I guess pressure washers are OK for doing the wheelarches and underside, but i do worry about doing more harm than good, eg blasting off underseal. Modern cars are pretty well corrosion-proofed IMO, and unless a car gets REALLY filthy i'm inclined to leave well alone. Driving in heavy rain ought to do a pretty good clean-up job underneath.
As for the bodywork and wheels, hand is best. Don't use a sponge, use a wash mitt - far kinder. Rinse off with a normal garden hose - much easier/quicker than buckets and uses less water.
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I bought one for £24 from B&Q Warehouse. They do still sell them for the same price.
It is their own Performance Power brand. It only has a normal lance spray with adjustable nozzle from a fan spray to a high powered jet, and a seperate soap sprayer (which I don't use)
It's great if you want a cheap one, which doesn't take up much room , and you only use it now and again to clean the car underneath, wheels, mouldy paths etc...
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and you only use it now and again to clean the wheels,
But be careful if you use it on the tyres.
tinyurl.com/2xgul3
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I have a powerful jet washer, although essentially a domestic one. Its ok for getting mud off cars but its not much good for actually cleaning them - you'd be better off with a hose and brush.
However, IMHO all this worry about it taking off paint, shredding your tyres, and causing the end of the world as we know it is a pile of carp. I guess if you've got paint that's already loose then maybe, but on good paint ? Ridiculous. And as for harming the tyres then they really aren't that strong. They won't cut your toes off or kill that cat either.
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I very successfully took paint off a very good panel with a pressure-washer. To my eternal fortune the said panel was damaged by a third-party two days later, so much that my damage could not be seen. They paid, and I got out of a big hole with SWMBO.
Suggest you try for yourself, FM2R, and then report back. My washer delivered about 200 lbs per sq inch ISTR.
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Surely that paint must have been defective Yokel?
I thought it would be difficult to damage car paintwork. With the nozzle adjusted to 'fan' spray rather than 'jet', and with a feel for how much pressure you are applying, I can't see it being a problem. Thousands of people use jet washes at filling stations every week without damage don't they?
They are safe as long as you are not downright stupid with them, like my my brother who managed to cut his finger by putting it in the water jet.
I bought my Dad a B&Q own-brand one and its good for cleaning the patio, etc., but I prefer a bucket and sponge for cars.
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If you clonk on this link and then choose the video in the second row called "wash away paint" you can see how best not to use a pressure washer on your shiny new Lexus. Took the paint off a treat, although he is holding the nozzle close to the car.
So it can happen. (I don't know whether the car had dodgy paintwork in some way of course).
tinyurl.com/2kw495
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So it can happen. (I don't know whether the car had dodgy paintwork in some way of course).
The paint was already damaged before he started squirting. It looks like the nozzle was set to maximum blast rather than fan spray as well. Hardly surprising the water found its way in between paint and plastic bumper. I don't think that clip represents normal use of a pressure washer; it looks as though it was done to make a point.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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I would have no clue about what actual pressure was delivered. I have used a pressure washer for some time on a variety of cars [Merc, Landcruiser, Galaxy, Omega, Daihatsu, Honda and a few others] and haven't removed any paint. I really can't believe that can happen with anything other than already dodgy paint.
As I say, I use it for mud removal rather than actually cleaning the panels (if you see what I mean) but even so I do have to remove mud from paintwork as well.
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> Surely that paint must have been defective Yokel?
I'm certain it was not. The washers at petrol stations are de-tuned to avoid people cutting themselves on water jet and then claiming on the station's insurance.
Like I say, take a proper £199 washer with the jet set to max, and pint it at your car and report back.
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>>Like I say, take a proper £199 washer with the jet set to max, and pint it at your car and report back.
But I have. A lot. Although it cost more than £199.
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I've used pressure washer zillion times before when I was living with my parents. I never just relied on the pressure washer to clean the car. I used it to remove all the loose dirt (with nozzle turned to spray rather than very fine) and cleaned the arches, alloys/wheels/tyres etc.. then I used bucket filled with car shampoo and luke warm water and sponge. Then I used to use the pressure washer for washing off the shampoo from the car. I'm yet to peel off paint or damage alloys or even tyres. I think people who damage their cars they probably keep the water pressure really high and to the finest possible point where the pressure washer ejects the water like a bullet rather than as a spray.
