# Tips for working in warm/hot weather or direct sunlight



## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

*Tips for working in warm/hot weather or direct sunlight*

*First the facts...*
Paint care products will always work best on a cool surface in the shade, this is true even for products that state they can be used in full sun. Even if a product can be used in full sun, working on a cool surface in the shade will always be easier and maximize the performance of the product because warm and/or hot temperatures, plus the heat from direct sun rays will always be trying to dry out your product before you can effectively work it over the surface.

Also, there's a *HUGE* difference between working in full sun in the morning in a fall or winter month and working in full sun when working in August, in Arizona at noon on a black car. The temperature of black paint in August, in Arizona at noon can easily exceed 180 degrees and any liquid product applied to the paint will tend to want to dry very quickly even if on the label it says, _*"can be used in the sun"*_ .

*A few tips...*
For those times when you don't have shade and it's warm or hot outside and you don't have a cool surface to work on, here are a few tips...

*Borrow some shade...*
First, look around and see if you can borrow some shade, by this I mean the shade created by a large building? Maybe under a large tree?

Working under a tree can present a potential problem for debris falling out of the tree and on to your working surface but that's the trade-off for getting out of direct sun, so if you do work under a tree be sure to clean any panels immediately before working on them.

*Portable Canopy...*
If it's in your budget, invest in a quality EZ-Up type Canopy to create a shaded, protected work area.

For most mobile detailers the limitations are determined by your work vehicle, that is how much canopy can you carry. And next is how much canopy can you put up by yourself.

I used a 10x10 like this one with the extra 3 walls that you can either use or leave off...










After doing one end of a car or truck you can either pull it out, turn it around and put the other end in or leave the back wall off and drive forward to shade the next panels.

*How to hold down your canopy in windy condtions*
I used *5-gallon buckets with water* in them, (1-gallon = 8 pounds so a 5-gallon bucket with water = 40 pounds), hooked to the horizontal support with Bungee Cord, by doing this if any wind comes along it will lift a little and then settle back down. Bungee Cord because it has some give works better than just rope. You want some stretching not a tight cord.

*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 because you're engaging the working film of product over the area more quickly as you move the polisher there's less time for the product to dry.

*Clean your pads often or switch to a clean dry pad...*
It's vitally important to work clean and this means cleaning your pad often and often can mean cleaning your pad after each Section Pass no matter which type of polisher you're using.



> *The definition of a pass*
> There are two definitions of the word pass as it relates to machine polishing with any type of machine.
> 
> *Single Pass*
> ...


The warmer or hotter the temperatures and the worse the working conditions, then the more often you want to clean your pads.

*Rotary Buffers*
When cutting with a wool pad on a rotary buffer it really helps to have a pad washer, but if you don't have one you can get by with a Spur. When using foam pads you can use a pad washer or the *"Cleaning your pad on the fly"* technique" using a clean, terry cloth towel.

*How to clean your foam pad on the fly*

*DA Polishers* - Porter Cable - Meguiar's - Griot's
When cutting with a DA Polisher you can get by with *"Cleaning your pad on the fly"*
using a terry cloth towel, but a pad washer will clean a foam cutting pad better. Of course you can always switch to a new pad or a clean dry, used pad. The "Cleaning the pad on the fly technique" does not work with the Flex 3401 or the Cyclo Polisher. For these two types of polishers you'll need to use a pad washer, wash your pads by hand, or substitute clean new pads, or clean, dry used pads.

Keep in mind that anytime you us *ANY* product that abrades the paint, you will have two substances building up on the face of your pad,


*Spent residue*
*Removed paint*
Both of these need to be removed as they build up before adding new product and continuing with the buffing process.

Back when cars were painted with single stage paints, you could easily see the removed paint build up on the face of the pad because it was pigmented or colored. This would be a strong visual indicator to help remind you to clean your pads often.

With modern clear coats, you're still removing paint when you're abrading or doing correction work but because the clear layer is clear, it just doesn't show up as dramatically as single stage paint. The important point is to understand that clear paint is building up on the face of your pad and to clean our pad often.

You also want to wipe off any residue from the area worked _*before*_ adding fresh product if you're going to work the area again.

*Use an "ample" amount of product*
When I say use an _*ample*_ amount of product this means don't use too much product and don't use to little product.

_From The Free Dictionary.com_


> *am·ple*
> adjective
> 1. Of large or great size, amount, extent, or capacity: an ample living room.
> 
> ...


Out of the above definitions, I'm using the 3rd definition.
*Using too much product*
If you use too much you can hyper-lubricate the surface and this will make it more difficult for the abrasives to abrade the surface as they'll tend to want to glide or slip over the surface instead of bite into the surface.

*Using too little product*
If you use too little product there won't be enough lubrication to enable the buffing pad to rotate and thus engage the abrasives against the surface so they can bite into and remove small particles of paint.​You want an *AMPLE* amount of product when first starting out because you pad is dry and some of the product is going to seep into the pad leaving less on the surface to LUBRICATE and ABRADE the paint.

Another option is to use a Pad Conditioner to lubricate and condition the surface of a dry pad, this will improve the buffing cycle and provide protection to the paint surface to help prevent micro-marring.

