Printable View
I`ve never wanted the hassle of a pressure sprayer but I have been intrigued by the snow foam. I purchased a foamer that`s used with a garden hose, it never worked very well. I have now purchased an IK 9 pump foamer. My question is, do people spray the foam on, then rinse, then do a 2 bucket wash? Or do people put the foam on, let it sit, then use a mitt to wash and get the foam off?
I rinse off the foam, starting at the bottom, then do the bucket wash.Quote:
Originally Posted by jw3571
Ben - Melbourne/Australia
Now: ‘19 VW Golf R, ‘15 Polo GTI
Before: ‘06 RenaultSport Megane 225 Cup, ‘14 VW Polo GTI, ‘12 VW Golf GTI, ‘06 VW Golf GTI, ‘05 VW Golf Sportline, ‘01 Holden Astra SRi, ‘00 Nissan Pulsar SSS, ‘99 Holden Astra CD, ‘98 Nissan Pulsar SLX, ‘91 Nissan Pulsar GL with Q engine swap, ‘80 Subaru Leone
for me the last wash I did I started with foaming with 3D surface prep and my IK9 foamer and let dwell a few minutes the PW off I then foamed with fast foam with my foam canon and did the bucket wash and did a final rinse after.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...97zwqFM-X2.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...P4Xs54M-X2.jpghttps://www.autopia.org/forums/attac...id=36936&stc=1https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-Zc2h2dm-L.jpghttps://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-b49L7PB-L.jpghttps://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...w6qvSS4-X2.jpghttps://www.autopia.org/forums/attac...id=36937&stc=1
I like to foam cannon with griots surface wash (just bough BH auto foam stuffs good). let dwell 4-4 min then rinse and then I use one bucket with 7-8 MF mitts. Once done using it doesn’t see paint again till washed. I use to foam again and then wash but I feel soap sits too long.
I then tried foaming one side washing then switching tip to rinse but took too long. So back to foaming and then the 1 bucket.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Pressure Rinse
Foam and let sit for recommended time
Pressure Rinse
Bucket Wash
I would say that without a PW and foaming on a prewash foam even how good it is. It`s hard to get effective cleaning ability when you rinse off the prewash foam. Maybe in your case I would try to knock off as much dirt as possible with the hose. Then dilute your car soap in the iK9 and foam on a section you are able to be washing before it dries. This way you get the advantage of a high suds car soap that aid the lubrication from it I think. If you use something like Meguiars Hyper Wash D110 that`s high concentrated and gets economical. It can be worth to foam it on as a prewash foam and rinsing it off thoroughly. Then use it in the wash and foam it on and just have a rinse bucket or multible wash mitts. Or have a wash bucket with D110 too.
Remember that the car soaps can be very much stronger when you dilute them stronger than the recommended dilution. Think accumulator use 3D Pink car soap and Griots Garage Car Soap in strong dilution without any harm on the LSP. So if you need to be dilute the D110 stronger than the recommended dilution of 1:400 to get the desired foam thickness in the iK9. Look at if it`s degrade your LSP faster than usually. Carpro Reset car soap is such of a soap that gets very strong if dilution is stronger than the recommended one of 1:500 especially on the wax or sealants. Coatings you can do it when you decon wash with Reset once and a while. Also some car soaps can be harder to rinse it off cleanly and leaves surfactans behind that after some washes can be clogging your LSP. Generally car soaps even in foamcannons or foam guns should be the recommended dilution when it gets on the paint. The same is with prewash foams that you don`t dilute them stronger than the recommended one. That`s also how I go with on how I judge how good a prewash foam or car soaps is are to use them foamed on in the recommended dilution on the bottle.
And to ad I do recommend you to use a PW when washing your cars. It`s something that I always does. The risk of wash indused swirls and scratches gets very minimal with a thorough prerinse with a PW and a little more with a great prewash foam. Especially when you flooding out the seals and the edges with the higher water pressure from the PW. This is where you often have the dirt that can be picked up by the wash media and swirl and scratches your paint. I go a step longer and don`t go on to the paint again after the wash media been on the glass. As there is the highest risk of wash indused swirls and scratches that you could pick up dirt from. And also the lowest parts of a vehical there I use dedicated wash mitts and they don`t get higher up and it`s around the whole car. Maybe excessive but gets easy to do when you use multible wash mitts and mf wash pads and when you are done with a section it`s done and a fresh clean wash mitt or pad is used on the next section. When I start on the roof I then finish with the windshield and a fresh one and one the side of the cars paint and trim and finishing with the side windows and the same on the back of the car. But leaves about 2 wipes high that I use the dedicated wash mitts on the lower parts of the car. The hood and work my way to the front bumper and does also the lower parts of it with this mitt last before it`s done. This way I use 5 wash mitts and mf wash pads on the bigger sections of the car and 2-3 extra on the lower side panels and the back of the car. And this has worked really great for me with very little wash and drying indused swirls and scratches during last 2 1/2 years when it where last polished. A fine polish on a Rupes Yellow Foam Pad took care of those defects which I think is very good. Have some old defects on the paint that needed some more and some small sections where things just happens on a DD that needed some extra attention. But I was surprised that my maintance had not doing more defects on the paint on my Kia cee`d SW with a silver metallic paint that`s on the softer side of hardness of the clearcoat also. So as Mike Phillips says when you have polished the paint it`s how you touch your paint from that on how it looks in the longrun.
