Black Car Paint Temperature in Full Sun

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Black Car Paint Temperature in Full Sun
(And a few other colors too)

The Sun

The topic of working on a car in full sunlight without any shade comes up from time to time on the forum. While there are some companies that offer products that are stated they can be used in full sun, it's also true that all paint care products specifically and car care products in general will work better on a cool surface in the shad then on a hot surface in full sun.

At approximately 2:00pm today here in sunny, Stuart, Florida I walked outside and took some temperature readings using my Infrared Thermometer and then took pictures of the readings with the vehicle in the background to show the color of the paint.

At the time of this article I took a screen shot for Stuart, Florida from weather.com and a picture of the skyline to show that it's a clear, sunny day with some light cloud cover.


Screenshot from Weather.com




Shot of the sky over the top of Autogeek's Corporate Headquarters...



Flipped the camera towards the sun and took this shot...



Here's a black Corvette that's been parked here since 8:00am this morning...



Black Matte Finish on a BMW...



Black Glossy Finish on the same BMW - Note this car just pulled into the parking lot so there's engine heat coming off the motor...



This is a black finish on a Hyundai...



Dark Metallic Blue on a BMW...



Medium Dark Blue on a Susuki...



Medium Dark Blue on a Mustang...



Medium Dark Blue on a Toyota Truck...



Medium Dark Silver finish on a Toyota Camry...



Red finish on a Mazda Miata...



Metallic Copper on an Audi...



Kind of a greenish beige metallic on a Pontiac...



Beige on a Toyota Corrola...



Silver Metallic on a Toyota Camry...



Silver Metallic on a Chevy Silverado...



White paint on a Hyundai...




You can see there's quite a temperature difference between a range of color spectrums. While it's best to work on a cool surface in the shade, if that's not an option for you here's a few tips...


Tips for working in warm/hot weather or direct sunlight

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

If we take the temperature of the paint on the black Corvette and compare it to the temperature of the white paint on the Hyundai, there's a difference of about 43 degrees.


Here's a black Corvette that's been parked here since 8:00am this morning...



White paint on a Hyundai...




That 40 degree difference can be huge when introducing a liquid onto the surface with the intent of trying to work it over the paint for a few seconds to a few minutes...

[wgilles]

Hot dang (no pun intended)! I knew the paint got hot, but over 150, wow!

[Jomax]

I'll try doing that with my truck and post a pic. I'm sure its even higher.


Sent from my iPhone using AG Online

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Think about this,

• As the temperature increases the body panels and the paint on them expand.
• As the temperature decreases the body panels and the paint on them contract.

If this is happening every day to your car then there's some very nice technology behind modern paint formulas for them to be able to continually do this over long periods of time.

Of course, like everything else, paint does wear out...


The Clearcoat Failure Photo Gallery Archive

Beginning Clearcoat Failure

Clearcoat Fracturing versus Clearcoat Failure

[FUNX725]

Good information Mike...Thanks!!

(These "paint temperature idices", to me, are also a very good reminder to keep a vehicle's "sacrificial-barriers" (LSP's) 'fracture/melting points' in mind.)



Bob

[imranhakro]

Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek

Medium Dark Silver finish on a Toyota Camry...

Awesome analysis Mike

Please suggest some waxes (considering climate in my area, see details below) which can withstand in such high temperatures, without compromising looks and durability.

Your this thread is very helpful to me because i am from Karachi, Pakistan.

I own a Dark silver Finish suzuki (Metalic grephite grey, to be specific)

Its very Hot climate here and da*n dusty too..
Average Temperature Nights: 82F
Average Temperature Day: 100+ F
Average Humidity : 55%-70%

[B&B Tennessee]

Very good info - and temps are good to know! I usually feel the paint and if I cant keep my hand on the paint (which many times is almost impossible) I pull the vehicle out of the sun. Being a mobile detailer can be tough in that aspect but is still very possible to create a stunning turnaround while maneuvering around the sun. We have 2 paint corrections this week ( Black Ram, Black Infinity ) that I will most likely try to work on from 6 pm to 6 am, just to avoid the issues that arise with that bright hot thing in the sky :/

[brlukosk]

Collinite?

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by B&B Tennessee

Very good info - and temps are good to know! I usually feel the paint and if I cant keep my hand on the paint (which many times is almost impossible) I pull the vehicle out of the sun.

That's right, you don't need an infrared temperature gun when you can use your hand for a common sense check for paint temperature... I have an article for this topic...

Fight or Flight Method for Gaging Surface Temperature

Originally Posted by B&B Tennessee

Being a mobile detailer can be tough in that aspect but is still very possible to create a stunning turnaround while maneuvering around the sun.

There's a few tips on working in direct sun here,

Tips for working in warm/hot weather or direct sunlight

Originally Posted by B&B Tennessee

We have 2 paint corrections this week ( Black Ram, Black Infinity ) that I will most likely try to work on from 6 pm to 6 am, just to avoid the issues that arise with that bright hot thing in the sky.

Now that's dedication. I can only remember two times I pulled an all-nighter for a car project, once as a 1967 Firebird with the original severely oxidized paint and the only option I had was to start at 6:00pm and have it done by morning.

The other was when I hand wetsanded The Titanic in a parking garage before it went on display at a car show before going up for auction.