Pressure Washer damage - be careful!

[ss134]

Originally Posted by 325er

I have no interest in lecturing anyone. I simply stated my surprise that anyone would apply a minimum of 1500psi of concentrated water pressure mere inches from the paint finish of an expensive new vehicle. Also because you have engaged in this practice for years doesn't make it right. Your clear coat was likely damaged on your previous vehicles however was not readily apparent hence the term "clear". If accolades are what you want then thank you. Thank you for notifying the forum how not to be so stupid. Try not to be so defensive next time it's unbecoming.

You've just done it again. The pressure washer at this garage is designed for cleaning cars, it's in a car wash- they're at most car washes here in Europe hundreds of cars use them every day. If you've got nothing to say then don't post. I'm not after accolades, just wanted to post up to warn others.

Hope you're enjoying your car, I'm just going to take my stupidity out for a ride in my new M3.

[04RC51]

Originally Posted by ss134

You've just done it again. The pressure washer at this garage is designed for cleaning cars, it's in a car wash- they're at most car washes here in Europe hundreds of cars use them every day. If you've got nothing to say then don't post. I'm not after accolades, just wanted to post up to warn others.

Hope you're enjoying your car, I'm just going to take my stupidity out for a ride in my new M3.

You aren't driving the average car with no finish that just needs a quick, cheap wash? Well now you are, but you were driving a new high perf machine with brand new paint and a gorgeous finish that recently passed several quality control checks at BMW. You can't compare your car and yourself to the shitboxes that roll through those pressure wash bays everyday. I'm sorry. You just can't? I'm not piling on, but you may have likely compromised your paint protection so maybe you should apply a fresh coat of wax to replace what you stripped.

And stop selling yourself short! You aren't those other people, you're an M owner. Act like it!

In the end, BFD! You pressure washed your car and we are all acting like you murdered a litter of kittens. The joys of the Interweb.

[ss134]

Internet forums never fail to amaze me. It's a bit of paint on a car.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

I've pressure washed a lot of cars and at close range and never had that happen. Further, IMO, that's not normal or right - car paint should be able to easily handle that

Exactly.

I bet $1.00 plus tax that that bumper was resprayed before -most probably a spot fix at the factory- and the spot fix did not properly stick.

Any time a pressure washer does that to any paint it is due to improper spot fixes.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Technic

Exactly.

I bet $1.00 plus tax that that bumper was resprayed before -most probably a spot fix at the factory- and the spot fix did not properly stick.

Any time a pressure washer does that to any paint it is due to improper spot fixes.

Bingo - this is not normal. My guess is if, at delivery, you'd gone over every inch of the car with a handheld fluorescent light you'd have spotted the flaw. Usually only detail nuts do something that though.

My e93 was keyed and had an entire panel resprayed - they did a great job but I can still see it if I look for it.

[ZGM3]

OP, sorry that you went thru this and thanks for the heads up..

Something is not right here. Can someone please show me similar damage from a high pressure car wash on other vehicles (not from gas powered, super high pressure washers meant for heavy duty cleaning and stripping of materials).
I have used self service high pressure car washer over the years on numerous cars (BMW's, Audi, Porsche, Range Rover, Mercedes, Etc.) with nothing like this happening, while the paint looked great for years.

Maybe the factory didn't include the "Truecoat"!!!

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by ZGM3

Can someone please show me similar damage from a high pressure car wash on other vehicles (not from gas powered, super high pressure washers meant for heavy duty cleaning and stripping of materials)

No, nobody can show you that.

Cars on the highway are essentially sand blasted, take hail damage, and even get hit by tornadoes and hurricanes and don't loose a chunk of paint.

Can you imagine how many law suits there'd be if pressure washers at car washes stripped paint off of cars? Lawyers would be

[pkimM3r]

Originally Posted by Lups

Come on Slow, you are talking to a slow. And get that 6 out of your sig!

I like skids though! and 8 cylinders.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by SlowSaloonM3

I like skids though! and 8 cylinders.

Hahaa, even I can't argue against that.

[moorfan]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Bingo - this is not normal. My guess is if, at delivery, you'd gone over every inch of the car with a handheld fluorescent light you'd have spotted the flaw. Usually only detail nuts do something that though.

My e93 was keyed and had an entire panel resprayed - they did a great job but I can still see it if I look for it.

THIS

This thread is f'ing ridiculous. As a detailing fanatic and having owned 6 prior BMWs I can tell you that there is not a damn thing wrong with using a pressure washer on a modern car that has an intact clear coat. Pressure washers will NOT damage modern ceramiclear paint.
Whoever said BMW paint is soft never actually tried to polish one. BMW paint with the exception of Jet Black is fairly hard, so much so that I don't call it "scratch-resistant". Instead, it is "correction-resistant". Porsche paint is soft. Ferrari paint is soft.

