Hey guys, well my spring break from school is coming up and i wanted to give my new truck its first polish. It is in pretty decent shape swirl wise but a big F150 so its gonna take some time. I live in an apartment and dont have access to a garage. What are your thoughts on polishing outdoors? I have access to an awning, but thats it. Not ideal i know, but do you guys ever find yourself having to do this?
I've done it quite alot. Main problem is that the polish will dry up faster from the hot sun, so you end up applying more, which leads to more dusting. Just work smaller areas and you'll be fine. Other main problem is that without being able to isolate and control your lighting, it makes it harder to tell where the defects are.
Scottwax is in Texas I believe and does it a lot. He swears by Optimum Polishes for polishing outdoors.
well with the awning i think i can strategically plan where to polish by whats in the shade. My biggest worry is wind and other things being on the surface when i go to polish. But i have the time to do it then and not much i can see as far as options of finding a garage.
JBELL. I am not a pro at polishing but I did a couple last year out in the open. My garage is really small and I barely have room to move in there. I would highly recommend that you get yourself a head LED lamp. I used that as my guide to check for defects. I usually used Menz 2500--> 4500 and it comes out well. The best thing to do it would be to start polishing around 4 pm ish when the sun is starting to settle down and you can also use flood lights to your advantage. Just my 2 cents.
Good to know. +1 I mostly do polishing out doors too. I like to do early morning or late evening. It can be done , just a little more difficult. Upside, If your in the sun sometimes you can see the swirls marks better...........lol
Polished plenty of cars outdoors. some tips and drawbacks are discussed above. don't be discouraged by the fact you don't have a garage though.
Thanks guys, i will have some shade, but maybe its just a mind thing having the enclosure. I went ahead and ordered some d300 and a couple of those 6" cutting discs for my flex. I wanted to try out that system insead of using 105/PFW. The truck is pearl white with lots of flake so it wont be as rewarding as the truck in my avatar. But bigger and more swirls to attack i guess, which is fun. Light cars have their benefits though.
wise choice as d300/MF pads will cut less but leave a better finish then the 105/PFW. and you can add some 105 to d300 for some more cut if d300 alone isnt doing it
I didnt buy the finishing wax, I didnt see the point really. Im probably gonna follow up with M205 on a polishing pad/or a finishing pad. I might just go to PO85RD on a finishing if it looks really good after compounding. I doubt it looks good enough for that though. The weather down here has been excellent, so i hope it holds up. I dont get much time off so need to get lucky!
JBELL my first detail was an F150 King Ranch that I did outside when I lived in an apartment. Again don't let the fact that you will be outdoors discourage you. Work during dark hours and you will be fine as far as heat and what not.
