WaxAddict
New member
I really enjoyed Swanicyouth's review a few weeks back on Finish Kare FK425.
http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums...-slick-final-body-shine-425-quick-review.html
This review got me thinking - insofar as sprays, how much protection in "some protection"?
I have been using FK425 for a few months and really enjoy it. From the label: "Cleans & waxes metal, glass, and painted surfaces". My hope was that this is true, because 425 isn't known for its cleaning ability - I use it on clean surfaces. In other words, since I use it like a spray wax, my hope is that it's "as good as a spray wax".
For a comparison test, I chose Meguires Qwick Wax. Despite being available at WalMart, Megs QW is quite good and has many fans. I know form experience that it will bead nicely on a currently non-beading panel, and will last several days in favorable conditions.
The UQW is $0.73 per ounce in the typical 15.2 oz bottle, and the typical 31 ounce bottle of FK425 comes to $0.52 per ounce. The Megs bottle is a hundered times more comfortable.
While most of us here would not use spray was as a sole LSP, for testing purposes, I chose to use these products as such. The test subject is the hood of a daily-driven, stored-outdoors, often-neglected Acura MDX. This paint currently has NO beading, as shown here:
Since the hood has a nice raised crease down the middle, I chose not to tape off the two halves. The look of the two products was almost identical on the black MDX. This is a bit different outcome than I have experienced on cars with a nice existing LSP, where the FK425 looks slicker and wetter than the UQW. But here, it's a tie:
Ease of use was similar, except that the UQW hazed on me in the heat and humidity. This was remedied by more buffing.
Here's a 50/50 of beading after application of UQW and FK425, after a cure time of 30 minutes. In my eyes, a dead tie on this MDX with no LSP:
This shot is after a few minutes of medium-pressure hose rinsing, then a quick swipe with ONR (normal dilution) AND a quick wash with CG Super Suds II, diluted a bit less than specified (like I always use it). This is a WIN/WIN for both products and another dead tie. The protection didn't wash off.
it's not all good news. This shot is from 24 hours later, after a torrential downpour overnight and one trip in the daytime heat, and sitting in the scorching sun. The beading is no more:
This got me thinking: With only half-day protection or so, maybe any QD would perform as well! Here's two QD's that don't claim to leave protection, Mothers and Adams.
Deformed beading but there's obviously something there. After a quick wash in CG Super Suds II, the Mothers and Adams QD's are toast! :
This test is proof that FK425 leaves protection that these quick-flashing QD's don't. Not surprising, just making sure.
As one last test on the Megs QW and Finish Kare, I applied the products and, in a attempt to preserve the layer, I did not hose it down or wash. Again, after 24-hours, which saw a light rain and moderate use, the protection was gone.
My conclusion: FK425 is "as good as a spray wax", which, in Florida in July, ain't saying much. As far as beauty sprays are concerned, I'll use whatever looks good, is easy to use, smells good, and is cheaper. FK425 for the win.
I'd like to extend this test for some other products, such as UWW+ and PB QD+. I'll also try to repeat the test when the climate is more wax-friendly, in November.
http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums...-slick-final-body-shine-425-quick-review.html
This review got me thinking - insofar as sprays, how much protection in "some protection"?
I have been using FK425 for a few months and really enjoy it. From the label: "Cleans & waxes metal, glass, and painted surfaces". My hope was that this is true, because 425 isn't known for its cleaning ability - I use it on clean surfaces. In other words, since I use it like a spray wax, my hope is that it's "as good as a spray wax".
For a comparison test, I chose Meguires Qwick Wax. Despite being available at WalMart, Megs QW is quite good and has many fans. I know form experience that it will bead nicely on a currently non-beading panel, and will last several days in favorable conditions.
The UQW is $0.73 per ounce in the typical 15.2 oz bottle, and the typical 31 ounce bottle of FK425 comes to $0.52 per ounce. The Megs bottle is a hundered times more comfortable.
While most of us here would not use spray was as a sole LSP, for testing purposes, I chose to use these products as such. The test subject is the hood of a daily-driven, stored-outdoors, often-neglected Acura MDX. This paint currently has NO beading, as shown here:
Since the hood has a nice raised crease down the middle, I chose not to tape off the two halves. The look of the two products was almost identical on the black MDX. This is a bit different outcome than I have experienced on cars with a nice existing LSP, where the FK425 looks slicker and wetter than the UQW. But here, it's a tie:
Ease of use was similar, except that the UQW hazed on me in the heat and humidity. This was remedied by more buffing.
Here's a 50/50 of beading after application of UQW and FK425, after a cure time of 30 minutes. In my eyes, a dead tie on this MDX with no LSP:
This shot is after a few minutes of medium-pressure hose rinsing, then a quick swipe with ONR (normal dilution) AND a quick wash with CG Super Suds II, diluted a bit less than specified (like I always use it). This is a WIN/WIN for both products and another dead tie. The protection didn't wash off.
it's not all good news. This shot is from 24 hours later, after a torrential downpour overnight and one trip in the daytime heat, and sitting in the scorching sun. The beading is no more:
This got me thinking: With only half-day protection or so, maybe any QD would perform as well! Here's two QD's that don't claim to leave protection, Mothers and Adams.
Deformed beading but there's obviously something there. After a quick wash in CG Super Suds II, the Mothers and Adams QD's are toast! :
This test is proof that FK425 leaves protection that these quick-flashing QD's don't. Not surprising, just making sure.
As one last test on the Megs QW and Finish Kare, I applied the products and, in a attempt to preserve the layer, I did not hose it down or wash. Again, after 24-hours, which saw a light rain and moderate use, the protection was gone.
My conclusion: FK425 is "as good as a spray wax", which, in Florida in July, ain't saying much. As far as beauty sprays are concerned, I'll use whatever looks good, is easy to use, smells good, and is cheaper. FK425 for the win.
I'd like to extend this test for some other products, such as UWW+ and PB QD+. I'll also try to repeat the test when the climate is more wax-friendly, in November.
. What I took from this test was that FK425, which most of us consider a QD, is more like a spray wax. It looks, applies, and protects like a spray wax. In contrast, quicker flashing actual QDs do not leave protection, as expected. 
