CarPro Hydro2 Foam haze the day after...

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MilesToEmpty

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So I picked up some Hydro2 Foam and really like the results. The paint feels smooth and overall I'm very pleased.

I have two issues that I've encountered though.

1: The roof rack rails on my Subaru have discolored and are no longer black. They look faded and weird. I'll have to get a photo and can't take one at work.

2: The tops of my headlights, which are flat, seem to have collected some of the sealant and maybe I didn't get it all rinsed off properly. What's the best way to remove this?

I forgot a vital step of applying and thoroughly rinsed with just the pressure washer, and not just using a stream of water from the hose. I did break the car up in sections when doing the rinse, and then I toweled the car down.
 
You most likely got those streaks at some places because when drying with just a towel, a lot of water still gets left behind in small crevices, like along the roof rack rails, window seals, door jams, etc. which then flow/drip down very slowly along specific paths, depositing whatever they had solved in them. Which in your case was SiO2. One of those drain paths usually lead to the headlights, so that's why you got the residue there (and possibly at other, less obvious places). In order to prevent such streaks, use a leaf blower to blow out the water from all those hidden spots. It will also help with drying, because you'll have a lot less water to wipe off.

The spots you already have can usually be removed by a wash with a regular car wash shampoo, like CarPro Reset. And next time try a thinner solution, as in my experience the manufacturer recommended 1:9 is simply an overkill, and it just fosters streaking and spotting when not dried properly and/or fast enough. 1:18 still works for me, meaning it makes the surface super hydrophobic. Shine and surface slickness might not be the same as with 1:9, but honestly, that's the last thing I care about.
 
I have been using Hydrofoam since it came out and have also used it via foam cannon, foam gun, bucket wash and a pump sprayer. I have never experienced the issues you’re having. The biggest culprit I can think of is you didn’t rinse enough or you washed in the sun and it caused the wash to stain.
 
fly07sti said:
I have been using Hydrofoam since it came out and have also used it via foam cannon, foam gun, bucket wash and a pump sprayer. I have never experienced the issues you’re having. The biggest culprit I can think of is you didn’t rinse enough or you washed in the sun and it caused the wash to stain.
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Well I rinsed the car for about 10 minutes, but I used the Pressure washer and I think thats the where the fault came from. Car was washed in the shade at around 7 at night
 
MilesToEmpty said:
Well I rinsed the car for about 10 minutes, but I used the Pressure washer and I think thats the where the fault came from. Car was washed in the shade at around 7 at night
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Odd. Did you do a flood rinse as your final rinse to flush out all the cracks and crevices?
 
I also spray with pressure washer (foam gun), and it just works fine. Unless there's something like the Sun shining directly on a spot, or I'm not getting around quick enough. Then I get streaking and spotting. But it has nothing to do with the pressure washer. It's just going against manufacturer's recommendation.

However, the stains on the plastic trim might not be avoidable, if it's already stained - albeit possibly less visibly and less obvious - by contaminants. Semi-matte plastics with fine grains have this tendency of getting stained unevenly by whatever dirt or contamination settles on them.

You could try to remove all those contaminants with magic eraser (but make sure you always test the method on an inconspicuous area, like in your case the inner side of the roof rails), and if you succeed, then try to coat the trim with a plastic restorer like Meguiar's Ultimate Black. This will help avoid streaking by HydroFoam (as it will not allow that to bind to the surface of the plastic), and even if you get some slight streaks, you will be most likely able to wipe those down easily.
 
what if you use hydrofoam on a car with a sealant like powerlock? would it still clean the surface well enough and leave silica protection over the powerlock?
 
From my experience with Hydrofoam is that it should be used on a relatively clean car. I would not use it to clean off winter road film.
 
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