pressure washers, foam guns etc

[DJ]

Time to move on from my bucket and sponge. SWMBO's car has 21 spoke alloys which are taking me far too long to clean and its also pearlescent black which looked great in the showroom but has really quickly developed surface swirl marks no doubt due to my single bucket /sponge.

Plan is to get her car detailed then buy a k'archer or equiv + foam gun, foam etc. Anyone on here use these ? Been trawling a few sites but wondered about things like the min/max flow ratings I should be looking for and also do foam guns use universal couplings to the pressure washers ? Found a couple of sites that can supply the foam but again any advice on what people use and what they think best ?

Not wanting to spend a fortune or looking for concours results. Just something basic that will do a decent job meaning it will only rarely need a proper hand wash.

cheers.

[Edin430]

Get in touch with Al.... Our own SE detailer (does my car every month...).

http://www.360complete.net

He'll detail your car and give you PLENTY of advice on what and what not to buy. Sure he's fed up of all my texts by now

p.s - my car is in Gallery 8

[allyrennie]

Thanks Lewis,

Never get fed up with the texts, glad to help.

The original post about the power washers etc. Buy yourself a half decent Karcher ( if you have decking etc then you can get the pack with the rotating deck scrubber included ) for around £130 / £150 at the moment. Really good bit of kit, comes with Power washer, dirt buster attachment ( But dont use it on the car unless your far away or cleaning up in the arches ) and the vario attachment ( Itself its £45 to buy ). The rotary deck attachment comes with 2 extensions so you dont have to bend to far to use it .
You can use the filtered hose on the machine to pop into a bottle, turn the vario to soft and it pulls through the soap.
Better option is to pick up the small Karcher chemical bottle from Halfords ( £15 ).
With regards to snow foam, I may get shot down here but I wouldn't bother. Get yourself a decent bottle of car wash solution ( Something Like Meguiars Hyper wash ( Circa £15 for a big bottle ) and put a small covering in the bottom of the bottle, topping up with water.
This, I assure you, is more than you will need. Regarding the adjustment for amount of foam and subs, just bugger about with how much wash you put in the bottle, you will get it perfect within 3 or 4 attempts ( TIll you get there you will marvel at how such a small amount of soap can make such a mental mess! ).

Not a substitute for the washing stages, I now use the following for clients cars:-

Power rinse to remove the heaviest dirt.
Degrease the car with TFR
Power rinse again to remove.
Use the Karcher bottle described above to cover the car in soap.
Leave to dwell for 5 mins.
Power rinse this off.
Soap the car up again before using the 2 buckets method to wash.
Power wash off.

This is of course before any claying etc if desired.

If you go down the route of the lance ( £50 ) and the snow foam at whatever it is a gallon now, you will always have the expense of wanting to use nothing but the snow foam. If you decided to go the way I have described, its basically all off the shelf hardware and products and a far more affordable way of looking after your car with great results.

Once you get a good coat of wax on the car then you will be amazed at how easy it is to keep it clean. Invest in some high quality drying towels too, they make a huge difference on finish but also the time it takes to dry the car off.

Hope that helps, any more questions then fire away!

Al

[renmure]

I just ordered another foam lance today from here:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-a ... d_371.html

I actually maaged to reverse the car over my other one yesterday

Got to confess that I also went for more of the snow foam. It actually makes washing the car a bit of fun seeing all the white stuff



Jim

[allyrennie]

Lol your just a white foam whore james!!!!

[campbell]

Interesting stuff.

I'd be very tempted just to use the old fashioned method of bucket filled two thirds, then add soap (to minimise "bubbles" but maximise "lubricity") and a decent wash mit to apply. Rinse panel by panel or section by section, chamois well and accept that a couple of times a year a well-applied polish will keep things looking good.

Our Golf is pearlescent black, that's the method I've used for nearly 6 years and while it's not concours, it looks no worse than when it was delivered. And with the two sproglets on the scene, it easily goes weeks (rather than days) between washes now.

Not dissing the advice from the pros here...just offering the other end of the spectrum.

Also how much water does a pressure washer consume compared to bucket and sponge, I wonder (environment hat on!!!)

[DJ]

Cheers for the posts guys. Both Campbell and Allyrennie still mention buckets though which I was hoping to avoid. If I got it detailed I hoped a foam and power wash every couple of weeks would do the trick.
Wife takes the car to the local easiwash place now I have given up cleaning her alloys and I know what you mean about the snow foam Renmure - the kids love it and quite fancy playing about with a foam gun myself
I'll be in touch with you soon Al about some further advice and the price of a one-off detail - thanks for the info so far.

[Paolo]

I've always been a bit nervous about using a PW on the elise. Ultimately they'll never get the car totally clean without handwashing anyway. I do use a Gilmour foam gun before I wash the car however which is a little less aggressive than a PW. I agree that the SnowFoam doesn't really add very much other than the fun of spraying an unbelievable amount of foam all over the car and driveway. Megs Hyperwash or Shampoo+ do the job nicely (as a pre-wash). Then it's a couple of buckets and a wash mitt - doesn't take too long.

Just my 2p.

[Sanjøy]

2p

My mum just picked up a free Karacher by moving her car insruance to Tesco.