Need help choosing powerwasher!?!

[thez99]

Ok so ive tried several washing methods over the years. I went from the bucket method, to foam guns and mits, etc. I really want to try an electric power washer now. Ive seen several performance detailers using power washers to foam, wash and rinse their cars with great results, easier and faster. Best case scenario is I really want a powerwasher that has a detergent tank and can easily switch from clean water to soapy water with a switch or dial rather than a removeable attachment. Reason is so I can use a mf mitt on one hand and the washer wand in the other and easily go from soap foam to coat the paint, to fresh water to rinse the car and/or my mitt in between panels..

So im looking for suggestions, names, types, etc. I am NOT looking for anything gas powered and obviously I dont wanna damage the paint with massive psi's. Anyone with experience with pw's or detail shops please give your input.

[vanbmw]

A good friend of mine had a really nice Karcher electric pressure washer with the soap tank and all the bells and whistles. It did a nice heavy coat of soap to pre-rinse and then he would use the pressure to clean it. He was always careful to keep the wand far enough from the paint to not do damage. He claimed it did a good job and created no swirls. He used it on an Acura RSX (soft paint) and a Mercedes ML500 SUV. He used it for 2 years with no issues. Then he noticed he had pitted the paint on both cars...mainly on the hood an roof. He took it to a paint shop and the guy at the shop instantly knew he had used a pressure washer. He said small grains of sand/dirt on the paint can act like a a sandblaster and will do that. The paint shop guy said they see that fairly regularly and told him to use his pressure washer on cement or siding but never on a car.
Right around the time he noticed the pitting of his paint, i got myself a Husky pressure washer from Home Depot. I have used it a few times to spread a layer of foam/soap on the car and then I use my wash mitt to finish it off. However, it is a pain in the ass to drag out the unit so I don't bother. I prefer to use a foam gun instead.
The Husky pressure washer I bought was good for about 5 hours and then it fell apart. It was not a good machine.

[MuttGrunt]

Originally Posted by vanbmw

A good friend of mine had a really nice Karcher electric pressure washer with the soap tank and all the bells and whistles. It did a nice heavy coat of soap to pre-rinse and then he would use the pressure to clean it. He was always careful to keep the wand far enough from the paint to not do damage. He claimed it did a good job and created no swirls. He used it on an Acura RSX (soft paint) and a Mercedes ML500 SUV. He used it for 2 years with no issues. Then he noticed he had pitted the paint on both cars...mainly on the hood an roof. He took it to a paint shop and the guy at the shop instantly knew he had used a pressure washer. He said small grains of sand/dirt on the paint can act like a a sandblaster and will do that. The paint shop guy said they see that fairly regularly and told him to use his pressure washer on cement or siding but never on a car.
Right around the time he noticed the pitting of his paint, i got myself a Husky pressure washer from Home Depot. I have used it a few times to spread a layer of foam/soap on the car and then I use my wash mitt to finish it off. However, it is a pain in the ass to drag out the unit so I don't bother. I prefer to use a foam gun instead.
The Husky pressure washer I bought was good for about 5 hours and then it fell apart. It was not a good machine.

You're friend's pitting wasn't because of a pressure washer most likely, and rather from stone's that don't chip all the way through. This is very common on the leading edges of cars (especially soft clear-coated cars that sit low) on things like the front bumper, hood, and potentially the roof. Not even chip goes all the way through your paint, and those that don't leave a little mark where they hit.

Here's an example from a Black Porsche 996 Turbo cab:



You can see that on the right side, although the paint has been corrected, there are tiny dots around the light: that's the pitting.

[thez99]

Ive seen the Karcher unit that they have on DetailedImage's site, looks like a nice unit however the price is crazy (almost $1k) when ive found atleast 3-4 brands that have units exactly the same from between $100-180 on amazon, etc.

