It is getting chilly here in the Midwest with daily high temps only in the 40's. At what point does it get too cool to clay and Zaino a car? I know that a car can be washed at any time but I am wondering if the temperature of the body of the car can become too cold to make claying and Zaino application inadvisable.
Too cold to clay and Zaino?
- Thread starter Boongie
- Start date
Redcar GUY
New member
I dont think that it can be to cold to clay...well if your lube is freezing on the car it may be to cold LOL 
But the cooler it is it will take longer for the Z to cure, the coldest I have Z'd (outside) was about 50deg Where are you at? and what is the coldest so far?
But the cooler it is it will take longer for the Z to cure, the coldest I have Z'd (outside) was about 50deg Where are you at? and what is the coldest so far?
C. Charles Hahn
CCH Auto Appearance, LLC
well I just got back inside from doing exactly that..... so I think its probably OK as long as your temp isnt below ~48 degrees.
Jngrbrdman
New member
Clay holds a bit of moisture in it. Depending on where you keep it, it could freeze if it gets too cold. If your clay is too stiff then its not going to be very effective. As long as its warm and mallible then you should be fine. The lube won't freeze unless its below 32 outside (if its that cold then I would hope that you wouldn't be out washing your car anyway) so you should be fine. If you can handle having cold fingers then you can clay in any weather as long as the lube doesn't freeze and your clay is soft.
Redcar GUY said:I dont think that it can be to cold to clay...well if your lube is freezing on the car it may be to cold LOL
Hi RCG:
I am in the Chicago area and it has been colder than normal for weeks. The day time highs are in the 40's and the nights are in the 30's. I thought that I would still have some warm days left to clay and Zaino but the weather is not cooperating.
I'm in the exact same predicament... I was actually planning to wash/polish/clay/wax sometime this weekend (forecast was ~ 52-54F) but it rained both days. The rest of this week will be < 45, though weather.com says Sunday should be above 50... Just how cold is too cold to wash/clay/polish/wax?
I'm in Iowa and trying to get some Zaino on before winter. I emailed Sal a while back and asked him a question similar to yours. One of the things he said was: "I have also applied it in 38 degree temperature and it took about 2 to 3 hours to dry."
So I guess you can put on the Zaino in cold temperature as long as you're willing to wait for it to dry.
Sal also said: "First time Zaino users always tend to apply way too much Z-1 and Z-2 or Z-5.... This is very common problem and will dramatically increase the drying time of Zaino... All Zaino products are exremely concentrated and must be used sparingly.. Remember Less is Better...
."
If you're new to Zaino like I am, then I think you could expect it to take quite a while to dry in cold weather.
So I guess you can put on the Zaino in cold temperature as long as you're willing to wait for it to dry.
Sal also said: "First time Zaino users always tend to apply way too much Z-1 and Z-2 or Z-5.... This is very common problem and will dramatically increase the drying time of Zaino... All Zaino products are exremely concentrated and must be used sparingly.. Remember Less is Better...
."If you're new to Zaino like I am, then I think you could expect it to take quite a while to dry in cold weather.
Last weekend I did the wash/clay/Z1+Z2 procedure. The temperature (when I started to apply the Z1 at 10 a.m.) was 44 degrees F and the high in late afternoon was 55 degrees F.
3 hours later, I was able to hand buff the Z2 off. The clay was kind of hard to manipulate. Car looks great!
3 hours later, I was able to hand buff the Z2 off. The clay was kind of hard to manipulate. Car looks great!
Billinseattle said:
Err, you waited 3 hours to buff the wax? Sorry if this is a lame question, I'm very new wash/waxing...what's your advice for mid 40s (possibly mid 50s) weather for someone (me) planning ot wash/clay/polish w/ Meguiar's Glaze #7 and then wax w/ S100 ? I was pretty much thinking I would do each step immediately after the other..
Mage said:
Mage:
Sorry if we confused you. I was talking about Zaino polish which is very sensitive to low temperatures. If you live in California and the temperature is 70 degrees F, you can buff it in 15 to 20 minutes. If you live in Seattle and the temperature is 45 degrees F, you have to wait 3 hours before buffing or it will smear. Sorry- I'm not real familiar with #7 & S100. Maybe some of these experts (and there are many!) can advise you.
Old Rattle Flat
New member
Using ZFX and Z5 I applied two layers in the late afternoon last week. Temperature dropped from 45 degrees to 40 degrees during the time it took to put the two layers on. Just put a very thin layer on, than immediately went around the car and buffed it off with an MF - for both layers. Essentially no waiting.
T
TheOzzfather
Guest
Redcar GUY said:I dont think that it can be to cold to clay...well if your lube is freezing on the car it may be to cold LOL
At night. Brrr! Enough to leave ice on your nads!