Buddy
Member
No, use the higher pressure one. Yellow I think? Just dont put the nozzle 1 inch away from the panels and you'll be good. I pride myself on my car washing skills if that means anything to you.
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Pressure Washer Choice
- Thread starter DV_T3SLA
- Start date
No, use the higher pressure one. Yellow I think? Just dont put the nozzle 1 inch away from the panels and you'll be good. I pride myself on my car washing skills if that means anything to you.
Buddy
Member
Maybe in the past, but just like the new electric vehicles, electric is the new performance king
https://www.amazon.com/Simpson-Cleaning-MSH3125-S-Pressure-Technologies/dp/B004MXKUCY
I had a 2300 psi electric one before but it died on me. I feel dirty using a gas powered washer on an electric car but it definitely works. All my other garden tools are electric (mower, blower, edger, chain saw). This is my last Dino fuel holdout.
I have a foam cannon attachment and I use the washer to rinse, soap foam, and rinse before I then use ONR. If there isn’t a lot of dirt on the car I’ll just ONR.
I had a 2300 psi electric one before but it died on me. I feel dirty using a gas powered washer on an electric car but it definitely works. All my other garden tools are electric (mower, blower, edger, chain saw). This is my last Dino fuel holdout.
I have a foam cannon attachment and I use the washer to rinse, soap foam, and rinse before I then use ONR. If there isn’t a lot of dirt on the car I’ll just ONR.
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
OK cool thanks. I'm kinda just starting out to develop the self-washing skills. Up until now with the Teslas I've owned is that I've been taking them to a touchless wash weekly, then once every couple of months have them mini-detailed at a good detailer. However, the total cost on this process is substantial, especially since the place where I go to get the touchless wash is not near me (only one I could find that uses DI water for the final rinse).
So, I've outfitted myself with Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) + many high quality microfiber towels + microfiber drying towels. I'll use the pressure washer first to clean any bugs or other macro-dirt off, then use the microfiber + ONR, turning/folding the towel on each pass, and using about 1 towel per panel (I bought 15 towels). This is referred to in this thread as the "Gerry Dean Method", after the guy who advocates this approach. It basically means that the washing towels are never reused during a wash so there's never any possibility of the dirt within a towel to cause swirls/scratches.
I did my first wash last weekend on my black P3D. I successfully avoided any swirls/scratches, and ONR seems to work really well to remove the dirt. However, my drying wasn't good, plus it was too hot and in direct sun, so I got a lot of residue and water spots. I ordered some additional and better drying towels, and next time I'll do it in the shade when it's cool.
I use a Karcher K5 from a couple of years back, before they started putting electronic controls on the lance handle. The best feature is the relatively quiet motor and pump, and the long highly-flexible hose on a reel. I also use a tiny little Karcher K2 as a mobile unit - same fittings - which works about half as well and the hose is annoyingly short and springy. The K5 is worth the money!
Because I need the unit to run for a minute, stop for ten minutes, start for a minute, stop again etc. I can’t imagine having to use a petrol-powered unit; they’re for cleaning houses and fences, I reckon.
I wash cars in a slightly unconventional way to avoid using any buckets, which cause me grief. Two-bucket wash never worked for me as I’d always dip into the wrong bucket, plus, buckets get kicked over or left out to deteriorate/blow away etc. and it takes time to fill them, and, many solutions seem to lose their suds so you can’t see where you’re washing.
I spray the car with foam - a little goes a long way with a good-quality bottle sprayer (I use ‘PA Italy’ sprayer and ValetPro foam).
Then rinse the car with high-pressure lance, to remove most of the dirt. This is the non-contact part of the wash. In really dirty situations, a citrus foam and rotating nozzle works best. However, there is always a thin layer of dirt left behind, even with special ceramic coatings etc. that are supposed to make cleaning easier!
So then I attach a second bottle to the sprayer which is filled with the ‘coating’ wash solution (Fireball Hydrophobic Foam, or Gyeon Bathe+, or similar).
I spray coating foam on one side of the car and detach the sprayer from the handle.