The thing im obviously concerned with is the possibility of harming the paint, I mean I wont be aiming the washer 2 inches from my paint with the most powerful tip, but still I dont wanna make a mistake. Honestly thou im just sick of going from foam gun to foam gun. Biggest issue with them is the sprayers used are the typical squeeze grip sprayers that have the brass plungers inside that adjust the spray. And every one that ive used after just a couple uses starts to stick and get messed up, totally fucks up the spray and slows things down. Not only that but foam guns really dont coat the car very well. I dont know, i would just rather a pressure washer that actually foams well, etc.

[vanbmw]

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

You're friend's pitting wasn't because of a pressure washer most likely, and rather from stone's that don't chip all the way through. This is very common on the leading edges of cars (especially soft clear-coated cars that sit low) on things like the front bumper, hood, and potentially the roof. Not even chip goes all the way through your paint, and those that don't leave a little mark where they hit.

Here's an example from a Black Porsche 996 Turbo cab:



You can see that on the right side, although the paint has been corrected, there are tiny dots around the light: that's the pitting.

No it was worse then in those pictures the pictures. I have seen the stuff you show in the picture but his was more extensive. It was not just in the usual places (hood, bumper, roof)...it was worse in those areas but it had done some damage on the trunk and the trunk lid and a few other spots that shouldn't get hit with rocks etc. For some reson it didn't do any damage on the paint over the plastic areas (front bumper/air dam and rear bumper).
I was convinced my buddy was on to something with the pressure washer. I thought it was the holly grail of swirl free car washing. Not after seeing what it did to his paint.

[thez99]

Well all i know is ive seen TONS of threads with great reviews galore about pressure washers on their cars, etc. not to mention alot of diff prof. detailers who use them as well. I cant believe they all beat the shit outta the paint like this, I mean ya perhaps the gas powered 2200+ psi washers, but not an electric 1400 psi washer, specially not that close either. But I am looking for advice and overall reviews of certain washers so urs is noted

[Turbolader]

I had a cheap Karcher unit. Lent it to my neighbor, and he returned it broken.

I can't say what he did with it that broke it, but I took it apart and couldn't figure out what caused it. It seemed to be built fairly decent, but even so, I think I'd go with a different brand (or go with the new water-cooled Karcher "X" models like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Karcher-3-540-...4424585&sr=1-2 )

I think if I were going to buy another one, I'd get something smaller because the rat's nest of cords and cables really discourage you from using it. I was, for a while, looking at the AR118 simply because it looks like something you wouldn't mind pulling out every time you washed the car.

http://www.amazon.com/AR-AR118-Elect...4424217&sr=1-3

Where I live, I have a brutal amount of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in my water, so I run my rinse cycle through an ion-exchange unit, which leaves almost no water stains even if I leave the water on the car. Pretty awesome. Thing I have to be careful of though is that ion-exchange units don't put out that many GPH, and could starve a higher-GPH washer. I don't think this killed my Karcher only because I never got a chance to hook it up. You're not asking for it, but in case you were wondering where I got the ion exchange unit, I got it on ebay with the filtration media (very expensive) already in it. The tank is about the size of a full-size welding canister although it's made out of fiberglass (looks awesome).

Anyway, hope that helps.

[Turbolader]

Sorry for the double post... Wanted to add something else.

When my pressure washer did work, it didn't completely clean the car. In other words, while it could do a halfway decent job at removing dirt and bugs, it couldn't remove finer contaminants like road grime. Even when I go to the local car wash bay (running over 2k psi through the wand) you can't get the road grime off.

I say that only so you know that (in my experience) you're going to have to use something (I like microfiber mitts, but to each his own) to wipe off the road grime.

[thez99]

Well I dont expect a pressure washer to do the whole job for me. I have two mf mitts I use, I just want something thats more effective at rinsing and foaming than a pos plastic foam gun with the grip sprayers that get stuck and wont spray and are just plain tedious to use. A good pressure washing should rinse and foam the car well and I can use it with one hand and the other with a mf mitt. But like I said id really like one where i can switch from the detergent to clean water with a switch on the stick or something so I can foam the car and wash n then just quick switch it to clean water to rinse my mf mitt.