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Sponges are great for grinding in scratches by rubbing the grit around on the paint! Use a brush with water flowing so the grit drop away.
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I've used pressure washer zillion times before when I was living with my parents. I never just relied on the pressure washer to clean the car. I used it to remove all the loose dirt (with nozzle turned to spray rather than very fine) and cleaned the arches, alloys/wheels/tyres etc.. then I used bucket filled with car shampoo and luke warm water and sponge. Then I used to use the pressure washer for washing off the shampoo from the car. I'm yet to peel off paint or damage alloys or even tyres. I think people who damage their cars they probably keep the water pressure really high and to the finest possible point where the pressure washer ejects the water like a bullet rather than as a spray.
I couldnt agree with you more - I would also suggest using pre-wash which removes the vast majority of dirt - I spray it on the lower half of the car and around the arches, doorshuts and wheels. It saves moving dirt over the paintwork with the sponge.
This rubbish about paint coming off is simply someone being careless and wanting to blame everyone but themselves. You should never point the spray head on at close range to the paintwork and you should always be more careful around the edges of the paint, esp stonechips.
This is just common sense. High pressure is rarely required and only a blithering idiot would use more than required.
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I have used the same Karcher once a week for the past 10 -11 years without any problems. I originally bought this from B&Q because it was a good price but did not realise that it was cheap because the inside/valve was made of plastic and not brass so I had it overhauled about 8 years ago for £30 and it is still going strong.
I like the sound of a pre-wash (does it remove the wax?) what would you recommend as a good pre-wash product
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>>I like the sound of a pre-wash (does it remove the wax?) what would you recommend as a good pre-wash product<<
I use Autosmart's G101 as a pre-wash. I dilute it 20% G101, 80% water, applying it with a sprayjet, which is the most economical application.
It is a degreaser as well as a general cleaner, hence the mild dilution, but I then soap the cars with Autosmart Duet car shampoo, which has a very high wax content, more than anything you get in the shops that Ive seen, and this counteracts any wax removal by the G101.
A car I cleaned today which I use this method on was last polished with Carnuba wax back in July and water still beads up on the lower half, so the wash and wax I use must be doing its job!
The great thing about G101 is its very versatile - you can use it in strong dilution in engine bays or lighter dilutions to clean interior trim, carpets and even leather seats if you use a weak enough dilution. I use alot of it because once you understand its properties, it can make many cleaning jobs very quick and easy.
A 5-litre can costs £13-51 for cash - this lasts me, doing daily car cleaning, about 4 months, so a private user, far longer.
www.autosmart.co.uk - they sell to the public and they know their products very well.
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stunorthants26 - Thanks for your encouraging post mate, Shall I just get any pressure washer within my budget? do you have any one or two in particular which you could suggest?
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I use a Karcher KB 1010 B, which I bought at B&Q. Adequate pressure for car cleaning and proof to me that valeters who turn up with a pressure washer with the power to wash Australia into the middle of the Atlantic have them to look good rather than for any tangible benefit cleaning wise.
They usually have them at less than £60, sometimes as low as £40, depending on when you buy. What is worth investing in, is the 5M extension for the washer to lance hose, I think its about £10, as the standard one is a little short to get all the way around a decent sized car and saves having to move the washer around.
What is useful is that unlike some of the cheap own brand washers, the Karcher has autostop, so you turn it on, the machine only runs when you pull the lance trigger - useful as the racket they make is annoying after a while!
Check out Halfords and Homebase too although ive never found them to be as cheap for the same model, they may have stock clearances as Karcher update their models fairly frequently, although the changes seem to be minor.
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They won't ... kill that cat either.
I'm not buying one then. Can't think of another reason to have one.
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They won't cut your toes off .....
Tell that to my bil.
Sliced through steel toe caps and nearly cut toes off! Hospital did good job though!
Fact not fiction !
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Tell that to my bil. Sliced through steel toe caps and nearly cut toes off! Hospital did good job though! Fact not fiction !
More likely the shoe leather, rather than the steel itself.
That aside, I can vouch for it cutting into flesh, or more precisely my finger can!
And if any of you have ever watched any of the Dirty Sanchez episodes on MTV, you'll have no doubt seen the weal marks left on the backside of one of the welsh nutters after playing with a pressure washer.
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