sealants, waxes and cold temps

RLucky82

RLucky82

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Will I be wasting my time if I try to apply wax or a sealant this Saturday with high temperatures in the low 40s?

Thanks,
 
RLucky82 said:
Will I be wasting my time if I try to apply wax or a sealant this Saturday with high temperatures in the low 40s?

Thanks,
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No, I don't think so. Now if you were applying wax/sealant in blazing hot temps, but only in the direct sunlight, you'd have some issues. As long as your paint is cool to the touch, I don't think there's much an issue with temperature. I've never had any issues, just when I've been goofy enough to apply wax while out in the sun. You won't damage the paint per se, but you won't get the full benefit of your wax or sealant because the high temps will cause the product to flash... basically, they'll fail before they do their job.
 
be sure to go as thin as possible. the cold weather makes it harder to remove.
 
Thanks, I forgot to ask about drying and cure times?
 
I used a WOWO wax yesterday (43 degrees cloudy - Pete's 53) and had no issues at all. If your working with any easy to use product, like Pete's, I think you will be fine. It wouldn't stop me - doesn't even slow me down.
 
products can become real tricky in cold weather. some will make you want to toss them in the trash and some are not effected. I detailed a car this weekend in 38 degree weather. it was a new car prep, and I spot corrected a couple scratch's (btw I was amazed that I could cut and finish in 1 step with FG400 and a coarse hydro tech cutting pad!!!) and I wanted to use a dedicated paint cleaner, then sealant. well turns out I had to scratch that idea. The paint cleaner became near impossible to remove from the surface. (pinnacle) Normally this product is a breeze to use, but not in the cold. So after one panel I had to test a few products and the sealants would not wipe off cleanly either. after about 5 different trials I had to settle on using Poli-Seal followed up with 4* spray wax. fortunately they are both fantastic products. Poli seal especially worked perfectly. It really just depends on the conditions. Usually spray on products and polish's are negatively effected by the cold. more so than high heat and humidity.
 
Looks like we both may be wasting our time, lol. Actually, us Ohioans have to take advantage of dry weather and temps above 40. We don't see too many days like tomorrow after December 1.
:cheers:
 
Got r done! High in 40s yesterday, low in the teens today. With temps in the single digits the rest of the week, without a heated garage I guess I won't be doing much car buffing for a while.
Yes 95orangecrush we must take advantage of any "nice" weather we can get :-)
 
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