Time to try foaming?

D

Desertnate

Active member
After seeing yet another random detailing add in my Instagram feed which showed a vehicle being foamed, I`m starting to seriously consider it.

In the past my main reluctance to using a foam gun/cannon was the foam drying on my car. Since my current car is so small, I don`t think it is actually a problem, and with our SUV I think I can simply foam a section at a time rather than covering the entire vehicle.

I`ll likely go with a foam gun rather than a cannon due to the hassle of dragging out my pressure washer for simple maintenance washes. I rarely use a pressure washer on our cars anymore. Griots has a foam gun for around $40 and a identical looking one can be found at Harbor Freight for $20. That`s pretty low risk to try one out.

So.... This leads to a few questions.

- How well do the foam guns work in less-than-ideal water pressures? It`s not the greatest at my house.

- After looking at the Griots tool and watching their video, it seems like any soap can be used (i.e. the Hyperwash I have on hand), but would I be better off using a soap designed for a foamer.

- Any recommendations for a foaming soap? I`d like to start with something that comes in something less than a gallon jug in case it doesn`t work out well for me. Keep in mind all of my vehicles are coated.

- How well does a foam gun work on a car with a highly hydrophobic coating? My car has Geyon Pure Evo at the moment and water seems to bounce right off. I read an account from a fellow FT86 owner who tried foaming his car which was wearing a fairly hydrophobic ceramic spray sealant and he commented on the fact the foam sheeted right off the car and was essentially worthless. So many variables it`s hard to say if I`d find the same problem, but it did get me wondering. I`ve not heard that mentioned anywhere before, but I could see it being a problem.

So, what say you? Is a foam gun the answer to simplifying my wash routine? For at least my car I could see it shortening my maintenance wash time by a fair margin.
 
I think you`ll be fine with your fairly low water pressure, pretty much any shampoo should work, some will be better than others, obviously, and the foam sheeting right off the car is fine as long as it takes some dirt with it.

Will it simplify your wash routine? I`ve been using a foam gun since shortly after joining this forum, so over 15 years. I`ve been doing almost exclusively rinseless the past few years (except for wheels)...that would be my advice for simplifying your wash routine. Proceed with rebuttal.
 
I simply cannot wash without a foam gun. I use an abbreviated version of Accumulator’s wash technique so there’s no worries about the soap drying on the car

I’ve never used a soap marketed as foaming. I simply use 3D Pink or something similar I do plan on trying HyperWash next. Bear in mind my water pressure is optimal so no issues with foam being formed


I can only foam a mid sized car with the Harbor Freight/ Griot’s foam gun once before having to refill it. Because of this, I stopped using it. There’s no way you can use Accumulator’s method with it
It just requires too much refilling

I stick to my Autogeek/ Gilmour foam gun. I’ve gone through about three of them over the years but they are very well worth it to me.

Now, wash with multiple mitts while foaming and you’re all set!
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Will it simplify your wash routine? I`ve been using a foam gun since shortly after joining this forum, so over 15 years. I`ve been doing almost exclusively rinseless the past few years (except for wheels)...that would be my advice for simplifying your wash routine. Proceed with rebuttal.
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Thanks. I`ve thought about rinseless, but didn`t want to deal with/buy a mountain of MF towels to do the Garry Dean method, and was never sure a grout sponge (or similar) was ever safe enough.

PA DETAILER said:
I like and use mt foam gun often. Get the one sold here. Any soap will do fine. Some are made just for foam guns. If you get a chance, get a jug of the TWHS Slick & suds wash. OUTSTANDING soap!

Hybrid Solutions PRO Slick-N-Slide Pure Wash - 64 oz.

Autopia Quart Foamaster Foam Gun
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Bill D said:
I simply cannot wash without a foam gun. I use an abbreviated version of Accumulator’s wash technique so there’s no worries about the soap drying on the car

I’ve never used a soap marketed as foaming. I simply use 3D Pink or something similar I do plan on trying HyperWash next. Bear in mind my water pressure is optimal so no issues with foam being formed


I can only foam a mid sized car with the Harbor Freight/ Griot’s foam gun once before having to refill it. Because of this, I stopped using it. There’s no way you can use Accumulator’s method with it
It just requires too much refilling

I stick to my Autogeek/ Gilmour foam gun. I’ve gone through about three of them over the years but they are very well worth it to me.

Now, wash with multiple mitts while foaming and you’re all set!
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This is very helpful. I was wondering what I`d get by shelling extra money for the PBMS foam guns besides some better metal fittings. Sounds like the larger reservoirs are needed for a bigger vehicles.

