What's the concensus on pressure washers?

R

RCK

New member
Are they a good idea or bad? I like to use one just to get the salt spray off and heavy dirt and also to do the wheel wells. I use a 15 degree tip on my 5HP 2200psi unit and am sure to keep it at least 1ft from the surface., Any closer and I'm sure i risk peeling paint and a trip to the body shop.



What are the thoughts here?



Joe
 
I have used it for tons of different jobs...not necessarily car-related tasks but stuff around the house. :up



On the car: Clean engine (which it excels at), clean winter wheels prior to putting them in storage, clean wheel wells/undercarriage and that's about it on the car.
 
tom p. said:
I have used it for tons of different jobs...not necessarily car-related tasks but stuff around the house. :up



On the car: Clean engine (which it excels at), clean winter wheels prior to putting them in storage, clean wheel wells/undercarriage and that's about it on the car.
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how exctly do you use it in the engine bay????
 
nadir said:
how exctly do you use it in the engine bay????
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Spray on my selection du jour cleaner, let it sit for 5 minutes and then hit it with the Karcher.



The most interesting thing I have discovered about this power washer is they move very little water compared to a garden hose - - it's just under lots more pressure and is highly effective at cleaning. The engine compartments are far cleaner now than any other technique I have found. You must excercise discretion as they can do damage, soak key components and knock things out of place.
 
nadir said:
do you cover electrical parts + battery and stuff?
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No.





What happens when it's raining and you're driving 75mph on the highway?



The underhood connectors are completely weather-proofed....at least on our cars.
 
Each to his own, but I would NEVER use a pressure washer in the engine bay unless I had no other choice. (Also, water at 75 MPH won't slice through your fingers like a knife either.) I would be very carefull if you do use it and don't fool yourself thinking it isn't getting into things it should not. But, if you get rid of your car every few years you'll probably never find out. I know there are a few ace detailers that are also professional wrench turners that can explain this better than I can.
 
The problems lies in forcing moisture into the electrical connectors at a decent psi, past the special non-conductive grease that's in there to protect the connection ( true on all cars). You can even do it with a hose nozzle if you try hard enough. As said, water from rain etc. splashed up is not equivalent to forcing it past the grease at high pressure.



What happens is corrosion starts. You may not have a problem right away, but eventually that "anti-lok" or "check engine" light may come on etc. or you may just stall out. I'm a pro detailer and I DON'T clean engines, never have. The environmental runoff equation plus the possible liability with water pressure and electrical components is another, and isn't worth it to me personally. Some of these computer modules cost $1000 +(Lexus, MB , BMW etc).



It's not an exact science with everytime predictable results, but it may be a gamble you'd rather avoid.



I know people that have had problems doing it, and others that haven't ( yet).



Not here to condemn anyone, do as you see fit, just a FWIW. :)
 
Guys, to some extent, I agree. I also have said it must be used with caution. I don't hold the spray head in one place, it's always moving and I can drop the pressure way down if I choose to.



Two of our cars have lots of miles, nearly 300k between them and no problems and don't plan to sell them any time soon.
 
To clean engine compartments I make sure the motor has been sitting for hours and is plenty cold. Spray down with Simple Green and let soak for 5-10 min. After that I start the motor and rinse with a light stream using the garden hose. No need for all that pressure and my motors always look great. Also I do not dilute the SG. Then I shut the motor down after rinsing and dry with a terry towel. All hoses and plastics get the 303 treatment. I only use the power washer in the fender-wells in the winter or if the truck has just come off the beach. I use all that pressure to help move the nasty salty sand from the beach, other than that I stay away from them.
 
I've used a presure washer on hundreds of cars (literally) for rocker panels, engine bays, doorjambs, wheel/tires and wheelwells. The only trouble I've ever had was on an older (mid '80's) Jaguar. It had an exposed ignition coil and the owner said it even gave problems during rain storms sometimes. But once it dried out during the rest of the cleanup, it was fine too. At worst I've had to remove the distributor cap and dry it out once or twice. Pressure washers don't use that much water as previously stated - mine was hot water on top of that.



You do have to be careful, I watched a new guy at my shop strip the paint off his molding one time like it was butter. He didn't want to take the time to clean hthe cracks around his molding so he thought he'd just spray the dirt out - well he did!



With a little discrection, they can be very valuable tools. I mean, obviously you don't spray directly on anything electric or any connection for any appreciable amount of time, but most of the grimy stuff doesn't need that much force/time to come off anyway.



For reference, I have a 1994 Corvette and have cleaned the engine several times with no trouble - and for those in the know, you just don't spray an engine with an Opti-spark distruibutor...at least that's what they tell me.
 
As far as non-painted surfaces go, I've had several of my cars "washed" with pressure washers (engine, underside, wheel wells) , and have had nary a problem. There is the possiblity of corrosion in the electrics, but it seems to me that that only happens when the jet is (carelessly) directed "directly" at the wrong parts. A pressure washer used carefully is certainly a fine tool in the right hands.
 
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