Need help putting together a foam cannon setup please

[roupin]

Long time lurker, first time poster here. I have a Karcher 2.28 1550 psi that I`ve been using just as a simple wash alongside the bucket method, but am now interested in stepping up to a foam cannon.



- What cannon do you guys currently recommend? I know some foam better than others, so I`m primarily interested in personal feedback here as well.



- What attachments do I need to hook up the cannon to my Karcher? Many members had a hard time finding the proper quick connect attachments and that`s what had originally discouraged me. Any easier sources now or do I do the run around town still?



- Any drawbacks from coupling it with a spotless setup from this page? http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing-product-discussion/105566-%2Acheap%2A-replacement-crspotless.html



Thanks for any help :)

[Brad B]

I may be too old school, but I really don`t understand the buzz with foam cannons. I guess I am not a pressure washer/ leaf blower kind of detailer. I like the intimacy of a soapy wool mitt.



Sorry, don`t mean to flame. I really am interested in your thoughts in why you like foam guns. Is it speed? Better than mitt? What?



Thanks.

[imported_animes2k]

I have the simple hose version, which doesn`t foam as much. I like the idea of letting the soapy solution dwell and help to loosen and/or carry away possible marring sources and contaminants. I also find it easier to not have to slop all my soapy water out of my bucket(s) onto the car. Not sure if it`s necessarily a time saver, but I like it.

[imported_icall]

Wolfgang Foam Cannon HP, foam lance, car wash foamer, pressure washer foam gun (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-foam-cannon-hp.html)



Above is the link to the foam cannon I purchased. I loved it at first. It blew the neighbors away. It completely covered my car in rich foam and looked awesome.



The downside is I didn`t find the cleaning ability that good. I have a karcher 1800 psi with 1.5 gal/min flow. When ordering the product, you indicate what type of pressure washer you have and they send you the attachment with the foam lance.



I rarely use mine any longer. I have switched to using the pressure washer with hose water as a pre-wash. I then fill a 5 gal bucket with CR Spotless DI water and 3oz of ONR. I use a grout sponge soaked with ONR and then rinse with the pressure washer connected to the CR Spotless unit. When finished, I blow dry with a leaf blower.



I have found that method to leave my car cleaner, shinier and with no residue. The results in my opinion are substantially better than the foam lance. I have not found any new marring using this method. I just polished my car and have washed it about 4 times since and haven`t found any marring.



The foam cannon looked cool, but always left this light film on the car. I don`t believe it was from the foam lance, but just was merely the lack of cleaning ability of the foam. I experimented with different thickness in foam ranging from almost solid foam to liquidy foam to allow it to move across the car as it sat.



I found a simple pre-wash with a pressure washer sufficient to remove the larger debris and bugs that I wouldn`t want to remove using manual pressure. The ONR leaves a finish that in my opinion looks better than when I used the two bucket method and a sheepskin mitt except I have no marring from the ONR. I did have slight marring from the sheepskin mitt and two buckets.



Just as a background, my clear is extremely soft so you may not have the same issue. In the end, the setup above works as indicated providing tons of thick foam. I was able to obtain thick foam using regular hose water and either the sample soap they sent (DP Extreme), CG Wash and Clear (1oz mixed in the large bottle) and Meguiar`s Gold Class.



I hope this helps.

[roupin]

I may be too old school, but I really don`t understand the buzz with foam cannons. I guess I am not a pressure washer/ leaf blower kind of detailer. I like the intimacy of a soapy wool mitt.



Sorry, don`t mean to flame. I really am interested in your thoughts in why you like foam guns. Is it speed? Better than mitt? What?



Thanks.



Couple reasons: Just got a car back from the restorer and it always sits in the garage. Doesn`t get dirty enough to need the mitt, and I personally want to limit my contact with the paint as much as possible. So I`m curious to give the foam cannon and spotfree combination a shot. The second reason being I`m looking for a new toy. I`m running out of hobbies and this is a cheaper one that just might keep me interested for a bit.




Wolfgang Foam Cannon HP, foam lance, car wash foamer, pressure washer foam gun (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-foam-cannon-hp.html)



Above is the link to the foam cannon I purchased. I loved it at first. It blew the neighbors away. It completely covered my car in rich foam and looked awesome.



The downside is I didn`t find the cleaning ability that good. I have a karcher 1800 psi with 1.5 gal/min flow. When ordering the product, you indicate what type of pressure washer you have and they send you the attachment with the foam lance.



I rarely use mine any longer. I have switched to using the pressure washer with hose water as a pre-wash. I then fill a 5 gal bucket with CR Spotless DI water and 3oz of ONR. I use a grout sponge soaked with ONR and then rinse with the pressure washer connected to the CR Spotless unit. When finished, I blow dry with a leaf blower.



I have found that method to leave my car cleaner, shinier and with no residue. The results in my opinion are substantially better than the foam lance. I have not found any new marring using this method. I just polished my car and have washed it about 4 times since and haven`t found any marring.



The foam cannon looked cool, but always left this light film on the car. I don`t believe it was from the foam lance, but just was merely the lack of cleaning ability of the foam. I experimented with different thickness in foam ranging from almost solid foam to liquidy foam to allow it to move across the car as it sat.



I found a simple pre-wash with a pressure washer sufficient to remove the larger debris and bugs that I wouldn`t want to remove using manual pressure. The ONR leaves a finish that in my opinion looks better than when I used the two bucket method and a sheepskin mitt except I have no marring from the ONR. I did have slight marring from the sheepskin mitt and two buckets.



Just as a background, my clear is extremely soft so you may not have the same issue. In the end, the setup above works as indicated providing tons of thick foam. I was able to obtain thick foam using regular hose water and either the sample soap they sent (DP Extreme), CG Wash and Clear (1oz mixed in the large bottle) and Meguiar`s Gold Class.



I hope this helps.



Bingo! That`s exactly what I was looking for!! Thank you very much :)

[Brad B]

The second reason being I`m looking for a new toy.



LOL! Now THAT I understand!! :)