# Can a pressure washer damage your paintwork?



## DANthirty (Dec 4, 2009)

Hi all

As the title says what are your thoughts about using a pressure washer on a car to clean it could it damage the paint work? or indeed strip the LSP off?

i know alot of people use them for washing there cars but just wanted to hear your thoughts on this.

cheers Dan


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

it won't damage paintwork as long as you don't get it too close (keep it about a foot away) and it will not affect wax layers at all


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

DANthirty said:


> Hi all
> 
> As the title says what are your thoughts about using a pressure washer on a car to clean it could it damage the paint work? or indeed strip the LSP off?
> 
> ...


If a lot of people use them then that is an answer in itself, any tool that is dis-respected will punish the user, how is the power washer going to strip off LSP?


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## Taffyopel (Feb 1, 2010)

The trick is to ensure the jet onto the paintwork is at a 45 degree angle so you don't blast the grit into the paintwork.

If it's a cold pressure washer then there shouldn't be much chance of it removing wax/polish but a hot one will i'm sure. Also, don't go too close on painted plastics such as bumpers, as the pressure can remove the paint!

I'm sure somone will be along shortly who will be able to give you more info as well.

Paul.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Taffyopel said:


> The trick is to ensure the j*et onto the paintwork is at a 45 degree angle* so you don't blast the grit into the paintwork.
> 
> If it's a cold pressure washer then there shouldn't be much chance of it removing wax/polish but a hot one will i'm sure. Also, don't go too close on painted plastics such as bumpers, as the pressure can remove the paint!
> 
> ...


When they refer to the angle it is the angle of the spray from the lance, but indeed using a pencil pattern from the lance is asking for trouble, with my washer the pencil spray will easily pierce through a fence panel or strip bark from a tree. Good point about the hot water solutions :thumb:


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

i usually have the lance at a 45 degree angle (just through force of habit tbh) but ive also used it square on with no problems - even on high pressure, making sure to keep a good distance from the paint


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## Taffyopel (Feb 1, 2010)

Cheers Avanti. 

The point I was trying to make regarding the angle, (probably got the angle wrong) , is basically, if you are pressure washing the side of the car say, angle the pressure washer downwards and not horizontally directly onto the paint.

Paul.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

-Kev- said:


> i usually have the lance at a 45 degree angle (just through force of habit tbh) but ive also used it square on with no problems - even on high pressure, making sure to keep a good distance from the paint


this is what I meant by spray pattern angle



but with less powerful machines people do reduce the spray pattern angle for increased pressure


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Taffyopel said:


> Cheers Avanti.
> 
> The point I was trying to make regarding the angle, (probably got the angle wrong) , is basically, if you are pressure washing the side of the car say, angle the pressure washer downwards and not horizontally directly onto the paint.
> 
> Paul.


See the video above, this technique works for me :thumb:


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## Taffyopel (Feb 1, 2010)

Bugger, i'm at work and can't see video. 

Will have a looksy when I get home.

Paul.


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## DANthirty (Dec 4, 2009)

thanks alot thats put my mind at rest


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## chch (Jan 2, 2010)

Depends on the working pressure of the machine, and the stream shape. Most PW's come with 2-3 different exchangeable heads, one of them could be the one called 'hammering head'. The shape of the head is usually cylindrical, and the water shape is a cone. This one can strip your paint if used from too close (talking about a few cm's), and your paint is somehow damaged before (crack, stone chip, etc), so it can bite and tear the rest.

Learned this the wrong way on my painted garage door :-(

Generally, flat stream on a 120 bar machine, used responsibly not closer than 20-30 cm can't do any harm to a healthy paintwork.


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=1231024&postcount=118


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## Franzpan (Mar 2, 2009)

Theyre fine as long as you use them carefully. I use mine every wash, have lifted paint from around my wheel arch a long time ago but that was just down to carelessness. As said above dont use the turbo/hammer/cyclone nozzle, ive used it to strip old paint of walls before.


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## amiller (Jan 1, 2009)

that spray pattern is way too big to remove enough dirt.

I can do a 95% touchless wash because the spray pattern is much smaller than that and thus more water is hitting a particular area.

fair enough for rinsing, but for actual cleaning, you need a smaller pattern.


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## Blazebro (May 18, 2007)

amiller said:


> that spray pattern is way too big to remove enough dirt.
> 
> I can do a 95% touchless wash because the spray pattern is much smaller than that and thus more water is hitting a particular area.
> 
> fair enough for rinsing, but for actual cleaning, you need a smaller pattern.


There's more than 1 way to skin a cat. You can clean a car through the pressure of water, or you can clean it chemically. Avanti, much to my jealousy, has got the latter down to a tee.

I always thought that the amount of water that a PW dispersed was more important than the pressure.


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

if you pick it up, throw it at the car you'll find it should make at least a f'ing great dent, so to answer your question, yes, if used incorrectly


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

amiller said:


> that spray pattern is way too big to remove enough dirt.
> 
> I can do a 95% touchless wash because the spray pattern is much smaller than that and thus more water is hitting a particular area.
> 
> fair enough for rinsing, but for actual cleaning, you need a smaller pattern.


Oh gosh!, it looks like this is the saturday evening thread  How can you say the pattern is too big, the video is clearly enough demonstrating a method that works and works well. What is the flow rate of your machine? have a look at the video again and take note of the panels as the rinse off takes place :thumb:


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## Deniance (Jun 28, 2008)

make sre whatever is plugged into the lance is properly inserted or it will launch into the car giving dentdevils a new customer


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Deniance said:


> make sre whatever is plugged into the lance is properly inserted or it will launch into the car giving dentdevils a new customer



What has suddenly brought that up?


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## Deniance (Jun 28, 2008)

topic was can a pressure washer damage paintwork so i just tossed my 1p in:thumb:


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## amiller (Jan 1, 2009)

Avanti said:


> Oh gosh!, it looks like this is the saturday evening thread  How can you say the pattern is too big, the video is clearly enough demonstrating a method that works and works well. What is the flow rate of your machine? have a look at the video again and take note of the panels as the rinse off takes place :thumb:


Just looks a little wide to clean the surface dirt off. Just from my experience of pressure washing. :speechles

I have a Kranzle K10 so 10 litres per minute. :thumb:


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

amiller said:


> Just looks a little wide to clean the surface dirt off. Just from my experience of pressure washing. :speechles
> 
> I have a Kranzle K10 so 10 litres per minute. :thumb:


Aye , the pattern is wide enough not to worry about paint damage and the demo shows the thin soiling on the panels unable to resist the wrath of my 8.5l/m water flow, however the wax coating does :thumb:


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Blazebro said:


> I always thought that the amount of water that a PW dispersed was more important than the pressure.


It is, once you have sufficient pressure (100 bar actual), which is assumed to be the case using a decent PW.

http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/electrical/pressure_washer_faq.htm


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