/ Tony
Same here...when I do a foam pre-soak.Quote:
Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1
A lot of the snow foam makers don’t recommend rinsing 1st as it waters down product and lessens dwell time..... don’t know if it’s a thing but I go straight foam to dirt
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I can be doing both but mostly it`s foam on the dry dirt. But when I have been doing some testing it`s not hardly any difference between when prerinsed before the foaming. Guess the prerinse takes of the large amount of dirt so the prewash foam has less to desolve. So the little extra dilution don`t do that much of a difference IME. The difference is when I do apply it on a dry dirty paint the foam clings better and gets it to run off in a pace I like. Especially on the thicker foams like the Sonax Extreme Rich Foam Schampoo I have. If I get a little much foam on some places when prerinsed first it slides off so fast and it dries on the paint faster too when I do this. So for me personally it`s about which foam I have chosed and what kind of dirt I want to remove. Also if the car is wet before I start to wash. I pre-rinse and gets less water standing on the paint and it dilute the foam less that way. Mostly it`s foam on the dry dirt. When I want to test and see how my LSP is then I usually prerinse before foam. Many differences when and why but usually not any difference in the results LOL. And you save a step when you don`t prerinse.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coatings=crack
Man I need to be washing the Ford Focus I maintain LOL. The road salt build up has started to look as waves on the paint. Nasty stuff this year when don`t have any snow here in southern of Sweden. But it`s not any time to maintain the cars now during the holidays. Maybe I`m able to be washing them before the year ends LOL.
Similar process. I will re-foam smaller sections and do the multi-mitt wash, as I use CarPro Reset for the contact wash and the layer of foam makes it easy to see where you`ve been.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coatings=crack
I`m only pre-foaming/dwelling when the car is utterly filthy with salt/sand/ rain/traffic film/dirt. And when I do, it`s sorta limited to maybe a handful and then some, only during the winter months primarily.
I don`t find it add`s anything use-fulness to my wash routine for most of the normal washes. I actually find the foam when washing a bit annoying as sometimes it`s too -fluid- if that makes sense...
The whole idea for me was that you washed off as much dirt as possible before you put a mit on the surface. To that end I used to spray foam on and then blast off. I never got the results I was seeking. Unless you use a very strong soap, you aren`t getting much off, certainly not budging the film buildup. So I quit foaming. I also quit 2 bucket. I get no swirls from washing, just more time.
That`s quite the comment Dan on the 2BM. I`ve been running doubles or quads (depending on you look at it) since the cyclone came out. Cyclones on the bottom, GG on the top. And there is residue that is entrapped on the bottom of mine, and that`s with HP pre-rinse about 75% of the time
I`m always surprised that people need to do the foaming step. By the time I finish rinsing with the Pressure Washer I`m ready to switch to start touch-washing with the foamgun/BHB step. Admittedly, the BHB (used *PROPERLY*) is much safer than mitts (which I use for the next step of the wash). I always wonder whether people`s LSPs are shedding dirt as well as mine...
Good memory! Yeah, I use 3.5oz each of GG and 3D with enough water to make a gallon, and run that concentrate through the foamguns (which does dilute it). I use the same concentrate (undiluted) on wheels/wells/undercarriage, and it`s still *VERY* mild, not even stripping SprayWaxes/etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by SWETM
I`m using both the GG/washboards and Cyclones too, even though my buckets basically stay dirt-free. Since I don`t refresh my Wash Buckets for ages, it`s probably a good idea for those as well as the Rinse Buckets, but I suspect it`s probably just peace-of-mind more than anything functional. But hey, that`s worth something too.Quote:
Originally Posted by mobiledynamics
This is "correct" way in my opinion. However I`ll only do the initial rinse if there`s "chunks" of dirt on the car. I`ll also only foam/spray a dedicated prewash product; I never found bucket shampoos effective. I still think a simple pressure rinse is the most important step and gets you 90% of the way there on a vehicle with a decent LSP.Quote:
Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1
A great prewash foam and can be used great with only sprayed on is Angelwax Cleanliness. It`s a citrus based and is great on desolving the road film and other dirt that you have on the paint. Have not used the Angelwax Fast Foam but have heard good things about it.
