pressure washers

[benm172]

good idea to use on your pride and joy r not

 

[Karl3158]

Keep away from painted calipers, I found it stripped off the paint :-(

 

[benm172]

i dont know if pressure washers r a good idea r to stick with the old elbow grease

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I've used one for years . Never had a problem . If you attach a short length of hose to a bucket filled with water and a couple of capfuls of shampoo they create alot of foam , good for giving the car a good prewash soak .

A good alternative to the gilmour

 

[benm172]

wat pressure washer u got mrbilly

 

[Rob's172]

i use one all the time, manly to loosen dirt pre wash and to rinse!

been thinking about doin what MRBILLYUK has done tho

 

[Fletcher]

Good soap suds going there MrBilly.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

wat pressure washer u got mrbilly

Karcher . Had it for donkeys years . You can pick em up pretty cheap now . I use a vario lance mainly as it has a high power setting and a rinse setting . I run the hose from a home brew 25 litre fermenting bin .

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KARCHER-PRESS...goryZ632QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

 

[MRBILLYUK]

i use one all the time, manly to loosen dirt pre wash and to rinse!

been thinking about doin what MRBILLYUK has done tho

I give it a quick blast down first to loosen the dirt , then soak it in suds , then wash using a wash mitt and 2 bucket method .

 

[Rob's172]

yer thats the plan i had! not sure how to get good suds! so do u put the soap tube in a bucket?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I did use a bucket originally , now i use a homebrew fermenting bin as the bucket soon ran out of water . Run a short length of hose into the bin through a hole on the lid . A couple of capfuls of shampoo and bobs your uncle . The fermenting bins are only cheap , around a tenner with a lid .

If you use one of tha vario lances you can have lower pressure suds or high pressure suds , good for your under the wheel arches .

Any shampoo will foam up well using this method . I usually use chemical guys wash n wax as i have a few gallons .

 

[AhmedRSi]

Keep away from painted calipers, I found it stripped off the paint :-(

Omg thanks, hadnt even thought of this! I better be really careful when I clean my alloys then, will have to do them by hand from now on out!

 

[AhmedRSi]

My pressure washer comes with an attachment for adding shampoo, looks like a little bottle that screws into an area near the nozzle, you dont have to use it.. but when you do it covers everything in foam

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I use my pressure washer on my painted calipers and its never affected the paint . If the paint is coming off then i'd say its down to bad preparation and not cleaning / degreasing the calipers good enough in the first place .

 

[MRBILLYUK]

My pressure washer comes with an attachment for adding shampoo, looks like a little bottle that screws into an area near the nozzle, you dont have to use it.. but when you do it covers everything in foam

Yeah but they don't let you wash the car at high pressure with soap . I have one as well

 

[D1CKY]

Whats the reason for using fermenting bins ?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Whats the reason for using fermenting bins ?

The size , 25 litres . A normal bucket soon runs out of water at high pressure .

 

[big hp]

Will all Karcher pressure washers pull the water from a bucket / bin?

 

[Reyes]

i use it on the bottom half of my car where the dried mud is to get rid of it. but apart from that use the "elbow grease" and use a luvleh fibre cloth to polish it up quickly if ur in a rush

 

[LegoHead]

mrbilly : let me clarify....you are using the bin for your water source and not plugging into a tap? This could be the answer to my problems. Last time i used pressure washer, when i switched it off my mom's kitchen got flooded. Water from floor to ceiling.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

^^^ Yeah Dave . I run a 6 foot length of hose from the fermenting bin which is full of warm water and a couple of capfuls of shampoo . Pressure washers are pumps at the end of the day so will pull water as well as push water .

I only use it to foam the car , i do the final rinse connected to a hosepipe and tap .

 

[big hp]

I'll go down the pressure washer route. I've got one but ordered a gilmour because i wanted suds and lots of them, plus i wouldn't have the hassle of plugging extension in, but i've been messed about loads by company who i ordered gilmour from so i'm now going to tell them to get stuffed and get a 5 gallon can, we've got loads on site. Hey presto, same results just a bit more setting up.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

^^^ Makes sense if you've already got a pressure washer , lots of high power foam Only around a tenner for a fermenting bin with lid so its not gonna brake the bank

 

[big hp]

I'm a bricklayer and we get all our plasticisors etc in 5 gallon cans so wont cost me a penny

 

[Brand86]

I've used one for years . Never had a problem . If you attach a short length of hose to a bucket filled with water and a couple of capfuls of shampoo they create alot of foam , good for giving the car a good prewash soak .

A good alternative to the gilmour

That does look immensely satisfying!

Puts the hose and nozzle to shame!

 

[Tay]

Great Idea !!!!

 

[len_beach]

Will running soap through the pump not damage it in some way, seals etc?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Will running soap through the pump not damage it in some way, seals etc?

Mines running perfectly well and i've been doing it this way for quite a while now .I've had my karcher for 9 years and it still works as good as it did when it was new. Its only a couple of capfuls in 25 litres of water which is a pretty dilute solution .

 

[Rob's172]

not if its rinsed

 

[Tigger]

I'm thinking of getting a Karcher - anyone reccomend a good model?

Mainly for foaming the car and doing the arches & wheels

 

[MRBILLYUK]

If your thinking of foaming the car using my method any pressure washer will do . Some pressure washers have a detergent nozzle that sucks up the detergent but thats only low pressure and pretty crap imo . Plus with the karchers you usually get a few extras like the small detergent bottle and a dirtblaster lance thrown in . The detergent bottle foams but it's empty before you know it and you have to keep refilling it .

Whichever you do chose . Get yourself a vario lance as they are good for high power blasting away the dirt and they can be turned down just for rinsing .

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KARCHER-PRESS...goryZ632QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting .

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KARCHER-PRESS...215QQihZ007QQcategoryZ632QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Have a search on the net for one . My local Aldi has one in at the minute for 80 quid ( their own brand ). If i was buying another i'd seriously consider this as it has a 3 year warranty unlike Karchers that only have a 12 month warranty .

 

[big hp]

surely if you buy the 254 you wont need a vario lance as the lance it comes with is variable unless the vario is adjustable like a hose attachment rather than high or low power.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

surely if you buy the 254 you wont need a vario lance as the lance it comes with is variable unless the vario is adjustable like a hose attachment rather than high or low power.

Your right . The link to the ebay 254 does come with a vario lance so you wouldn't need to buy a separate one , most seem to come with a dirtblaster for patios etc .... so you'd need to buy a vario lance separate as in the other link .