does this happen to everyone?

timaishu

timaishu

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Ive always noticed this but never really thought about it.

Any notice how the at night the same day you washed your car you get an abnormal amount on condensation on the paint? I just went outside and my whole car is covered but my brothers and moms(rarely washed and only waxed when I wax it for them) have no condensation built up.

Whats the reasoning behind this?
 
Interesting. I have never had this happen to me. Where are you located? Could just be a lot of humidity.
 
I've definitely noticed that. There's been many times where I'd have a vehicle finished and sitting outside. Then the customer comes to pick it up...and they think the condensation is left over wax, ha. Sounds ridiculous...but it's happened two or three times. They feel a little dumb when I wipe a panel down and show them it's just condensation.

I may forget a lot of things...but wax is not one of them, haha.
 
I wonder if it has anything to do with every bug in the neighborhood finding your car just minutes after you wash it.

:dunno:


Last year after I started washing my car late, like 6-7 PM, I did notice that I had to get the car in fast after the sun went down - especially if I wanted to wax it - because it would get covered unusually fast.

There's probably just nothing between the cold metal and the air, no film of dirt, so the metal gets chilled faster, and also the moisture in the air that touches it. That's my guess anyway.



.
 
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I live in San Diego CA.

Kristopher1129 said:
I've definitely noticed that. There's been many times where I'd have a vehicle finished and sitting outside. Then the customer comes to pick it up...and they think the condensation is left over wax, ha. Sounds ridiculous...but it's happened two or three times. They feel a little dumb when I wipe a panel down and show them it's just condensation.

I may forget a lot of things...but wax is not one of them, haha.
Click to expand...

Yes! I had that happen a few times. If I start a lil late washing my car I will finish when the sun is starting to set and the air is starting to cool down. I will notice on the roof in the center a circlular patch of condensation that slowly gets bigger.

It happens every single time. It even fogs my headlights with condensation too. lol
 
It happens to me too. Hmmmm, I am smelling conspiracy! I may need to break out the tin foil hat again. There has to be a reasonable explanation, ie, surface tension is different with wax vs not.
 
Yea, me too.

Maybe someone with a better and younger mind than I will find an easy to understand answer.

Until then I say it's a conspiracy from the dirty cars being jealous!

Bill
 
It has to do with surface condition. In general, surfaces free of dirt and grease will allow humidity to condense and settle and do so more evenly. That condensation is really showing that your car (or whatever) is fairly clean. Put a streak of motor oil on a car panel or leave some road film on a small area. Moisture will condense everywhere but there.
 
Dirty cars have more surface area for moisture to evaporate from. Dirty cars hold heat slughtly better as well. As the day ends and the air temp drops, the dew point "raises", and turns into co densate on the vehicle. So if you leave the inside dome light on awhile, you'll notice on the area on the roof there will be less condensate since that area of metal os a degree or so warmer than the rest of the roof.

It is a headache! Try wiping off sealant or wax close to the dew point, and it leaves a wet mess :( For people doing mobile work that carries onto the night this means we have to move indoors or wait 'till the next day :(
 
It has nothing to do with cleaning your car. It happens due to humidity.

Regards,

Al Roker
 
Flash Gordon said:
It has nothing to do with cleaning your car. It happens due to humidity.

Regards,

Al Roker
Click to expand...

:iagree:

Quoted text from the thread- http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/28732-effects-condensation-sealants.html

A4 1.8tqm said:
If left with no choice but to leave the car out overnight during the cure time of a sealant there is something you can do to minimize the formation of dew. Dew forms as the surface of an object cools by radiating it's heat, because the water is not able to evaporate off the surface as fast as it condenses out of the air.

The trick is used by campers who sleep under the stars, if you sleep under a tree or at the base of a cliff/overhang you won't wake up all wet with dew like you would if you slept out in the open. This is because the tree/rock reflects your heat back and has a little of it's own to radiate as well. Often this is just enough to stop the formation of dew. Unfortunately tree's aren't really a nice car cover because of sap, bugs etc..

So what you can do is try to park the car close the the house, under an over-hang, between house and RV, just anything so the car is not out in the open. Maybe the dew only forms an hour later, which would definitely still be a plus. If it doesn't help then no loss, but it's worth a try.
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OP, my guess is that your car is parked more out in the open and your Brother and Mom's cars are near (parallel to) the house or by trees. Amiright?

It's also possible that the surface of car that was washed gets slightly colder, from the water evaporating off the surface, causing condensation to form. The unwashed car is at equilibrium with the ambient temperature, so no condensation. :xyxthumbs:
 
I think I have it:

E=MC(squared). Whereas E is the amount of moisture on a vehicle. M is the water vapor in the air. C is the cleanleness of a vehicle.

It being a smart ***ed remark, kinda does make sense, doesn't it?

Bill
 
No, doesn't make sense at all, actually.

Moisture content in air and wet bulb temp of air, also rate of temp change and moisture change. The paint has nothing to do with it, how it transfers heat does, and is more a property of the underlaying metal and the mass of the panels, in addition to their orientation.

A quick fix is to turn the engine on, set the heater to high, and wait for the vehicle to warm itself up a little.
 
Ahh... Water vapor multiplied by Cleanliness equals moisture on vehicle.

Hmm...

I think the equation is actually M=TpTi over D with margin of error RC... Where (M) Moisture on vehicle is equal to (Tp) Temperature difference between atmosphere and vehicle, Multiplied by (Ti) Length of time, divided by (D) Distance to a large Radiating body. Error is (R) Size of Radiating body multiplied by (C) Cleanliness of vehicle :D

:poke: hope that wasn't too smart-assed :poke:
 
A4 1.8tqm said:
Ahh... Water vapor multiplied by Cleanliness equals moisture on vehicle.

Hmm...

I think the equation is actually M=TpTi over D with margin of error RC... Where (M) Moisture on vehicle is equal to (Tp) Temperature difference between atmosphere and vehicle, Multiplied by (Ti) Length of time, divided by (D) Distance to a large Radiating body. Error is (R) Size of Radiating body multiplied by (C) Cleanliness of vehicle :D

:poke: hope that wasn't too smart-assed :poke:
Click to expand...

Me thinks you have it! That or it's just magic.

I can almost hear and see Arnold Horshack raising his hand, "Mr Kotter Mr Kotter..." :laughing:

Gotta have fun don't we?

Bill
 
Get yourself an IR thermometer (harbor freight tools!) and check the surface temperature of your washed car versus your other cars at sundown. Evaporative and conductive cooling is probably causing the effect (as was already stated). Also, as was pointed out, the farther from a big heat source (tree, house), the cooler your car is going to be and the more likely its surfaces will become a plane of condensation as water attempts to escape the cooling air.
 
Happens to me from time to time as well... or there is the reverse opposite end of the spectrum where the charge left from cleaning your car on a spring day attracts every last pollen spore on the planet. You come out the next day if you didn't garage your car and find it's coated in light green/yellow dust :cry:Then you have to hose it down and dry it off and QD it if you're compulsive.
 
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