Best Foam Gun Setup

Gunny Fitz said:
What I dont understand is why the word "dwell" needs use so often when sit on means just as much. How often does one let the foamed up soap Sit On the car before either using nice mitts or power washing it off?
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I usually only let it dwell while I am working around the car. I use the McKee’s 37 Sio2 wash, foam the whole car and don’t rinse any panels till I have scrubbed everything with the microfiber mitt. So I guess one side dwells much longer and I think (probably wrong) it was easier to clean than the first side.

On our first full wash here after mud season (live off of a dirt road) I left the foam dwell for a good 5-10 minutes to try and penetrate/lift some of the crap. It’s hard to say if it really did much, but in my mind I felt like I was lifting crap off the surface.



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Pressure Washer & Foaming Action

briarpatch said:
ISome people foam, let dwell, and then rinse, followed up by a two-bucket wash. I pressure rinse, foam, let dwell, rinse clean. Rather than the two-bucket method, I re-foam and attack with multiple wash mitts, at least 4 and sometimes 6. I figure that as soon as I touch that paint, I'm risking damage, so that's my mitigation strategy.
Foam cannons fitted with standard quick-disconnects make it super simple (even I can do it) to swap between the cannon and the various nozzles..
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That link to Mike Phillip's "How to Use A Foam Gun" was very educational. I'm definitely interested in getting one of these now. The right power washer too!

Briarpatch- Question on your method on doing it over twice. Does that mean you have to mix up a whole new quart of foam mixture to do this TWICE?

Those of you using one of these on the Highest Settings for Foam - How much does it last? Meaning- can you do the whole car w just ONE quart of mixture? Seems like a very small amount of fluid?

Sounds like the McKees is the favored soap, and does that other "concentrated" fluid just extend the amount of soap used (meaning your use less soap?) I looked at all the suggestions you gave me for Soap Containers that connect to the washer. Seems to me that they all look identical, just have different Brand Names on the bottles. -Or am I looking at the containers which connect to the Garden Hose?)

What I'd give to see someone's Pressure Washer setup connected, or laid out next to the Soap Container! I'm a bit in the dark on exactly how one connects the soap container to a Pressure Washer - OR do you simply use the Soap Containers that are "attached" to the PW itself? If so, then I get it. You dont mix up the soap and then connect anything - it's already within the PW and sprays thru the wand, with the selected tips!

Last question - when using the PW, you cover the car w youd selected soap and spray off - BUT can you simply switch or toggle back and forth between shooting out soap, and shooting out water WITHOUT having to disconnect anything?

**When I logged into the Main Forum Page, I saw TONS of people asking these same questions all over the place. Therefore, I'm extremely thankful for those of you taking the time to help me understand all of this. My biggest symptom of my TBI is "Processing" information. Hence why things laid out in Step by Step guides work best for me.
Many, many thanks!
HA! - I finally found a photo small enough it attached!!


View attachment 63773
 
It's little depending where you live and the season and environment. If you where to use it as a prewash step like I like to do. You use a dedicated prewash foam like gtechnic w4 citrus foam or gyeon foam and think that Honeydew is in that category too. When I foam it I do on a dry car so it can be sitting longer and loosen as much dirt as possible before drying on the paint. 5-10min is the time frame often if I don't use a more effective product that is called TFR (traffic film remover) which often needs about 3-5min before rinsing off.

When it comes to rinsing off the prewash foam I use a method that is not so common here and some thinks it's unecessary to do. But here I go and test out both the ordinary and this if you like and see what suits you best. I start at the bottom and work my way up to the roof circuling around the car. The width of the nozzle water pressure I use to thoroughly clean rinsing the paint with. And you see where you have been with the PW as it's much cleaner there and you let the foam work right till it's rinsed off and guideline you where you are. The water pressure from the PW is very effective to clean the paint. In the summer months it could be the only step needed if your car is not that dirty. You have the best blow dryer on the market and I use a strong leafblower which works okay. To dry the car after clean rinsed the foam off and rinsed again from the top down to get all of the loose dirt off and the rest of the foam. In the winter months after the prewash foam and clean rinsed if needed I apply a tar remover and or an ironx product.

