`ve had for years first).

I never use the dressing approach (which I call "slime" ;) ) on trim, only on tires.

And as you suspected, with FK1000P on the wheels a sorta-strong shampoo mix usually works fine.

And I really like reading about your desire to not go overboard with this stuff!
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WaxAddict- Heh heh, you`re quicker, and more succinct, that Yours Truly :D

Good point about waiting a day or so and doing a second coat of the FK. I might add another after the next regular wash, but IME it pays to *not* overdo the layering with that stuff.
 
Accumulator said:
WaxAddict- Heh heh, you`re quicker, and more succinct, that Yours Truly :D

Good point about waiting a day or so and doing a second coat of the FK. I might add another after the next regular wash, but IME it pays to *not* overdo the layering with that stuff.
Click to expand...

Right Accumulator; in fact, overdoing the layering on any wax or sealant has been, IME, at best a waste of time, and at worst a detriment to the cured layers. The exception is Klasse of course.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. My purchase of the FK1000P was in large part due to Accumulator (and others) on here. I will look into some of the products mentioned, like the Iron-X and Eraser to prep the paint and the Griot`s and Ultima for the trim. Would the Ultima be good on the tires as well? I am using DG253 on my tires now and I am almost out. I could buy that again or try something new. I assume using the FK425 as a drying aid wouldn`t hurt the Ultima on the trim would it?

I plan to add a 2nd coat to both vehicles spaced about a week apart.
 
Also, months from now when I will need to "wax" again, should I be doing the same prep steps (like Iron-X & Eraser) or just apply the FK1000P?
 
I have maybe 4 coats of FK1000P on both the `93 Audi and the Crown Vic, but gee those applications are years-old now so who knows what`s really left, and I did apply them over a somewhat extended period (well, over weeks, not months).

Full Disclosure/True Confession: Ron Ketcham, who sure oughta know, says that my "psueudo-hologram issue from overlayering FK1000P" is a matter of user-error. I dunno...I certainly won`t argue *anything* related to the FK with Ketch, but eh...I`m not ready to change my ways over it either (OK, my bad :o guilty as charged).

ThatsSoSpursy- That plan with the FK sounds fine. Just get another on there as soon as you notice anything changing..or after a few months even if you don`t.

I`ve never tried the Ultima on the tires! Sounds goofy, huh...but I haven`t. No idea how well it`d work...fear of dissatisfaction kept me from attempting it (I tell myself that`s OK since I really do want to use up my gallons of Tire Slime :o ).

The FK425 won`t hurt the Ultima at all, but I`d probably skip it if refreshing the UTTG + (although the Ultima has proven surprisingly NON-finicky).

FWIW, while I do love/use/recommend the FK425, most of the time I just use a near QD-strength mix of Garry Dean`s Infinite Use Detail Juice instead. The IUDJ has proven 100% compatible with the FK and the Ultima, although I suspect YMMV! could apply so I`d be a *little* careful in making sure it plays nice with the Ultima when redoing same.

But as far as using such stuff on the FK and the Ultima once they`ve set up, no problems IME, not ever.
 
I am also unsure of what to do about tire cleaner/dressing. I guess depending on the trim product, there may be some overlap to what I use on the tires but I am just unsure what`s out there. I prefer a non-glossy finish on the tires. If i maintain the car like I hope and use the FK1000P on the wheels, I expect that I wouldn`t really need a strong wheel cleaner but I don`t want whatever tire cleaner I use to eat through the wax on the wheels.

I have put about 5 layers of FK on my wheels with about 3 or 5 days between applications and IME I have not noticed any difference. To me not worth the effort as doing the many spokes is not a quicke. Again, that`s my experience with FK and wheels. FK on paint may end up being my only wax I will keep in my arsenal.
 
FK looks good on our white 17 highlander
I use Jescar powerlock sealant on my trim
dont get the fk on your trim
I run out of the optimum car wash last year and tried the duragloss because autopia and Autogeek were out of stock on the optimum
i like the suds on the optimum a little bit more
 
Fishroes said:
FK looks good on our white 17 highlander
I use Jescar powerlock sealant on my trim
dont get the fk on your trim
I run out of the optimum car wash last year and tried the duragloss because autopia and Autogeek were out of stock on the optimum
i like the suds on the optimum a little bit more
Click to expand...

