Hi. I usually wash my car at one of those do-it-yourself car show location. It provides you with the high pressure water spray hose. I was wondering if this is bad for your car paint. I also heard that high pressure spray can scratch your paint.... Someone please commment on this. Thanks..

Those High Pressure washers will not harm the paint of your car. It is simple water combined with shampoo and the pressure is not high enough to scratch your paint.

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http://connect.to/windowsce
A.S.C. 2000
- Mercedes Benz 560SEC 1986 28.000km BRABUS
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Forgot to add a simple test.
Put your hand under the water, if it hurts, then it might have to much pressure and it might scratch your paint.

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http://connect.to/windowsce
A.S.C. 2000
- Mercedes Benz 560SEC 1986 28.000km BRABUS
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Thank you Amamou,,, yes, my hand hurts when i try to touch it. It seems like a lot of people prefer this method of washing.. People say that you are more likely to get scratches if you let the hand wash shop wash your car. I am not sure if the high pressure hose is creating any suface scratches or not. Hard to tell just by looking at the outer surface.. Let me know what you want to say. Later..Justin..

[This message has been edited by AMGCKlass (edited 03-20-2000).]

Please be careful! Liquids, under enough pressure, will inject through your skin, and the object of this string is to determine if the pressure is too high! I'm not sure, but I don't think a dose of soap a day keeps the doctor away.

By my experience and whatnot the automated car washes are very bad for the finish as are the "amateur night" hand washes. A bunch of 15 year old kids dropping a (synthetic?!?) wash mit on concrete between the 50 cars they wash that day and using lord-only-knows-what to dry them isn't always a good idea...

Get yourself a good 100% natural wash mit or Boar's Hair brush and some Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo. A garden hose has enough pressure to do anything you need detailing wise. Save the pressure washer for your deck. BTW, I've seen a pressure washer a professional detailer use (safe for the paint) bend the mini-fins on a radiator. Also, if any of your paint isn't factory it may be even more vulnerable to damage via a pressure washer. IMO there are too many downsides vs too little upside when using a pressure washer.

Just my pair of cents...Lee

[This message has been edited by Lee Scheeler (edited 03-21-2000).]

I totally support Lee's comments WRT pressure washing. You want to gently as possible lift the dirt and grime off your car's surface, not drive it into the paint as a pressure washer will do if the pressure is too high because the operator is (1) holding it too close to the surface of the vehicle, or (2) holding it at an improper angle to the car's surface (i.e., perpendicular to the surface or nearly so). Pressure washing is the "lazy way" vice a proper hand washing using quality wash mit, quality auto wash product, cool car surface, in the shade, etc. etc. IMHO. One additional recommendation an auto detailer passed on to me long ago was to put a tea spoon or two of liquid cooking oil in your wash pail along with the car wash product; it helps to emulsify the dirt so it readily rises to the surface and is suspended in the washing solution prior to floating away when you rinse.

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Fred Prickett
85 500 SEL, 241,500 mi
90 5.0 Mustang LX conv.

I would think that if you hold the washer back you'll be fine. DON'T USE THE BRUSH, THOUGH. Guaranteed scratches.

makakio is right don't use the brush chances are the previous user used it for his wheels. Can you say "mild abrasive"!