I`ll have to look up Accumulator`s method.

The Guz said:
You won`t get the shaving cream like foam out of a foam gun if that is what you are after.
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Nope. After watching the Griots video and reading a fairly informative blog post from Adam`s I saw how the really thick, clingy foam is only possible with a foam cannon.

I would just like something that would sit on the surface long enough to loosen up any grime and give me the ability to quickly go over all the surfaces with a mitt.
 
Desertnate said:
Thanks. I`ve thought about rinseless, but didn`t want to deal with/buy a mountain of MF towels to do the Garry Dean method, and was never sure a grout sponge (or similar) was ever safe enough.
Click to expand...

I don`t do the "Garry Dean" method, I just can`t get myself to like it (although I keep trying...and I like to refer to it as the "Bill D Method"; as far as I`m concerned he was the first to utilize the "multiple media" method, even if it was for conventional wash).

I use a 2BM for rinseless, with a wash bucket and a rinse bucket with grit guard. I put a little rinseless product in the rinse bucket so as not to dilute the wash bucket so much. I like the microfiber pads for media, my favorite being the old Meg`s QD sponge, which is kind of like "The Bone" but with a less stout sponge; after a number of machine washings they get all floppy without much sponge. I`ve been trying to like the TRC etc microfiber pads that are like the Microfiber Madness Incredipad or Incredisponge, but I`m still working on liking them.

One of these years I`m going to try out the Harbor Freight airless paint sprayer I bought after that Scott guy from Texas did a YouTube about it, for pre-rinse. And some day I`m going to develop a rinseless method that I like for wheels. I`m sure none of this is helping you.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I don`t do the "Garry Dean" method, I just can`t get myself to like it (although I keep trying...and I like to refer to it as the "Bill D Method"; as far as I`m concerned he was the first to utilize the "multiple media" method, even if it was for conventional wash).

I use a 2BM for rinseless, with a wash bucket and a rinse bucket with grit guard. I put a little rinseless product in the rinse bucket so as not to dilute the wash bucket so much. I like the microfiber pads for media, my favorite being the old Meg`s QD sponge, which is kind of like "The Bone" but with a less stout sponge; after a number of machine washings they get all floppy without much sponge. I`ve been trying to like the TRC etc microfiber pads that are like the Microfiber Madness Incredipad or Incredisponge, but I`m still working on liking them.

One of these years I`m going to try out the Harbor Freight airless paint sprayer I bought after that Scott guy from Texas did a YouTube about it, for pre-rinse. And some day I`m going to develop a rinseless method that I like for wheels. I`m sure none of this is helping you.
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Not on topic...but very helpful.

In the depths of winter I`ve always wanted a good rinseless technique. I tried waterless a few times and even after pressure washing off the heavy grime I got some light marring. I think rinseless is the sweet spot. I can power wash off the car at the coin-op and then do a rinseless in my garage.

I could probably do a rinseless wash year round, but my wife`s car gets pretty dirty due to heavy usage and need to do bucket washes/foam gun (?) when able.
 
I only foam on the winter washes - just for the placebo affect of doing a pre-soak with my $$$ European order presoak foam I`m trying to use up...
Winter washes as the cars are only filthy around that time of the year. Other than that, it get`s its weekly wash pretty regularly....

Something new for me. I did order 3 pressure sprayers (handheld). Been using waterless/rinseless on my PPF vehicle, after trying it 2 decades ago and it was not for me. PPF with waterless is a bit more forgiving .....

Also one of the handhelds, I`ve started trying 8:1 wheel/tire cleaner foam in wheels just to be KEWEL like all those instagram guys....
Growing old. Just trying to hang out with the kool kids I suppose.
 
Like Bill D, I`d *never* wash without a foamgun. But IMO the results that so many people seem to expect just aren`t in the cards. I`ve played around with every conceivable foamgun technique, and 99% of them are not, IME, any good.

It doesn`t really make anything go quicker for me, it just provides constant flushing and lubrication (which, *FOR ME*, *the way I use it*, minimizes wash-induced marring).