Thanks Fishroes, that’s good to know about the OCW. I usually find myself using a little more soap than normal anyways to get more suds.
 
WaxAddict said:
Those are great products you have - old school and proven. I always enjoy using 425.
So, regarding the new car, no one can give you exact advice without first seeing the condition of the paintwork, but if I had your white Honda, I would definitely do the following before applying the FK “wax”:

Wash the car twice, or in other words go over each panel twice, with your Opt car wash.
Dry the car.
Use CarPro Iron-X on the car.
Clay the car.
Wipe down with CarPro Eraser.

Then “Wax” the car with the FK1000. Wait 12+ hours. Wax it again.
Click to expand...

Are there any good OTC products like Iron-X and CarPro Eraser? Wife wants her car done this weekend but I couldn`t get those delivered before Saturday. I assume that the iron remover would be the most important part of the prep, is that correct?
 
ThatsSoSpursy said:
Are there any good OTC products like Iron-X and CarPro Eraser? Wife wants her car done this weekend but I couldn`t get those delivered before Saturday. I assume that the iron remover would be the most important part of the prep, is that correct?
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Eagle One Black & Plasticoat Wheel Cleaner is the cheapest (and my favorite), if you can find it. Next would be Meguiar`s Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner then Griot`s Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner, as alternatives to Iron-X. Immediate OTC alternative to CarPro Eraser would be Rustoleum Grease & Wax Remover or Duplicolor Grease & Wax Remover in the black bottle. I use Duplicolor with polishes that don`t leave a lot of oils behind and use Rustoleum with any polish made by Meguairs. I do need to say that both products should be sprayed on the panel, left to dwell for a few seconds, wiped around with a mf towel that has been sprayed with used grease & wax remover, then leave product to dry, and then removed with a dampened mf towel as both products can be a bit grabby and cause towel marring with dry towels. I like to use a bucket of water to rinse out the mf towel in between panels and to keep said removal towel in. As well for future reference, Stoners Tar Grease & Sap Remover is a great and viable alternative to Carpro Tar-X.
 
I`ll look for the Eagle One product. I am sure I could find the Meguiar`s and I know I have seen the GG Heavy Duty in AA. Just to be clear, it is safe to use these products on the paint?

This is a brand new car and to my knowledge, the only thing the dealer has done was wash it. If that is the case, is it safe to assume that the Eraser/Rustoleum/Duplicolor step isn`t quite as important? Not trying to take shortcuts here as I want to do what`s needed but I have never prepped a car for a wax/sealant like this before so just not sure.
 
You most likely won`t find Iron X over the counter. If you have an Autozone or Advanced Auto near you - I think they both carry Meguiar`s "Professional" ready to use products. You can grab Meguiar’s Iron Removing Spray "Clay" - Industrial Fallout & Iron Remover. It`s similar to Iron X in that it dissolves embedded iron contamination & industrial fallout.

Rather than using Eraser - you can do an alcohol wipe down. Did that for years before Eraser was even invented. Although it might be tough to find isopropyl alcohol nowadays...

https://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/ask-a-pro-the-isopropyl-alcohol-ipa-wipedown/

Congrats on the new car!!!
 
Good luck finding the Eagle One product, it is hard for me to find in my area. Definitely do your homework to see what store has it, that way you lessen your probability of being exposed to the virus. These products are completely safe for the paint, as long as you do not let them dry. I typically spray the product on the panel, and panel by panel I go around the car. I do multiple laps around the vehicle trying to keep the product wet, by respraying the panels with less product. After a few minutes of lapping the car with the fallout remover, I lightly mist the car with water from the pressure washer. After letting the product continue to dwell, I then foam the car to help evacuate the fallout remover from the paint and crevices. I will say that some trim can experience a little bit of staining if you`re not careful and let it dry. You can always tape the trim if you`re really worried about it.

