Question? Washing a car with a Steam Machine?

[zmzmusmc]

Question? Washing a car with a Steam Machine?




Hi All, My name is DJ and I detail my car purely as a hobby, but I have what equates to full detail shop in my garage (and then some). I was hoping you could point me in the right direction or answer the following question(s): * What steamer do you recommend? I saw Duspray in one of your threads; I have a VX 5000 currently. * Do you steam clean the exterior of the car and if so is that recommended? * Do you have a video, guide, etc. that outlines this process? * Does steam cleaning the exterior of the car remove the wax (I use currently either butter wet wax from chemical guys or most recently Collabrite 845). * What technique do you use while steaming the exterior of your car (IE single hole steam attachment then wipe, or wrapping a microfiber around the triangle attachment, steaming for a few seconds then going over the paint with a wipe afterwards? Thanks, DJ

[minorc]

While I know it's possible to steam clean the exterior of a car, I'd never do it.
For this to be effective I'm sure you'd need a higher end steam unit such as the Dupray Hill Injection that allows you to add detergent into the steam.

I have a Dupray Tosca and the only exterior things I use it for are door jambs which isn't even really exterior.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi All, My name is DJ and I detail my car purely as a hobby, but I have what equates to full detail shop in my garage (and then some). I was hoping you could point me in the right direction or answer the following question(s):

* What steamer do you recommend? I saw Dupray in one of your threads; I have a VX 5000 currently.

The best Steam Cleaner I've used is the Dupray Hill Injection. Not only does the steam machine itself offer the best features in the steam cleaning industry the attachments are also the best in the industry and it's the attachments that enable you to fully utilize the steam.

See here,

How To Use the Dupray Hill Injection Steam Cleaner

* Do you steam clean the exterior of the car and if so is that recommended?

No.

I've read about people doing this and my thoughts were they were crazy. Then just so I could speak from REAL WORLD experience I tried it and now I know they are crazy.

Since you're new to our forum, let me share something about myself. I'm a veteran of the Zaino vs NXT Wax Wars. This means from my experience TYPING out replies on public discussion forum, I've learned to pick EACH WORD I post carefully and purposefully. Not most of the words but each and every single word is thought out before it is used.

So follow what I say here,


While "yes" it's POSSIBLE to clean a car with a steam cleaner it would be my absolutely last choice for cleaning a car if there were ANY other option available including,

1. Traditional wash method with a water hose, bucket and wash mitt.

2. Rinseless Wash.

3. Waterless Wash.

4. Spray Detailer.

Since I cannot fathom a real world situation would I would NOT have one of these other 4 options to use to get a car clean then in my opinion and experience it is crazy to use a steam cleaner to wash a car.

* Do you have a video, guide, etc. that outlines this process?

No and I don't envision us ever showing people crazy stuff like washing their car with a steam cleaner.

* Does steam cleaning the exterior of the car remove the wax (I use currently either butter wet wax from chemical guys or most recently Collabrite 845).

After typing out answers on public forums for 22+ years when I get asked questions like this I like to use the question as a teaching moment to train others how to look at a question and then answer it.



Put the topic of the question in extremes


Here's how....

Will cleaning the waxed exterior body panels of a car ADD more wax?


If you conclude the answer is "no" (I conclude that), then what is the OPPOSITE of the word add?


The answer is REMOVE


So "yes" cleaning a waxed car with steam at high temperatures will remove car wax and likely synthetic paint sealants.

* What technique do you use while steaming the exterior of your car (IE single hole steam attachment then wipe, or wrapping a microfiber around the triangle attachment, steaming for a few seconds then going over the paint with a wipe afterwards?

I tried both styles, that is the single hole steam attachment and the cloth wrapped around the triangle brush attachment and thought both styles were simply crazy.

Thanks, DJ

Thank you for the questions and I hope my answers helped. For what it's worth, when I wash my truck or my wife's car I always use a foam gun.

Also, thank you for taking your question out of Private Messages and creating a thread on the public forum.

[zmzmusmc]

Hey Mike,

Thanks for your detailed reply. I noticed you specifically used the adjective "Crazy" to describe steam cleaning your cars exterior. Could you please elaborate as to the reasons behind this?

As far as I can tell through several weeks of research the steam cleaning of a car's exterior is almost considered taboo by the detailing industry, but yet dozens of different steam cleaner vendors exist and some professional detailers who advocate these practices.

I haven't yet personally met a professional detailer or enthusiast who was in the middle of steam cleaning a car's exterior; they were always on the it's bad or it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Again, I really appreciate your insight and wisdom.

- DJ

[Mike Phillips]

Hey Mike,

Thanks for your detailed reply. I noticed you specifically used the adjective "Crazy" to describe steam cleaning your cars exterior. Could you please elaborate as to the reasons behind this?

Two things....


I used the term crazy in the context of having 4 other methods available to wash a car.

If no other method was available, for example you locked me into a garage with a dirty car and ONLY a steam cleaner then it wouldn't be crazy.


As for why?

Like I said... in order to have a real-world opinion I tried it and it just doesn't make sense if and when there are other normal and this is key --> effective methods available to clean the car.


I see lots of people talk about it but I've never seen anyone actually doing it.

As for companies or individuals promoting this I don't have a problem with that and fact I say go for it if that's what works for you. But if I have a foam gun and a water hose I'm going to use these tools first before trying to clean my car with steam.

Also... if you haven't already, go for it yourself. You say you have a steam cleaner? Then try it out for yourself and take some pictures and share them on the forum and also share your opinion.

I'm always open to changing my mind. I could dig up the pictures I took of me using the steam cleaner too but I do have zillions of other things to do. At some point I hope that my long posting history on the Internet simply lends me some level of credibility so I don't have to back up everything I say or do with a picture.

[zmzmusmc]

Also... if you haven't already, go for it yourself. You say you have a steam cleaner? Then try it out for yourself and take some pictures and share them on the forum and also share your opinion.

That answered my follow up question; which was would anyone be interested in a forum write up for this very thing. I've been using steam cleaning my car for quite awhile now but I am not a professional detailer and I don't do this for a living. I am merely a slightly obsessed car enthusiast that treats his car like a High Maintenance Girlfriend .

On a side topic: I called Collanite today and spoke to a gentlemen. He specifically stated that this wax would not be affected by either steam or high pressure water. I guess it could really boil down to the wax itself and be on a case by case basis. My plan this weekend is to test this theory and post my results to the forum.

stay tuned

- DJ

[Mike Phillips]

bump