Polishing in direct sunlight

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WhiteStripes

New member
So, I'm sure this has been covered, but it's kind of a story followed up by a few questions.



I live right down the street from a shop that usually deals with Euro cars, and mostly MB's at that. Well I'm guessing they have a guy who they recommend to customers for detailing, because I always see this guy doing Corrections in their parking lot. However, the thing that blows me away is that he does it in direct sunlight. Now I've seen a few products that claim direct sunlight is not a problem, I think SystemOne stuff comes to mind, but I live in Arizona, it was 111 yesterday, and 106 out a few days ago when I saw him out there going at a dark blue car with his Dewalt Rotary. I've driven by enough times in a day to know that he's not just applying an LSP with the thing either.



Now I'm wondering what kind of product could possibly stand up to easily 120 degree surface temps on a car's paint? And couldn't polishing on that kind of paint be dangerously close to burning it? I know when I detail my dark blue car on those super hot days, I have to park it in the garage after the wash to let the paint cool before I can do anything else to it.



The other thing that is pretty nuts is that the shop is notoriously shady. They are a dispatch for AAA and I had one of their Tow Trucks tow me one time and the driver said that the owner is just a con artist and he's seen them fix gasket leaks with roofing tar. So I'm wondering if the detailer they employ/recommend/whatever, is just as shady.



Anyhow, just found it interesting and felt like sharing.
 
Poorboy's is about the only compound/polish I know of that could stand a chance against those high temps. The first car I ever tried with Poorboy's was in direct sunlight and the panels must of been over 100F. It didn't seem to care that it was hot.



If it's not Poorboy's he's using, he must be nuts.
 
In a post by TOGWT, a detailing knowledge guru in some other forums, he said that the paint temperature should be kept below 115 degrees Fahrenheit. I would never polish in direct sun.
 
I use #105/205 and Ultrafina in the sun all the time. Low 100s here all last week. No problems at all. I prefer to polish in the sun if possible, the heat expands the metal under the paint and it seems to make it easier to polish out. Also is very good at finding any stray buffer trails. If possible, I like to do all the polishing except using UF and go grab lunch and let the paint sit in the hot sun. Any oils that might be hiding anything will be gone pretty quick on a 100 degree day.
 
bucket said:
Poorboy's is about the only compound/polish I know of that could stand a chance against those high temps. The first car I ever tried with Poorboy's was in direct sunlight and the panels must of been over 100F. It didn't seem to care that it was hot.



If it's not Poorboy's he's using, he must be nuts.
Click to expand...



There are other products, like AG's XMT and Pinnacle lines, that also make this claim.



When Mike Phillips was asked about this, he seemed to view this is marketing hype in that many products will work in the sun...it just depends on your definition.
 
Last weekend was the first time I worked in full sun, I used my PC with M105 and M205 sealed with FK 218 all 3 worked great. I just did everything in small sections
 
the only thing you'd have to worry about is dehydration esp if youre so in the correction that you want to see the final results. sooner or later, you feel weezy and lost alot of water from sweating. i usually wrap my head in a tshirt when im outdoors.
 
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