Then I move on to a 2bm wash with carpro reset car soap. And ad a QD or a glossenhancer after drying to ad something extra gloss and protection on the car.

I have 240v electric outlets where I live which makes me to use a rather powerfull PW. Kärcher K7 Full Control Premium Flex with the specs 2600psi 2.6gpm gets me a very powerfull cleaning power and it goes much faster than the smallest PW. The effectiveness of a PW comes with gpm and not so much by the psi. So look at which PW that gives you the most gpm between those you look at. Then you have the PW hose which I would recommend to get at least 32' long so you don't have to move the PW unit around when you wash. If you look at kränzle PW that are one of the most durable and high quality there is. You see that they concentrate on the gpm. And if you have the budget to buy you one of those you have a PW for your lifetime and if there where anything to happens with you can get parts to it.

There is no real danger to use consumer PW. The thing to be carefull with is to use small angles nozzle attachements. So never use a 0 grade or the turbo nozzle attachement on cars and other sensitive surfaces. You could test it by set your hand a 4' away and move the hand with the PW on closer to the nozzle. And when it's hurts your hand you have the safe distance where you don't want to get any closer with the nozzle to your car.
 
Re: Pressure Washer & Foaming Action

I typically have enough in the bottle of the foam cannon to foam the vehicle twice, so I do not have to reload the foam cannon for the second phase. In the event that it looks like I won't, I'll use the remaining mixture to load up a wash bucket, and go from there with my multiple wash mitt approach.

McKees is a good soap, but a little on the pricey side, if you ask me. Even though I really like almost all of the McKees products I've purchased, I do not see it as a better value than Honeydew, or Griots Garage Brilliant Shine, or Meguiars Gold Class. I was fortunate, and bought it in bulk a while ago while gallons were on sale. It does indeed foam very well out of both a foam gun and cannon, but I guess you pay a premium for what is considered a premium soap.

With a foam cannon + PW setup, I do not know of a way to switch directly between rinse and soap without disconnecting. The same goes for a standard foam gun setup too.
 
Thank you out there in Sweden!!

There are so many different methods we use to care for our precious cars, whether daily driver or weekend warriors. We all know the PW is a great tool for high pressure water that cannot be duplicated by use of a regular Home Water Hose.

I suppose what I was asking in my convoluted post above, is "Can you attach a (Foam Gun) to a PW?"
OR ....Do you spray the car with the (Foam Gun) attached to a regular hose and THEN . use your PW to rinse all of the soap off?

I'll leave it there.

**SWETM - It sounds as if you've got your routine down pretty good, and as I said- whatever works best to keep our cars clean is the key. Your "Rinsing Up" action doesnt sound like something I'll be doing in my routine though. No offense.
 
Gunny Fitz said:
I suppose what I was asking in my convoluted post above, is "Can you attach a (Foam Gun) to a PW?"
OR ....Do you spray the car with the (Foam Gun) attached to a regular hose and THEN . use your PW to rinse all of the soap off?

I'll leave it there.
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The simple answer is no, you can't. Unless you have multiple hoses set up, you'd still have to disconnect the hose from the foam gun and attach it to the power washer for your rinse. If you're setting up the power washer, cut out the middle man (foam gun), and go straight to using the foam cannon. You'll be quicker, more efficient, and get much better foam.

Mike's video on using the foam gun is outstanding, and I bought my foam gun based on what I saw him doing. I bought my little electric (SunJoe) PW to handle small jobs around the house, and to give my wife a PW setup that she could handle with very little difficulty. I bought the (knock-off) foam cannon just to see how it would do with it. There are times when it's just easier to use the gun for a quick maintenance wash.
 
Makes perfect sense. Guess one can't have these two actions in one. Be somethin to patent eh?

I'm dwelling right meow.
 
