# Black Car Paint Temperature in Full Sun



## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

*Black Car Paint Temperature in Full Sun*
(And a few other colors too)

*The Sun*







The topic of working on a car in full sunlight without any shade comes up from time to time on the forum. While there are some companies that offer products that are stated they can be used in full sun, it's also true that all paint care products specifically and car care products in general will work better on a cool surface in the shad then on a hot surface in full sun.

At approximately 2:00pm today here in sunny, Stuart, Florida I walked outside and took some temperature readings using my Infrared Thermometer and then took pictures of the readings with the vehicle in the background to show the color of the paint.

At the time of this article I took a screen shot for Stuart, Florida from weather.com and a picture of the skyline to show that it's a clear, sunny day with some light cloud cover.

*Screenshot from Weather.com*










*Shot of the sky over the top of Autogeek's Corporate Headquarters...*









*Flipped the camera towards the sun and took this shot...*









*Here's a black Corvette that's been parked here since 8:00am this morning...*









*Black Matte Finish on a BMW...*









*Black Glossy Finish on the same BMW - Note this car just pulled into the parking lot so there's engine heat coming off the motor...*









*This is a black finish on a Hyundai...*









*Dark Metallic Blue on a BMW...*









*Medium Dark Blue on a Susuki...*









*Medium Dark Blue on a Mustang...*









*Medium Dark Blue on a Toyota Truck...*









*Medium Dark Silver finish on a Toyota Camry...*









*Red finish on a Mazda Miata...*









*Metallic Copper on an Audi...*









*Kind of a greenish beige metallic on a Pontiac...*









*Beige on a Toyota Corrola...*









*Silver Metallic on a Toyota Camry...*









*Silver Metallic on a Chevy Silverado...*









*White paint on a Hyundai...*









You can see there's quite a temperature difference between a range of color spectrums. While it's best to work on a cool surface in the shade, if that's not an option for you here's a few tips...

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


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

If we take the temperature of the paint on the black Corvette and compare it to the temperature of the white paint on the Hyundai, there's a difference of about *43 degrees*.

*Here's a black Corvette that's been parked here since 8:00am this morning...*









*White paint on a Hyundai...*









That 40 degree difference can be huge when introducing a liquid onto the surface with the intent of trying to work it over the paint for a few seconds to a few minutes...


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## Adrian Convery (May 27, 2010)

What is this F your temperature is measured in? lol only kidding! Good test although will be a while before we get 93F


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## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

Thats a hell of a difference Mike, i would imagine that reds would fade very quickly in that kind of Sun!!
I know that in Cyprus a lot of the cars have dashboards that are cracked due to the temperature inside the cars, do you come across that in your area?
Also do you think that something like FK1000P would be of benefit for the flat surfaces such as roof and bonnet?

Cheers Mike

Kev


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## joshuaar (Jun 18, 2011)

Very interesting, massive difference


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

spursfan said:


> I know that in Cyprus a lot of the cars have dashboards that are cracked due to the temperature inside the cars, do you come across that in your area?


Modern chemistry is turning out plastics that don't crack like cars from the 1960's and 1970's so it's not something you see as often. Yes on older cars and trucks like my 1975 Jimmy and my 1978 Chevy Monster Truck but that's because they are old.



spursfan said:


> Also do you think that something like FK1000P would be of benefit for the flat surfaces such as roof and bonnet?


Something is better than nothing. For cars exposed to extreme sunlight all the time I'm a fan of Optimum Car Wax for the average person, easy to use, works very well and the below post of mine on page #2 of an article I wrote,

*Beginning Clearcoat Failure*



glen e said:


> Mike - in talking about clear coat failure - is there any way to prevent it?


There's only three people that I've ever spoken to that are knowledgeable about clear coat paint technology and what causes them to fail, these would be,

Dr. David Ghodoussi
Claude Sevigny
Prefers to remain anonymous

The primary causes of clear coat failure are,


Exposure to UV light, the closer to the sun the more damaging the effects, this means geographical locations nearest the equator.

Too thin of a top coat - Top Coat = the clear layer of paint.

Neglect and extreme neglect of the top coat.

Using harsh chemicals and incorrectly using abrasive products.

Swirled and scratched paint - Swirls and scratches in the paint _*open the paint up*_ allowing corrosive elements to more easily deteriorate the paint faster.

You can only control a few of the above factors so do the best you can with what you do have control over.

The only *rant* anyone ever sees me go on is when I rant about car manufactures not putting more clear paint on their cars at the factory level.

