advice on how to safely wash your car using a pressure washer

[swanicyouth]

I just bought a similar electric psi washer (1600 psi) and I stupidly stuck my finger in front of the high pressure turbo nozzle thing and I felt like it almost took my finger off. What I learned is, these washers put out high pressure, but A much lower volume of water then I'm used to with a hose. So, this to me makes them not the best for rinsing off soap, as the more water volume of
a hose works better for me. In fact, my first time using the pressure washer, I got water spots on the window I couldn't simply remove by wiping. I had to use a mild polish by hand on all the windows (on a SUV no less) to get the spots off. I think these devices are good for an
initial spray down to remove as much loose dirt as possible. And, actually, I did cause a paint chip on my roof rack from spraying too much pressure to close. I have a Karcher foam gun on order, so I'll give that a try. I also tried an ONR mix in the soap tank as rinse water and it didn't really seem to do much. Also, anyone use the hose de-ionization filters that AG sells? It seems as though they only help and don't give a spot free wash, as the replace calcium and magnesium ions with sodium chloride - which supposedly doesn't spot as badly. Do these filters give a noticeable difference? There seems to be one type of filter set-up made and the reviews aren't great.

[opie_7afe]

my own personal car i wont use a pressure washer unless i need the pressure to remove say splatter dots or blast dirt from under my spoiler out or stuff like that. on customer's vehicles if its the first time im doing them i always use a pressure washer to remove all the gunk behind emblems and trim peices ect, and ALL the detailers here never wash wheel wells they just rinse them off if anything. so usually a ton of built up dirt there. now dont worryabout pressure washers causing marring, thats an old wifes tale imo. now it can peel up paint, but ive noticed this only happens if the panel has been repainted(not OEM bake cured paint) or its painted plastics with chips(its harder for paint to bond to plastic). tuscaora dave provided some great tips for you as well...

to swanicyouth, the deionization filter that ag sells is pointless imo, your drying your car off anyways so why do you need a spotless rinse? if you want better water quality going into pressure washer which will help pump build up and make pump last longer thats a good option but some wont let the required GPM's flow through so for just removing simple water contamination and make pump last longer as well as using it to fill your wash buckets so your soaps can work as intended and not be less diluted because of some soaps ability to capture minerals in the water or make hard water soft. for that i just reccomend a single stage carbon filter, can be had for around 20$. if you want deionized water you can find the DI resin and the DI resin holders you can find them atleast 75% cheaper elsewhere then ag, the price on that CR spotless is way over priced for what it is. as i said spotless rinse is pointless for most people, maybe if your doing dealership lots and washing a good bit of cars might be worth it, but even with deionized water you can still get water spots...as i said if anything just get a simple cheap carbon/sediment filter system, that will work the best for you and at a good price...but still wont be that much of a noticeable difference, but hey you could have nice fresh clean filtered water if you get thirsty!. i got a 5 stage RO filter system for 10$ at a thrift store, just missing a few parts so im just using the 4 stage carbon/sediment filters to remove most of the contaminants in our city water we have here. noticed some products don't work as well if im using the heavily chlorinated water we have here. is it needed? no. will it make your life easier? highly doubt it... BTW the karcher foam gun will just be a sudsy water dispenser, they do not foam up they just shoot sudsy water, not even foam.. im just letting you know, most of the "foamers" that come with a pressure washer or are accessories do not work well at all and are nearly pointless for what we want them for, id just go with the MTM hydro foam lance for around 45$

[Mc'lovin]

Thanks everyone for the great detailed tips,

I too as Forcefield would like to hear about pros and cons of the foam lance method. Is it in your opinion superior or inferior to the two bucket method? Which method leaves your car cleaner, and which is safer for your paint?

[BobbyG]

Thanks everyone for the great detailed tips,

I too as Forcefield would like to hear about pros and cons of the foam lance method. Is it in your opinion superior or inferior to the two bucket method? Which method leaves your car cleaner, and which is safer for your paint?

The Two Bucket method gets my vote hands down....

[swanicyouth]

If your using a pressure washer, just be careful around the edges on plastic bumpers and such. High pressure can blow the paint right off.

Ask me how I know...



I temporarily touched it up and put a piece of PPF film over it so it doesn't get worse. Vehicle is going to Dentwerx, my local PDR guy to get this fixed along with some small door dents in a week or two.

[American Washi]

Cool tips! Thanks for the help everyone!

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Be very careful If the car has 3m clear bra.

[SKT]

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A lot of helpful info here - thanks for sharing everyone!

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[DETAILROOKIE]

I was looking to getting a pressure washer and came accross this thread. With pressure washers gaining popularity in the detailing world, are they safer to use now, with the right tip of course? Ive read mixed reviews about pressure washers and would like to make sure it is safe before buying one.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Autogeekonline mobile app

[hmardown]

foam cannon then 2 bucket wash .




hmardown