I also use pressure washer on my cars. In fact I use a 5 year old Huskey 2000 PSI electric pressure washer. The key is using the right nozzle and the right pressure. You are stupid to use a turbo nozzle or a nozzle that is less than 15° on a car and using a pressure washer more than 2000 PSI. 15° and 25° is what I use for prewash then use a foam cannon, do a 2 bucket wash while the soap covers the car, then use a 45° nozzle to rinse. If you have never use a power washer before you have no idea how much time it will save you. How much time does it save? I have 6 cars and it usually takes me 5-6 hours to wash all of that now only 1.5ish hour. You think the pressure of those nozzles will harm your paint? well put your hand 6" to 1' away from the nozzle and see for yourself. If you don't get hurt how the hell will your paint get damaged? I also use Meguiar's Gold Class as my soap on my foam cannon.

If you also live on a region that snows and have salt on the road a power washer will also be your best friend. During winter months I connect a hot water line on it and it blast all of the nasty stuff off my car (I have hot water connection outside my house just for cleaning and car washing). Try doing that with a garden hose.

 

Salt doesn't corrode in the winter without water. Food for thought. Unless you can get it ALL off what you are doing may make it worse.

 

I just got my foam cannon today what a blast to use! this makes washing the car a joy.

I'd highly recommend the Karcher K5+ Karcher FJ6 foam cannon if anyone else was looking or thinking to get one.

 

I switch it up but for right now.

 

Gee. Nothing like a guy playing with his white foam cannon

 

Actually, it makes washing a car one happy event (or a block party if you are on my street), but I am now convinced that there is no better way to wash a car.

I am sure the pressure washer has a huge impact as well, then again I have used coin-op car washes that have pressure before and yet have not seen results like this before. So its probably the combination of both, the pressure and the decent wash soap!

 

True but our winter here in Vancouver is more of a snow in the morning and slush in the afternoon then freeze in the evening then repeat that is why I try to get the stuff out of the car as much as I can. I did not wash my B200 for a week when we had snow here last year and the salt ate through the rim's clear coat and needed refinishing.

 

Ah yes, that sounds about right. I grew up in Vancouver so I remember those days.

I still remember when the entire city ground to a halt a few years ago because Vancouver had like 1 plow. It was HILARIOUS

Then again here in Toronto we called in the army a few years back so perhaps we don't get to judge

 

The salt damaged your rims in a week? I find that hard to believe unless they were otherwise compromised in some way. In areas where it snows for six months of the year I doubt that 99% of the owners wash their cars at least once a week, especially when it snows a little several days in a row and the roads are constantly sloppy. Rims hold up quite well. Now, of course, having rims and the car in general exposed to that is not good, but rims will not get damaged in that short of time. No, if you are talking about a polished stainless wheel, then absolutely, you would have to polish the hell out of them even with minimal exposure, but a typical wheel, not likely.

 

I guess all you need is one of these

 

Shoot a cannon in her direction and there definitely would be foam.

 

More high quality cars soaps than one can imagine @ Adams, or Autogeek.net

 

I too had used Meguiars Gold Class -- until I found Meguiars Ultimate Wash & Wax....

By FAR the best product I've ever used for washing...

 

And yet to suggest that a single product can go from "wash" to "wax" with no other steps in between, sort of undermines any presumption of quality tbat Meguiars can offer.

Don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing your opinion. I too think Meguiars has made great strides in, may be even revolutionized some aspects of, car detailing! But to market a product using concepts that Meguiars tries to warn against believing in, is a bit too wishy-washy in my opinion.

My guess is that product does contain some sort of waxing agent that covers up minor paint defects that should instead be corrected first, instead of just covered up!

 

Wash for wash - it's just what I prefer...if I'm going to spend money, sure I could get some product NASA approved - but if I'm going to spend any amount of money more than cost of said soap, than I'd just pay someone else to do professionally...

It's Just my opinion that it works better than the Gold Class ...(among a great number of other products I've tried)...

If you haven't tried - how can you say one way or the other?...

That's like me giving a recommendation on child birth...sure I might have read a few things, but if you haven't experienced first hand - how valid of an opinion can you have when compared to those who have...?

 

Using that analogy, I don't know what it's like to have cancer, STD/STIs or crabs, does that mean I don't know it's sh*tty? It's called doing research.

Here's a thought. I've had the chance to fly in almost every major airline in business and first class. Since you haven't, does that make your opinion of the products before you fly on them moot? Nope - because there are these things called trip reports and research.

 

Poor NASA.... Have they had their funding cut so much thay they have now resorted to making automotive detailing products??? I was not aware of that!

