Pressure Washing your car, does it damage?
 

Guys, please don't laugh at me. I am not a detailer. I have a pressure washer that is 2000 PSI. I have 4 different type of nozzle variable (red, yellow, white and black)

Of course, I won't use the red. Anyways, my question is if I stay 3 feet away from the car and I use the yellow or white nozzle.


1. Will it harm my paint?
2. Can I use meguair gold class in the detergent box since I don't have a foam lance :(?
3. I apply the detergent (soap in this case) with the black I believe ;) the softest setting?

1. If the stream is too thin and the lance is too close, there is a great chance that you may damage the paint, I currently wash the car with a pressure washer myself albeit a slightly weaker one but some tips I would give are:
a. unless you're rinsing out the wheels, the widest fan is from a good 2-3 feet out is a good spray pattern to use on the paint, if rinsing the wheels you can get a little closer and use a narrower fan spray pattern.
b. be careful of the black plastics and weatherstripping on the car as well. those can also be damaged from washing the car with a pressure washer, sometimes they lose the smoothness of the texture and become kind of rough if damaged when washing with a pressure washer

2. im not to sure.

3. see 2.

I don't understand why everyone doesn't just use ONR

Because it's really winter here. ONR doesn't spray very well when it's frozen solid and slush and dirt caked on my car would a bit too much for ONR. I think Bucket wash would be a disaster in a garage and couldn't be done outside. Coin wash is the only method I can use in winter.

Loooool sorry I'm in TX, we don't really have winter here. Sometimes I forget what winter is

Don't ever try!
My son just used a pressure washer machine on his corolla.
It didn't harm the paint but it stripped the chrome finish off the toyota and corolla badges.

Thank you guys for the input given. I will explain why I don't use ONR and I will explain my washing method which consists of the 4 steps: Wash, Prep (Clay), Glaze (Polish) and then paint Sealant


I don't wax, but I rather apply a polymer.


I will even stand 5 feet away if I have to. I will try to use lighter valves

Not a scientific explanation here, but every shop I have ever worked at, pressure washes their cars. If the practice routinely damaged paint, it would not occur so regularly. I have used this justification and successfully pressure washed all of my previous vehicles. Just don't get too close or use excessively small nozzle/ high pressure.

I will use a 40 degree nozzle and stand 5 feet away from the car and I will move quickly :)


Thanks for everyone's information, :). I will let you know my experience and my techniques soon.


I will also do a car journal ;)

I live in SoCal and I don't use ONR nor do I care to use ONR.

I also use very little water to wash my car outside, probably no more water than a normal 5-minute shower for myself.

-alex

Well thanks =p

Also don't aim near the tail light area.

Because a LOT of people will use it at the wrong time on the wrong amount of dirt and create more swirls than the Pacific Ocean has. There's NOTHING safer than maximum lubrication when washing and that means LOTS of water.

A pressure wash is good for ONE situation. People who go mudding with their cars. Other than that, pressure washers DON'T get your car completely clean and are thus useless for car washing.

That is, unless you don't really need your car to be clean. ;)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxMLlRlI9Tc[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXROQ_PsL9E[/ame]

Powerwashing does not harm your paint. Regardless of how dirty it is. You'd have to be very careless for the pressure to damage anything.

Powerwashing (unless used with very powerful chemicals) won't completely clean your car. But what powerwashing does do is remove the harmful solids from your vehicle so when you perform the actual act of hand washing the solids don't get massaged into the finish from the friction you create. If you powerwash properly, you don't even need a grit guard or multiple buckets. In fact, after I am done washing a car, my wash water is pretty clean and my paint is still perfectly swirl free.