Pressure washer woes

[l_bilyk]

I didn't think a 7hp pressure washer could damage the paint on a car... but.. i was wrong

 

[bmwpower]

need details...and picts

 

[PAToyota]

I've seen people blow vinyl siding off a house with a pressure washer - and tear out the grain of wood siding - and blow mortar out of a brick wall.

Have to respect the pressure...

 

[l_bilyk]

need details...and picts

No pics (camera broken). I used the ryobi 7hp I have with the 25* nozzle, and I guess I held it too close for too long. It took some clearcoat off the door, and it ripped a chunk out the bumper (clearcoat, basecoat, and plastic).

Sandoval, if you're reading this, be careful using that thing on the porsche

 

[C_F]

Once at a do it yourself car wash, I blew some paint off the side of my Suburban. Apparently the original paint had started to crack & when I passed over it with the water, it lifted a piece about the size of a quarter. Of course, the first reaction was that I had missed some grunge on the paint, so I hit it again...this time blowing off about a 4" diameter piece! Damn.

That was the beginning of the end though, because since then the paint has continued to dry, crack & lift. Now my once nice shiny Suburban looks like it's got leprecy (sp?) or something, it's got patches od primer showing through all over.

 

[iiibdsiil]

How many PSI? My detailer uses a 2050 PSI and I've seen him lay into my bumper pretty good getting bugs out.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I just have one of those cheapo electric pressure washers from Home Depot, and even it can blow a hole in a brick...it's best to stick with the garden hose when washing the car.

 

[wythors]

Why on god's green earth would you think it would be a good idea to use a pressure washer to wash a car?!?!?! A bucket, a mitt and a hose with a spray nozzle are all anyone would ever need unless they're washing a Kenworth. If you were using it on the Vette in your avatar, you're lucky you didn't take a chunk out of the 'glass.

 

[l_bilyk]

No no... the vette is safe

It was a honda that got injured

 

[Willy Victor]

I would say it would take a lot less than 7hp to blow the paint off. I washed a Dodge Dakota one time at a self service car wash and blew the clear coat right off. Last time for that Willy

 

[ranger_dood]

I use the high-pressure rinse self-service car washes all the time, mostly just to get tough crud off before I handwash. I've never had a problem with them stripping paint. BUT, I'm sure if you look in your owner's manual for the pressure washer, they will advise you that using it on vehicles can damage the paint. I know the pressure washer my Uncle bought from Home Depot had this warning in several places...

 

[boarderline]

hi guys im a mobile car valet here in new zealand ive been doing it for 8 years now and you certainly dont need high pressure my electric waterblaster is powered by a 5hp generator and only puts out about 1450 psi which is fine if you are only cleaning cars and not suv or 4x4 its the soap and the wash mitt that really gets the car clean the water blaster is only used for cleaning under
fenders and washing off soap cheers dave