I specifically said I wasn't criticizing you, and I made no attempt to try and get you to change your mind on what to use for a car wash. I simply questioned the motivation behind Meguiars suggesting that a single product can offer the benefits of a "wash" process and a "wax" process all in a single step, when it is this same company that is often describing these two steps as not only being independent of one another, but as having a few other detailing steps to go through between going from one (the wash) and the other (the wax)!

To me, it makes no sense that a single product can remove paint contaminants that would otherwise eventually get rinsed away with water, only in this case, the use of this same product works to somehow simultaneously result in an application of a protective coat of wax over that same paint. This is why I never tried it, and I never will!

 

And by all means, if it works for you, good for you..

However, and unless you are can offer up some reason suggesting that when you post YOUR "opinion" on an open forum, that every one MUST agree with you, then I am free to not only offer mine, but I can also criticise Meguiars for marketing a product itself knows or should know is only working to cover up paint defects using fillers and heavy waxes.

You've never made a decision to not buy a product without having tried it? Possibly, only because you did not like something that is shown/stated on the label? Really...

If a manufacturer's claim makes little to no sense, I would be wasting my time, money and energy trying such a product that I know is not likely to produce any results that can meet my objectives.

I don't like short cuts. If I do something, I would much rather invest the time and effort info doing it right, rather than try to cut out essential steps thay are required to correct paint defects and reduce swirl marks by jumping to the last step because it coveniently covers up such defects.

 

Well, to your credit, it sounds to me like you've got the part about being "hormonal", "overly sensitive" and "whining about nothing" down pat... So don't be so hard on yourself!

 

So let me make sure I understand correctly - someone stated that the Gold Class product was a preferred choice - I recommend that they use another product ( let's call it XYZ soap since it's name is an issue apparently) as I have used both and feel the second choice is better and was EXTREMLY appreciative when someone mentioned to me - then someone who hasn't used both products chimes in with an opinion which again - has only been validated by research and not experience - which I tried to make clear was less valid with my giving birth comment...yet the rebuttal about STD's is brought up which has no correlation to our discussion (since you are still lost let me explain further:

Who's opinion would you feel is more valid - someone who researched about STD's - or someone who has experienced them?....

And to make this clear - I'm not mad, I'm not hormonal, I'm not even surprised by the replies to my comment...

At the end of the day - someone said they use Soap A, as someone who's used soap A & soap B - it's my opinion Soap B is a better product...not sure why people are so upset/combative by just an opinion...

 

[QUOTE=IGB;7200465]Poor NASA.... Have they had their funding cut so much thay they have now resorted to making automotive detailing products??? I was not aware of that!

I specifically said I wasn't criticizing you, and I made no attempt to try and get you to change your mind on what to use for a car wash. I simply questioned the motivation behind Meguiars suggesting that a single product can offer the benefits of a "wash" process and a "wax" process all in a single step, when it is this same company that is often describing these two steps as not only being independent of one another, but as having a few other detailing steps to go through between going from one (the wash) and the other (the wax)!

To me, it makes no sense that a single product can remove paint contaminants that would otherwise eventually get rinsed away with water, only in this case, the use of this same product works to somehow simultaneously result in an application of a protective coat of wax over that same paint. This is why I never tried it, and I never will![/QUOT


I can't tell if you are being sarcastic - or if you really are that ignorant and think I was being serious about obtaining a soap that's approved by NASA...

And have I ever not purchased something after researching - sure, but that wasn't my argument....

Since it went over your head, I'll pose a different way - I would not go about saying 1 item is or is not better than another - unless I had first hand experience to back up my opinion ....and let's be honest here - you didn't conduct any research, you just saw the product name and went off cause you thought it was an oxymoron...after all is said, I could care less if you don't use - I was just trying to recommend something I have experience with that I thought would be beneficial to you....my bad...

 

I couldn't agree more.

I'm amazed that car enthusiasts still don't understand the idea of soap and suds for car shampoo.

The car shampoo is supposed to suspend the dirt OFF your paint so that you don't GRIND dirt into your paint when you wipe it clean or dry it off. The soap also lubricates so that you aren't grinding that dirt you just lifted off, back into your paint. You then use a clay bar or alternative scrub to remove surface debris and contaminants. Use compound for paint correction and a polish afterwards for a two step paint correction or an all in one polish. Seal with a wax, polymer paint sealant, or a ceramic coating.

When you use water and a sponge alone, even if you use minimal pressure, you are still damaging your paint. Even with mercedes super hard "nano clearcoat"...

Maybe if using your super concentrated and strong dish soap, it can be harmful to the paint, but we're talking about products created from the ground up for car washing.

I have yet to cross over to the pressure washer or the blow dryer, but I probably will eventually. For now it's just the two bucket method and a lot of love.

It may not matter for some, but I take pride when my paint and my car looks good and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can.