I picked up a Husky 2000psi presure washer (Model # HU2000) from Home Depot. My vehicles never really need it, but since more and more people are wanting me to detail there vehicles I figure I better have one.

Now I need a test subject. Well my daughter came in from Creighton U for the summer, we got her a 94 plymouth duster for her first car 4 years ago, I dont think its ever been cleaned.

Before


After


not bad for about 30 minutes of work

 

Dang...looks MUCH better

 

are you from nebraska? i go to school about 10 minutes from creighton

 

Nice job

 

It looks a lot better. However be very careful with that pressure washer, you can do a lot of damage underneath a hood with one of them. Make sure you holding the wand far enough away and the pressure isn't on full blast.

I actually just cleaned my girl's motor in her Mustang last night with just a garden hose and some APC+ and Hyperdressing. I just made sure only to use a mist and not a stream. I need to grab a picture of it because it looks amazing !!

 

I agree with Thumper.

 

X3 w/Thumper.

Had a buddy do that to his GTO ('04)... and somehow Mr. "I know what I'm doing" ended up caving in a few gaskets, slicing some lines and forcing water into his engine...

I won't touch any of my vehicles with a PW. No way. The engine bay should never get dirty enough to warrant it's use in the first place.

 

normally i would just take it to the car wash, yes i agree that there are certian parts of the engine that you need to be carefull around, PW's the engine bay IMO , engine always running this way you can hear whats going on. I have been asked by a few car dealers to detail there cars that come in on trade. Most everyone will probably make there car look the best they can to try and get the most out of it. so this is most likely the worst i will get. at least I hope.

I think this is night and day, but i knew it was going to be, I think , and this is JMO alot of what NEEDS to be done is really in how well things were kept up with in the past, who worries about a engine bay on a 94 , I did this more for effect. and posted pics well just because...

I agree with thumper and the others that you should not just grab a high pressure spray and go to town. but there really isnt the dont use a PW on your car, thats a personal opionion , sometimes its warranted. i just never had one in the arsonal, now i do. Im sure i will use it on many occassions.

 

Power washer in the engine bay is a no no....did you happen to catch the "engine bay" thread just a day ago?

I also use the method outlined by Thumper here...it looks really familar...oh that's right its the one that most of the OCD'ers use here.

Works like a champ.


Dan, seeing more posts from you, out of school?

 

power Washing the engine bay is NOT a no no, I have been blowing the dust off at the car wash for several year now, yes some older cars/trucks had problems with distributors getting wet, alternators shorting etc. but those are things from the past ( somewhat )

Yes I will agree that if you take 2000PSI and point it 1 inch away form a COP or other electrical component your more then likely to run across a problem, but thats not to say that PW and engine bay is a NO NO.

the statment of Most OCDer here use, doesnt mean that if someone follows a different scheme etc there wrong. hell we all have a DISORDER we like things clean, well not even clean we have a way of doing things that is unique to our DISORDER

I probably have one of the cleanest cars and trucks on this site. I posted a thread " I love my pressure washer" and showed pics of the results it produced, which means i dont need to go to the car was anylonger

saying that using a PW on a engine bay is a NO NO is just you ( maybe some others) opinion, you cannot tell me that the engine bay off this 94 doesnt look clean using a PW.

 

I guess all the people posting about how they caused damage to their engines from pressure washing are just making it up. Search and read a few threads. RR pointed one out to you that is recent.

It can be done but it's not adviseable.

 

FWIW, when I was 16/17 and worked at a local dealer (Ford) we/they pressure washed EVERY single car we sold, new and used. Never had an immediate issue, or known issues reported.

On the flipside, I detailed my buddy's 89 Corolla and we got water inside his distributor and it caused all kinds of problems. So, lesson? I think they are fine if you have a newer vehicle, and avoid specific electrical and air filter areas...but proceed with caution.

 

I personally would not pressure wash my truck or engine bay, but just wanted to say that your clean up job on that Duster looks good!

 

I am very sorry to have insulted you. I guess I didn't realize who i was talking to before I posted.

Honestly I cannot point to a single truck or car that that has been affected by using a PW....however lot of people have "said" they had problems or knew a cousin who dated this girl who had a brother that owned a detail shop that said he screwed one up. That being said, I don't have a 94 duster, so I don't want to even take a chance.

Glad you got results, it does look clean. I'm pretty new here so I will hang up and listen.

 

To the OP:

You're right about having different ways to do things - thats cool.

But there's things you just shouldn't do anyway. You got good results - it looks GREAT, that's no lie. BUT, is it worth the risk that you may have ruined your daughter's ride? I'm pretty sure you didn't or you would have said something, but the possibility? Now imagine you did that to a customer. Not only did you ruin their ride, they want compensation....



I've personally seen somebody thrash electrical components in an engine bay using fairly low pressure from a good distance. I've personally seen same somebody tear through weak rubber using fairly low pressure from a good distance. And I've personally seen somebody hydrolock their motor using fairly low pressure from a good distance.