Applying wax in SUNLIGHT

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98LowRanger

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I realize waxing in the sun isn't recommended, but I have a customer with a 5" lift and 37" tires on his truck and there is no way I can get it in my garage. I can manage to get it in some partial shade, but doubt I can get the whole truck shaded. I know there are some wax/sealants that can be applied in the sun and was looking for some suggestions. Looking for a good quality wax and not just a spray wax if possible. I currently have Collinite 845, DP Poli-Coat, Pinnacle Souveran (liquid), and Menzerna Color Lock at my disposal.
 
It's winter, I don't think you'll get in too much trouble with any of those you have.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
It's winter, I don't think you'll get in too much trouble with any of those you have.
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Well, I have not reopened yet so his trucks detail isn't scheduled till April. I was just wanting to be prepared and have the wax on hand if it was something I needed to buy.
 
If the surface is hot the wax will dry before you finish spreading it out to a thin layer, and a thick layer is harder to remove. IMO it's less about the product and more about the conditions and the technique.

If you're really worried about it get a WOWA like UPGP, Opti-Seal, Blackfire Crystal Seal, Wolfgang Deep Gloss Liquid Seal, etc.
 
98LowRanger said:
I realize waxing in the sun isn't recommended.
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And the manufacturers have
their reasons for not doing so.

98LowRanger said:
I know there are some wax/sealants
that can be applied in the sun
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Seems to contradict the previous recommendation.

98LowRanger said:
I can manage to get it in some partial shade,
but doubt I can get the whole truck shaded.
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Keep moving the truck, as needed:
"Gotta Follow the Shade"; Easy Peasy.


Bob
 
paul_g said:
HD Speed is sun safe. I wouldn't use it in direct sunlight on 90 degree day, but finding some shade would be helpful.

Product works best when applied in a shaded area but is sun friendly when used correctly.


I ran into the same problem when I did a customers Ford F-150 King Ranch last summer. Found some shade and used HD Speed. Came out amazing.
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Yea being early April it SHOULDN'T be too hot here in North Carolina. Thanks for the link. I have been wanting to try HD Speed, but it's an AIO polish and not just a wax. Maybe I can use it as an upsell for this detail since an AIO still requires more work than just applying a wax and thus the price for this service should reflect that. The truck is a 2012 Dodge that has never been polished so I'm sure by now it could benefit from a light one.
 
As stated by Setec, it's more about the surface temperature than it is the sunlight. Sunny and hot, not good. Sunny and cool or cold, not bad. Just use common sense. Good luck and take care.

Peace,

Darrin
 
It's a combination of surface temps and direct sun. AGO used to sell a paint temp gauge... Last I checked they don't, but you can probably find one.

This reminds me of when I was a young man.... the silly things we did.
I was 19 and washed my 89 LX 5.0... It was a HOT day. I drove downtown and parked the car under an overpass and setup to do a Megs #7.

People drove by me and gave me looks as if I were deranged. I probably was, and obviously would not do it today... but it seemed logical at the time some 28 years ago. Any way, even the cops drove by laughing and shaking their heads.

As Mike Phillips said, he did a classic Caddy in a parking garage. LOL.. I guess you do what you gotta do.
 
The key is the surface temperature of the paint rather than the sun itself. The warmer the surface the more likely to have issues. If it is not warm to the touch you are fine. The highest temperature depends on the product and how you apply it. It is more critical to apply thinly as possible. If it almost hazes as you spread it is too hot.
 
paul_g said:
It's a combination of surface temps and direct sun. AGO used to sell a paint temp gauge... Last I checked they don't, but you can probably find one.

This reminds me of when I was a young man.... the silly things we did.
I was 19 and washed my 89 LX 5.0... It was a HOT day. I drove downtown and parked the car under an overpass and setup to do a Megs #7.

People drove by me and gave me looks as if I were deranged. I probably was, and obviously would not do it today... but it seemed logical at the time some 28 years ago. Any way, even the cops drove by laughing and shaking their heads.

As Mike Phillips said, he did a classic Caddy in a parking garage. LOL.. I guess you do what you gotta do.
Click to expand...

You can find relatively reliable laser temperature gauges on Amazon for $10-15.
 
98LowRanger said:
Yea being early April it SHOULDN'T be too hot here in North Carolina. Thanks for the link. I have been wanting to try HD Speed, but it's an AIO polish and not just a wax. Maybe I can use it as an upsell for this detail since an AIO still requires more work than just applying a wax and thus the price for this service should reflect that. The truck is a 2012 Dodge that has never been polished so I'm sure by now it could benefit from a light one.
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HD Speed is one of the easiest products to use. It wipes off with nearly zero effort. You can easily apply it in one pass, just like laying down a coat of wax, and buff it off all at once.
 
Nicholas@Autowerx said:
HD Speed is one of the easiest products to use. It wipes off with nearly zero effort. You can easily apply it in one pass, just like laying down a coat of wax, and buff it off all at once.
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off topic a little,Sunday I went to my hair salon that is cleaner than most dentist offices as I clean every other week including extracting the floor etc.I have a huge black bar made out of Formica,so applied hd speed I let it sit for 10 min at 74 degrees with the ac on and I couldn't remove it hard as nails,had to get it off with winded and went back to my old method just though it was kinda weird.
 
Everybody has hit on what i consider the biggest impediment...too hot of a paint surface. If it were me, i would position it under shade as much as possible and move it around if necessary. Then i would be super anal about blowing off any fallout from the shade source when wiping off.
 
Here's a tip from this article,

Tips for working in warm/hot weather or direct sunlight



Shrink your work area down to a smaller size...
Anytime a product becomes difficult to work with, one tip you can try is to shrink down the size of your work area. This means you spread the product out over a smaller area and only work this smaller area.

Be careful not to allow yourself to do what I call Buffer Creep. This is where you creep outward from your original small section and end up buffing out a larger section. Avoid Buffer Creep. Especially if your product appears to be drying up and becoming dusty.


Why a smaller area?
Because when you're working only a small are you're continually engaging the working film of product over the area more quickly as you move the polisher and by doing this there's less time for the product to dry and dust.



More tips in the actual article here,

Tips for working in warm/hot weather or direct sunlight


:xyxthumbs:
 
FWIW, I had a good experience with Meg's ULW in the full sun. Around 38-40° F with about 10% relative humidity.
 
I think, and I could be wrong, but for the most part, sealants or synthetic waxes with little or no actual carnuaba wax are most often the products that can be used in direct sunlight on a warm or hot surface.

Hydro2 might be a good option in this case as you can cool the surface with water, work small sections at time and hose off very quickly
 
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