I've done mine two ways. The first time I applied it, I held the belt over my knee (rough side out) and crayoned the compound on in big squiggles, perhaps 50% of the total surface area was lightly coloured. That worked just fine, but took a while, so when time came to re-apply it (after about 50 knives or so-ish) I just left it on the machine, turned it on, and lightly rubbed the stick across the spinning belt until it all had some colour. That worked just fine as well. You do not need much, mostly I just FEEL for how it's cutting. If the burr isn't coming off and the belt doesn't feel like it's doing anything, it's time for another coat. Better to have too little than too much, though. A very small bit goes a very long ways!
