Tips for working in warm/hot weather or direct sunlight

[Paul A.]

I know exactly what you mean, Tato. I have a black car and when it spends even a nanosecond in this FL sun you can't even touch it. I wouldn't even think about turning my rotary on it.

 

[guy48065]

Since a correction involves hours of effort I find parking under a tree frustrating due to the amount of pollen and dirt that settles on the just-washed surface. Toweling off each section before polish or wax I feel as though I'm marring the work already done. The contaminants fall on my gear & towels, too.

I haven't found an answer to this dilemma.

 

[trekkeruss]

Since a correction involves hours of effort I find parking under a tree frustrating due to the amount of pollen and dirt that settles on the just-washed surface. Toweling off each section before polish or wax I feel as though I'm marring the work already done. The contaminants fall on my gear & towels, too.

I haven't found an answer to this dilemma.

It's not a cheap, easy, or convenient solution, but the answer is one of those pop-up shelters.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Since a correction involves hours of effort I find parking under a tree frustrating due to the amount of pollen and dirt that settles on the just-washed surface.

Toweling off each section before polish or wax I feel as though I'm marring the work already done. The contaminants fall on my gear & towels, too.

I haven't found an answer to this dilemma.

I strongly agree. Parking under a tree to machine compound, polish or wax a car is a recipe for disaster. Kind of depends on the time of year though. If the leaves are dying and falling off the tree then definitely a no-no. If it's windy and pollen season then also a no-no.

It is possible in some areas and with some trees to get away with it but definitely a worst-case scenario.

It's not a cheap, easy, or convenient solution, but the answer is one of those pop-up shelters.

That will work. Then use my 5-gallon bucket tip to avoid the canopy blowing away.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Great write up Mike, Thanks.

I have been putting what you taught and what I have learned here to good use, but this heat in Central Florida is killing me. Product dries way to fast and act's differently.

I look forward to the day I can build the garage and wash bay.

Did you ever get that garage built?

The very few times i have been forced to work in the direct sun of FL, i do 2 things:

cover the next section i am moving to with a WW MF towel and top that with a "cooling pad". I have two cooling pads that are designed to be rinsed in cold water, wrung out and draped around your neck. Does wonders to keep me cooler in the brutal hot sun (with frequent rinses!). I will use one of them to lay on top of the MF towel to keep the next panel section cool.

Good tip. A person could also use something like the Guzzler Waffle Weave Drying Towel - Only instead of drying with it, because it has a foam core, wet it first and use it to cool down a panel right before buffing.

Great post Mike. Hopefully this will help out with many of the questions people have been asking on this topic.

Common question because it's a common problem...

One of the first articles I wrote when I came to work for Autogeek was called,

Respect


The post date for the above article was 08-17-2009, 12:33 PM


I wrote the above article after doing my first detail here at Autogeek.All I remember was about 30 minutes into the washing the car I was drenched in sweat. Never experienced anything like that before because before moving to Florida I lived in Oregon and California. And while it could get hot in both Oregon and California we didn't have the high humidity to go with it.


This first detail was also very strange for me. I have never really detailed "new" cars. All my life I've mostly detailed Special Interest Cars, or SIVs.

Here's the link to the first full write-up I wrote when coming to work for Autogeek.

Step-by-Step How-To use the Porter Cable 7424XP


And I started that morning by washing a car in FULL SUN.

Anyway, working in full sun is tough but sometimes all you can do is all you can do.