Suggestions please for a good home car washer? Don’t need a regular water blaster unit. Just that for the first time have brought a bright blue vehicle and can see that it will need constant cleaning and need more than a brush on the end of a hose! Thanks
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 28, 11:06am
Not sure what you are meaning exactly about the water blaster.
I use a Nilfisk water blaster with a $25 adjustable foam canon from ebay. XT88 is what I use for chemicals and it not only works very well but is also cheap as chips on a per wash basis.
If you wash weekly with that sort of a setup you pretty much don't need to use a brush at all.
Also, I use totally awsome wheel cleaner which is cheap and very effective. Wheels get a squirt prior to foam gunning. Hope that helps.
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 28, 11:08am
Oh, and now and then I do a two bucket method (look it up) wash with a microfibre mit. Remember wash top to bottom with the mit but you MUST wash bottom to top with the water blaster when doing the rinse/blast. If washing often the touchless blasting method is best as it is scratch free, the mitt thing is just occasional to give it an extra good clean.
m16d,
Jul 28, 11:08am
A brush and turtle wax are the only way to go. if you keep waterblasting it, you'll never get completely clean, and you'll eventually wreck the paint.
I use the same thing with a bucket of XT88. then hose down and Chamois dry.
kazbanz,
Jul 28, 1:40pm
IMO unless you spend reasonably serious coin then you are way better off with a decent brush and the appropriate cleaner. The issue is that the little karcher or nilfisk or similar type units just don't have the water volume to shift the dirt properly. Have a look at the Litres per minute and its pathetic.
busdriverman,
Jul 28, 1:50pm
Where do you buy the xt88?
Thanks
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 28, 2:31pm
Firstly, don't buy a Karcher. ever, they are utter junk. Secondly, if you are doing it right and using the right products you don't need massive waterblasters to get the job done. In fact if you go too big you may even damage the car if you are not careful. Have you even tried using a foam canon, letting it soak properly and a proper chemical designed for it Kaz? I also see so many people wash from top to bottom as you would with a brush which definitely will give you rubbish results.
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 28, 2:33pm
This! Just remember to check the dilution, these are industrial quantities, you don't need as much as most people think.
elect70,
Jul 28, 2:42pm
Cant beat hand washing with car detergent i use awash & wax one & rinse with hose , plenty of water & dry it off I live near the sea & do it every 3weeks even though it lives in a garage .
mrfxit,
Jul 28, 3:21pm
1st Light weight waterblaster , commonly called a "power washer" 2nd Wash with soapy water of your desire. 3rd finish off with the power washer.
Looks like that wheel alignment was done by Tony's tyres.
esky-tastic,
Jul 28, 7:21pm
Likewise and using a ‘fluffy’ mitt.
The West Coast is very unforgiving ifyou don’t wash your car correctly.
esky-tastic,
Jul 28, 7:22pm
Exactly!
Bushws are for shoes and electric motors
kevymtnz,
Jul 28, 7:27pm
dishwashing liquid and a soft cloth and elbow power last thing you want on your windows is wax
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 28, 8:07pm
And the last thing you want on your paint is dishwashing liquid unless you are about to do a respray.
gunhand,
Jul 28, 8:22pm
Why? Ever touched your car on a real hot day, gets so hot you can't touch it at times. And that can happen all day day after day. Ever gone outside in the morning during a - 5 frost and seen your car? Ever had hail it your car while driving? Even the denting type hail. Everyday the clear has diesel, petrol, industry fall out and even good old bird crap get all over plus human hands, mechanics hands and God knows what else touches and gets on it. Now bird crap can eat into clear if left for a long time, personally never seen it, but can happen. Geez ya can even hit a panel with a hammer and the clear will remain in tact. Yet a squirt of dish wash in a bucket to wash ones car which no doubt is quite well rinsed as well and it will need a respray? Bloody hell, remind me not to get this product on my hands.
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 28, 8:24pm
It removes wax, that's why. You should know this, you are the car painter!
gunhand,
Jul 28, 8:28pm
So, re wax then if that bothers anyone. I do, used to use it to prep raw plastic before painting, as well a chemical finish product once rinsed and dried.
mrfxit,
Jul 29, 8:29am
BUT, if it's an NZ rated UV protected clearcoat on that car which most newer cars in NZ already have, then why do you need to wax it? I thought the whole idea of clearcoat was to remove the need to constantly wax/clean/ wax/ clean/wax/ clean/ WAX. the paint
sw20,
Jul 29, 9:20am
Because over time the clear coat degrades, having a sealant like a wax on top adds another layer of protection.
You only need to wax a handful of times a year anyway. Dishwash is only good for a first wash on an unknown second hand car. It will strip back all the protection back to the clear, give the car a good clay bar then start applying the layers of protection again. Then all you will need to do is a soft car wash once a week with a foam cannon and mitt. Dry off with microfibre towels.
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 29, 9:31am
This man gets it! After a while if your wax and chemicals are good you don't even need to use the mitt every time. Depends on the car and how fussy you want to be.
esky-tastic,
Jul 29, 9:51am
Wash’n’wax, NOT dishwashing liquid! (And the wash’n’wax won’t affect your view through the windows)
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