When I took delivery of my F80 there were numerous paint flaws...more than I have had in my other BMW products, but less than in the average Honda (or Ferrari for that matter). I have washed all of my vehicles with a pressure washer every week for 10 years and never had this happen. Period.

I also vote for there having been a small rent or crack in the paint from road hazard that led to this damage. On white it is hard to see (I have AW also).

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by moorfan

THIS

This thread is f'ing ridiculous. ... Instead, it is "correction-resistant" ... I also vote for there having been a small rent or crack in the paint from road hazard that led to this damage

"correction-resistant" is a fantastic description! ... man I've spent a lot of garage hours trying to get rid of spider-webs!!

Good point about the road damage - could've even been a full chunk that looked like a bug from a distance.

Now that I think about it i remember my S4 took a massive rock hit on the freeway from a truck that gouged the hood and chipped & cracked the windshield (fecker was so big I ducked as I thought it was coming through the windshield!)

It was repaired with no problem and washes with the pressure washer after weren't an issue.

[Steveo]

I think you have been very lucky for the last 10 years.

I use my PW at least 6 inches away initially then use a sponge or soft car cleaning brush to get at grime/bug areas.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Steveo

I think you have been very lucky for the last 10 years.

I use my PW at least 6 inches away initially then use a sponge or soft car cleaning brush to get at grime/bug areas.

Yeah, but everything's beefier in Scotland ... these are US pressure washers.

[pr0gi]

same happened to me as well. I got some small scratches from rocks and I guess the pressure washers and the bad quality of chemicals that they use just peeled of some of the paint. No problem with the hood however, just the front bumper, I believe the paint doesnt work so well on the plastic bumpers.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by ss134

For background - I've owned 5 new BMWs and the F80 is my third M car. I've washed them all at a garage a few miles from my house. I use the pressure washer to remove the worst of the grime and then wash the car.

Today I took my F80 in for a wash. Over the last week I've been on the autobahn at high speed and I had hundreds of flies and bugs on the front bumper and mirrors baked on by the sun.

Anyway I pressure washed the car as usual, I had the washer a few inches from the body to remove the flies ( as I've done with all my previous cars) . Everything was fine until I began spraying the front lower splitters. As soon as the washer jet hit this area the paint just flayed off instantly .Obviously this area is plastic which is why I'm guessing it reacted differently to the washer than the rest of the car.

Taking the car in tomorrow to be sorted. My garage told me that if I had MW they would have to spray the whole bumper and even then it would be difficult to match . Thank god it's AW, $ 130.

Just wanted to warn anyone else that uses pressure washers to be extra careful with the lower front bumper area.

That sucks! Before you take the next long road trip you might want to use something like this:
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks

[tonymac1]

i've also had a few scratches on the lower splitter, there's even an area that seems like paint is peeling off, any idea how to deal with this? Do i have to repaint the whole front bumper?

[ddas]

It's good practice to use a proper apc to breakdown bug marks rather than using the pressure from a pressure washer to remove them.

[gthal]

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

That sucks! Before you take the next long road trip you might want to use something like this:
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks

Looks like a neat product. I'll have to try some.

[mcvaughan]

Just picked up a Ryobi from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-170...4122/203800590.

Any recommendations on the max PSI to use? I know to use it at a distance.

[vfrooom]

Originally Posted by Technic

Exactly.

I bet $1.00 plus tax that that bumper was resprayed before -most probably a spot fix at the factory- and the spot fix did not properly stick.

Any time a pressure washer does that to any paint it is due to improper spot fixes.

I 100% agree with this.

I had the EXACT same problem on my 2014 435i... Got a very small rock chip like 2 months after I bought it, hit it from a ways away with the power washer, and blam - all the paint bubbled up. I took it in to the dealership to complain about it, and they said that the bumper had been repainted (which I did NOT have done - I bought it new). They basically told me to piss off, and since it had been repainted, BMW wouldn't do anything about it. So I went to a different dealer, and they said the same thing - it had been re-painted, and whoever did it, did a horrible job. I bought the car "new", but it had about 150 miles on it, and was considered a demo car. I'm curious if somebody screwed up the front lip, and the original dealer had it repainted before I bought it. Anyway - long story short, the 2nd dealer had it repaired under a "customer good faith" warranty repair. I dialed back the pressure when I got my M4, just in case.

[te37]

You could have had chipped paint there then when the pressure washer hit the area the water went under neath like a razor blade and peeled it away

[Ian1973]

Probably already said, but I'm sure there was a chip there already and the pressure just made it worse, no way that would happen on a pristine panel, plastic or metal.