I then use a mitt to clean the car, using the ‘coating’ foam applied, rinsing the mitt using the spray from the handle without lance attached. No areas are missed because I can see where the foam hasn’t been wiped away. A benefit of the K5 is that it runs in a slow, gentle spray when no lance is fitted. I like a bright-coloured mitt because I can see when it’s clean. I use an older mitt for the wheels. No buckets...
I attach the high-pressure nozzle and rinse the car, then repeat for the other side. In cooler weather the whole car can be rinsed in one hit.
The high-pressure spray disperses the coating solution effectively and a lovely hydrophobic result is achieved on windows and trim in particular, making drying with a towel easy. I use a Ryobi 18v cordless leaf blower in conjunction with the towel, blowing water out from mirrors, wheels, lights, base of the windscreen, etc. - the towel is still needed as otherwise I’d be chasing drops all across panels.
The Karcher fittings are a bayonet so it’s quick to change between spray bottle and pressure nozzle (and, to use the handle by itself).
Detailing is my trade at the moment, so I wash about 3-5 cars a week. I also use a ‘washworld’ facility in town for this, but I take my own mitts and use a similar process, just with their foam sprayer and high-pressure rinse (and never their ‘broom’). It seems to go a lot faster when I’m having to feed a machine with coins
-Alex
Because I need the unit to run for a minute, stop for ten minutes, start for a minute, stop again etc. I can’t imagine having to use a petrol-powered unit; they’re for cleaning houses and fences, I reckon.
I wash cars in a slightly unconventional way to avoid using any buckets, which cause me grief. Two-bucket wash never worked for me as I’d always dip into the wrong bucket, plus, buckets get kicked over or left out to deteriorate/blow away etc. and it takes time to fill them, and, many solutions seem to lose their suds so you can’t see where you’re washing.
I spray the car with foam - a little goes a long way with a good-quality bottle sprayer (I use ‘PA Italy’ sprayer and ValetPro foam).
Then rinse the car with high-pressure lance, to remove most of the dirt. This is the non-contact part of the wash. In really dirty situations, a citrus foam and rotating nozzle works best. However, there is always a thin layer of dirt left behind, even with special ceramic coatings etc. that are supposed to make cleaning easier!
So then I attach a second bottle to the sprayer which is filled with the ‘coating’ wash solution (Fireball Hydrophobic Foam, or Gyeon Bathe+, or similar).
I spray coating foam on one side of the car and detach the sprayer from the handle.
I then use a mitt to clean the car, using the ‘coating’ foam applied, rinsing the mitt using the spray from the handle without lance attached. No areas are missed because I can see where the foam hasn’t been wiped away. A benefit of the K5 is that it runs in a slow, gentle spray when no lance is fitted. I like a bright-coloured mitt because I can see when it’s clean. I use an older mitt for the wheels. No buckets...
I attach the high-pressure nozzle and rinse the car, then repeat for the other side. In cooler weather the whole car can be rinsed in one hit.
The high-pressure spray disperses the coating solution effectively and a lovely hydrophobic result is achieved on windows and trim in particular, making drying with a towel easy. I use a Ryobi 18v cordless leaf blower in conjunction with the towel, blowing water out from mirrors, wheels, lights, base of the windscreen, etc. - the towel is still needed as otherwise I’d be chasing drops all across panels.
The Karcher fittings are a bayonet so it’s quick to change between spray bottle and pressure nozzle (and, to use the handle by itself).
Detailing is my trade at the moment, so I wash about 3-5 cars a week. I also use a ‘washworld’ facility in town for this, but I take my own mitts and use a similar process, just with their foam sprayer and high-pressure rinse (and never their ‘broom’). It seems to go a lot faster when I’m having to feed a machine with coins
-Alex
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I have the same one... Was only planning to use it with a foam cannon because was too scared to use such a powerful pressure washer with regular nozzles...
What do you use? The black rinse nozzle??