No offence here. We testing products and methods to get our cars clean and protected. And we read and think which we find suits our thoughts best. An example is the waterless and the rinseless washes is very uncommon here in Sweden. But I have carpro Ech2o and will test it to do both when it's seems to be suited on the level of dirt.

The foam gun can not be attached to the pressure wash. There is where the foamcannon comes in use. With the foamcannon setting on the thickest foam setting I use about 20oz of a 32oz bottle on the foamcannon. The dilution is 0.5oz-1oz of car foam soap and filled the rest with water up to 20oz depending on what kind of prewash foam used.

You switch from the foamcannon attachement to the wand attachement nozzle for rinsing on the PW spray gun. There is setups which is used in detailing shops and those with a big budget. That you have the PW installed in one place all the time. And after the PW it's a stationary foam unit. You have a 5 gallon with concentrate foam soap connected to the foam unit. Then you have a PW wand with 2 pipes where you switch a setting on the wand if you want to foam or use water pressure.
 
Tango Yankee !

*no joke. Anyone TRULY know PW, soaps, wands, and dwelling willing to do a killer build w no cap on financing. Could it be done under 1K ? If you had a G, how would it best be used to buy n build the perfect Heavy Duty Soap Soaking equipment, fluids (Anything Pinnacle related) and strongest n most reliable PW using "Electricity" as source. Lay it out for me how youd do it !

Guess I could make it a Poll but doing that off a cell only would be unreal. Passeming the ball back right meow guys!
 
Are You "Obsessed?"

After several PM discussion with Member SWETM here (a truly great guy!) He hooked me up with an awesome Company here in the States who seems to have / carry / build some seriously high end PWs and all around Detail Gear. What a find this "Obsessed Garage" is!

Obsessed Garage

I already reached out to the founder Matt Moreman to see what he can put together for me. SWETM passed on a real treat here - not only does the guy have superb gear, he has some seriously helpful YouTube vids, and Podcasts with all the big names in the Detail and Producst world too! (Hope it's ok to endorse other US Companies here?)
I'll definitely be looking to do the PW and Foam Cannon now after all your help guys! Other than spending over 1k on something I'm always open and glad to see what you guys are running for a setup too! I'm a real "Visual Learner" so pics are always great too!

Thanks for staying with me with all the Threads on this stuff here. I always "try" to do my research on stuff instead of popping up threads w questions cold. Sorry, it's one of my pet peeves seeing a million threads when alot (not all) can be answered just by using the "SEARCH" tool! ;)

Ps. Any Lexus owners here please contact me if you're not already a Member of the "Club Lexus" Forum! I'm lucky to have the same ScreenName on like 6 different forums on ALL my vehicles! Semper Fidelis!

(Finally able to figure out pics!)
 
Thanks Guz!!

Hmm. Now I have so many gears turning in my head, I'm totally flustered (Remember my statement on how my brain has difficulty processing info?)

On one hand, spend hundreds, thousands, and on the other - spend small amounts on a PW and use info like this to turn it all into something that does the same thing- for a ton less. Let me think about that for a nanosecond. Hmm.

Not entirely sure which end is up right now, or who's making what to sell to who.
I think I'll be reaching out to some of you guys individually, unless you find time to help me understand in a PM?

Hey Guz- thought of you recently because my buddy who got me into Cars & Coffee just drove out to Ohio to get this.
(Let's hope these pics come out)
 
All pun intended here- I've pretty much thrown in the towel on this mission. The RCF is mint, being PPFilmed & Coated next week, but the two other home vehicles are a loss. My poor Ram sits outdoors 24/7 and when i just ran my finger across it yesterday it barely moved, or came off at all. Probably just bring it to someone who has the tools, knows what to do, and pay them. I am so friggin fed up with which to buy, to set up, to use - all of this is insane!
Thanks for your help and suggestions guys. Can't believe the Marine in me is giving up, but I just cannot "Process" all of this stuff mentally with my damn TBI.......:(
 
