Foam Cannon: Over it

[pointillistic_practitioner]

A closer look at the Gilmour Foam Gun....

Link is for pictures only. I do not have the screw in the top in picture 5 (ratio setting pic) I had it installed on the side, but just put it on the top, leaving the side empty. My mistake...thought I had a screw on each side, but the ratio bar doesn't have a place for the screw. There is one screw hole on the side where my screw was, and the top was empty. I either had it installed originally and lost it, or mine never came with one. Off to search for an extra screw... I also just found the plastic piece from picture 1 that looks like a spoon. Where does that install?

 

[VISITOR]

the little deflector you really don't need. everytime i use my foam gun i always tighten down those screws because they unscrew easily. try taking the screw and see if your local hardware store has something that will fit it, it's worth a shot...

 

[pointillistic_practitioner]

the little deflector you really don't need. everytime i use my foam gun i always tighten down those screws because they unscrew easily. try taking the screw and see if your local hardware store has something that will fit it, it's worth a shot...

Looked online, and couldn't find it. Thought maybe Gilmour would supply it. Good idea! That's probably my next best bet. BTW sorry, OP for hijacking this thread! Best of luck to you with the foam cannon!

 

[Methodical]

I was going to say it must be the DoDo but since you tried other shampoo's with the same lame results i was stunned. How much product are you using?? Typically you want about 3-4, sometimes even 5 capfuls of a shampoo. I use 4 capfuls for SnowFoam with warm water (add warm water first, then the soap to avoid foaming inside the cannon). Once you put it all in and attach to pressure washer, shake it a little bit to get it all mixed it.

You should be good then, if not, something is wrong mechanically.
What's the GPM of the pressure washer?

Your pressure washer should be okay. 2oz of product is not okay.

Interesting. I only use 1-2 oz and get shaving cream like foam on the max setting. What I found really interesting though is that the CG Maxi Suds II actually produced more foamy suds than the Honey Dew.

 

[stilltipping3]

I used a s#itty soap my first time. I mean a dollar store soap and it was fine. Injust needed half a gallon. Lol

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I love using the foam gun, in fact I can't really rememer the last time I washed either of my rigs without it. I skip the buckets altogether and just use the foam gun.


2006 Mercedes-Benz SLK 350 Show Car Makeover Pictures


How to wash a car with a foam gun
After allowing the Auto Finesse Iron Out Iron Remover to do it's thing the next step is to wash the car to remove any loose dirt plus the iron particles dissolved by the Auto Finesse Iron Out Iron Remover.

For this step I'm using the Detailer's Half Gallon Foammaster Foam Gun with Detailer's Xtreme Foam Formula Auto Shampoo.


Start at the top just like you would wash normally by spraying the roof down with foam.

Move down the windshield...

And then down the hood...

Foam down one side and work around to the back of the car...

Then foam down the back of the car...

Foam dwells on paint allowing the soap solution to go to work loosening road film and dirt...

Loosen dirt with wash mitt...

Or in this case the new Lake Country Wash Wedge...

The most important thing about using a wash mitt, sponge or brush is to NOT scrub the paint more than what's needed to loosen the bond of any surface dirt so that it can be rinsed off. I cover this in my how-to book also.

And here's the Mercedes-Benz after rinsing and drying using a single Ultimate Guzzler

No pictures of me washing my truck using a foam gun because in the past I just wash the truck, don't take any pictures. I need to wash my truck though so next time I'll take some pictures.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

When I was asked by management to lead the team to wash and wax the Meguiar's Semi Truck, I chose the foam gun as my tool of choice to get the truck clean before we machine polished acres of paint.


Meguiar's Big Rig Extreme Makeover - Pictures & Videos!



How to wash a Semi Truck with a Foam Gun

Here's Frank laying down a rich, thick layer of foam using the Meguiar's Hyper Wash....

Andy and I will follow using Boar's Hair Brushes on extension handles extended as far as they will go!

Andy went down the truck washing the top half and I followed him washing the bottom half. No pictures of the bottom half getting washed as I had to put the camera down.

As soon as we finished washing a section of the truck Frank was ready to come back and start rinsing off the suds...

To dry, I used our studio mops also with extendable handles and wrapped Guzzler Microfiber Drying Towels around the head to reach the high sections.

We had to all work as a team and work fast in order to work the soap, rinse the truck and then dry the truck before the sun could get in our way.


Oh yeah.... nothing like washing a Truck and Trailer with a foam gun....

:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I have a saying, goes like this....

If it has paint... it gets polished....


