pressure washer

[duhtroll]

I am seriously thinking of getting a pressure washer. I have hot/cold hookups in my garage as the former occupants had the laundry out there. I know I can find/rig a mixer to have warm/hot water in the winter and my garage is temp-controlled so it never gets below freezing.

I'm tired of paying $5 to $7 washing the car every 3-4 days and don't have the time to do it by hand that often, either. A spray woud take 5 minutes and then I just need to blow or hand dry.

The last straw was when the automatic car wash broke right after it sprayed wax on my car - the "spot free" didn't work and the wax dried within seconds. They gave me a free wash but suffice to say it's hand spraying from now on. (usually use the "no-wax" option as that type of wax is usually crap but forgot until it was *really* too late)

The washer will pay for itself. My question is does anyone have one already and how much pressure can the paint withstand before I am damaging it? The lower rated ones are cheap right now, and then I could also wash the upstairs windows . . .. :)

Anyone out there have one or have some info on this?

Thanks all,
-A

[LincMercLover]

I've only washed a few cars with them, and personally, don't like them. I guess it'd be ok for just winter use, but I wouldn't hand dry the car because honestly, the car isn't clean enoph after that kind of wash, and you'd just be moving dirt around on your paint, putting millions of swirl marks. My $0.02...

[FordNut]

I have a hotsy and it won't really clean good without wiping the car down with a rag. It is really noticeable on my white MkVII. The touch-free washes clean due to the chemicals used rather than high pressure.

[duhtroll]

From what I have seen they have soap attachments. Don't know about a spot free chemical, but one has to be out there. Anyone know?

Thanks for the help,
-A

[JohnnyB]

I have a 10 HP 3,500 psi pressure washer. I use it to clean my deck, house, concrete, etc. At less than full pressure, the water will cut through cement!
At very low pressure, it works fine to remove brake dust from the rims and to rinse the undercarriage. To clean the rims, just spray a quality wheel cleaner on cool rims and rinse. I would not recommend using it on the painted surface due to what I mentioned before. Why take a chance. They sell some very good garden hose car wash gadgets with a soft bristle brush attached that work very well. You can get to the bottom of the car w/o bending down.

[TripleTransAm]

I'd use pressure washers on the underside of the car, but not on the finish. With dirt on the surface, moving it around under pressure seems like sandblasting to me. Also, the touchless car wash shampoos are pretty strong and will remove wax/polish in one shot... I used to use them for the yearly GTA wax-stripping in the spring (back when I did car shows like crazy) until I realized some used not-so-clean water.

[BRSMERC]

I bought one and got "hosed". Unless you spend around $ 2000 you won't get what you want. You need a pump rated for hot water and an in line chemical injector. These features put you in a higher price range. I would invest the money and use the payout for car washes!

Brian

[duhtroll]

Thanks for all the help.

-A