How powerful does a pressure washer have to be to harm our paint?

Royal Flush · 09-23-2011, 12:04 AM

I'm about to purchase items for a foam cannon setup and for rinse use. I was going to buy an electric Karcher pressure washer, but my friend has a gas powered Dewalt that's 3800 PSI/4.0 GPM he's willing to give to me. Is this too much power/pressure for our paint?

Envious Eric · 09-23-2011, 12:08 AM

GIVE you????? take it for free! just dial is down a bit!

1600 is enough for me!

Royal Flush · 09-23-2011, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Envious Eric

GIVE you????? take it for free! just dial is down a bit!

1600 is enough for me!

Ah, newbie assumption! I thought it would always be steady at 3800 PSI/4.0 GPM. Yup, give me! I was going to go with the 1600 PSI based on your recommendation and others on the forum that use the same one, but he just offered it to me when I brought up the foam cannon setup. What should I dial it down to to make sure the paint isn't harmed, 2500-3000?

Envious Eric · 09-23-2011, 12:53 AM

2000 or below I would say, but I just got one...lol, so I dont really know!

MuttGrunt · 09-23-2011, 01:07 AM

Hard to say at what PSI paint can be damaged... what distance? what flow rate? what angle?

The important thing is to practice common sense with this. A gas power unit will be awesome as they have even higher foaming abilities thanks to a higher flow and PSI rate. When using the wand itself, it'll be important to use a fan wide enough to not harm paint. Gas units are ready to tackle the toughest of jobs, which means cleaning cars, houses, windows, and concrete. They usually have different settings for different uses. Use the strongest setting and you're going to cause havoc.

Dackz · 09-23-2011, 01:12 AM

1600 will F your paint up and put some zig zags in your paint if you use a 0 degree tip. I used to work at a big box retailer that sold those pressure washers, my department specifically. Those things are AWESOME washers, but I wasnt sure that it dialed down on power??? I thought the only adjustable thing was the tip on those?

Just make sure to ALWAYS check your tip though. Im not speaking from experience, just relating what happened to others. Some guy took it to his car and had a nize Zorro Z on the side of it, it was a mid 90's Exploder (spelt correctly LOL) but boy was that funny. I just laughed, what you do with your product in your own hands is your own business.

If you can turn down the pressure and know that its lower, then you should be fine. My friends dad owns a car wash and his wash is set to 1600-1700psi fwiw.

09-23-2011, 12:04 AM	#1
Royal Flush Major 74 Rep 1,309 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Not everyone who wanders is lost. iTrader: (2)	How powerful does a pressure washer have to be to harm our paint? I'm about to purchase items for a foam cannon setup and for rinse use. I was going to buy an electric Karcher pressure washer, but my friend has a gas powered Dewalt that's 3800 PSI/4.0 GPM he's willing to give to me. Is this too much power/pressure for our paint?
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09-23-2011, 12:08 AM	#2
Envious Eric Banned 37 Rep 1,168 Posts Drives: nissan xterra, 335 soon Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: orange county, ca iTrader: (1)	GIVE you????? take it for free! just dial is down a bit! 1600 is enough for me!
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09-23-2011, 12:53 AM	#4
Envious Eric Banned 37 Rep 1,168 Posts Drives: nissan xterra, 335 soon Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: orange county, ca iTrader: (1)	2000 or below I would say, but I just got one...lol, so I dont really know!
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09-23-2011, 01:07 AM	#5
MuttGrunt Banned 27 Rep 872 Posts Drives: beater;) Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: SE Michigan iTrader: (0)	Hard to say at what PSI paint can be damaged... what distance? what flow rate? what angle? The important thing is to practice common sense with this. A gas power unit will be awesome as they have even higher foaming abilities thanks to a higher flow and PSI rate. When using the wand itself, it'll be important to use a fan wide enough to not harm paint. Gas units are ready to tackle the toughest of jobs, which means cleaning cars, houses, windows, and concrete. They usually have different settings for different uses. Use the strongest setting and you're going to cause havoc.
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09-23-2011, 01:12 AM	#6
Dackz Hates Speed Limits 111 Rep 2,589 Posts Drives: E92 335i Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Northern CO iTrader: (4)	1600 will F your paint up and put some zig zags in your paint if you use a 0 degree tip. I used to work at a big box retailer that sold those pressure washers, my department specifically. Those things are AWESOME washers, but I wasnt sure that it dialed down on power??? I thought the only adjustable thing was the tip on those? Just make sure to ALWAYS check your tip though. Im not speaking from experience, just relating what happened to others. Some guy took it to his car and had a nize Zorro Z on the side of it, it was a mid 90's Exploder (spelt correctly LOL) but boy was that funny. I just laughed, what you do with your product in your own hands is your own business. If you can turn down the pressure and know that its lower, then you should be fine. My friends dad owns a car wash and his wash is set to 1600-1700psi fwiw. __________________ E92 Space Gray 335i - COBB, BMW Performance Exhaust (stock tips), style 230 rims, LUX H8 AE's
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