When is it too cold to wax the car?

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I have missed the warm fall weather in which to put the last coat of wax on. So my question is, what is the coldest temp that you can apply wax and are there any problems putting a coat of wax on when its in the 40's F outside? I normally use Black Magic.
 
I asked the same thing, and it seems the surface temperature matters far more than air temp. So if you can heat your paint up to about 80F you should be good.
 
I tried to wax when the temp was around 60 and it still wasn't quite dry after 2 hours (not in direct sunlight).
 
Originally Posted By: SevenBizzos
I tried to wax when the temp was around 60 and it still wasn't quite dry after 2 hours (not in direct sunlight).


You must've put it on too thick then. I put a coat of Meguiar's #21 on my car yesterday, and it was 60 degrees in my garage, and it was dry in under 30 minutes. I've done my car in 40-50 degree weather before and it's never taken 2 hours to dry ever.
 
I've waxed my car in 30 degree weather before and it's been perfectly fine. But it was the Mothers spray on wax. Don't know if that makes a difference.
 
That's certainly possible. I hadn't had that problem before, and I expected there to be no problem that time either. Now, I save the waxing for the heated garage.
 
It's too cold when you can't feel your fingers.
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You know you can't come in here and post something like that and expect to survive! Put some wax on them dog gone cars!
 
I routinely wax my cars and truck in the 30s. I especially like using RainX's Fastwax. If I wipe it on smooth and evenly enough, I don't even need a follow-up wipe/buff.

For regular waxes like NuFinish and Black Magic, I wipe it on moderately heavy and wait 15-30 minutes. Then, I do a light wipe with clean dry towels--not to buff, just to smooth out the wet wax and remove the heavier deposits. Often the wax is still a bit wet so the toweling really just thins down the coating a bit.

Then 15-30 minutes later I follow up with a damp microfiber towel and then lightly buff with a dry microfiber just to the point of drying the light coating of moisture on the paint surface. It really brings out the shine. By the next day or so, everything is completely dry and looks flawless--no swirl marks and with no real effort. But, it does take some time...
 
I think this depends on the product. Waxes don't cure but rather haze(solvents flash off)so cold temps might not allow them to flash as fast. It also depends on the type of solvent used. Low solvent products like Zaino can be used in mid 30 degree weather as long as it is applied thin.
 
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