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Good info Mike! I work in the sun when working on the cars and I have a way of putting up an 11' x 16' tarp instead of a canopy but thats because I work in the same area everytime. Because of possible contamination from the wind and the elements, after prepping the paint and before I get into polishing, I wipe down the panel with a quick detailer to make sure nothing has been blown and landed on the paint.
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Originally Posted by ixnod
Good point... keep plenty of cold bottled water on hand and take water breaks often when working in warm and hot conditions.
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Originally Posted by Johnnyboy
Was showing that tip this last weekend at out Detailing Boot Camp Class, that is wiping the paint down after the compounding step to make sure all fragments from the compounding process are removed before staring the polishing step.
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HMMMM.. Please help with tips and tricks for working with -8 degrees.... Arrrgghh... Mike, please have a contest where the lucky winner (from the north) gets a trip to Florida for one of your detailing classes!
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Originally Posted by OSP1560
I heard someone mention a contest for a trip to Autogeek to attend one of my classes, not sure what happened to the idea?
:)
Here is my take, since I live in South Carolina, we get some hot summers where we have lots of humid days where even walking out causes you to sweat, I am sure Mike can relate being in Florida.
Most of my post keep going back to when I had my mobile business, so here are my tips. *This is for the person or persons who have a totally contained unit.
1. Buy a good canopy. I have an EZ-up Contractor grade that is big enough to park a Hummer under. It has saved me more times than not when it is really nasty hot outside. (One caveat here is that I had helpers)
2. Hydration: We always and I mean always had a full size cooler with hydration drinks, water and snacks. I cannot stress enough how much electrolytes you will loose on summer days.
3. Limit your exposure. Where lighter fabrics with full sleeves, wide brim hats help as well.
4. Working product. This is where I have to take a side and say that we rarely did full level correction on anything without the use of either the clients shop or another shop. I would do a wash and wax on these days and that is about it. My money was made in washes and convenience service, not full correction detailing.
HUMP
By the way, if anyone is living close enough to me that they would want to come and check out the canopy, I would sell it. Message me and we could set up something.
:)
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Originally Posted by HUMP DIESEL
Have a good way to anchor it down to in case it's windy outside. I've used 5-gallon buckets with water in them, at 8 pounds a gallon a 5-gallon bucket weighs 40 pounds.
Don't tie them to the canopy with rope as this will just cause the buckets to spill, instead use a bungee cord because it will stretch. If you can park your rig next to the canopy and somehow use the weight of your rig to anchor the canopy down. The big picture is you don't want your canopy blowing around possibly damaging a vehicle.
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Originally Posted by HUMP DIESEL
Two great tips...
Another great tip, focus on doing simple work as in Keep it Simple Simon....Quote:
Originally Posted by HUMP DIESEL
Thanks for your contributions to this article HUMP...
:dblthumb2:
Great write up Mike, Thanks. I have been putting what you taught and what I have learned here to good use, but this heat in Central Florida is killing me. Product dries way to fast and act's differently. I look forward to the day I can build the garage and wash bay.
The very few times i have been forced to work in the direct sun of FL, i do 2 things: cover the next section i am moving to with a WW MF towel and top that with a "cooling pad". I have two cooling pads that are designed to be rinsed in cold water, wrung out and draped around your neck. Does wonders to keep me cooler in the brutal hot sun (with frequent rinses!). I will use one of them to lay on top of the MF towel to keep the next panel section cool.
The second thing is like Mike said...i work smaller sections.
This is mainly an issue with top sections as i can move the vehicle to get the sides out of the direct sun.
Great post Mike. Hopefully this will help out with many of the questions people have been asking on this topic.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using AG Online
I have a question:
Generally, while polishing, I may stop immediately if I touch surface and feel it's becoming 'damn hot'. A little heat may be expected, but I never let it raise to the level of a 'full sun over a black car' feeling, if you know what I mean.
My question is about this: I stop polishing if heat is building up fast, how to deal when polishing a surface that is, from the start, 'damn hot'?
Wouldn't this increase (a lot) the potential burn of paint?
I mean, I'd be really scared running a compound over a 'damn hot' paint, even if product states it can be used under full sun.
On my reasoning, the product drying fast would be not my main concern..., since all those tips seems to deal with this issue in a efficient manner.
Thanks in advance for help,
Kind Regards.