Washing in the sun?

rockford33

rockford33

New member
I am on the horns of a dilema. Just moved in with the girlfriend, and we live in the city (street parking!!). Anyway, she has a hose bib in the front of her rowhouse, so I can wash the car IF I can get the spot right in front of the house (or relatively close). My only problem is, after about 9 in the morning until about 7ish at night, the street is in FULL sun. No trees for shade (except one a little down the street). What can I do to wash and wax/polish the car? My parents live about 1/2 hour away in the burbs with a nice long driveway, but I don't want to drive there all the time just to do a little cleaning. Thanks for any suggestions.

-Neil
 
Wash before 9 AM, or after 7 PM, or on cloudy days! :D Don't know what else to tell you on that one, unless you want to buy one of those portable canopies? Or, you could try and find a new girlfriend with a "shaddy" driveway, or better yet, a garage! :D :D

As for the polishes/waxes, you'll need a product you can apply and remove in the sun, like Poorboys! :cool:
 
Yup...Exactly..You can wash early in the day..Nowhere near noon hour of course..But I think if you wash before 9am or after 7pm..the sun isn't hot enough on those hours to dry the water before you get to do a wipe down..

As for polish? You can apply ZAINO in the sun at noon my friend ..and it won't matter one bit.
I just did my friends Black Mustang and applied a second coat of Zaino around 2pm. It was over 30 degrees Celcius too.

I don't have Poorboys product here so I can't speak for it.
But I'm sure it's just as good from what i have read about it.

Or you can always move back out ;)
 
Thanks for the input. I'll will have to double check exactlywhen the sun comes over the house and hope it's not too early. I'll have to look at my waxes. They are mostly Meg's. I am looking at getting a house (with a garage) by the end of the year. Unfortunately, that doesn't help me right now. I guess for heavy duty work, I go to the parents. For washing and light work, I guess I'll get up early or do it after work during the week.

Thanks,
Neil
 
Thats nothing Clean Dean, i started detailing a car at 4:30am yesterday!!!!!!! It was still pitch black outside so no one was even up to think i was nuts hahah. BUt back to the topic.......go to home depot and get a canopy for like 200 bucks. Park the car under it and get started on the interior while the exterior has time to cool down. And do not use the sunlight as a method to dry the car, you will have water spots all over the car.......just give it a wipe down.
-Danny
 
Hehhaha..I've been caught washing at 4am
I 've been caught removing Zaino at 5h30 am
I've been caught applying Zaino at 2am..
Let's just say..people think I have nothing better to do. My tenant who still goes out to clubs often comes home and sees me in my garage doing something to the car or truck..all the time.. ;)
little do they know the hard work and effort it takes and patience to get these finishes as they are...
But hey...I have a good work schedule...
shift work has it's payoffs.
 
The answer to your question is Spray and Wipe...it's a waterless wash..no hoses..no buckets....no mess use it any time any where .....many of my customers are apartment dwellers with no assigned spot and no shade to speak of....

You guys are nuts....the only thing I see at 4:30 am is my inner eye lids....:rolleyes:
 
Poorboy,

Roughly speaking, how much S & W would it take to clean a truck like my SuperCrew?
 
Hi Boss,

Well Natty can tell you some good stories of him getting use to it,

but this is what I think....since we all know the condition of your truck when waxed is this side of immaculate, and i know your going to say I do a lot of outdoor parking and drive on roads so far out of civilzation that only a horse and buggy might have been there before...lol

No really...I think to start you'll use about 6-10 ounces depaending if you do your wheels and tires too.

When you get really use to using it and they can't grab it out of you hand..roflmao....You'll go down to one to two light mists per panel , which should translate to about 3-5 ounces...(with wheels...without tires)

that's what I think;)

Others with trucks on this site are Natty and JimS that can give you estimates too....(Natty uses too much:p )
 
Thanks Poorboy!

As for my truck being immaculate.................... not hardly! Being an everyday driver, and kept outside 24/7/365, it takes a lot of abuse. Where I live, I have to deal with a lot of pollen, morning dew........... and everything else Mother Nature can throw at it. About the only time it looks "immaculate" is in the afternoon on the day I detail it. :mad:

Having said all that, I'll probably also use too much of the S & W............ just to be on the safe side! ;) Although, initially, I plan on using it for QDing when dusty, rather than washing.
 
Boss ...I knew you would say that is was used and abused..lol

Anyone who has taken a jeweler's loop to the finish has an immaculate finish underneath what ever dirt there is...roflmao
 
Tassadar said:
I would love to use S&W, I just dont think I can afford to use it!
Click to expand...
Right now, I don't remember what you drive, but if you don't have one of those monstrosities that some of these guys drive, (trucks, I think they call them), you can probably clean a moderately dirty vehicle with 2 to 4 oz. of S&W. It does take a couple of times to refine your system, but once you do, a little goes a long way. About $1 to $1.50 per wash is pretty cheap. Based on buying S&W by the gallon, I think you can get by for that.
 
I drive a 1990 Stang, my little white baby!

cs14.JPG


But is it cost effective vs. normal shampoo?
 
Tassadar said:
I drive a 1990 Stang, my little white baby!
But is it cost effective vs. normal shampoo?
Click to expand...
Probably not, but there are times when it is well worth a little extra expense to be able to get your car cleaned up. It's quick easy and dry. I usually bucket wash, but today, because of not having time to do my washing when I had shade, I did the van with QEW and the GTP with S&W. If I hadn't been able to use those products, I would have had 2 dirty vehicles. If anyone had seen me driving one of them, I would have heard about it for weeks. It was well worth a buck apiece to me and still much, much cheaper than the wand washes. Definitely better for the vehicles, too.
I'm pretty sure two or three oz. of S&W would do a Mustang.

Nice Mustang, and I don't like Mustangs.:p
 
Hey Now, that Stang is my baby. Im the only Ford guy in the family, I have to cope with 2 other Corvettes (2000 and a 1972). But my Stang is faster on the straightline and auto-x compared to the 1972, and runs on par with the 2000 on the auto-x.
 
Poorboy said:
Boss ...I knew you would say that is was used and abused..lol

Anyone who has taken a jeweler's loop to the finish has an immaculate finish underneath what ever dirt there is...roflmao
Click to expand...

Poorboy,

One thing using a jeweler's loupe will do........... prove that there is no such thing as the "perfect finish"! :( I only use one to see what a product is doing/not doing! If you use one to try and perfect your finish.......... you'll go MAD in a hurry! Best to put it away, rather than use it for that.
 
I have found that the best method for finding out if a car is detailed well enough, is to have someone else look it over. And make sure they are not busy, so that they can look over it really well, look at dfifferent angles, all of the stuff we do, but from an objective viewpoint.
 
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