Polishing in the sun

[critical_level2]

I am planning to polish my Dakota this weekend using Wolfgang TSR 3.0 to remove some swirls in it then follow up with the Wolfgang Finishing Glaze and Wolfgang DGPS. I live in an apartment and have used my parents garage in the past. Due to recent family "disagreements", which I am no part of, it is a total warzone at my parents. I have plenty of space out back of my place, but not any shade. Is it possible to use these products in the sun or not? I was planning on trying in the early morning or later in the afternoon. I would do it at night with halogens, but I do not think my neighbors would not be too happy with me. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

[Rsurfer]

Get a pop up canopy or Poorboy's.

[SRHTX]

Since I do not know where you live or work, I would advise you to make a trip to Pep Boys, Targay or Wally World for a canopy. You will NOT want to do work out in the sun without any shade. Down here in Deep South Texas, I will NOT do any detail work unless I can do work under a shade, Heat down here is high 90s to low 100's with plenty of humidity. Your work will not come out the way you expect at and could damage your client(s) vehicles.

My $.02

Stephen

[ScottB]

I would never polish in direct sunlight and heat .. some products like Poorboys and Optimum offer there use in it, but find that heat can certainly create some issues especially if the panel being worked is too hot.

[Surfer]

I've used Optimums Polish and Compound in the sun with no problems, but other polishes seems to be finicky as hell in direct heat/sun.

[Jimmie]

I've used Optimums Polish and Compound in the sun with no problems, but other polishes seems to be finicky as hell in direct heat/sun.

:whs: Tried 'em all, and returned to Optimum. Glad that I did.

[Nappers]

I took this quote from Mike Phillips when he was with MOL.....

Even though he's talking about Meguiar's products, I think it would fall under most polishes out there.....

Hope it helps.....


When we talk about surface temperatures, we need to consider three factors:
Surface Temperature
Ambient Temperature
Relative Humidity
Surface Temperature (Actual surface temperature of the vehicle)

The best surface temperature range for applying cleaners, polishes, and protectants is approximately 60 degrees to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. More importantly, the surface does not feel warm or hot to the touch.

Basically, when you're working within this temperature range, it's not too cold, and it's not too warm to realize exceptional results from just about any Meguiar's product.

Meguiar's products will work easily within a much broader temperature range, such as, 50 degrees to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but guaranteed best results will be achieved in the 60 degrees to 80 degrees range.

Ambient Temperature (Outside temperature)
Ambient temperature is the room temperature or the temperature of the surrounding environment. It's easily possible to have between 10 to 50 degrees difference in ambient temperature compared to surface temperature. This can make the difference between a product that's easy to work with, or hard to work with. Keep in mind, the hotter the ambient temperature, the quicker products will dry.

Humidity (Moisture in the air)


Simply put, humidity is moisture in the air. Technically there is Relative Humidity and Absolute Humidity, but as it relates to:
Applying
Working with
Curing, drying, hazing
Wipe-off or removal of car care products.
The simple explanation of moisture in the air, or more specifically, the amount of moisture in the air is the major factor, which will affect how easily or potentially difficult a product will be to work with, or a procedure will be to perform.

Low humidity, in warm to hot temperatures, will act to cause liquids to evaporate and dry more quickly. This can make a product difficult to work with or decrease the amount of time the product remains easily workable on the surface.

High humidity in cold temperatures can make products hard to work because it can dramatically increase the amount of time necessary for the product to cure, dry or haze (depending on which product you're using).

Low humidity in low temperatures tends not to be a factor in working with, cure times, and when applying and in the removal of cleaners, polishes, and protectants (Low temperatures are a factor, but not low humidity in low temperatures).

High humidity in high temperatures tends not to be a factor in working with, cure times, and when applying and in the removal of cleaners, polishes, and protectants (High temperatures are a factor, but not high humidity in high temperatures)

Extreme temperatures, both cold and hot will make any product more difficult to work with.

Direct sunlight
Direct sunlight will dramatically increase the surface temperature compared to ambient temperatures and make cleaners, polishes and protectants extremely more difficult to apply, work and remove.

Air current/Wind
Air current/air flow, or windy conditions will act to increase the evaporation speed and potentially making some products more difficult to apply, work, or remove. In some cases this can be a bonus, helping a wax to cure/dry more quickly.

Summary
The best conditions for using cleaners, polishes and protectants on automotive paints would be in a cool place, out of direct sunlight, in a surface temperature range between 60 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with comfortable to low humidity, with a light breeze to create the perfect conditions for detailing your car's finish.

Common sense and a good rule-of-thumb is to avoid applying any product if the surface is too warm to touch with the palm of your hand comfortably.

50 degrees Fahrenheit = 10.0 degrees Celsius
90 degrees Fahrenheit = 32.2 degrees Celsius

__________________
Mike Phillips
Cell: 760-515-0444
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek.net
"Find something you like and use it often"

[belcherm58]

As stated in Mikes article above. I have had a lot of problems trying to work a polish on a hot surface in direct sun. When face with this situation, I have resorted to covering sections of the car with soft clothssuch as a few beach towels and let the area cool and remove them a section at a time to polish. A neat tool to determine these surface temps is a lazer thermometer. I go one at Harbor Freight for
29.95 and love it for checking surface temps. A canopy is the best
remedy or early mornings or late afternoons.

[gwilo]

Take a look at Poorboy products, some of them can be used in the sun.

[Mike Phillips]

One other tip for situations when you have to work in direct sun and don't have any other options is to shrink the size of your work area down.

:)

[BlkTAWS6]

As stated in Mikes article above. I have had a lot of problems trying to work a polish on a hot surface in direct sun. When face with this situation, I have resorted to covering sections of the car with soft clothssuch as a few beach towels and let the area cool and remove them a section at a time to polish. A neat tool to determine these surface temps is a lazer thermometer. I go one at Harbor Freight for
29.95 and love it for checking surface temps. A canopy is the best
remedy or early mornings or late afternoons.


That is actually what I do whenever I dont want to break out the EZ up just to do a test spot for a customer to see the before and after. If it is too hot I lay down a damp micro-fiber (which is a good size for a test spot) and try casting a shadow myself over the area I am polishing on.

[O.C.Detailing]

So far, I just use Optimum products as I end up working in the sun a lot. I did by a 10x10 canopy, but the wind is a bear and a half to deal with so sometimes I don't pull it out.

[BlackSunshine01]

Since I do not know where you live or work, I would advise you to make a trip to Pep Boys, Targay or Wally World for a canopy. You will NOT want to do work out in the sun without any shade. Down here in Deep South Texas, I will NOT do any detail work unless I can do work under a shade, Heat down here is high 90s to low 100's with plenty of humidity. Your work will not come out the way you expect at and could damage your client(s) vehicles.

My $.02

Stephen

werd. south texas heat FTL! that the main reason why i bought the pb stuff. most of the products seem to say they like a max work temp of about 85-90 which is the avg night time temp around here right now.