Is Angelwax Fast Foam a new-ish product? I haven`t even heard about it until now.
Not new, as far as I know. Brian of Apex Detail does a nice review of itQuote:
Originally Posted by Meeron
I gave it a try, not overly impressed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meeron
In what aspect(s) was it lacking....foaming, cleaning power? Did you use it as a presoak?Quote:
Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1
I`m not a fan of the 2 bucket method.
Foam w/ IK9, IK12, or Cannon.
Rinse
1 bucket wash w/ several wash pads, never using the same one twice.
Rinse
Dry
I forgot to say a good first rinse is a must for me.
I was using it about at their 1:9 ratio in my PF22 cannon, just didnt get a `Wow, that worked well` feeling from it, was just `ok`.Quote:
Originally Posted by briarpatch
I`m never really washing dirty cars so cleaning power hard to judge. I kinda like a thinner foam as opposed to a shaving cream type of deal, a wetter foam that is only thick enough to cling for recommended time. It just didn`t work notably well in that particular kind of situation.
It`s got good reviews from what I`ve seen but just didn`t work particularly well in my world.
For most washes I pressure rinse to get most everything off which to the point that foam won`t help remove any easier. So I use the PF22 to foam the car up then do a multiple mitt wash with one bucket with a weak Reset dilution.
If the car is filthy I might pre foam and rinse, even with a strong soap like Reset I don`t see it removing anything more than the 40 degree pressure nozzle gets.
Yeah, I know it amounts to autopian heresy but I just don`t see any impacts for the duration that I own my cars. I`ve gone 3 plus years in normal daily driver use. Claying and life related abrasions are the primary need for me to follow with a Polish.Quote:
Originally Posted by mobiledynamics
For me, i try to get as much dirt off before contact wash. So PW rinse 1st, then pre wash foam, 2nd PW rinse after few mins, 2nd iteration of pre wash (i normally use 1000 ml bottle, so 500ml for 1st pre wash and the 2nd 500 ml 2nd pre wash). I use the 2nd iteration to add extra lubricity for my one bucket 7+ mitt wash method. Foam it and start the mitt wash process straight away.
Cheers
Sent from my MI MAX using Tapatalk
I prefoam before PW’ing to hopefully soften up if anything is kinda stuck to the paint. Hopes of PW off and it not marring as it comes off. Figure the foam will encapsulate it as it tumbles off.
I also am fan of one bucket. Cyclone on the bottem and multiple wash medias. I use MF for top and chenille for bottom.
I have a dirtlock (several vendors sell it) in my waterless bucket although no used wash media goes back in their either. Better than cyclone or GG in my opinion
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a9c493d63f.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thank you...I`m kind of in the same boat...our vehicles never really get that dirty, so cleaning power has always been a tough category for me to judge.Quote:
Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1
Just want to show how it looked like when I washed the Focus a week or so ago.
Before picture and not any prerinse until the foam has dwelled enough. This is when I get the extreme dirty paint. But also the extreme effectiveness from the PW if you use it to clean with the water pressure from it. I have a Kärcher K7 electric PW with around 2300psi and 2.6gpm from it.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...113ef651e6.jpg
This needs to be helped to be desolved. So I don`t get as much of dirt with especially road film in the wash media. We have a product called with translate Sonax Extreme Intensive Degreaser. It`s both a tar remover and iron remover in one like the Carpro TRIX is.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...b065597961.jpg
Spray it on the dirty car and let it dwell. This is extremly tixotropic so you see very little of run off from this product. It can be on for a long time without drying on the paint cause of that. Here`s it`s applyied and also dwelled for almost 5min. Also applyied from the front wheels and back and from the bottom and up to the door handles.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0bdc93567b.jpg
Something that we usually does here in Sweden when we use a tar remover. Is that we either spray on an alkaline based degreaser right over this like with Bilt Hamber Surfex HD or an APC solution that`s easy rinsed off on the paint and don`t have any fabric softener or brighterner or other things some APC leaves behind sadly. So look for one that`s great to use on the exterior as well.
And of cause you can foam over the tar remover as well. A 50/50 mix of Bilt Hamber Surfex HD and the BH Auto-Foam in the foamcannon bottle and the chemical mix setting on the foamcannon so it gave me that little runnier foam these have.
