Getting waxes/sealants very thin by hand

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southernman

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All,

I was looking for some tips to improve my application of waxes and sealants by hand. At the moment, I do my detailing at coin operated washes very early in the morning, so I at least have a covered area, but I still do the application of waxes and sealants by hand. I own a 2010 Honda Civic and my wife has a Mazda CX5.

I'm curious for those of you that do not use machines to apply waxes and sealants to your cars, how do you get it THIN? I'm having a problem with the Power Lock (luckily it removes somewhat easily). It comes out of the bottle like a very thick lotion, and it seems like no matter how little I put on the foam pad, it is recognizably too thick when it goes on the car and I have to go over it and over it to get is spread out on the car thin enough. It is funny as a sidenote that I remember reading that Collinite 845 was fussy but I actually find it much easier to use than the Power Lock.

Additionally, in the past, i've had issues with paste waxes too and getting them on too thick but usually they are WOWO so they aren't hard to get off, but I'm still using too much product which is wasteful.

I guess I just wanted to know if you all had some good tips for possible applicators, or techniques that I could use to get less product on the car but still enough to coat it. Maybe I'm just a bubba detailer.
 
The way I get sealants thin is by placing one to two dotes of product on applicator then dap the applicator over the working area then apply the sealant once the area is coverd then whatever product left over dap onto the next panel another thing that might help is changeing the bottle top as for paste waxes dictate one applicator for waxes then lighly swipe the paste once or twice those one or two swipes should cover two or more panels another trick would be to use a flash light cause it help see the product begin spreaded lastly don't clean wax applicator until after the third or fourth use that way the left over product inside the pad can be used by just lightly pressing the pad against the panel and when spreading wax sealant or any product take your time and relax
 
By Hand:
I'll use something like the "Polishing Pal":
Wolfgang Polishin’ Pal

With a red wax/sealant pad:
Lake Country Beveled Edge 3.5 Inch Pad Pack
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However:
I agree with the following:
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rcktpwrd said:
Nov 30th, 2010 06:36 PM

When I recently did my PT with a DA for the first time, I was amazed at how little product went so far!

I could never spread any wax/sealant product so thinly and evenly by hand before.

Joel
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TO WIT:



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Bob
 
There is a good write up on how to apply Colinite 845 on this forum.


Personally I like to use a foam applicator pad. Something Similar to Meguiars foam applicator pads. I apply 3 pea sized drops
 
Polishing Pal or DA.... they both work for me just fine. I find with the polishing pal it would be extremely tough to *not* know you are appying thick since there really is no way the widget absorbs product.
 
You have a drill? Get the Meguiars DA power tool system with waxing pads. Save time and be able to apply super thin. I can never apply any wax/sealant by hand anymore.
 
Some products are just easier to apply a thin layer by hand then others. It must have something to do with the lubricity of the product. A good example is how much easier it is to apply a thin layer of Z-2 compared to a product like DG105. The old muscles like an easy to spread product these days!!!!!
 
My trick for "super thin" for products that are more liquid than others is to fill a small 2 oz. bottle with a pointy tipped cap and apply it thin to the applicator. About 3 years ago i got a bulk order of 8, 4 and 2 oz. bottles to use with different detailing products...about 25 of each from US Plastics. I'm still grabbing new bottles out of the box! The small 2 ouncers are great for liquids that need to be applied thin. Even if i get ham fisted on a heavier section, i work it around really well and have another clean, dry applicator to work it some more. That seems to thin it out a bit.

My technique was honed using Zaino and Klasse a few years ago!
 
I used to be a hand application only guy for wax and sealants, started using the DA more and more. Some LSPs like BFMS deserve a hand application, too much fun.
 
Sicktred08fsi said:
You have a drill? Get the Meguiars DA power tool system with waxing pads. Save time and be able to apply super thin. I can never apply any wax/sealant by hand anymore.
Click to expand...

Good idea!

Even a battery powered one could (would) work in this case.

Bill
 
All,

I appreciate the tips, I'll just keep working at it. One of these days I'll have a garage and lights rather than being up at dusk in a coin operated wash trying to do some of this but thats just an excuse.

The idea about the small bottles sounds good.
 
And it isn't as much about the small bottles as it is about the pointy, funnelled cap that dispenses very thin lines of product. Think small ketchup bottle with a very thin cap tip.
 
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