jfelbab

On your paint on your car... I have a good friend who used his PW on his new Jeep LTD and it washed huge sheets of paint off the car. I'd suggest caution is in order and if anyone reading this thread thinks it is 100% safe to use their PW 1 cm from the paint without damage better have deep pockets.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

All my cars and clients cars. I detail all makes and years as well. You just have to have a feel for your machine and some common sense. The only reason why I stated that was because people have a tendency to type what they read without doing things themselves. That is what annoys me the most on forums. I'd rather dispel some of the "myths" than let the lies continue

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

I've used pressure washer at the coin op for years never had any problems even shooting close distance on rock chipped places. Unless if you got a huge chip or crack then use some common sense of course. But when use a pressure washer, of course use some common sense.

MrG4Life

iTrader: (14)

I still use a coin op pressure washer mainly during winter months to help remove excessive salt and snow grime from the wheel wells and side skirt areas. The tip of the nozzle is just a few short inches away from the car when blasting water.

jfelbab

I copied this out of the manual of one of my power washers.

I'm not suggesting that one shouldn't use a PW for automotive cleaning, only that it should be used with a reasonable dose of caution. I use a PW for cleaning vehicles all the time and have for years, but I don't doubt for a minute that the potential for causing damage exists. Caution is the keyword here.

When using on automotive paint be sure there are no rust issues with the vehicle. The older the car the more fragile the paint could be.

What are some of the things that can happen?

•You can cut through the paint or blow off chips of paint.
•You can strip off undercoating or protective coatings from the undercarriage, engine, wheel wells or painted brake calipers.
•You can blast off emblems or vinyl trim. Many are only glued on.
•You can blast off stickers or labels from engine compartment.
•You can break through paint over rusted areas, and often these may not be visible until the damage is done.
•You can damage plastic, vinyl and rubber trim.
•You can damage your tire sidewalls.
•You can force water into places like inside the engine electronics, headlight or taillights.

Still, when used with reasonable caution power washers are a real water and time saver.

bnizzle87

seeing the dealer's car washers out in the morning power washing the cars makes me think how much of the paint might've been cut through even before someone purchases one of their cars. i know they don't really use common sense, as they simply blast away trying to get the soot and dirt off the car as fast as possible- being that there are so many cars for them to have to clean on daily basis.