Actual surface temperature while buffing/polishing

[Jean-Claude]

What is the hottest you want the surface of the paint to be while buffing or polishing? What is the ideal temperature while working the product?

I am looking for actual temperatures.

I mostly use SIP, NANO and Ultra Fina. (Adjustable speed Makita)

Thanks

[Jean-Claude]

Can no one help out?

As another safety procaution I'd like to keep a temp gun with me. That would do no good if I don't know the temps.

[TH0001]

Heat is unwanted so ideally you would be at room temp

[toyotaguy]

cool to the touch

[ezemsm444]

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[TH0001]

Originally Posted by ezemsm444

cool to the touch huh, on sip you want the buffer speed around 1500-2000rpm minimum, its written on the bottle. After doing two smooth passes no pressure moving about 5 sec. a foot the surface is already warm. when you get up to polishing you are burnishing creating a shiny smooth surface. This would REQUIRE heat. I honestly don't know about how hot it needs to get though just out of curiousity i'll post some pictures and get some temperature readings from my temp gun i use in hvac in the morning i got to buff my top on my pickup i left pending.

Actually the question was the IDEAL tempature....

Ideally you want the paint completely 'cool to the touch'.

I am not sure why you think that heat is necessary to polish the paint. Polishing is a mechanical process where abrasives are grinding away at the uppermost layer of the paint, heat has NOTHING to do with it. Modern catalized clearcoats do not 'reflow' or become softer (to a measurable difference that would make polishing easier).

Heat is a by product of the mechanical process (friction). As you noted, a couple quick passes with SIP can heat the paint quickly, but this is also very dependent on the amount of pressure, rpm, size of the pad, type of paint, tempature, humidity, pad type, amount of polish, and starting tempature of the surface (to name a few things). On a hot humid day, with a stiff orange pad, on soft Porsche paint, with SIP you are going to QUICKLY heat (and perhaps overheat) the paint.

SIP (for all its quirkiness) is pretty forgiving of surface tempature and the thick lubricants in the polish flow better when the surface is warmer. But now we are getting into specific questions regarding specific polishes vs. the more generic question...

[ezemsm444]

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[Jean-Claude]

As you yourself said, heat is a by-product of friction. You can not polish/buff without friction. At some point friction/heat is going to degrade quality or possibly damage. I am asking at what realistic temperature buffing/polishing is most effective. Seeing how it's impossible to buff/polish without heat.

I am not trying to be rude. But you seem to want to mince words and bicker over semantics. I think most people can understand exactly what I asked.(not that you didn't)

I am looking for help, not a fight over semantics.

Consider your ambiguous comment about surface temp and SIP(you didn't offer any real information). Practically everyone reading this knows how to use SIP. I am asking to be more informed about a product than just that it is easy to use(which is what you said, more or less).

ezem, thanks for your personal experience. If no one else can offer any new info, I suppose I will explore the subject myself.

Originally Posted by TH0001

Actually the question was the IDEAL tempature....

Ideally you want the paint completely 'cool to the touch'.

I am not sure why you think that heat is necessary to polish the paint. Polishing is a mechanical process where abrasives are grinding away at the uppermost layer of the paint, heat has NOTHING to do with it. Modern catalized clearcoats do not 'reflow' or become softer (to a measurable difference that would make polishing easier).

Heat is a by product of the mechanical process (friction). As you noted, a couple quick passes with SIP can heat the paint quickly, but this is also very dependent on the amount of pressure, rpm, size of the pad, type of paint, tempature, humidity, pad type, amount of polish, and starting tempature of the surface (to name a few things). On a hot humid day, with a stiff orange pad, on soft Porsche paint, with SIP you are going to QUICKLY heat (and perhaps overheat) the paint.

SIP (for all its quirkiness) is pretty forgiving of surface tempature and the thick lubricants in the polish flow better when the surface is warmer. But now we are getting into specific questions regarding specific polishes vs. the more generic question...

[D&D Auto Detail]

There use to be an article about this on Automotive International > Home But since they redid the website I cant find it anymore, nor can I remember the temp they said to stay under. Id shoot them an email and ask for the article. That will answer your question about max surface temps while buffing.