That means I don't miss a single square inch when I buff out someone's car. Now I have a new saying....

If it has paint... it gets washed.... every square inch...


If it has paint... it gets washed.... every square inch....

An epic wash that's for sure...

Now here's a truck that's clean enough to machine buff...

Keep in mind, anytime you're going to do any type of paint polishing and especially by machine, it's vitally important that the vehicle is absolutely clean.

You never want to risk any dirt particles getting trapped between your pad and the paint as this could inflict swirls and scratches at the same time you're trying to remove them.

 

[spiralout462]

I love the fact that the people at Meguiar's insist on their rig being black! With flames nonetheless!! I bet you guys were tuckered out after that one!

 

[E92FanaticKY]

I'm a weekend warrior and I have an interest in having a clean DD for my short commute to work. I spent some time on the forum learning about all the products available, and I've placed a few hundred $$ worth of orders so far. The product I was most excited about was the Auto Geek Foam Cannon that I bought a couple months ago. I have been itching for the weather to turn so that I could play with it. YouTube videos look like a lot of fun, and I thought the foam "dwelling" on the paint would be great for my historically-somewhat-neglected city car.

I bought a gas powered PW from Costco (Simpson, with a Honda engine) and hooked up the cannon. I put in a couple ounces of dodo juice - born to be mild, filled up the rest of the reservoir with warm water, made all the connections and pointed the "business end" of the cannon at the car. It was soapy water, at best. Hmmph. I adjusted the knob on top from far left (open) to far right (closed). Fully opened and fully closed the nozzle. Still no "foam". This whole time it was leaking on my jeans (I've remedied the leaking now, by using some new teflon tape at the fittings). Finally, in almost desperation, I flipped the wand upside down (with the idea that gravity may help get the soap into the high pressure water, and create foam). It worked somewhat better, so I finished washing the car that way. But it was still definitely not "foam".

I thought maybe the dodo juice was to blame, so I ordered chemical guys - Maxi Suds II (I also ordered the Honeydew Snow Foam, just to be sure it wasn't the shampoo). Got a chance to wash the car on this past Saturday morning with the Maxi Suds, and the verdict: same disappointing results. But this time, I just took the tank off the foam cannon and dumped the shampoo directly into my bucket. Stuck the tip of the pressure washer in the bucket to get some bubbles, and went on with my business.

Anyway. Not sure whether I have extremely hard water, (although the shampoo bubbles up just fine in my bucket) but I'm done with the foam cannon for now. Just my $.02.

Same thing happened to me. Sent it back and got one from CG and it's working perfectly.

Trust me it's worth it to exchange it.

 

[LRC3]

I love my cannon, it makes washing my Sequoia NOT a choir.

This is my DD, it's garaged and washed weekly, I'm done in 30mins. I see some talk about lugging out crap but the only extra thing is the pw. So instead of the buckets I roll out the pw.

With that being said, quick connects are a MUST, MUST, MUST.:dblthumb2:

I pw with water, foam it, mitt, pw with water, blow dry, done 30 mins and it's black. LoL

Buckets ain't gone get me done in 30....

 

[tersplat]

anyone want to get rid of their foam cannon? lol pm me if you do?

 

[trekkeruss]

I love my cannon, it makes washing my Sequoia NOT a choir.

So what does it make it? A barbershop quartet? :laughing:

 

[Methodical]

So what does it make it? A barbershop quartet? :laughing:

Good oneoke:

 

[indiana lineman]

All that hype and the Meguiar's rig is a Freightliner?

Anyway this thread really took some twists and turns. I considered buying a foam cannon too. I gather that on a molecular level it has it advantages. Even including the "It's fun" part.

 

[Bunky]

Even including the "It's fun" part.

Detailing should be fun not a chore.

 

[LRC3]

All that hype and the Meguiar's rig is a Freightliner?
.

That's funny, I noticed that too.

 

[GOATMAN06]

What's the max psi that can be used with the foam cannon hp?

 

[spiralout462]

What's the max psi that can be used with the foam cannon hp?

I use a 3500psi/4gpm machine without issue. I do crank down the unloader a bit however.

 

[sito]

Oh, okay. That's definitely in, but if the gun with the mesh attachment on the end is like mine, there is a metal piece (where the adjustment bar slides in/out of) in the center of the top with a hole on it. When I use the gun I have to put my finger covering that top hole, making spraying a two hand process. Maybe mine is defective.

Where does the tube attach to the foam gun besides that point? Does th email the tube remain open position?

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