Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Friday March 29, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
NASIOC
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC General > Interior & Exterior Modification

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-14-2003, 08:53 AM   #1
Mr. Mercado
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 36559
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario (T.O.)
Vehicle:
2003 Impreza WRX
WRB

Default Power Wash...bad for clearcoat/paint

Hello all,

I'd like to spray off the layer of dirt off my WRX before I wash it by hand. Is it bad for the clearcoat and paint if I use a power wash at the wash bay?

I here it dulls the finish? But I'd rather spray off the layer of dirty then to wash it off with a mit and scratch the car.

What do you think?
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Mr. Mercado is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 05-14-2003, 10:21 AM   #2
TortoiseAWD
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 5223
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Omaha, NE
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
Silver Metallic

Default Re: Power Wash...bad for clearcoat/paint

Quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Mercado
Hello all,

I'd like to spray off the layer of dirt off my WRX before I wash it by hand. Is it bad for the clearcoat and paint if I use a power wash at the wash bay?

I here it dulls the finish? But I'd rather spray off the layer of dirty then to wash it off with a mit and scratch the car.

What do you think?
If my car is seriously dirty, I always preface my hand wash by a trip to the spray bay. Just use common sense: don't get too close to the paint, keep the wand moving, and try to spray at an oblique angle rather than at right angles to the paint. If you are going to follow up with a hand wash, I recommend against using the soap out of the wand at the pressure wash; just use the rinse. The detergents used at wash bays are fairly harsh (need to be to remove dirt without agitating), and while they won't harm your paint, they probably will weaken whatever layer of wax or sealant you have on the paint.

If you're really concerned about swirls and scratching, here are a couple more tips for your hand wash that may help . . . First, use two buckets; one for your carwash, another to rinse your mitt out in. Also, consider using two mitts, one for the top portions of the car, and the other to finish up side skirts and the bottoms of the bumpers. On the final rinse of the car, completely remove the hoze nozzle, put the hose on low pressure, and let the water sheet off the car by using the stream from the hose. If you get the hang of it, you can actually use the hose to get the bulk of the water off the car before you dry. The last bits of water can be blotted up with your drying towel (less rubbing == less chance to induce swirls).

Tort
TortoiseAWD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-2003, 11:02 AM   #3
1quikrex
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 15329
Join Date: Feb 2002
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: South Shore
Vehicle:
2015 WRX WRB Ltd
2002 WRX PSM (sold)

Default

I don't trust power washers or power buffers or anything like that around my car. I always prefer doing it by hand. You should be able to spray most of the dirt off with a hose unless the dirt is really caked on their.
1quikrex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-2003, 12:43 PM   #4
jaypride
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 33424
Join Date: Feb 2003
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: WMIC
Vehicle:
2004 STI
Blue/Gold

Default

I agree, a garden hose should be fine. The powere washer is too powerful for your paint.
jaypride is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-2003, 12:55 PM   #5
Brad Pittiful
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 34931
Join Date: Apr 2003
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: Eagles are ****ing
Vehicle:
. Super bowl LII
Champions!

Default

a power washer i used once had different power head settings...but i would just use a regular hose
Brad Pittiful is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-2003, 01:53 PM   #6
BlkRexWagon
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 20587
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: riding the Green Wave
Vehicle:
'02 WRX Wagon
Midnight Black

Default

A power washer will take off your wax and/or sealant a LOT quicker than a hand wash. I feel using a garden hose to rinse off whatever you can should be plenty. If you have serious amounts of dirt still sticking then your paint isn't protected enough and needs a wax anyway. Use a good car soap and the dirt should be suspended in the solution and the lubrication provided by a good soap will keep dirt from scratching while washing.
BlkRexWagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-2003, 04:06 PM   #7
Kean
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 25187
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: So. CA
Vehicle:
2020 Forester
2010 Challenger R/T

Default

I've used a power washer @ the local wash bay every week for 8 months now and have had no problems on my black WRX. With a little common sense, the power washers you find at these "wash bay" centers should be perfectly safe. There are good points made about wax longevity, detegent strength, and swirls. It certainly shouldn't hurt if your just pre-rinsing the car before washing it @ home though. I know the gent who runs the
bay where I go. The equipment is quality and always kept in good shape which makes me feel very comfortable using it.

btw, I'm very picky about my car's finish.
Kean is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-2003, 04:29 PM   #8
JaBooo
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 12898
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: North NJ, the Real NJ
Vehicle:
2004 WRX
Java Black Pearl

Default power

I've always washed my cars at this one car wash in my town. Never had a problem with paint. The car usually comes out much shinier than if i did it in my driveway.
I always get a laugh out of those idiots that use the scrub brush on there paint. The same brush everyone else uses on their wheels. I actually saved this guys paint job on his BRAND NEW Nissan 350Z by stopping him as he was about to scrub the hood. He thanked me a lot.....
JaBooo is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Is CA rain bad for paint? blitzpb Southern California Impreza Club Forum -- SCIC 29 12-19-2010 06:59 PM
Need help with clearcoat/paint subenerd Interior & Exterior Modification 4 05-13-2005 08:49 PM
Eh... How bad is gasoline for your paint? SubieRX Car Care & Detailing 11 02-04-2005 12:24 AM
Clearcoat Paint? GPuglisi Interior & Exterior Modification 3 07-13-2003 09:01 AM
Car polish = bad for clearcoat? UVAWRX Car Care & Detailing 9 06-07-2001 05:04 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:49 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.