In a perfect world, at least companies like Ford, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Nissan, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, etc. should provide their customers the option to order their car with an extra coat or two of clear paint instead of the _*cover coats*_ that are the industry norm.



glen e said:


> Do the various high quality waxes and sealants we discuss here stave off the failure or are we only prolonging the inevitable?


Nothing outside of a *garage* or *carport* will block 100 percent of everything that will attack your car. If you're into vinyl wraps that would be a way to protect the paint but you wouldn't actually see the paint.

Dr. David Ghodoussi has a product called Optimum Car Wax which uses a patented UV protection ingredient and process that offers the same UV protection as the UV protection ingredients used in the actual clear layer of paint on your car.

Plus, while I know most people think a spray on wax is a glorified spray detailer, this particular wax really does leave the UV protection ingredients on the surface.

If the ingredients were part of a traditional paste wax or liquid wax, when you wiped off the excess residue you would wipe off the protection ingredients.

Could type more on this by have other projects to get back to.










Oh yeah... I think I touch on the above on one of our upcoming TV show episodes... not deep but I do use and show the OPT Car Wax.


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## Bradley (Aug 24, 2006)

I always follow the rule that if you can't place your hand palm down on the panel, it's to hot to do anything. Go get a cold beer and wait.


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

Bradley said:


> I always follow the rule that if you can't place your hand palm down on the panel, it's to hot to do anything. Go get a cold beer and wait.


I have an article for just this topic,

*Fight or Flight Method for Gaging Surface Temperature*








The topic of *heat* comes up often when talking about using a rotary buffer to machine compound or polish paint. For decades now I read comments by people where they state heat is necessary when using a rotary buffer with a compound, or any other abrasive product that uses diminishing abrasives for abrading ability, in order to break the diminishing abrasives down. This is not accurate.

When buffing with a rotary buffer and any type of product that contains diminishing abrasive, including a compounds, paint cleaners, cleaner/polishes and even a cleaner/waxes, what's necessary is _*pressure over time*_. Heat is just an unnecessary and unwanted byproduct of the process.

When using a rotary buffer for correction work for even a minute or longer, heat is unavoidable. The smaller the section your work the greater the risk of getting the paint hot. It's normal and okay to get paint *warm*, (because there's nothing you can do about it), but you don't want to get paint *hot* and if you do get paint hot then you want to stop buffing in that section and let the paint cool down. So the question is,

_How hot it too hot?_

Or

_What temperature range is consider warm and within a range that's safe to work a rotary buffer?_

I don't know any specific temperature ranges recommended by any of the major paint companies to work within or extreme hot temperature ranges to avoid, so here's the *common sense approach* anyone can use on-the-fly when buffing with a rotary buffer. This is a method I've been using since I started using a rotary buffer in the late 1980's and that I've been teaching in any class that includes using a rotary buffer. It's simple, yet effective and you don't need to purchase any testing tools as you already have the tool you need built-in.

This method works off _*your hand's sense of touch*_ and _*your brain's instincts to protect you*_. I call it the *Fight or Flight Method for Gaging Surface Temperature*. Not one of my better titles but descriptive to say the least.

*The Fight or Flight Method for Gaging Surface Temperature*
When using a rotary buffer, periodically check the temperature of the paint by placing the palm of your hand flat on top of a section you just finished buffing, like this,










If the paint feels warm, even close to hot, BUT it's not so hot that you jerk your hand away, then it's in a temperature range that's safe to buff.

If you you place your hand on the paint and your Fight or Flight instinct takes over an you find yourself jerking your hand away from the surface at the speed of light, then the paint is too hot and you should stop buffing that section and allow the paint to cool down.

Kind of caveman but you get the idea. The bigger point is to check the surface temperature of the paint once in a while because you might surprise yourself at how hot you're getting the paint. Because *you're in control of the rotary buffer* you need pay attention to the surface temperature and this means pausing for a moment to feel the paint.

Different body panel materials, for example steel, aluminum, fiberglass, composite, will heat up at different rates and will either dissipate or hold heat at different rates, so it's a good idea to check each time you work on a different car.

With testing, you can get a feel, (not pun intended), for how long you can buff an average size section and not be getting the paint too hot.


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## Kriminal (Jan 11, 2007)

Interesting stuff mate....

...but I'm pretty darn sure us Brits haven't got any of that to worry about - even the transition lenses on my glasses haven't had a chance to go dark this year


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