Detailing in direct sunlight

B

benpocock

New member
OK I know it's not great, but sometimes we just have to do it. Luckily for me (so far) whenever I've been detailing a customer's car and it's been hot they've had a garage I can use, but I know the time will come when I have to detail outside in direct sun and oppressive heat (believe it or not we do get it here in the UK every now and then!).



When my van is delivered I'll be carrying an E-Z up canopy, but at the moment I can't fit one in the car so what can I do to make life easier in the meantime? I find that trying to detail a hot surface cakes up my pads in about two minutes flat and also dries out the product instantly, making progress very slow and frustrating.



Any tips/tricks, other than reschedule for another day? :D



Ben.
 
I had a similar problem when I detailed at my former residence. My driveway had full shade from 8 AM to about 9:30 AM, then I would be "chasing" the shade from 9:30 to around 11:30. 11:30 to 1:30 was in full sun, so that's when I would do the detailing of the interior. At 1:30ish I started having shade again and would finish the exterior then.



I have a two car garage now.. things are so much easier! ;)
 
During the summer months I usually get to my customer's location by 6:30AM. That way, I've got plenty of time to get the vehicle polished and waxed before the sun gets too hot on the surface.
 
BigLeegr said:
Another option is to use products that are "sun friendly."
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This is with products that are sun friendly! I mainly use Poorboy's when the sun is out but even still, when the surface of the car is hot enough to fry an egg on, they gum up and dry out exceedingly quickly.



Ben
 
BenP said:
This is with products that are sun friendly! I mainly use Poorboy's when the sun is out but even still, when the surface of the car is hot enough to fry an egg on, they gum up and dry out exceedingly quickly.



Ben
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I've had problems with gummed-up polish too when using the SSRs in direct sun on a hot day. Particularly on dark colors. Black is really bad of course.



I try to get the polishing done early in the morning if possible. I have shade until about 11:00AM, so I do what I can. If the customer has shade at their place, I may do the detail there.
 
Purchase a pop up canopy! Best thing I ever did. Got one for $99 at Pep Boys. It's 10X10 but it has straight legs so you get 100 sq ft of shade.
 
detailthis said:
Purchase a pop up canopy! Best thing I ever did. Got one for $99 at Pep Boys. It's 10X10 but it has straight legs so you get 100 sq ft of shade.
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As per my original post I'm getting one of those when my van is delivered, but right now I just don't have the space to carry one...



Ben
 
There's a company out here called American Shine Products that claims their products are easy to use in direct sun.



I've never used any of their stuff or known anybody who has so I can't comment in any way shape or form about their performance, quality or service. Also have no idea if they'd export to the UK.



The only info I have comes from their website and some brief online correspondences with Dave, the company president (who seems like a nice guy).



They're located in California's high desert and claim they came up with their stuff because nothing available worked in the local (damn hot) climate.





PC.
 
the other pc said:
There's a company out here called American Shine Products that claims their products are easy to use in direct sun.
Click to expand...



I've used their products. They do work in the sun but they're not that great of products when I tried them out. When I started asking questions about them, he would just give me typical salesman answers. "It's the carnauba in there that removes those swirls."





I'd suggest you check out Poorboy products. I've also used Einzett (sp?) Metallic polish and it works great for this.



Another simple thing you can do is wet your pad with a Quick Detailer or some water to help the product stay wet longer on the paint. I've also covered areas with a towel after washing in the past to help keep the paint temp down. Got to do what you got to do.
 
I detailed my car in direct sunlight this past Sunday. PB's SSR1 got very dusty (unless it normally is), and when I waxed it with P21S and QDed with Adam's Detailer the stuff was literally boiling on the surface. Probably not the greatest to get proper results, but we can't have shade every time.



Car came out looking shiny as ever.
 
Not the best solution, but I use a patio umbrella with a stand. It only covers part at a time, but it does work and cools the paint pretty fast and I am in Las Vegas, NV. It gets a bit warm here as well. 11AM and only 103 so far. Ah a nice spring day
 
detailthis said:
Purchase a pop up canopy! Best thing I ever did. Got one for $99 at Pep Boys. It's 10X10 but it has straight legs so you get 100 sq ft of shade.
Click to expand...

How does this thing stand up to wind?
 
If you can get hold of a tarp, try stringing it up to overhead objects. It should fold up into pretty much any car if you get a 10X10 or 20X20 one. I've done that in the past, when I had to. Although the setup/takedown took about 15 minutes each way, it still saved me time in the long run.
 
When the paint is hot you have more of a chance to mar the finish. Even when you dust your car with a CCD if the paint is to hot there is a chance of leaving fine scratches.
 
Idz21: I had one like that and it lasted a year and I didn't have it anchored well enough at first and caused $1200 in scratches to my wifes Tribute. Even after being anchored well the wind beat it to death. Just my experience.
 
Detailed two black Lexus today and since the owner of the LS430 needed to leave by 3:15 PM, I had no choice but to polish it out in the direct sun. Paint was still in pretty good shape since the car is only a year old but it did have very light spider swirls. Used Vanilla Moose with a Meguiars polishing pad with the speed on 5. Did a great job. VM stays wet even on hot paint for a long time so you can work it for quite a while if needed. Finished it off with the new version of EX w/carnauba and even after applying it on paint hot to the touch, it wiped off with ease.



Heavier polishing requirements probably would have made me a little leary since I would have had to use the SSR line (Speed Glaze and DACP are useless on hot black paint-as much as I like them otherwise) and I have yet to try it on really hot paint. I did detail a medium blue metallic BMW 3 series with 2.5 on a warm spring day in the direct sun with no problems, while #80 gummed up pretty badly.



EDIT: Pics of the Lexus should be up tomorrow. ;)
 
Buy a 12x12 (under $100 at WalMart) pop up tent and use PB's SSR's and Clearkote products and you'll be golden.



Also, I have used many carnauba pastes with the wipe on, wipe off method in the sun with no ill effects. A little QD to spit shine helps out.
 
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