*Cut down on the amount of product AFTER pad is broken-in...*
After your pad is broken in with product, clean your pad after each section pass and when you apply fresh product you can cut down on the amount of product you actually apply to the face of your pad.

Some people will recommend 3 to 4 dime size drops of product as the proper amount of product to use and this can be correct for _*concentrated products*_ or working small sections and if you follow this advice make sure you are not under lubricating the surface being worked.

I usually place about a *2/3rds circle pattern* to the outer face of my buffing pad and get back to work.

Remember you want enough product on the surface so you have,


Abrasives working for you.

A lubricating film keeping and maintaining a wet film between the paint and your pad.
Often times if you don't have enough product you'll end up buffing to a dry buff and when you lose lubrication friction increase and this can lead to micro-marring or hazing.

So a good rule of thumb that has worked for THOUSANDS of people over the decades is to start out with either a *Circle Pattern* or *X Pattern* of product on the face of your pad.

*Circle Pattern*
I tend to prefer a Circle Pattern as a habit because as you work around the car you'll find that _*your product will migrate to the center on it's own*_. This can lead to _*pad saturation*_ starting at the center of the pad where most of the heat is generated. Knowing this... I don't help it by using an X pattern.

Circle Pattern on a clean dry pad and then worked for a Section Pass

















Pad is now equally dampened with residual product. At this point you could clean your pad or add fresh product and when you add fresh product you can adjust how much product you apply. In this example I used half a circle of product since the pad is now dampened.
















X-Pattern on a clean dry pad and then worked for a Section Pass

















After making a thorough Section Pass. The pad is now equally dampened with residual product. At this point you could clean your pad or add fresh product and when you add fresh product you can adjust how much product you apply. In this example I used half an X-Pattern, or a single strip of product since the pad is already dampened.

















The key it to have enough product on the surface as you're working a section to have a film of product that you can see on the surface _*behind*_ the polisher as you move the polisher in a direction.









*Start before the sun comes up...*
Do your machine compounding and polishing early in the morning when it's the coolest. Start setting up while it's still early in the morning while it's cool, then as soon as there's enough light to safely work, begin working the horizontal panels first. The reason for this is these will tend to get the hottest later in the day as the sun is over head making any correction or polishing work more difficult.

When it comes to the vertical panels, you can usually move the car in such a way that the side you're working on is shaded to some degree by placing the sun on the opposite side, thus the surface temperature of the panel will be cooler.

*Use smaller, thinner pads*
The 5.5" pads are thinner than the 6.5" pads and should *rotate easily* with a PC 7424XP, Griot's Garage and Meguiar's DA Polishers under on the 5.0 to 6.0 Speed setting. Together with working a smaller size section and ample product this will make working on a warm or hot surface easier.

*Why to only work small sections at at time *
The larger the area you work the more the product is going to dry up on you because while you're working one portion of the area, the portions not being worked will tend to start drying via evaporation. By shrinking your work area down, shrinking your pad size down and using ample product you'll better be able to maintain a wet buffing cycle over a smaller area.

*Note:* The larger the area you work the less abrading action each square inch of paint will get in relation to the time spent working the total area.

*Exception to the rule...*
While most instructions state to work a 2' x 2' area, when removing swirls in a _*warm or hot environment*_, it's usually more effective to work a smaller area.

I tend to stick around the 20" squarish area and even smaller if the paint is harder, the swirls are deeper and it's extremely hot and windy as the heat and the wind together will both act to force your product to dry more quickly.

Hope this helps....


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

_As a follow-up..._

Now days in all my video work, TV work, (just shot 13 new episodes for SPEED Channel), detailing classes, articles, etc., I always show the priming the pad technique instead of the X-pattern or the Circle-Pattern.

*Priming the pad =* taking your finger and spreading your product out over the entire face of the pad when you're starting out with a clean, dry foam buffing pad​Fact is, if you make a circle pattern or an x-pattern and then polish a section, by the time you've made a few passes you will have effectively moved your product all over the face of the pad accomplishing what priming your pad by spreading the product out over the face of your pad with your finger will do.

But if you want to get D.O. about it, then "yes", priming a clean, dry pad when you first start out ensures that 100% of the face of the pad goes to work the instant you turn the polisher on.

At the end of the day...personal preference...

:thumb:


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## tehglu (Apr 11, 2011)

I've found it near impossible to work in the day, much harder to cool the temp of the bodywork and any water evaporates before I even have a chance to deal with it.

With the sun setting later on through the day i find it easier to clean the car in the evening when the temp is cooler.


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

tehglu said:


> I've found it near impossible to work in the day,


When I lived in the Mojave Desert, I would start early because the temps would get hot and there was very little humidity... Early morning is always cooler than evening but both are better than the middle of the day... 

This was my front driveway to my house in Apple Valley, California, (the high desert), if you look you'll see a Joshua Tree behind my Jimmy,










I'm pretty sure the only places these grow are in the Mojave and Colorado deserts...

*Joshua Tree in Wells Valley, California*


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## tehglu (Apr 11, 2011)

and i though i had it bad!

lol


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## tata (Jan 4, 2011)

mike, what are the products that i can used for compunding & polishing under sunlight ?


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Another great write up


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

tata said:


> mike, what are the products that i can used for compunding & polishing under sunlight ?


Off the top of my head, the Poorboy's World products state they are formulated for use in direct sun.


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