BRH

I'm planning on doing a detailing on my car in the next week or two - Wash, Clay (for first time), Mother's Pre-Wax Cleaner (with PC), Mother's Reflections Polymer (with PC), and Natty's Blue topper.

Probably will do this procedure over the course of 2 consecutive days.

My questions -- I have very little shade where I live and don't have a garage. With luck, I'll have 2 cloudy days, but I'm figuring that at least one will be sunny. Everything I've read says that, ideally, none of this stuff should be done in the sun. Is that because of the heat generated on the car surface by the sun, or does it have something to do with the actual sunlight itself? In other words, is it OK to go thru this procedure on a sunny day as long as the air temp is moderate (ie - 85 degrees or so)? If so, are there any special tricks/tips to follow? Or am simply I better off doing what I can during the early morning and late hours when the sun is lower in the sky, temps are cooler, but available daylight time is limited?

Thanks!

ubnpast

well the sun does cause heat...

csmeance

if the car is hot, the wax/protectants will evaporate.

Hawhyen51

This may have to do with curing and bonding. Although, some products can be applied in direct sunlight (Nattys is a good example), I would opt for early morning or early evening application.

GSteg

heat is worse

In socal, you can have a sunny day that varies from 70-90 degrees.

Sometimes the clouds are blocking the sun and you can still have a pretty hot day.

exceldetail

I would vote for heat with cloudy conditions over sun........I think the direct sun is your worst enemy.......

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Get up early in the morning to do it. I normally get up every Sunday at 5am so I can spend the morning cleaning up after the weekend before it gets too hot. And now that football season is upon us I have to do it this way so I can catch the games around 10am!

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Heat is worse. I can't detail when it's 90 outside & sunny. The entire car gets way too hot. But when it's sunny & it's 70, that's fine. The car doesn't get hot.

joerockt

um yea...

Anyway, direct sunlight is worse. Things dry waaaay too quickly. I've been dealing with 100+ days here and as long as im in the garage, the heat dosent really bother me.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

How can that be? If it's 30 outside & your in direct sunlight, the sunlight won't heat anything cause the airtemp will not let it.

exceldetail

I wasnt assuming you'd be detailing a car when its 30 outside!
Anyway, why does the inside of a car warm up when its sunny out, but with cool ambient temps?
Direct sun is your worst enemy, then low humidity. Cold is also not good for detailing as oils have a harder time evaporating, as they cant warm up.

joerockt

So how many 30 degree days have you seen in Boca Raton?

Air temps and surface temps are 2 different things. Even if it was 30 out and it was a bright sunny day, if you left your car outside for several hours, some of that heat from the sun is going to be absorbed by the metal.

picus

Definitely direct sun. If it's 120F out and overcast you're fine to polish; as soon as the sun hits the metal you're in trouble.

TOGWT

These are the temperatures and conditions that are relative to the application of car care products; the most important is the actual surface temperature of the vehicle. The other things that will have a direct bearing on this is the humidity as this will effect the cross-linking (cure) time, excess humidity will also affect ‘how’ a wax or sealant dries (i.e. it may cause hazing or clouding of the surface)

The other climate related condition that should be avoided when applying car care products is direct sunlight, as this will dramatically increase the surface temperature compared to ambient temperatures causing the product to dry prematurely and may render it ineffective.

•Surface Temperature (Actual surface temperature of the vehicle) between 50(10oC) and 80oF(26oC), products will work well within a much broader temperature range, 40° to 90° F (4.5-32oC)) but the best results will be achieved in the 60° to 70° F (15-21oC) range surrounding air temp (ambient or room) must be 55oF (12oC) + to ensure the minimum vehicle surface temperature of 50oF (10oC) which is recommended as a minimum by most manufacturers
•Ambient Temperature (Outside air or surrounding air temperature)
•Relative Humidity (Moisture content of the air)- RH 50% +/-10%
•Inside Air Temperature (Room Temperature) 70 – 75oF +/- 10oF (21-24oC +/- 12oC) and 50% relative humidity +/- 10%
•Air movement or windy conditions will increase the evaporation rate but potentially make some products more difficult work with, especially sprayed products. Perversely this can lessen wax / sealant drying time.
•Swipe Test after sufficient drying times do a quick swipe test with your finger, if no smearing or drag is evident; the residue is ready to be removed.

Vehicle paint surface temperatures-
Ambient Air temp was 90F temperatures attained after 2-hours, slight air movement (with still air add 10-15oF)

Paint Temperatures
Colour degrees
oF oC
White 115 46
Red 123 50.5
Dark Blue 126 52
Black 127 53
Metallic blue/green 126 52
Dark Metallic Green 137 58
Interior 220–275 104-135 (Dependant upon interior colour)

How UV heat radiation affects car care products- a wax or polymer sealants carrier system comprises; oils for lubrication and solvents to liquefy and enable it to spread, forming a mechanical bond by filling the micro fissures in the paint surface. They can be thought of as semi-solid until the solvent carrier evaporate, once ultra-violet (UV) radiation heats the paint surface, evaporating the solvents they revert to a solid making it very difficult to spread and its removal will cause scratching or surface marring.

The same situation exists with glass or acrylic (plastic) cleaners, the alcohol / solvents and lubricating oils flash (evaporate) the remaining products will leave residue streaks and smear the surface.

Surface Temperature (Actual surface temperature of the vehicle) between 50 and 80oF, products will work within a much broader temperature range, (40° to 90° F) but the best results will be achieved in the 60° to 70° F range In summary, the ideal conditions for the application of car care products; cool and dry, away from direct sunlight, a surface temperature between 60° and 80° F, 50% RH or lower humidity, and a light air movement.