As for the ideal temperature while buffing, that will vary with every product whether its surface temp or outdoor temp. I believe creating heat will actually result in some products performing better. Obviously there are limits to how hot you can get the paint. I also think some polishes dont do too well in colder outdoor temps. But I havent had a problem with the polishes Ive used in 90*+. My polishing is done in a garage, sometimes with AC, sometimes not.

[TH0001]

Originally Posted by Jean-Claude

As you yourself said, heat is a by-product of friction. You can not polish/buff without friction. At some point friction/heat is going to degrade quality or possibly damage.

Correct, heat is a by product of friction, but they are seperate. If you are asking at what friction SIP is most effective, I wouldn't know how to answer. However I took it as you where asking at what tempature is SIP most effective... If I mistook your question I apologize, but I thought my answer was very clear and that there is no idea tempature to work a polish. Heat is unwanted and not needed (but unavoidable). Instead of quoting some tempature I made up in my head, I gave a detailed account (that some might learn from). If I were (where) to quote a temapture it would get passed around and regurgated on forums to the point of becoming an other false inter-fact.

I am asking at what realistic temperature buffing/polishing is most effective. Seeing how it's impossible to buff/polish without heat.

I understand your question. If you would like a more specific answer, I will do my best. There is NO best tempature and ideally it would be cool enough to avoid damage to the paint. IMO, it would be as cool as possible. The focus of paint correction is remove defects this should be the goal. Use the correct procedure, pressure, pad speed, movement speed, and pad selection to effectively remove the defects. Paint (as unwanted and not predictable) tempature is a by product and really plays such a small point as being almost unwanted.

Example: SIP with a Lake Country Orange Pad on Porsche paint in high humidity (noticing the variables) will generally super heat the paint, even under low pressure and low RPM. It can be almost impossible to polish the paint with this combination with out overheating the paint. What if the tempature changes outside. Should you slow your machine to induce less heat (and require more passes) just to keep the tempature ideal?

The best advice you will recieve on this subject (and the most accurate answer, IME) is to adjust your techinique get the required results, while never letting the paint get so hot that it painful to the touch.

I am not trying to be rude. But you seem to want to mince words and bicker over semantics. I think most people can understand exactly what I asked.(not that you didn't)

You are being rude but I don't want to mince words, I want to use specific terminology to avoid the confusion that can happen on the internet.

I am looking for help, not a fight over semantics.

And I felt that my answer was full of useful information that could help you, sorry that it didn't....

Consider your ambiguous comment about surface temp and SIP(you didn't offer any real information).

Actually I didn't give you an answer to your question (because there is no correct answer). Instead I provided you with information to allow you to draw your own conclusion.

Practically everyone reading this knows how to use SIP. I am asking to be more informed about a product than just that it is easy to use(which is what you said, more or less).

Sorry you thought my explanation was beneath you. So here you.... 175 degree works best!!! Aim for this tempature above all else...

ezem, thanks for your personal experience. If no one else can offer any new info, I suppose I will explore the subject myself.

Your whole post is just wierd. I provided factual information that could help you explore this yourself and you scoff at it, then say you are going to do the research. You will find (after looking hard enough) that the answers I gave are well searched and will be the same conclusions you have recieved. Then you can post your experience for somebody else asking the question you asked yesterday and hopefully they will share with you the same grattitude you shared with me today.

Merry Christmas

Todd

[ezemsm444]

Originally Posted by Jean-Claude

What is the hottest you want the surface of the paint to be while buffing or polishing? What is the ideal temperature while working the product?

I am looking for actual temperatures.

I mostly use SIP, NANO and Ultra Fina. (Adjustable speed Makita)

Thanks

I'm sorry if my replies mislead your search, since you mentioned surface temperature while buffing I thought to myself well i'll see tommorrow i never really tried to measure the temperature while buffing. Maybe I might help, if it works for me it might for you. But now that I see what you are asking, I have removed my posts to prevent them from being a future distraction.

Sorry to all, Sam

[TH0001]

Originally Posted by ezemsm444

I'm sorry if my replies mislead your search, since you said while buffing I thought to myself well i'll see tommorrow i never really tried to measure the temperature while buffing. Maybe I might help, if it works for me it might for you. But now that I see what you are asking, I have removed my posts to prevent them from being a future distraction.

Sorry to all, Sam

Sam, I didn't think your posts where misleading at all. The point of this forum is to have discussions and help eachother learn. At least in my opinion.