What temperature ranges are best for applying compounds, polishes, waxes and paint sealants (2024)

What temperature ranges are best for applying compounds, polishes, waxes and paint sealants
When detailing your car, you will get better performance from your products, (compounds, polishes, waxes and paint sealants), in moderate temperatures and avoid working in extreme cold and extreme hot temperatures. Not only will your products perform better but so will you...
When we talk about surface temperatures, we need to consider four factors:
Surface Temperature
Ambient Temperature
Relative Humidity
Surface Temperature (Actual surface temperature of the vehicle)
The best surface temperature range for applying compounds, polishes, waxes and paint sealants is in a range of 60 degrees to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. A simple test you can do is to feel the surface, it should not feel warm or hot to the touch.
Most premium quality car detailing products will work easily within a much broader temperature range, such as, 50 degrees to 90 degrees Fahrenheit but optimum results are when you're working in a range of 60 degrees to 80 degrees.
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Ambient Temperature or Outside temperature
Ambient temperature is the room temperature or the temperature of the surrounding environment. It's easily possible to have between 10 to 50 degrees difference in ambient temperature as compared to the surface temperature.
This difference in temperatures can make the difference between a product that's easy to work with, or difficult to work with. And of course, the hotter the ambient temperature, the faster liquid products are going to dry.
Humidity (Moisture in the air)
Humidity is moisture in the air. Technically there is Relative Humidity and Absolute Humidity, but as it relates to these procedures or characteristics,
Applying
Working with by hand or machine buffing
Drying time, curing time, crosslinking
Wipe-off or removal of car care products.
How humid it is or more specifically, how much moisture in the air there is, will dramatically affect how easy or how difficult a product will be to work with.
Low humidity in the warm to hot temperature range
In warm to hot temperatures, low humidity will cause liquids to evaporate and dry more quickly. This can make a product difficult to work with and/or decrease the buffing cycle or working time of the product.
Low humidity in the low to cold temperature range
Low humidity in low temperatures tends not to be a factor in buffing cycle or working time, nor drying times for waxes and sealants.
(Low temperatures are a factor, but not low humidity in low temperatures).
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High humidity in the warm to hot temperature range
High humidity in high temperatures tends not to be a factor in working with buffing cycles and working time of compounds and polishes. High humidity in high temperatures will affect drying and curing times of different waxes and paint sealants.
High humidity in the low to cold temperature range
Extremely cold temperatures can make products hard to work with because extreme cold temperatures can cause liquids like compounds and polishes to thicken and become less workable. High humidity in cold temperatures can also increase the amount of time necessary a wax or paint sealant to dry.
Generally speaking, extreme temperatures, both cold and hot will make any product and/or procedure more difficult than working in a temperature range from 60 to 80 degree.
Direct sunlight
Direct sunlight will dramatically increase the surface temperature compared to ambient temperatures and make compounds, polishes, waxes and paint sealants extremely more difficult to apply, work and remove.
Note: While some products state they can be used in direct sunlight, direct sunlight is kind of a vague term. There's a difference between working in direct sunlight in winter in Oregon in the morning and working in direct sunlight in summer in Arizona at noon.
Besides that, any product that can be used in direct sunlight will still always be easier to use on a cool surface in the shade.
Air current/Wind
Air current/air flow, or windy conditions will act to increase the evaporation speed and potentially making some products more difficult to apply, work, or remove. In some cases this can be a bonus, helping a wax to cure/dry more quickly.
Summary
The best conditions for using compounds, polishes, waxes and paint sealants on automotive paints would be in a cool place, out of direct sunlight, in a surface temperature range between 60 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with comfortable to low humidity and with a light breeze to create the perfect conditions for detailing your car's finish.
Common sense and a good rule-of-thumb is to avoid applying any product if the surface is too warm to touch with the palm of your hand comfortably.
50 degrees Fahrenheit = 10.0 degrees Celsius
90 degrees Fahrenheit = 32.2 degrees Celsius

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