Water beads magnifying the sun/burning holes in the CC???

S

sftempest66

New member
I was doing a writeup on another forum (Mach1registry) and posted pictures of my beading action, and some member chimed in and said "You have to be careful when using a polish that makes the water bead up like pictured above. Make sure the sun doesn't shine on it when the beads are present because it could burn tiny holes into the paint. I prefer to use a polish with sheeting action unless you are going to wash your car on an overcast day."



I'm trying not to be ignorant and I was just wondering if this is plausible...I'm starting to sound like Mythbusters lol...Just wondering if you autopians have ever heard of anything like this and I'm just not convinced that the beads could provide enough magnification to actually hurt the paint while in direct sunlight (My guess is that they would not be powerful enough to provide enough concentration of the sunlight onto one point to actually hurt something, and that the beads would probably evaporate before any harm could be done...) And just for reference, here were the pictures of my beading action that I posted....



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hurm, I am not sure about that. I wouldn't say it isn't possible, because I do not know, but let's start with what we do know:

-It's never been known to cause something like that (at least on this board and my personal experience)

-It probably won't happen :P



I wouldn't sweat it. If that happens, People suntanning and spritzing with water would be in a whole lotta pain.
 
So let's say you can magnify/concentrate the sun's rays with your water bead, as you can with a magnifying glass and toast ants or set paper on fire. THERE'S A DROP OF WATER SITTING ON TOP OF WHERE YOU'RE CONCENTRATING THE LIGHT. I don't think it's going to get any hotter in that drop of water than it gets when sun shines on your paint directly...and when the evaporative cooling effect of the water is gone, so is your lens. Problem solved. Myth busted.
 
I remember watching an infomercial about some "revolutionary new car wax & protection system" where their whole presentation was centered around the idea that when water beads and then the sun comes out it burns holes in your paint. And that is why their product was superior because water didn't bead on it, it just sheated off.



I don't put any stock in this theory whatsoever, I am sure we would have heard of something about it from any of the professional chemists that manufacture Auto Detailing chemicals and supplies, and if it was risky then they would have changed the products to reflect that danger with the current market products.



Plus I don't even know if water can magnify sunlight in such a way as to transfer heat. I beleive it was just a gimmick to sell the product to a bunch of consumers who had no common sense.



Nice beading pics by the way
 
LastDetail said:
I remember watching an infomercial about some "revolutionary new car wax & protection system" where their whole presentation was centered around the idea that when water beads and then the sun comes out it burns holes in your paint. And that is why their product was superior because water didn't bead on it, it just sheated off.



I don't put any stock in this theory whatsoever, I am sure we would have heard of something about it from any of the professional chemists that manufacture Auto Detailing chemicals and supplies, and if it was risky then they would have changed the products to reflect that danger with the current market products.



Plus I don't even know if water can magnify sunlight in such a way as to transfer heat. I beleive it was just a gimmick to sell the product to a bunch of consumers who had no common sense.



Nice beading pics by the way
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Youre talkin bout "Dura Shine" Ive seen that infomercial too where they shoot a laser at the car with dura shine on it :confused: , pathetic gimmicks. These are the same guys that make "dura lube" where they take the oil out of the engine and keep running it...
 
I would still be cautious of beading if you live in the southern states where it'll be a nice and toasty 110* in the middle of July, then a storm moves in and soaks everything and leaves beads on your paint, and the sun pops right out and makes waterspots.
 
Think about this. Its like using a miniature magniifying glass made out of ice to burn an ant. While your trying to focus the rays, the magnifying glass will eventually melt and lose all magnifiying power.
 
ron231 said:
Youre talkin bout "Dura Shine" Ive seen that infomercial too where they shoot a laser at the car with dura shine on it :confused: , pathetic gimmicks. These are the same guys that make "dura lube" where they take the oil out of the engine and keep running it...
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Yea that is the stuff. I remember that during their "man on the street" exhibition of the product they were interviewing all these random people. They had a bunch of people who were acting as if this whole "water-beads-magnifies-the-sun-and-burns-holes-in-paint" was common knowledge, and how awesome it was that they had finally found a product that didn't bead.



Wait, you mean it's bad to run the engine without oil in it?!?!?!?!??!
 
I actually tried some of that DuraShine stuff back in the day, and you know what? It did a very good job of sheeting the water off of the surface during a moderate rain.



BUT,

Problem 1. Didn't last very long. Maybe two or three good downpours.

Problem 2. Very dull gloss-less finish

Problem 3. Did not finish out smoothly. It was a little gummy or grabby.



Never really bought into the water burning a hole into the paint thing, but did like the fact that I needed less towels to dry off the truck.
 
I gotta chime back in here, that beading CAN be a problem, for the reason that truzoom mentioned (water spots on a dirty car) and in areas that get acid rain.
 
I've never had (burning) problems with water beading here in FL, but during the summer when storms come and go fast, I get bad water spots... not because the car is dirty but from fallout. It just depends on how fast the sun comes out after the storm.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I gotta chime back in here, that beading CAN be a problem, for the reason that truzoom mentioned (water spots on a dirty car) and in areas that get acid rain.
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Oh even on a perfectly clean car you'll end up giving yourself water spots, although they may not be AS bad. I think the usual situation in OK is that a summer rain will bring lots of wind, but once the clouds disappear it becomes murky and hot and calm, so water beads sitting on the roof of a car just can't go anywhere before the intense sun hits.
 
Wouldn't the rays be diverted by the clearcoat (acting as a kind of lens by itself) before they reach the focal point ?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I gotta chime back in here, that beading CAN be a problem, for the reason that truzoom mentioned (water spots on a dirty car) and in areas that get acid rain.
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That was discussed at the Street Rod Midwest Nationals at the DuPont paint booth about difference between sheeting and beading and the higher the beads the more concentration of acid rain the more chance of damage. Also that high tight beads was more of sales gimmick and waxes could be designed to sheet but probably would not be popular with the car crowds since beading is thought to be the sign of a good wax job.
 
There is no way beading will burn holes in your paint. They are thinking of the way a magnifying glass concentrates light to burn stuff. But anyone that has ever used a magnifying glass to burn ants, knows that you have to have the glass at a specific distance to get the light to concentrate in a tiny spot. The bead of water is right on the surface of the paint, so at that point the light is just barely coming in at an angle. The only way a bead of water could focus the light to burn the paint is if it was somehow suspended above the paint, or if you had hundreds of layers of wax and/or clear that would allow the light to get to a small enough focal point to do any damage.
 
I'd be more apt to believe that if you live in an industrial area with lots of acid rain that the beads could cause trouble for the paint. As the droplet begins to evaporate the H2O leaves and concentrates the acid solution until you just have acid left leaving a small pit etched into the paint. The sun can only accelerate the evaporation. Any pollutants in the air that are absorbed or otherwise picked up by the rain are going to damage your paint eventually. That pollution coupled with whatever settles on your car combine to make an evil mix.



I prefer sheeting action for this reason.
 
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