On the picture the BH Foam has dwelled over 5 minutes. And it may be looking as it`s dryed on the paint. But nope it`s still wet paint but the foam is gone LOL. Then a pass back and forth with the PW just little closer than a foot away. The original nozzle tip on the K7 wand has between 15-20 degree angle. Armspeed is maybe 4" per second or something like that LOL. And to also notice that the LSP was done and the water standing on the paint after the washing still. The water pressure from the PW to clean with does the heavy lifting. And the extra with the Sonax Extreme Intensive Degreaser and BH mixed foam does give me that little extra cleaning ability from it that keeps the bonded contaminants in the longrun almost not haveing any even after over 2 years.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3e14bc3658.jpg
This is why I`m not personally don`t wash without a prewash and a PW. With a garden hose I don`t think that I would get it half as cleaned. But the contact wash would still be needed less aggitations if I didn`t do a prewash I think. If I remember it I will test with just rinse it off with a garden hose on one side and the PW on the other side.
Here is the other side with a domestic brand and a Cold Degreaser/ tar remover. And foamed with the BH foam mix.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...105f8cdc37.jpg
Skickat från min SM-T595 via Tapatalk
Eh, this might sound much more, uhm..critical/snarky/bad than I intend, but if things didn`t get quite clean with just the pre-wash pressure washer rinsing, I`d want a different LSP. The rinsing gets caked with Winter [crap] vehicles look "already clean" before I even start with what I think of as "the real wash".
SWETM- I`m actually a little surprised that the "extreme dirty paint" isn`t a *LOT* worse! I don`t think that looks all that dirty for Winter, ours get much worse. Although the dirt/etc. you`re dealing with sounds a lot harder to wash off, so your products are indeed working well.
Coatings=crack- I`ve never seen any indication that the dirt "tumbling off" will cause even the lightest micromarring. I don`t have stupid-soft paint or anything, but still...I just pressure washer rinse utterly crusty vehicles with zero problems at all. Yeah, I was a little surprised that I could get away with it, but I always have. Whenever I tried pre-treating before using the pressure washer, it seemed like a complete waste.
YMMV of course, just relating my experience.
The funny thing to me is how comfortable everyone seems to be with pressure washing these days. I remember being chastised for daring to use one a decade ago.
It wasn`t all *that* long ago that Mickelin released their TSB about never using one on wheels/tires lest you mess up the tire`s bead.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan
I was leery of them and *never* would`ve (nor would now) use on on some of the vehicles I used to have; too great a risk of damage. On the `93 Audi I have to be *VERY* careful even with my weak AR lest I blow something like a trim piece off the car. Fragile vehicles are, well...fragile. Even on the sturdier vehicles I don`t use it on things like the wipers.
I still don`t like rinsing shampoo off with it; I prefer water *volume* over water pressure for that.
YupQuote:
Originally Posted by Accumulator
The LSPs of some I use works pretty well in the self cleaning ability from them. But with winter dirt it`s not that much of a difference. You can see slightly differences between them. And it`s also much about how the vehicals is with accumulate dirt build up as that`s a difference between them too. Like mostly in Sweden on new vehicals if you go back around 20 years. They had mud flaps or how to describe it. The bigger wheels gets vehicals higher up from the ground but also sling up more dirt. Station wagons and hatchback is the most popular modells here. And those with a flat/vertical kind of back of the vehical that don`t have any roof wings that`s effective to get the air stream down on the back of these vehicals. Can get real messy fast. Then how it`s driven and stored comes also in the play.Quote:
Originally Posted by Accumulator
Even if the LSP was failed on it. It some how gets less dirty. So even if it don`t beads any so maybe there where some sheeting properties from it until the wash. It`s somewhere in the middle of the dirt amount generally speaking this winter season. It`s just above the freezing point and sometimes just under it during the nights. Therehas been raining a lot though for being here. So the most of the road salt and road film gets flushed off the roads I think. It`s when it`s just under the freezing point and some snow now or then that the road salt keeps the roads wet and they spread it out around 4-5 times a day. And then gets dry and under the freezing point it`s usually a great combo of it to get a lot of dirt build up on the vehicals. The biggest difference I think is that we have a law of having winter tires on here between december to april when it`s winter weather. So the winter tires stays on even when not needed to be on. And that it`s a least 50/50 with studded winter tires and winter tires. This wears hard on the roads the studded winter tires as you see it is on this Ford Focus.
Then it`s also much about if you are able to be washing your vehical or not. That can be much of a difference too and much about where you live and what options that you have to wash your vehical. So it`s so much difference in the environment you live in and anything else.
SWETM- Yeah, I always figure your situation over there is very different from what I experience here.
And yeah, my wagons/SUVs have always gotten *filthy* on the trailing surfaces too, literally can`t tell what color they are and gotta be so careful that nothing touches them lest they get marred. But it all washes right off, with 99% of it coming off with the initial (pressure washer) rinse even if I let them stay nasty for weeks (yeah, that`s Autopian Heresy :o but I`m not letting the Vehicle Tail wag Life`s Dog any more ;) ).