Regarding the grease & wax removers, new vehicles cannot escape dirt and grime, environmental fallout, or traffic film. The grease & wax removers really shine when you realize that they really are for any light grease, light oil, or light residual wax that are introduced to the vehicle after it has been properly stripped washed, or may remain on the paint. For example if I was to touch the vehicle with my dirty hand or there was some atomized silicone floating in the air, and it was attracted to the vehicle, or a polish with a high oil content was used on the vehicle, or I have used a clay lubricant that leaves some polymers behind, a grease & wax remover would help me strip the paint of these contaminates. In terms of strip washing, Superior Products Road Warrior is a very safe and economical water based degreaser, I like to use it for strip washing as it is very safe for paint. You should be able to order it through O`Reilly Auto Parts, the product number is C461, and get it within a couple of days. You can also use it to boost your OPT Car Wash. Road Warrior can also function as a cleaner for everything else besides windows, it dilutes all the way to 1:100. I honestly don`t see a need for any type of APC when I have Road Warrior in my arsenal.

WaxAddict suggested a great process, I would make some amendments:

Rinse the car
Working one panel at a time, pretreat the panel with Road Warrior mixed at a dilution of one part product to four parts water, let Road Warrior dwell for about 10-20 seconds
Work Road Warrior around the panel with a mitt from your bucket full of OPT Car Wash
Rinse the panel
Do this process around the entire car, then dry the car

Apply your fallout remover, rinse the car, then dry it if you experience water spotting
Spot treat any tar deposits
Clay the car
Wipe down with a grease & wax remover

Then wax the car with FK1000P. Wait 12+ hours. Wax it again.


Concerning the trim: https://www.autopia.org/forums/car-...191652-cerakote-trim-restorer-impressive.html or you can go with 303 Products protectants (rubber, vinyl, etc), they are virtually all the same and can be picked up OTC, search your local outdoor store and auto parts stores.
Tires: You can use 303 Products protectants for the tires as well, if the product is too shiny you can cut it with water.
Regarding a wheel cleaner, Superior Products Road Warrior is the answer, highly versatile product.

Also, if you are in need of some pretty decent wash mitts, the AutoCraft Microfiber Chenille Wash Mitts, found at Advance Auto Parts, are pretty good value and quality.
 
I really appreciate the recommendations. I do have the Meg`s Iron Removing Spray and Road Warrior available local to me. That sounds like it will be my best route.

How much do you dilute the Road Warrior for cleaning wheels? I don`t want it so strong that it will wear down the FK prematurely.
 
Dilution of Road Warrior for wheels really depends on the level of dirt/brake dust in your world. In my world there have been some instances where 1 part product to 50 parts water has cleaned up the wheels, and there are some instances where 1:10 has been needed. I have a couple of different strengths mixed at the ready, 1:50, 1:31, and 1:10. For wheels/tires that need a cleaning before LSP, I would recommend 1:4. Something to note is that Road Warrior doesn`t produce much of the browning that we see with other tire cleaners, don`t worry about it, the tire is still being cleaned. If you don`t have a scrub brush for tire duty, Libman is a brand that sells a Long Handle Scrub Brush that is green and white, you will find it in the cleaning section of Home Depot, Walmart, your local grocers, etc.
 
ThatsSoSpursy said:
This is a brand new car and to my knowledge, the only thing the dealer has done was wash it. If that is the case, is it safe to assume that the Eraser/Rustoleum/Duplicolor step isn`t quite as important? Not trying to take shortcuts here as I want to do what`s needed but I have never prepped a car for a wax/sealant like this before so just not sure.
Click to expand...

If they washed it I fear it`ll need at least some correction :( And I wouldn`t expect that to have had any effect whatsoever on any contamination..that Meg`s product is probably what I`d go with in your situation.

I`d still just use a strong (regular) shampoo mix on the FK`ed wheels...mine clean up fine that way no matter how long I go between washes and it`s convenient to use the same stuff when cleaning the wheel wells/etc. while you`re already down there with it in-hand.
 
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