cold weather detailing

E

etw310

New member
hey all,

i am just getting started, and i am trying to get some jobs of friends, and friends of friends, so i can get the money together for a mytee hp60. just looking for experience this summer and fall and next year go full time, (i hope).

how far into the winter can you detail? i am in missouri and was wondering if there is a certain degree of weather it can get down to before you must stop detailing?

thanks
 
If you've got a heated garage, you can go year round. If not, it's usually not recommended that you try to wax below about 38 degrees, as the wax, polishes etc. will be "thicker" and not as easily workable. Some may not even bond well to a cold car. That being said, I've wiped a quick touch-up coat of wax on my car in Jan. whenever temps were above 32. Operative word is "quick" as my hands tend to notice the cold within about an hour, what with the wash, dry, application and removal being done bare-handed (didn't want to risk scratching the paint with the gloves!).
 
Staying above 38 to 40 degrees during the winter sounds like some good advice. However, you could go a little lower on the temp if the vehicle is parked in the mid-day sunshine. I've actually experienced conditions where a bright sunny calm day in January, at 40 degrees, can feel a lot warmer than a cloudy windy day in April at 40 degrees.
 
thanks for your help guys, being from Missouri, the weather could be 40 in august and 80 in december. I guess I could just watch the weather guys on TV, they are NEVER wrong!!
 
I tried to do a detail last winter, and it must have been 25 degrees or so. The water kept freezing in my extractor. From now on, I will not do a detail unless the temp is above freezing. BTW, I had no problem keeping warm because I was working so hard.
 
Back when I used to detail cars for Auto Shows coast to coast, I would have no choice but to pep vehicles in any weather. The Detroit, Chicago, and D.C. Shows (right around Christmas) were the worst. Imagine having to wash and dry vehicles prior to them coming into the building -- ugh!! One year it got so cold that the battery in two cars actually froze. Luckily when I did the East Coast and Mid-West stuff (October thru March) I would be able to work inside at local dealerships. I found that if I added some alcohol to my window cleaner and APC, they would not freeze up. Mothers Sealer-Glaze (the liquid one) also worked well in these cold conditions. I never tried to do anything other than washing outside though, for the water tended to freeze-up as I was drying. To combat this, it helped to add about 1 cup of kerosene to a 5 gallon bucket of soapy water when washing the vehicles. Also, for those who do not know, hot water freezes faster than cold. I could not imagine having to mobile detail cars in the winter any where where it snows -- I think I would rather work at Burger King as a Fry Cook!!
 
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