Pressure washers - what's the point?
Discussion
plenty said:
Centurion07 said:
Without the bond between dirt and paint broken before you attack it with a jetwasher that's exactly what it's doing. Admittedly, not as badly as going straight at it with a sponge/mitt, but it's still doing it.
Talk to any valet/detailer & ask them why they use all sorts of different foams/chemicals etc BEFORE they use a pressure washer on a car. You need something to break that bond and lift the dirt away from the surface in the first place; a high-pressure water jet is not the most paint-friendly way of doing that.
Even the guys at the local £5 handwash place will spray your car with chemicals first before hitting it with a jetwasher. Why do you think they would waste money on that when their profits aren't exactly going to make BP blush?
I completely agree and we are talking at cross-purposes as I interpreted your original post to indicate that you were confused as to why pressure washers are used at all.Talk to any valet/detailer & ask them why they use all sorts of different foams/chemicals etc BEFORE they use a pressure washer on a car. You need something to break that bond and lift the dirt away from the surface in the first place; a high-pressure water jet is not the most paint-friendly way of doing that.
Even the guys at the local £5 handwash place will spray your car with chemicals first before hitting it with a jetwasher. Why do you think they would waste money on that when their profits aren't exactly going to make BP blush?
Of course you need to loosen the dirt before you use a pressure washer. To use my earlier dish analogy, it's equivalent to soaking the dishes in a dish tray first before washing them (with snow foam or an all-purpose cleaner being the equivalent of adding washing up liquid to the dish tray).
Once you've loosened the dirt (ideally with snow foam) then you wash the dirt off with a pressure washer before going with a wash mitt.
Centurion07 said:
plenty said:
They're for getting the top layer of grit and dirt off the car before you hand wash.
If you dive straight in with your bucket without pressure-washing your car first, you're basically rubbing the grit into your paintwork.
What do you think you're doing firing a high-pressure jet of water at it then? If you dive straight in with your bucket without pressure-washing your car first, you're basically rubbing the grit into your paintwork.
Paintwork!!!
,success with a pressure washer is about the chemical
A good TFR will get most of the dirt off then a quick hand wash with a hand wash wax and a soft sponge is best ,any manual washing of a dirty car with a brush or sponge will cause scratches...
kev b said:
They are really good for ruining wheel bearings,cars or bikes.
Really? In thirty-five years of washing my many motorbikes with a pressure washer (I never, ever wash them by hand now, can't be arsed) I've not yet had a bearing problem. Or a chain problem. Or a caliper seized.A certain Midlands Police force had a LOT of wheel bearing failure caused by water ingress problems with BMW bikes. The supplying dealer was completely stumped.
BMW sent a technician to investigate. He couldn't understand it either.
It wasn't until he saw the bikes being washed at end of shift that he realised that the problem was caused by pointblank use of a pressure washer. The seals are intended to cope with normal driving conditions, not high pressure water jets.
Advice to the section ensured the problem didn't recur.
BMW sent a technician to investigate. He couldn't understand it either.
It wasn't until he saw the bikes being washed at end of shift that he realised that the problem was caused by pointblank use of a pressure washer. The seals are intended to cope with normal driving conditions, not high pressure water jets.
Advice to the section ensured the problem didn't recur.
paintman said:
A certain Midlands Police force had a LOT of wheel bearing failure caused by water ingress problems with BMW bikes. The supplying dealer was completely stumped.
BMW sent a technician to investigate. He couldn't understand it either.
It wasn't until he saw the bikes being washed at end of shift that he realised that the problem was caused by pointblank use of a pressure washer. The seals are intended to cope with normal driving conditions, not high pressure water jets.
Advice to the section ensured the problem didn't recur.
...and yet RiDE magazine (? - IIRC) put a 2RS (i.e. double-sided rubber seal, as used in most m/cs) wheel bearing in a vice and tried to blow the grease out of it with a pressure washer. They tried both hot and cold for about an hour and pulled the seal out of the bearing afterwards to find...perfect grease and no water ingress.BMW sent a technician to investigate. He couldn't understand it either.
It wasn't until he saw the bikes being washed at end of shift that he realised that the problem was caused by pointblank use of a pressure washer. The seals are intended to cope with normal driving conditions, not high pressure water jets.
Advice to the section ensured the problem didn't recur.
Would be interesting to know which force, as I have had very close contact with some of them for a few years and could perhaps get more details of this phenomenon.
I always use my karcher which is of
1991 vintage and is still working fine
I don't use TFR traffic film remover personally as my car is generally not that dirty it also shags your anadized trims it's an alkali see any merc with anodised trims knackerd by TFR after service washing. But it's a must if your a valeter sorry detailer ;0)
Also great for cleaning the drive and patio amongst other items wouldn't be without it personally
1991 vintage and is still working fine
I don't use TFR traffic film remover personally as my car is generally not that dirty it also shags your anadized trims it's an alkali see any merc with anodised trims knackerd by TFR after service washing. But it's a must if your a valeter sorry detailer ;0)
Also great for cleaning the drive and patio amongst other items wouldn't be without it personally
GC8 said:
Different colours are of differing strength and they can all be watered down. Just a bit will break down oily dirt.
Yes true gc8 I used to do it as a job and we had a big vat of the stuff and watered it down accordingly but to be fair not all of my colleagues gave a s
t about TFR strength the stronger the better in most cases, used to make me cringe as did the matt black spray painting of black car matts I managed a week then left out of disgust,luckily found a proper place to work after that that had pride in the work we did, but off topic and a long time ago know :0)Funny enough my last pressure washer ( B & Q own brand) gave no warning about washing cars, but my new Karcher does. But some older number plates can't stand the lower pressure pressure washers. The old one struggles to clean a wheelie bin once it's had garden waste in it, but the Karcher shifts it with ease. Again ,my SIL took one of his bikes to a pressure washer place and paint got damaged.
GarageQueen said:
Ok, so I've gone and got myself a fancy pressure washer, but I can't really see the point.
Domestic pressure washers are st, aren't they? Try one of these http://www.karcher.co.uk/uk/Products/Professional/...In all honesty they probably aren't worth bothering with and a basic hose and spray attachment will do all you need.
If you are cleaning cars all day then obviously that's a different story.
As a complete hypocrite I, of course, have one to spray snow foam if I can be bothered. And the jury is out on that stuff as well as far as I am concerned.
If you are cleaning cars all day then obviously that's a different story.
As a complete hypocrite I, of course, have one to spray snow foam if I can be bothered. And the jury is out on that stuff as well as far as I am concerned.
Troubleatmill said:
Pressure washer is great for patios.
Any tool that blasts high pressure onto foreign bodies that are lying on your paintwork into your paintwork- can't be a good thing.
The best way to clean your car is most likely the one that has the least abrasive contact.
Yes its called a pressure washer Any tool that blasts high pressure onto foreign bodies that are lying on your paintwork into your paintwork- can't be a good thing.
The best way to clean your car is most likely the one that has the least abrasive contact.
Willy Nilly said:
Domestic pressure washers are st, aren't they? Try one of these http://www.karcher.co.uk/uk/Products/Professional/...
Ha! That would peel the paint of most cars wouldn't it? t, aren't they? Try one of these http://www.karcher.co.uk/uk/Products/Professional/...Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff