Would a £50 Nilfisk pressure washer be any good ?

I usually go for silver cars as a trip to one of the jet wash lot every couple of months keeps them clean. Blue this time so to speed things up as I will have to clean it regularly I bought said £50 pressure washer plus the brush attachment.

I thought it might be a load of junk but I'm pretty impressed. Lots of water came out even with 25m of hose feeding it and the pressure isn't too bad. Cleaning concrete will be slow like it is on all of the cheap ones but I reckon it will do it.

I might wax the car to make cleaning easier. Any one have any ideas?

The jet wash made a decent job apart from some slight water drying spots. Leathering it would get rid of these but I most definitely don't want to do that.

John

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Autoglym sells more shiny polishy stuff than you could ever want ... But this one is probably all you need:

**LINK**

http://www.autoglym.com/products/products/super-resin-polish

MichaelG.

Note, Autoglym Super Resin Polish, is just that, a Polish.

If you want longer lasting water shedding shiny surfaces, follow it up with a proper wax finish as well

Mer from memory is the most shiny one. I recollect some one doing a red car in it. Finished so shiny that it attracted too much attention so he removed the wax.

AutoExpress rate this one highest

**LINK**

Not sure which one on a lightish blue car that looks darker in the evening. It's an odd colour.

I did get some Autoglym traffic film remover. It's pricey but at 2 - 3% mix economical. Not sure about their waxes as they seem to do a sealant of some sort for it.

Last time I did wax a car I used a polymer wax that lasted. So long ago I doubt if the brand is around any more and I can't remember the name anyway.

When they started using water based paint some companies were offering some sort of treatment. I've had at least 3 now so many years. No wax or anything at all and no problems.

John

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I find that the new car cosseting stage wears of quite quickly, I am now down to twice a year whether it needs it or not.

Mike

Same here, except mine gets washed when they service it as well.

Removed, it was not relevant. V8.

Edited By V8Eng on 12/08/2016 23:19:18

My last one got a wash and an quick inside valet when it was serviced. They also kindly took the rubber mats out and jet washed those too.

No. The dirty car problem is down to the previous 3 not showing it. This one shows dust etc really well. There is a jet wash place round the corner. They jet wash, shampoo and hand wash and then jet wash again. I've previously gone there maybe twice a year and the car was serviced once a year - around Xmas time when it really was dirty.

First time I had a car that needed washing from time to time I used a bucket. Not doing that again. Takes to long. I bought a Clark's pressure washer, the first one they did cheaply. Much quicker. Then had a run of cars that don't need cleaning very often. Still have the Clarks but it's a pain to set up and not been used for ages so thought I would try this cheap one. It's not a good idea to use them too close to the car body.

So to make it even quicker I bought this huge metal bolt on the wall hose real from ToolStation. Stuck the hose of a Proops hose reel on it. It's very quick to pull out and wind back in. Next thing to sort out is an extension reel that's just as easy to use. The metal frame open one we had bust so I'll get another. The one we have been using for lawn mowing is a pain to wind in.

Wax - just wondering really. When I ran a Susuki Bandit I did clean that regularly as all bike owners tend to. Right pain of a job but I found this wonderful stuff. A thing to put on the end of a hose with some sort of wax in it. Just spray it via the hose pipe and all done. Wouldn't be too good on a windscreen though. First time i used it I nearly came of the bike. It must have lubricated the bearings in the steering so had a bit of a wobble.

If anyone fancies any Japanese wax such as the one I linked to use Nipon Shine. Seems that there are a lot of fakes about.

How often will I clean this one. Depends. It's been pretty dusty round here since I bought it and rain on that leaves something that really shows.

John

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Trouble with car wash units is that they do not fluff up my fluffy dice or renew the MacDonalds wrappers in the foot wells so i always end up doing that myself. . I removed the bullet holes though as these are considered naff now

I tend to be a bit more fussy than most about apearance of my car

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 13/08/2016 08:37:31

Sam, you didn't tell us what you did with your nodding dog in the back window......

Had to get rid of it because it kept chasing the tiger tail hanging out of the tank when i went round roundabouts

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 13/08/2016 09:01:59

I just let it out in the rain. Be careful with any modern car wax- if it gets on the windscreen it is a right nuisance and very difficult to remove.

Pressure washers and cars, bikes and cycles do not mix well in my estimation!

Modern car paints seem somewhat delicate and thin compared to old fashioned celulose or two pack.

There is no substitute for elbow grease and a bucket and cloth after a good rinse down with a garden hose spray. Don't forget your 'grid' in the bottom of the bucket to stop the wash cloth or sponge from picking up grit. Dry off with a microfibre fleece. Separate stuff for your alloys. Take the alloys of twice a year to properly cleen off the brake and tar debris. Use a good wheel sealer all over.

Still trying to convince a cycling chum not to use a pressure washer on his bike. He has gone through three sets of bottom bracket bearings to my one! Same applies to motor cycles.

I must admit to being very anti the pressure washer! They disturb the quitness of my weekend in the garden. The constant drone does my head in! It's also bad for the patio grouting!

Grumpy Me!

I like red and have two red cars - they look great ....when they are clean - but we live out in the sticks! Luckily there is a local firm who will hand wash / aqua wax for £6. (They will also do a full valet where the car returns looking like new inside and out! - I have given my ageing SAAB a birthday on occasion). I have sometimes used the machine washes at garages and they are effective but seem a bit brutal to me. Yes I do have a pressure washer which I bought in a fit of enthusiasm / economy drive and, to be honest, the whole business of dragging it out, running lengths of hosepipe and extension leads is a PITA.

So I console myself with the thought that I am encouraging local enterprise, stump up and support my cleaners!

Norman

Edited By NJH on 13/08/2016 11:51:30

This one is not that noisy Grump. While the nozzles can be put pretty close to wheels it's not a good idea to use them close to panels. The pro's use them from around 3ft plus.

Where they score over a hose pipe is the initial wash off and also the rubbing part when the brush is on the end as it's getting a continuous supply of clean water. The pressure is washing the brush then. Shampoo can be added at that stage too but on some the pressure washer should be turned off so that it's just running on mains water pressure.

They may loose out over a hose pipe for a final rinse. Not sure on this one as the flow seems to be pretty high, Pressure is lower than the Clarks but that;s putting out a rather narrow fan to achieve that. This one uses a rotating jet with one of the nozzles on it.

I can understand noise complaints though. I have done our paving with one. Say 25ft x 8ft plus a path. It took most of an afternoon cleaning 2" strips with the Clarks. This one might do 3 or 4" strips but probably not so perfectly clean. How often does it need doing. I'd say maybe alternate years really mostly avoiding too much on the pointing unless it needs redoing.

The hose pipe is a bit short for using the hose alone on the car. I decided some time ago that if I buy another it will be 3/4" bore for more flow rate. Proper couplings too. Not these naff hozelock things.

John

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Car washing is against my religion - it rains doesn't it?

Agreed, I'll never forgive the one that took the lacquer off the passenger door of my Honda Integra!

Neil

Some people expect the pressure to get the dirt off so get close - maybe you did Neil. Ok for concrete but can take the surface off, can actually remove the surface of timbre and not a good idea at all on cars. They need the right sort of brush attachment really.

I told a fib. It's actually £45. If I had asked about that aspect I'd expect a lot of no's. Ok it hasn't got an immense amount of power for patio cleaning but that really needs petrol power to do the job quickly.

**LINK**

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John

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I'm pretty sure modern vehicles are designed to withstand pressure washing. I've taken paint off cars and a front once, but they were past their best. I use one when I sell a motor, have to to remove the green slime.

I did a little reading on the subject when i bought my 1yr old shiney sports jobbie last year. The gurus still recommend a two bucket technique, jap paints claimed to be softer apparently and many recommend waxing the windscreen too to prevent wiper noise.

Autoglym series are reasonably priced compared to some. Yeah, it's a pain to do but a decent coat of polish and the next wash is easier. I've had my new one almost a year and the pleasure of having it shiney hasn't worn off (yet). I just got my 22r old back after it's engine rebuild and that also looks heaps better after waxing. I had to have it resprayed 15yrs ago after jet-washing took hand-sized pieces of paint right off.

The new one gets washed about monthly and waxed every couple of months but then only gets 5-600 miles per month.