Which ones MUST you avoid application in the sun

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ccm

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I'm a novice here and hope to get some advice for my weeks project. I have a 2011 Ford F150 (white) which has lost it's ability to hold a shine. From reading and corresponding with a couple of members I have this plan of attack:

Wash the truck with Dawn dish washing liquid to clean the truck and remove old wax.

Clay the truck

Apply Mothers Pure Polish

Apply Menzerna polishing compound

Apply Collonite 845 wax

OK. now what I want to know is if there are any of these steps that MUST be performed out of the direct sun to get satisfactory results. My only option to work out of the sun would to be to start my work very early in the morning. This would mean it would take me several days to complete the task and also it means I would have to get up very early in the morning (not a good thing at my age).

Also, I don't have a buffer so all of my work will be done by hand.

Thanks in advance for your advice and comments.

Charlie
 
You've got your polishing and compound steps reversed. Compound is first and only when needed. I really can't imagine compounding, polish, wax an f150 by hand.
 
If you have to work on it in the sun I believe 3D has products for this situation.
 
ccm said:
I'm a novice here and hope to get some advice for my weeks project. I have a 2011 Ford F150 (white) which has lost it's ability to hold a shine. From reading and corresponding with a couple of members I have this plan of attack:

Wash the truck with Dawn dish washing liquid to clean the truck and remove old wax.

Clay the truck

Apply Mothers Pure Polish

Apply Menzerna polishing compound

Apply Collonite 845 wax

OK. now what I want to know is if there are any of these steps that MUST be performed out of the direct sun to get satisfactory results. My only option to work out of the sun would to be to start my work very early in the morning. This would mean it would take me several days to complete the task and also it means I would have to get up very early in the morning (not a good thing at my age).

Also, I don't have a buffer so all of my work will be done by hand.

Thanks in advance for your advice and comments.

Charlie
Click to expand...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but trying to do any sort of compounding by hand on a vehicle the size of the F-150 is going to be hell. Not to mention it will take A LOT of time.

I have an F-150 myself (2014 XLT EcoBoost) and I just applied Pinnacle Cleansing Lotion and then followed it up with Collinite 845. However, this was done with my Griots GG6. Even that was a hell of a lot of work on a truck this size.

If your gonna do it I would invest in an electric polisher. If that isn't an option then I would personally pay someone to do the correction on your paint. You could probably get it done for cheaper than what you would pay for the polisher, pads, etc. However, if you plan to do polishing on future vehicles I think the electric polisher is a good investment.
 
Like others have mentioned, the fact that your doing it by hand is going to be a bigger issue than the sun. That's a ton of paint to do by hand (my hands would probably fall off lol) If you get a polisher, you should be able to "get away with" doing it in the sun, but you'll have to do smaller sections for sure. Good luck with it!!
 
One thing no one has mentioned is how working in the sun, by hand, on a very large vehicle will affect YOU. I would have AT LEAST 2 gallons of water at hand for drinking. Dehydration and exhaustion can be deadly.
 
I'm surprised this hasn't come up...

The Dawn dish detergent probably isn't going to really remove the wax. I used to take the same approach until I noticed it really fading my black plastic/vinyl trim pieces and learned it doesn't really remove anything. Just use a normal car shampoo and let the polish do all the surface stripping.

I've corrected and waxed my cars outdoors, but never on a sunny day in the middle of summer. I've use 845 often, but not the polishing products. I can't imagine any of them being much use in the summer sun on a hot vehicle. Poorboys products work in direct sun, but even then you get better results in the shade.
 
ccm said:
I'm a novice here and hope to get some advice for my weeks project. I have a 2011 Ford F150 (white) which has lost it's ability to hold a shine. From reading and corresponding with a couple of members I have this plan of attack:

Wash the truck with Dawn dish washing liquid to clean the truck and remove old wax.