Sun Joe 4000

Ok Ok.
Finally did some extensive research, and took the advice from Davy here in my Thread.
Looking like the Sun Joe 4000 will be the Unit of choice for my PW. However..It appears that they are so proprietary that you can only use their SPX-FC34 Foam Cannon, and not others sold here on AG. If this cannon is an inferior product, I would really like to know what "Adapters" or connective devices I would need to make this a more universal setup ya know? Basically, if someone could just tell me "This will work with that Sun Joe" it would be awesome! (Cannon, connectors, tips, etc)
Will take a look back thru all your posts here to see if someone already mentioned it, BUT......
If anyone knows this info off the top of their head-Id be most appreciative to see links to products that will help.

Thanks guys, you're the best!

Ps. Looked at the Sun Joe SPX4001 which has a hose reel, but the hose on this model is thinner so its easier to roll up.
 
It appears to me to have a normal, quick disconnect on the wand, which would make sense, because my SunJoe Spx3000 does. Any foam cannon can be used with it. I'm currently using a 20.00 Amazon cheapie, in which I swapped out the standard (1.25mm) orifice for the smaller (1.1mm) one....makes better foam that way
 
Got Myself New Power Washer & Foam Cannon

Ok Gents-
So I picked up a Greenworks 2200 psi Power Washer, MTM Foam Cannon and all the equipment to run myself a true Foam Device! Even got myself a bottle of Honeydew, Meguiars Hyper Wash, and McKees Foam soap to try each one! Took a card from every one of yoos guys that helped me out. Went w Greenworks over Sun Joe so that there wont be any fitment issues with connections, etc. Friday is my Wash Day so I'm ready for Katie's Coffee Sat am, and another show Sun too. To this day I still cant believe I'm the only Lexus RCF present too! How can that be?

Had an Armytrix Valvetronic Exhaust system installed and Dyn'oed w 392 Rear Wheel Hp. This thing sounds sick! Let's see if I can attach some vids n sound for you all. Cant wait to see if I get same soap I saw on YouTube videos. Fingers crossed. Thanks guys!

*** Damn. Why are file loads so damn small here! This is ridiculous!!

Semper Fi
 
I am glad that you settled on a power washer Gunny. I just tried my foam cannon this morning with the HoneyDew soap and it was enjoyable. I have the SunJoe SPX FC34 and I mixed 2 oz of soap with 30 oz of water.

37031827_10211622546660549_4652727596331565056_n.jpg
 
How ironic!
After assembling my MTM Foam Cannon and filling it with a test amount of the same Honeydew soap, the Greenworks PW fired up and started spraying awesome amounts of foam all over the backyard fence I used to test it out. Inwas so elated that I got everything connected the right way and anxious to get started on a car! Then, the friggin PW tripped its breaker that's attached to the cord. Over and over it kept tripping it and would not stay on for more than 15 secs max!!
I was so livid I boxed it all up and brought it back to Lowes all within an hour!!!
Now I think I'm gonna go with a gas powered machine, but today will tell.
Thanks for the support guys and I'll let you know what happens!
Oohrah!
 
Gunny Fitz said:
How ironic!
After assembling my MTM Foam Cannon and filling it with a test amount of the same Honeydew soap, the Greenworks PW fired up and started spraying awesome amounts of foam all over the backyard fence I used to test it out. Inwas so elated that I got everything connected the right way and anxious to get started on a car! Then, the friggin PW tripped its breaker that's attached to the cord. Over and over it kept tripping it and would not stay on for more than 15 secs max!!
I was so livid I boxed it all up and brought it back to Lowes all within an hour!!!
Now I think I'm gonna go with a gas powered machine, but today will tell.
Thanks for the support guys and I'll let you know what happens!
Oohrah!
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I prefer the electric model because it is only running when you use it. It's too bad that it kept tripping your circuit. That must have been frustrating. Keep the MTM Foam Cannon for it should work with any power washer you use. Let's see those foam pictures when you finalize on a setup.
 
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