Do you use pressure washers?

[Elonheater32]

I was reading up a few articles on how to proplery wash your car and was wondering how you guys felt about pressure washing. It seems as if most people just use a hose with no nozzle and let the water sheet off of the paint.



When you rinse your car prior to washing.... don`t you need to use a pressure washer to get as much dirt off as possible. Can a pressure washer potentially damage the paint? Should I avoid doing this?



I was thinking about getting the craftsman electric 1800 psi pressure washer.

[bigfish528]

some pressure washers come with attachments that let you use the pressure washer to clean the paint without harming it. The more agressive attachments the ones which make the water more high pressured are for wheels and wheel wells just don`t use the high pressure attachment for the paint.

[itb76]

I don`t use a pressure washer, and I don`t find the need for one for regular washes. I use a foamgun that attaches to a garden hose in the summer and ONR in the winter. I have seen some people post here that rinse with a pressure washer, then attach a foamgun to the pressure washer. Much thicker foam than I`ll ever get with mine.



With the "standard" wash you`re relying on your wash media (sponge, mitt, whatever) to remove most of the dirt. Choose your media carefully and rinse often during the wash and marring shouldn`t be a problem.



If you decide to use a pressure washer don`t get too close to the paint. Maybe someone who uses one regularly can follow up.

[cshorey]

I do use a pressure washer for the initial wash down and getting the wheels and wheel wells. I don`t use any of the agressive stray wand attachments as I don`t want to strip or damage the paint. As my car is a daily driver and sits outside all day, it just helps get all the crap off to start the washing.



I did ask here early on about pressure washing and I got the answer of it won`t hurt, but if you keep your car clean and detailed there isn`t a lot of need. (a basic summarization)



I just have an electric pressure washer now and plan to get a foam cannon attachment to augment it and make it more useful.



chris

[Accumulator]

I`ve been playing around with a semi-pressure washer approach: I have a sprayer that hooks up to the air compressor and has a siphon-feed supply hose that I can stick in my wash bucket. I`ve been using this to prewash the dirtiest areas of the vehicles before I start my regular regimen with the foamgun.



Seems to work OK, gets the bigger stuff off in a touchless manner. Good for getting back behind pieces that tend to retain dirt too (the panels around the Audis` bumper covers are especially bad in this regard, no way to clean up in there using conventional methods). Strong enough to do the job yet weak enought that it doesn`t do any damage or get water/etc. all over the place.

[Mikeyc]

My pressure washer used to gather dust in my garage but not too long ago I started using it every time I wash my car. The change of heart was due to two factors:



1. I bought a foam cannon and LOVE it. It just makes washing much more fun. Plus, I find I`m more likely to care for my wheels with car wash soap vs. with wheel cleaner when I have the foam cannon out. Car wash soap is cheaper and more gentle (than most wheel cleaners). So, I`d like to encourage myself to use car wash soap.



2. I bought a new car at the end of July and it has carpeted rear wheel wells. All kinds of dirt and debris sticks in the carpet and it would take FOREVER to get it all out without a pressure washer.

[Invigor]

I use PW for wheels, wheel wells and engine bay...beats scrubbing it all with a brush. I COULD do without one, but they`re SO handy. And to top it off, try doing an undercarriage rinse without one



My PW has a heater in it too which goes as hot as steam...makes for nice clean engine bays that are all gross and greasy. Good degreaser makes the world of difference as well...otherwise a PW on it`s own is pretty useless against your regular garden hose.



I don`t understand the people that expect a PW to entirely clean your car either...you still gotta soap the thing, that`s all there is to it.

[howareb]

I own a 1800 PSI Electirc vesrion. I only use it for rinsing on the medium setting when rinsing the paint making sure to have the wand back 2-3 feet back. I set is on high for the Wheels. I tried using it for foaming, but the dispensier was not working and I did not get time to fix it

[imported_Jakerooni]

Couldn`t imagine ever trying to professionaly detail without a heated pressure washer. Although I do now realise why it takes some of the guys on here so long to do a detail. They don`t use (for various reasons) the best tools out there to simplify the job at hand.

[BlackElantraGT]

When you use a pressure washer, you want to use it on the "fan" setting or attach the adapter to give it a wide "fan" spray. For example, on my electric Karcher model I was given 2 attachments for my wand. One is a variable spray (which I pretty much use on max setting). The other is their "turbo" nozzle, meant more for things like cleaning concrete. When your spray fans out, the water is actually pretty soft. To give you an idea of how close you might want to use the wand on your car, spray it on yourself. If your hand is too close and it hurts, you don`t want to get it that close to paint. But bring it out further and you`ll see that it`s actually pretty soft. I wouldn`t recommend shooting the other attachment at yourself because that`s going to hurt like a b*tch! It`ll strip paint off your car for sure.



If you do decide to get a pw, get some quick connects. The first time I used mine without one, I thought it was such a hassle and wasn`t sure if it was worth bringing out the pw every time I wanted to wash. Since putting quick connects on my pw and hoses, it`s not much more work than using a garden hose. And it works better. So I haven`t washed with a regular hose and sprayer since. I could, but it wouldn`t save me much time or anything. If I`m short on time, I`d rather do an ONR wash.

[David Fermani]

Couldn`t imagine ever trying to professionaly detail without a pressure washer. Although I do now realise why it takes some of the guys on here so long to do a detail. They don`t use (for various reasons) the best tools out there to simplify the job at hand.

Good point (I removed the heated part of your statement). It`s almost like the PC vs Rotary debate = It can be done, but takes longer.