Clay the truck

Apply Mothers Pure Polish

Apply Menzerna polishing compound

Apply Collonite 845 wax

OK. now what I want to know is if there are any of these steps that MUST be performed out of the direct sun to get satisfactory results. My only option to work out of the sun would to be to start my work very early in the morning. This would mean it would take me several days to complete the task and also it means I would have to get up very early in the morning (not a good thing at my age).

Also, I don't have a buffer so all of my work will be done by hand.

Thanks in advance for your advice and comments.

Charlie
Click to expand...

Well, I was in your shoes about two years ago and let me tell you, it's worth it to pick up a DA polisher rather than trying to do it by hand. It can be done by hand but you'll be finished just after compounding (unless you're a pro athlete). I had polished my entire Jeep SRT8 by hand using mothers polish (took me 7 hours) and the results were just OK. It did bring back the shine and get rid of 1/3rd of the scratches it was far from what a DA could do in 1/8th of the time.

Don't use dawn, get a car soap (dawn leaves a film).
The wax/slant will be stripped away by the Compound/polish
Your steps are backwards. Your steps should be: Wash -> Clay -> Compound -> polish -> protect with LSP.

I don't recommend working in the sun but it if you have to you need to keep the following in mind: everything will dry faster (water, clay lube, polish, compound) so you will end up working faster (less quality) and adding more product than you need (my affect results)... I would put up a tarp or something to block the sun (a tree or a friends house is another option).
 
nothingface5384 said:
Rivstar products are all sun friendly
Pm me if youre interested
Click to expand...

Doubt they're 110f if you touch the hood it can burn you quick lol. There's a difference between sunny and eff'ing hot. I have some sun friendly products, but there's a limit to where anywhere will work temperature wise.
 
If you absolutely have no option but to polish by hand, don't bother with buying separate compound, polish, and wax products. Just get an over-the-counter all-in-one product such as Meguiar's White Wax. Being that your truck is white, you probably have a difficult time seeing scratches anyway; an AIO will clean the paint and remove below surface stains that clay won't remove, making your truck whiter. It will also leave a protective layer behind. You'll save money, a LOT of time, and your "aging" body.
 
jrock645 said:
You don't really want to do any of it in the sun. Try washing and claying the night before, and do the rest in the morning.

Is there any partial shade available to you at all? I live in an apt complex and while there is a covered car port, any polishing has to be done in a car port. I get a little shade from a tree and turn the car around based on where I'm working.

You can polish in the sun, you'll just need to make your sections much smaller. You can probably wax in the sun, just only apply to small sections before buffing.

How long do you expect all that compounding and polishing to take by hand? Seems to me you'll have to spread it out over a couple days, break it up into sections. Hand polishing is pretty grueling work.
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The only shade I have available would be in my garage. And while it is out of the sun, the heat is brutal. We are running in the high 90's and near 100 percent humidity. You are correct, I expect the project to take a couple of days. I will try the smaller sections advice.

Thanks for the reply.

Charlie
 
OK guys, first I had listed my steps in an incorrect order. I would like to blame that mistake on my keyboard but fear it was a user problem instead. Thanks for that correction.

Secondly, it looks like I will have to spread the project out a little longer and do the work in my garage rather than doing the work in the sun.

Lastly, it appears the process must be more labor intensive (when done by hand) than I expected. I don't have a buffer and honestly have been reluctant to buy one for fear of swirl marks on my paint. A couple of additional questions:

Is a buffer hard to learn to use without causing more damage than good?

What type and brand of buffer would you recommend? I need something budget
friendly. Anything at Walmart that would fit my needs?

What type of pads will I need for my project?

I appreciate everyone's advice. Keep telling me when I am going in the wrong direction.

Charlie
 
"Buffers" that most people use of the dual action variety. They are easy to use and safe as long as you don't do stupid things like putting the pads face down on the ground(!)

