Foam Gun users - post your regimen

GregCavi

GregCavi

Pinnacle Detailing Owner
hi everyone! I used my foam gun the other day and was a little confused on what to do after all the foaming so lets all post our regimen of washing with the foam gun.

my first foam gun regimen was this:

- Heat garage up to 45 F
- Hook hose up to utility sink
- Used hi temp bubbling suds in gun
- turned on water to luke warm
- sprayed a ton of suds all over the car making sure to hit wheel wells to melt away snow and icy mess

- removed foam attacment and rinsed with sprayer

- QEW
- Dry and QD

If i were to do thise differently I would have left the suds on the paint when i QEW'd

So lets hear everyone elses regimen.

Greg
 
I've used my new foam gun 3 times so far. My current regiment is as follows -

-Attach hose to hot/cold water taps.
-Set water temperature to luke warm (outside temps were in the 40s and 50s).
-Attach on/off valve to end of hose.
-Attach fireman's nozzle to on/off valve.
-Pre-soak vehicle by spraying Bug Squash/Water mix in 1:3 ratio to loosen road salt.
-Prepare foam gun by removing trigger (tried it with the trigger too, but didn't like that) and adding a 50/50 mix of SS&S and water.
-Set dispensing ratio to smallest hole (1:128). The 50/50 mix in theory should dispense at 1:256 this way which matches my preferred bucket ratio of 1/2 ounce per gallon of water.
-Prepare 2 buckets of luke warm water with 1 ounce of SS&S and 2 gallons of water per bucket.
-Rinse off Bug Squash pre-soak using fireman's nozzle.
-Wash/rinse tires (Citri-Gel) and wheels (50/50 mix of S&R and water)
-Remove fireman's nozzle and attach foam gun.
-Spray foam all over car.
-Wash in sections using cotton chenille mitts. Dips mitts into buckets using the same method as a traditional 2 bucket wash.
-Remove foam gun and re-attach fireman's nozzle. Rinse after every few washed panels.
-Remove fireman's nozzle and attach cut-off 2' piece of hose for final flood rinse.
-Dry with MF WW towel.
-QD with a spray which complements vehicle's LSP.
 
why not just leave the suds. the qew would rinse it away. atleat thats what it does when i spray wheels with apc and then qew wash it away. doesnt seem to leave residure at all.

although i havent used a foam gun.
 
With weather permitting:

Take trigger nozzle off foam gun and attach a quick disconnect to the end of the hose along with a Gilmour shut off valve. Now you can very easily cut off the water flow and disconnect the hose if you wish to flush without the foam gun.

Use plenty of mitts. The more the merrier :) I do my best to wash and dry in sections so I typically start with the roof and windows of the car. Remember, ( sorry for the obvious) always do the belt line and below areas of the vehicle last.

"Prime" the mitt by soaking it with the foam gun. Keep a constant stream of soapy mix running over the area you are focusing on to wash. Gently whisk the mitt over the finish. Gradually work your way completing the area, rinse and dry. Don't worry if you didn't get it completely spotless. It's best to do a second pass rather than one more aggressive pass that risks marring. The idea is to dislodge and flush away the contaminants.

Change mitts every panel or so, this time of year, it's probably best to use an exaggerated amount of mitts no matter what washing regimen you chose.
Perhaps most important, DON'T rush! This is a method that requires ample time and a relaxed pace.

It's involved for sure, but it can truly help conserve one's clear. It has me sold.
 
BILL D - with the thought of priming the mitt with suds I thought of this.

Coudl you keep the foam gun shooting plently of suds on the car and shoot them right next to your wash mitt. By doing this coudl you elimate teh wash bucket and just use a rinse bucket?

Greg
 
Greg,

Exactly! Yeah, I don't see much use for my big buckets nowadays. My smaller pails mainly see the duty of carrying mitts back and forth to the wash site.

What you can do is shoot the foam gun's soap right above the area you are focuing on to wash and gravity will make it move right where you want to whisk with the mitt. I do this all the time and it really results in great lubricating action all the while flushing contaminants.
 
Great! Thats really what i wanted to know. I am also getting a pressure washer for christmas, I HOPE. I guess i woudl use that to lightly spray the vehicle if needed and then go with the foam regimen. Thanks BILL D

Greg
 
Just be sure to be extra careful with those things on the paint especially with the winter grime around. They do work wonders for getting rid of the crud on the wheel wells and undercarriage though.
 
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