Foam benefits?

[imported_Detailing Technology]

I have been foaming my cars for almost 2 years now.



I am not sure I see the benefits on a dirty car.



Does anyone else feel this way?

[BigAl3]

some like using the foam gun as a pre-soak and while they`re washing. it eliminates one bucket and also helps loosen the dirt...

[jimmie jam]

some like using the foam gun as a pre-soak and while they`re washing. it eliminates one bucket and also helps loosen the dirt...



i agree. i have been foaming for about a year or so and think that the slight effort is worth it. i do it because it loosens the dirt on my DD. the garage queens don`t get the foam.

[wannafbody]

Foam looks cool but I`ve yet to see how bubbles reduce marring or add lubricity. Foaming only acts as a presoak and that is beneficial. Even a cheapo WM foam gun will do that.

[imported_Detailing Technology]

2 things I question with foaming a properly polished and waxed / sealed car.





1. Does pre-soaking actually weaken the wax/sealant as you are leaving soap on the paint for an extended period of time. (a weekly wash for example)





2. I still havent seen a car look better after just foaming. The debris I knock off with the power washer is all that is removed until I touch the sirface with a wash mitt. I am yet to see debris just "float away" with the effervesence of the bubbles.





I tried the foam gun / wash mitt rinse method, I just ended up shooting 15 cars worth of soap throught the mitt...

[Setec Astronomy]

I still havent seen a car look better after just foaming. The debris I knock off with the power washer is all that is removed until I touch the sirface with a wash mitt. I am yet to see debris just "float away" with the effervesence of the bubbles.



Maybe the foam gun is the poor man`s pressure washer. The only time that it really floats away anything is pollen. However, yesterday, I washed 3 cars that all had salt and gunk on them. I put my hose nozzle on "flat spray" and tried to "pressure wash" off as much as I could, which got some gross salt off, but still left the road film. Then I foamed...a lot...I thought the mitts really came up cleaner than in past years with this kind of mid-winter wash. Not sure if this has to do with my close hose rinsing, the extra foaming, or the cars not actually being as dirty as some years.

[imported_Detailing Technology]

Same points experienced here yesterday. I don`t know what to attribute it to.



I did notice that the salt I couldnt blast off with the power washer remained after foaming, then saoking for about 5 minutes.



I used the boars hair to wash. I should use it more often.

[Setec Astronomy]

I used a lot more foam than usual yesterday...partly because my guns were gummed up from not using them for 3 months and kept sticking open!

[reparebrise]

Not to mention that foaming does nasty things ot the environment(unless you have a reclaim mat).

[David Fermani]

If you have a pressure washer, foaming your vehicle serves no benefit based on my wash regiment. Any cleaner that you put on your vehicle that actually cleans it without abrasion, will ultimately strip your protection.

[Accumulator]

I often feel a little :o about repeating myself over and over, and/but I`ve posted a zillion times about how the prewash/presoak aspect of foaming is, *for me* secondary to the constant lubrication/flushing that the foamgun can provide if used "correctly" during the regular part of the wash ("correctly" meaning the way I use it, not that *that* is the only way to go).



The idea is "Dislodge and flush".



On a *really* dirty car, the foamgun is the only way I can wash marring-free (in the absence of a pressure washer). I let the dog-haulers (and sometimes even the Audis) get *filthy* between washes, especially in the winter, but wash-induced marring is pretty much a non-issue thanks to the foamgun (and, of course, the right technique ;) ).



But that technique is critical and it only takes a momentary faux pas to instill marring. The foamgun is not, *IMO*, a means towards no-touch washing; it still requires mechanical agitation via BHBs/mitts/etc.




Not to mention that foaming does nasty things ot the environment(unless you have a reclaim mat).



Noting that I have the same EPA-sanctioned, commercial-code-grade drain setup in my home shop that I had at the dealership, even for regular folks who just flush it right into their sanitary line I don`t see how foaming would be any worse than a regular wash method. And aren`t most carwash shampoos pretty innocuous anyhow?

[steelwind101]

Hello!



I can relate, having grown up with the foam idea from when it started i understand your mixed feelings.



I think first off, the real "foamers" and the great foam idea i believe stem heavily from the UK. We have dedicated foaming products NOT car shampoo, that dwell and create a foam which soften dirts.



Way back when it started, i too had a Gilmour foam gun and some car soap, nothing more the frothy mix would come out and do little to really improve cleaning. Similar results as what you explain.



Not to mention bad techniques for foaming like you see on here, wetting the surface first or applying your APC wash first is a no-no. The foam wont hold long enough (cling) and have enough effect to gentle soften things.



A far cry from the Karcher with a foam lance and deciated snow foam product.



All in all i think if you have the right products and your car is dirty its a good trick and really good. Many people in the Uk have almost worked out touchless style winter clean ups.



Im not a foam lover in the summer where my well maintained cars are not very dirty. A quick blast of shaving foam thick Bilt Hamber snow foam in the winter is a much welcome helping hand that gets the car very clean!



Geoff

[imported_Detailing Technology]

Steelwind - You are saying that you foam a dry car so the foam has something to stick to to aid in dwelling?

[eyezack87]

I didn`t really find a benefit with the foam gun at all if the surface was wet. I did notice that the foam dwelled less than if I shot it while it was dry though. It worked alright against bug guts and dirt but it never got rid of it more than 50% of it IME.



As for a foam cannon/lance, that bumped it up to at least 80-90% IME. Dry or wet, dwell times were quite similar and more bugs/dirt were loosened which lowered scratching my paint even more. It did an amazing job against my garage queen that was not washed for 2 weeks. After careful inspection after foaming and rinsing it off, everything was gone! I deemed it safe enough to dry immediately pretty much.



There are benefits to the foam cannon/lance IME but the foam gun is just for show IMO. Coupled with the fact that its so much fun, I`ll be using my foam cannon/lance constantly :2thumbs:

[imported_Detailing Technology]

What lance for the psi washer can I buy in the US?