Of course it would be prudent to recommend the polishers that Autogeek sells; the least expensive is the Porter Cable 7424XP @ $130. If that's too rich for your blood, many are happy with the clone sold by Harbor Freight; using their 20% off coupon found online, that polisher is $56. Along with the polisher you need to buy pads for compounding, polishing, and finishing. Three each for the compounding and polishing is adequate; you only need one for the wax. If you get the HF polisher, don't buy the pads they sell; everyone says they're poor quality.
 
Is a buffer hard to learn to use without causing more damage than good?
No, not at all. I don't even know how you could do damage with a good polisher like the Griots, Meguiars, Porter Cable, etc. Watch YouTube videos on how to use the Griots...it will take you all of 10 minutes.

What type and brand of buffer would you recommend? I need something budget friendly. Anything at Walmart that would fit my needs?
I am partial towards the Griots. Griots Garage 6 Inch Random Orbital Polisher

What type of pads will I need for my project?
Keep it simple - get the Lake Country 5" Flat Pads and the Lake Country 5.5" backing plate. I would get 2 blue, 4 white, and 4 orange. That will be just fine for your truck. You can always buy more pads at a later time, but that will be a good starting point. You will see they come in a 6 pack for a good price. You could add 2 more orange or 2 more white if you'd like.
 
First off I am the originator of this thread and would like to thank all of you who have offered your opinions and suggestions. I have given consideration to the purchase of a DA polisher, pads, backing plates, pad cleaners, etc and believe this is more involved than I want at this time in my life. That being said I am asking opinions on going this route:

Wash the truck

Clay the truck

Apply a good polishing compound that can be applied successfully by hand.

Apply Mothers Pure Polish

Apply Collonite 845 wax

I know I would not get the results I would get with using the Menzerna polishing compound with a DA polisher but would hopefully be better than what I am doing now (wash and clay followed by Collonite 845).

If you think this is a good Plan B, please recommend a good polishing compound that is workable by hand.

I appreciate everyone's help.

Charlie
 
I would recommend Meguirs Ultimate Compound. You can work it by hand, and its foolproof, it won't mar paint.

But to be perfectly honest, I just can't imagine doing this by hand. You have three steps listed above, which means going over your vehicle 3 times by hand. These are not wipe on, wipe off products: you need to apply pressure and multiple passes.

I highly recommend a dual action polisher. As one Youtube video described, the only way you can hurt your paint with a DA is to flip it over and bang your car with it. You just aren't going to scratch your paint with it. It will save you time, and mostly, sweat and effort.

Once you do your vehicle to perfection, in six months it will likely need to be touched up or given a good once over with an All in One. So more pain.

If you can't afford a Porter Cable ($149 with pads), check out a Harbor Freight DA, which you can find for $59 after easy to google coupon. Buy the pads here on AG. Its better than by hand.
 
ccm said:
If you think this is a good Plan B, please recommend a good polishing compound that is workable by hand.

I appreciate everyone's help.

Charlie
Click to expand...

Both Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish are great products that you can find locally that will work by hand. Some polishes and compounds have to be worked into the paint for a certain amount of time to break their abrasives down so you don't leave a haze behind, Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish do not use that style of abrasives.

That being said, I would still recommend purchasing a dual action polisher rather than trying to do the compounding and polishing by hand. These types of polishers are really safe and easy to work with and highly effective with the type of polishes and pads out on the market. The hardest part is just doing the research to figure out which polisher to go with and what pads you want to use because there are so many options that work well. But that all is significantly easier than trying to do this type of work by hand. Another benefit of a polisher purchase is you can then use it to apply your wax to your car, so it's not a purchase that is going to sit for a while unless you rarely wax the car.

Once you've made the decision that you want to add compounding and polishing into your routine, in my opinion, a dual action polisher is a prerequisite for that type of work. It's an absolute nightmare trying to polish an entire car by hand and DA polishers are just too easy to work with to not dive into and take your truck's paint to the next level.
 
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