Topaz330ci

Hi Guys,

I’m looking into a new washing method for my car and I was thinking of adding the following to my regime:

1. Electric Pressure Washer for foaming the car - Would you guys suggest a 1800 PSI or 2000 PSI one? Also, what is a good foaming solution and what % of mix should I use?

2. Electric leaf blower for drying – What do you think of a 12A leaf blower? Does that have enough power?

I still plan to use the double bucket wash system after the foaming....

If you guys have any additional tips, spit them out please!!

Thanks,

Alin

Riad

Brushless car wash.

It's a car, not a Fabergé egg.

Dennis C

I'd worry that a pressure washer might get soap and water into places you might not want it... why not just hand wash it?

I haven't tried a leaf blower. I typically use a California Jelly Blade first, followed by good quality microfiber towels.

Tedster

I agree about the pressure washer! Not a good idea. I suggest you check the Concours forum as they have been helpful to me as a resource. Basically my wash process uses two buckets, soap and rinse. I clean tires and wheels first with their own bucket to avoid dirty overspray on paint. Then using the two buckets (Meguairs or other quality car shampoo) first rinse off grime and grit top to bottom, underside, wheel wells. Than using a micrifiber wash mitt start at top, no curcular motions, go in direction of car's travel to avoid swirls. Rinse mitt often in clear water bucket, change mitt if it becomes dirty. I use simple green for bugs and marks the shampoo will not remove. Rinse well with clear water, california water blade to get most of the rinse water off. Then wipe with Meguires wet/dry detail spray using lots of microfibers to dry. Griots makes a great detergent to wash microfiber towels. Oh, and never do this in full sun or things dry too fast. Last steps are rubber protectant, tire black. About 90 minutes. Interior is another story....

hacker-pschorr

Pressure Washer - yes, with a foaming head on it. I have this one:
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/cleanin...ter-82010.html

Only need one bucket this way for rinsing out the wash mit. I also have this pressure washer:
http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/RD80770-...r/EN/index.htm

Unlike most cheaper units, I can turn the pressure way down (most are fixed) and use it for rinsing.


Leaf Blower - no, you will be blowing unfiltered particles onto your freshly washed paint. Not much different than a sand blaster.

Blower nozzle on an air compressor yes, at least you can filter what goes into the compressor. Great way to move water out of annoying areas like the side view mirrors and body gaps.

pongobaz

I have two 2nd place finishes in the PCA UCR concours with my daily driver, track *****, winter beater 996C4S. As Riad said, it's not a Fabergé egg! I use a Karcher electric power washer all the time to wash the car. I tried to use a leaf blower and it was a major PITA, so I went back to microfibre towels. The power washer does a great job of blasting the gritty stuff off which minimizes the risk of dragging grit with your microfibre mitt across the surface.
Best chemicals imho: Optimum Wash and Optimum No Rinse (when it's too cold or I don't want to drag the pressure washer out). Followed by a quick application of Optimum Spray on Wax.
In the spring and again in the fall, I do a full detail: clay bar, PC polish, Optiseal, P21 concours wax.
After 6 years of this regimen, the paint still looks new.

white99c2

Hand wash it, my car has never been through any type of car wash. I drive it daily and as part of my obsessive routine I wipe it down each morning with a damp wet microfiber towel rinsing the towel a few times. I hand polish it every other week. Crazy?
I can wipe it down in about 10 minutes and the polish is done in about an hour. The car looks so amazing that people that don't know Porsche's always ask me if it brand new. Pretty nice for a 13 year old car. My wife equivalent and daughters say I'm not normal... newsflash!

Topaz330ci

I currently meticulously hand wash my car with the best hand mitt and premium car soap. I always use the two bucket practice and I always have the California blade to squeegee all the water off at the end. Then I use a chamois to get what's left... After that I open the doors, hood and trunk, and collect all the water with the chamois and top it off by cleaning with a cloth under the doors as well. I got all those steps perfectly and it's been working great, I was just thinking of changing it up with something different.

I just spoke to someone which told me that I could foam the car with a regular hose and bottle adapter. So I will do this instead as I only wanted the pressure washer for that feature. I never liked the idea of pressure washing cars and I have never done it to the P-car. So the pressure washer is out of the question. Now, how to do it with a regular hose? Anyone know which adapter I need and what's a good solution for the foaming part?

So the consensus is a NO to the leaf blower I guess? I saw some YouTube videos and if done properly, and if the car has a good wax on it, it looks pretty efficient. I just wanted to shorten the whole drying part, and minimize touching the car during the drying phase.

jdog

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks

fbgh2o

My regime is almost identical to Pongobaz and have great results.

rpm's S2

That works fine... As long as you don't care about protecting your paint. The very harsh cleaning chemicals that make a brushless system work will strip off your wax.

As for the leaf blower... I use mine carefully to get bulk water off the car and out of body seams and places like the rear wing. Then I use cotton towels. But I only use the blower if I have first blown the driveway of possible gravel and other junk that might get kicked up.

Torontoworker

Leaf blower?!

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/...amaged-in-fire

Divot

No to high pressure power washer. Brother killed his paint job with one.

Blower is fine.

mjb2448

For me nothing less then the human tongue will do. Takes a bit longer, unless you make it a family affair and it may freak the hell outta the neighbors..... but what do they know they drive a Toyota Prius

leedav

I use that Mr. Clean thing. It works great. The last rinse is water that is deionized by a filter. You rinse it like you were spray painting it, and then let it air dry. No spotting, no wiping.