Another vote for the SunJoe electric and Chemical Guys products. I use that exact model with an MTM Hydro foam cannon and all works great. Certainly the electric pressure washers have less power than gas but that makes it perfect for washings cars and more than powerful enough for other households tasks (driveways, decks, sidewalks etc). Selling my Craftsman gas pressure washer as a result - the SunJoe hits the sweet spot. Check Home Depot - they often have them on sale online, got mine for around $100 or $110 if I recall.
That's way overkill.
Onr can safely be used with 1 bucket, a high quality mitt and 2 or 3 nice drying towels.
1st towel makes a single drying pass which will leave a bit of water. Second towel to dry the panel.
I often see people advocate for that method, but 90% of the time they end up using cheap Costco towels because they think they need 20 of them.
Burrito
Member
another vote for sunjoe 3200xp i think. i use the 40degree tip at high power. no issues.
car/wheels are ceramic coated and my maintenance washes take about 30 minutes, foam, 2 bucket, dry
car/wheels are ceramic coated and my maintenance washes take about 30 minutes, foam, 2 bucket, dry
Finally - an explanation of that mysterious TLA, ONR! Thank you for explaining the process... I’ve seen ONR mentioned frequently and wondered what it was.
I’m guessing you’d be paying for your water usage, so using less water would be beneficial. It rains every few days here most of the year, but occasionally in summer we get two or three weeks without rain and have to think about saving water.
I have tried a variation of the waterless wash before and only ever got smeary results - but I expect the quality and quantity of towels is important. Thanks for the information
-Alex
I bought the Worx 20v cordless washer. It does a good job, plus you don't have to drag out the hose to use it, as it can draw water from a bucket. This is a great option for the winter when the hoses are put away and outside hose bibs are turned off. Just spray off the grime and salt with a bucket of warm water and wash with ONR.
I use the lowest pressure one. Just stay a foot away from the car and avoid direct shots into the window seals.
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
It's probably overkill but I'm paranoid.
The solid black will show a swirl mark if you look at it cross-eyed.The towels I bought are very high quality towels from theragcompany.com, and I bought a bottle of Woflgang Concours Microfiber detergent for washing the towels.
Don TLR
Active Member
Another vote for the Sunjoe, had it for 2 years and I also used it all weekend power-washing my recently laid down travertine and of course the car, works like a champ.
siucity
Button Pusher
The Costco towels can't be that bad. We had a car show, and the guys keeping the LaFerrari clean were using Kirkland Signature microfiber towels.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
And I've found that gas ones are a complete PITA to start up in cooler weather, which is when I use it 50% of the time. I bought the Sun Joe electric and couldn't be happier.... I hadn't planned on selling my old 4.5 hp gas one but I did, just to free up the space in my garage.
Other than washing the car my pressure washer gets used for jobs like cleaning siding and walkways, I don't need one that can strip oil off of concrete.
I have a sunjoe from Amazon also, and using chemical guy's wash and foam cannon.
I have a large RODI system for my reef aquarium and I'm tempted to run a line to the garage to store some water for the final rinse. Not sure if it's really worth it though as a towel dry isn't that hard (nor is my local water) and the ceramic protection had better be doing it's job.
I have a large RODI system for my reef aquarium and I'm tempted to run a line to the garage to store some water for the final rinse. Not sure if it's really worth it though as a towel dry isn't that hard (nor is my local water) and the ceramic protection had better be doing it's job.
And this is so we can use it to wash EVs in attempt to move away from fossil fuel. Does anyone see any irony here?
tfraley
Member
My 2 cents.
Go for the highest GPM you can get PSI doesn't have to be that high if it's only for your car.
GPM will give you more foam in foam cannons etc..
Electric is fine if you know this but easier to find higher GPM with gas.
Personally I use Electric but had to order online. Lowes and homedepo didn't carry anything with higher GPM
Go for the highest GPM you can get PSI doesn't have to be that high if it's only for your car.
GPM will give you more foam in foam cannons etc..
Electric is fine if you know this but easier to find higher GPM with gas.
Personally I use Electric but had to order online. Lowes and homedepo didn't carry anything with higher GPM
