Washing in the sun

P

phatrs

New member
Hi all,

Now that summer is approaching in Australia it’s impossible for me to wash my car in the shade, so parts of the car dry out while I’m still washing. I’ve tried washing them rinsing a section at a time, but then the first section has dried out by the time I’ve washed the final section if I don’t rinse the whole car constantly.

The reason for this madness is I’m worried about water spots.

What’s your approach if you can’t avoid washing in the sun?




Ben - Melbourne/Australia

Now: ‘19 VW Golf R, ‘15 Polo GTI
Before: ‘06 RenaultSport Megane 225 Cup, ‘14 VW Polo GTI, ‘12 VW Golf GTI, ‘06 VW Golf GTI, ‘05 VW Golf Sportline, ‘01 Holden Astra SRi, ‘00 Nissan Pulsar SSS, ‘99 Holden Astra CD, ‘98 Nissan Pulsar SLX, ‘91 Nissan Pulsar GL with Q engine swap, ‘80 Subaru Leone
 
phatrs- Noting that I haven`t washed in the sun since the `70s, but did black cars that way then...

IMO you oughta be doing everything section-by-section anyhow, and I wonder about even doing whole panels at a time without rewetting the whole car.

I fear you won`t like this, but..."..[I have problems].. if I don’t rinse the whole car constantly." Just do that. I always do anyhow even indoors in a climate-controlled shop. I doubt I`ve ever done more than a panel or two without rerinsing the whole thing, like...not once in my life even as a kid, even when I`m using Deionized water with which it shouldn`t matter.
 
Washing in the hot sun just plain sucks! I try to avoid it period. But I have noticed when I have to, if you have good LSP on and flood rinse before I dry, I never had issues with water spots. I dry the glass first, then hit the body. But I will stand with my thought on it, you just cant wash a vehicle right in the sun. As mentioned above a canopy would help, or pull it a garage if you can for the final drying.

That is why in the summer months I wash at 6AM.
 
Option #1
Wash @ the krak of dawn

Option#2
Wash as the sun is setting
This is the option I usually take- still plenty of light left

And as mentioned above-- a good water filter helps-- Good luck mate!!
 
Like re-tired said, wash as the sun is coming up. This way the panels have not heated up yet. If you are trying to wash in the heat of the day there are very few ways to avoid water/soap drying on your paint. There are some soaps that say they don’t create water spots like Nexzett Perls (which is said to be “ideal for hotter climates”) that you might give a try.
 
Thanks for the ideas everyone.


Ben - Melbourne/Australia

Now: ‘19 VW Golf R, ‘15 Polo GTI
Before: ‘06 RenaultSport Megane 225 Cup, ‘14 VW Polo GTI, ‘12 VW Golf GTI, ‘06 VW Golf GTI, ‘05 VW Golf Sportline, ‘01 Holden Astra SRi, ‘00 Nissan Pulsar SSS, ‘99 Holden Astra CD, ‘98 Nissan Pulsar SLX, ‘91 Nissan Pulsar GL with Q engine swap, ‘80 Subaru Leone
 
Ron was right, actually more often than not. I’ve found McKee’s SIO2 shampoo to be awesome in direct sunlight. Granted I usually use it as evening is approaching but I use it in full sunlight and temps high, it will greatly diminish spotting.
 
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