(No, sorry, I`ve never rewritten my Wash Technique into something that`s a succinct and worthwhile how-to :o )

To speed things up, I`d recommend a pressure washer for the initial pre-wash rinsing (gets the big stuff off), followed by a high-pressure (touchless) wash using a Rinseless Wash sprayed with either a Tornador (for very small areas, like spot-cleaning one panel on an otherwise clean vehicle) or the Cleaning Gun sold by Lonn (maker of the best bend-to-flow hose nozzles). Note that both of those require a rather potent air compressor. If any rinsing is required, I`d sure use either distilled water (through the Tornador) or deionized to minimize spotting (no, merely "softened" water isn`t good enough IME).
 
Accumulator said:
Like Bill D, I`d *never* wash without a foamgun. But IMO the results that so many people seem to expect just aren`t in the cards. I`ve played around with every conceivable foamgun technique, and 99% of them are not, IME, any good....
(No, sorry, I`ve never rewritten my Wash Technique into something that`s a succinct and worthwhile how-to :o )
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Thanks! I actually dug up a couple of your posts on the topic and found them pretty helpful!
 
I wish I could get refunds on all the foaming crap I`ve bought over the years. All it does for me is use more soap, make a mess in the yard and wastes time. I use a pressure washer to blast off all the real dirt. All that remains is road grime, which is not abrasive.
 
By washing with the foam gun continuously spraying soap on the paint while I whisk with the mitts,I’ve eliminated the need for buckets.
 
Dan said:
I wish I could get refunds on all the foaming crap I`ve bought over the years. All it does for me is use more soap, make a mess in the yard and wastes time.
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You`re 100% correct about it using a *LOT* of shampoo and making for a sudsy mess in the wash bay!

I use a pressure washer to blast off all the real dirt. All that remains is road grime, which is not abrasive

Oh man...I sure wish the residual [stuff] I deal with after pressure washing weren`t abrasive :(

Yeah, the PW gets the big stuff off, and it`s a *wonderful* thing, best addition to my regimen since the foamguns, no doubt about it. But then the real work begins: at least two more steps (foamgun + BHB then foamgun + mitts), each of which might need repeated numerous times depending on how dirty the vehicle is. And even then, I often use IUDJ as a Drying Aid just to be on the safe side.

Yes, I am indeed a fanatic about wash-induced marring, but then I haven`t had to polish for many years and don`t intend to do it any time soon. I do think the nature of my vehicles factors in, and I understand that not everybody here has the same, uhm...challenges...that I do keeping things marring-free.
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Accumulator, I`m sure I do get some wash induced marring, but I don`t look for it, I don`t see it, and I see a lot of life induced marring. For me, the time in doing the perfect wash isn`t worth it. I`d rather have a shiny car more often because I can knock out a wash in 20 minutes (when washing multiple cars and equipment is already out). I used to care way more but all the cars I cared about ended up being sold to people who probably cared way less, so why bother (for me).

Now for a museum piece, totally agree.
 
Dan said:
I wish I could get refunds on all the foaming crap I`ve bought over the years. All it does for me is use more soap, make a mess in the yard and wastes time. I use a pressure washer to blast off all the real dirt. All that remains is road grime, which is not abrasive.
Click to expand...

This is partly why I was thinking about going with one of the less expensive foam guns. If I don`t like it, the financial loss is minimal. I`ll also try it with my normal soap or a small bottle of a foaming product.

Bill D said:
By washing with the foam gun continuously spraying soap on the paint while I whisk with the mitts,I’ve eliminated the need for buckets.
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This is kind of what I was hoping for. With my BRZ being so small, I could wash it in no time flat if I don`t have to mess with a bucket.

Dan said:
Accumulator, I`m sure I do get some wash induced marring, but I don`t look for it, I don`t see it, and I see a lot of life induced marring. For me, the time in doing the perfect wash isn`t worth it. I`d rather have a shiny car more often because I can knock out a wash in 20 minutes (when washing multiple cars and equipment is already out).
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Agree. My wash induced marring is pretty minimal when compared to what I see from removing snow, debris impacts, or other random things that simply appear. I`ve found that even when the marring is minimal over time, the paint simply needs a little sprucing up and the ceramic coating needs a re-freshed every 2~3 year. I have to polish anyway, so I wipe out any wash marring at that time. I`m at the point I`m OK with not being 100% perfect. I enjoy washing, but I`d much rather be driving!
 
Dan said:
Accumulator, I`m sure I do get some wash induced marring, but I don`t look for it, I don`t see it.., so why bother (for me).

Now for a museum piece, totally agree.
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Dan- I understand *completely* and I sure don`t want to come across as critical of how anybody else treats his car. I just can`t seem to not care/not see it, although on white I can often live with a little imperfection (or at least I did with the previous Crown Vic).
 
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