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Electric Power Washer/Foam Lance for Ceramic Coat and Xpel?
Gents,
Buying a car that is getting a fresh ceramic coating and xpel front clip clear bra.
What kind of electric power washer/foam lance/chemical do you all recommend?
So far I have gotten the Sun Joe SPX3001 for washer and the MTM Foam Cannon. Not sure what chemical to use, should I just ask the company doing the treatment?
I will be using the for my upcoming 997TT, my truck, and all the motorcycles(not the matte black panigale) as well.
Washing a car with a cannon?
Making salad with a shooter?
Yikes..... the world is getting tougher.
I tried various hosing techniques and products and found violent acts against my car wasn't making it cleaner. I guess my car doesn't like getting hosed under a dominant pressure.... at least by me. (I have heard of late night clubs and such.....)
Washing a car with a cannon?
Making salad with a shooter?
Yikes..... the world is getting tougher.
I tried various hosing techniques and products and found violent acts against my car wasn't making it cleaner. I guess my car doesn't like getting hosed under a dominant pressure.... at least by me. (I have heard of late night clubs and such.....)
Dawn, sponge, bucket.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
Do you use water from your garden hose or do you need to filter it first? LOL
For every vehicle I have owned, I have always washed and dried by hand. With Ceramic Coating I see no need for that, and would rather save some time.
If youre making fun of me for that stuff...you should see the 8hp filter air blow drier I ordered so I don't even have to wipe and of the vehicles down by hand!!!
Thanks for the inputs gents, looking like the MTM cannon is going to happen. Just trying to figure out the electric washer.
USNA12, are you asking what to use before the coating or afterwards?
If before, I am surprised that the people applying the coating are even letting you do the prep. I would think they would strip the car and do whatever prep needs to be done, just from a liability standpoint. If they relied on the car's owner, they'd likely have all kinds of application and adhesion issues afterwards.
But to answer as best I can, I second the idea of washing with Dawn pre-coating. It will take ALL the old wax off. I actually wash, clay bar, then wash again, using a fresh, soft wash mitt.
Post-coating, ask the guy who put the coating on what you should use. He or she will definitely have one or more recommended shampoos.
As far as cannons versus mitts are concerned, as a military guy, I can see why you would gravitate towards something called a cannon (), but there is no substitute for agitating the surface with a clean mitt. Any power washer that is powerful enough to remove all of you dirt and contaminants is also powerful enough to do damage to other parts of the car.
I like he idea of a soap cannon for applying foamy water to the car just because you won't wind up with sudsless, dirty water by the time you reach the bottom of the car (like you might with the traditional bucket of suds). But spraying soap on and spraying it off won't get the car clean.
Dawn is old friend...trusty ... she knows what I like and likes to dish the dirt. Dawn likes to be sponged.
Aside from the fact that Dawn is great for stripping away any kind of wax or sealant from your paint, it's also horrible on the rubber & plastic bits.
Dawn and other dish-washing detergents are designed to strip away grease & oils, not something you want to do to plastic & rubber.
Use a proper car wash shampoo.
Originally Posted by Bruce In Philly
I guess my car doesn't like getting hosed under a dominant pressure[
Then don't drive in the rain.
Washing a car with a pressure washer is fine as long as you use the correct nozzle (most come with 4 or 5). Put on the zero nozzle....yea you will damage something. Like any piece of power equipment, read the directions and use it properly.
Plenty of professional detailers use pressure washers (fast forward to 3:45)
power washer rinse
foam cannon
hand wash
power washer rinse
go easy around the rear quarter windows on the 911, they tend to leak a bit if you go nuts with the power washer
This advice is NOT fake news. I tried to blast off some leftover glue from my track numbers and ended up putting a bit of water past the seal into the cabin.
You can even skip step three here if you just have a bit of dust or road dirt. I haven't used a mit on my car since the very first wash.
I also have ceramic on my car. The stuff sheds water like no other:
There's a great thread in the 991 GT section about a similar question that includes soaps:
Goodness knows I tried a ton of stuff and techniques out there....... Pressure pushes dirt into the car..... Dawn deteriorates paint, rubber, and plastic..... the paint's pores require sealing.... work the wax into the paint, best with your fingers.... etc etc. etc. Orbitals can burn your finish..... Some good stuff, some... well, to each their own....
On my 2000 Boxster S, I used only McGuire's car soap for about 50K miles, then I switched to Dawn exclusively for the next 150K miles... and I washed my car about every two weeks... car was parked outside in Center City Philly where it collected a horrible black dust...
Then I polished it often going through two cheapie Pep Boys orbitals before I finally purchased a real tool, a Porter Cable orbital.... My 2009 C2S at 118K miles has only seen Dawn for the last 100K miles.
And for all that polishing, Dawn, and abuse...... below is my freshly Zaino'd 2000 Boxster S at around 175K miles... mostly original paint (hood and front bits were repainted) and zero rubber deterioration (that I was aware of)..... I did use BMW Gummi Fledge on the rubber bits (did the Gummi counter the attack?). I also experimented a ton on this car... . trying different polishes, waxes, and even a pressure washer nozel thingy.... I never tried clear bras or commercially applied stuff.
Again, to each his own. What is my point here? I don't really know except to say there are many paths to reach a goal and plenty of advice on how to get there. I wonder how much money I ...er ... spent ... on alternative approaches?
Peace
Bruce in Philly
Last edited by Bruce In Philly; 09-13-2017 at 03:22 PM.