say your hands tied and u don't feel like spending 4 hours cleaning out space in the garage to detail the car in. so u park outside and its high sun outside and u wip out the porter cable and start going at it with some swirl removers.

How can one know for sure that the compound has been completely broken down?

Can you just tell by timing it?
say you work on a 3x3 panel, and its difficult to tell in the sun if the compound is done, how long must u work on the panel to just "KNOW" forsure that its completely broken down.

 

Keep the pad wet and work in smaller areas at a time. 1x1 area would probably work better than 3x3.
What products are you using? Poorboys (aisde from Zaino) is the only line that I know of that can be used in the sun.

 

not sure if i want to be polishing in the sun cause it will prematurely
dry the product causing the product not to breakdown properly.

you could end up with marrs.

 

I believe the Pinnacle XMT line can be used in the sun.

 

optimum is also a great line for work in the sun due to its long work time

 

+1 for Optimum in the sun, this would be my choice as well.

Usually you can monitor the dusting to regulate if a polish has been broken down or not, once it dusts excessively, it is broken down plenty.

 

ok ill put optimum on my shop cart
but still, working in the sun, its hard to tell if a product is broken down.
so how long should i work the optimum product in until i know for sure its broken down without looking for traits of it broken down?
like 10-15 minutes?

 

If you got rid of the junk in your garage you wouldn't have to wax your
car that often because your G would be inside where the elements aren't
trying to destroy it! My policy, if you haven't used it in a year it goes in
the trash! My two cents......never wash or wax your car in direct sunlight.
Sunlight makes everything dry too fast making an easy project difficult.

 

You could get one of those collapsable canopies/tent from Costco.

 

I typically make a total of 4 passes with some pressure, and 2 passes with just the weight of the buffer. With 6.5" pads, this equates to just under 10 minutes per 2' x 2' section moving the buffer at about 1" per second.

The product should look pretty transparent when completed and should remove fairly easily. Start with smaller areas when working in the sun until you feel comfortable with knowing how the PC and polish react. I'd suggest maybe a 1' x 1' starting size and working up as you go. Don't go any larger than 2' x 2', especially in the sun.

Hope this helps.

George