Machine polishing on hot, humid days

[StoneRaizer]

Hi all,

I live in a small city in eastern Ontario, Canada. We're stuck in a heatwave with temperatures in the low-mid 30s ('C) which is approximately 90'F. However it's also very humid, so factoring in the humidity it feels like low-mid 40s'C or roughly 110'F. Now I know direct sunlight and/or a hot surface will cause compounds, polishes and waxes to dry extremely quickly so I won't work in the midday when the sun is at it's hottest. Finding a shady area out of the sun is unfortunately not an option. :( However, on days where it's cloudy or in the evening after the sun starts to go down, is it still safe to work on my car in this heat and humidity?

If it makes a difference, my car is a light silver metallic 2002 Accent. My guess is that the light colour will reflect some of the heat so the surface temperature would be cooler than a darker coloured car. The products I'd be using are a PC 7424XP, LC orange CCS and LC white CCS pad, Optimum Hyper Compound liquid and Optimum Polish II liquid.

Thanks for all of your help!

[Dubbin1]

Even in a garage I sometimes have problems with compounds and polishes acting funny when it hot and humid.

[rjom]

On very humid days I spray some QD on the pad. That helps.

[FinalTouchAuto]

I haven't really had a problem polishing any vehicles in Houston summers. We have been seeing mid 90s and very humid weather.

Just watch to see how the polish is breaking down and work it accordingly and be sure the pad doesn't become dry.

[BobbyG]

As the temperature climbs the vehicles of liquids in products tend to evaporate more quickly and could affect the overall result so a watchful eye is a good idea.

Once you become accustomed or have a feel for how a product works you become aware of any changes for a variety of reasons, temperature being one of them.

If I find this happening I'll spray a little of either detail spray or distilled water until it feels right to me or until I achieve the results I'm looking for.