Foam Cannon Obsevations

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spewking

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Used my foam cannon for the second time today and have a few questions for you fellow geekers.

1. Do you worry that foaming will erode your LSP? It occurred to me today that the process of rinse/foam/rinse/2 bucket wash exposes the car to soap x2 plus the dwelling effect. Do you think this impacts durability of the LSP? I am using good soap -- today it was Ultima -- so I am not sure of impact.

2. Is ther concern that the concentration of the foam, eg 2 oz of soap in the cannon is the same amount used in a 5 gallon bucket, will eat that the LSP at a greater rate than just a standard 2 bucket method?

3. Do you wash from the top down when using a foam cannon? So with the 2 bucket method, you wash from the top down. With the cannon today, after I rinsed, foamed and dwelled and rinsed the whole car, and then I worked at each section, foaming each section, washing, and rinsing.What I encountered was a lot of overspray from the cannon onto other areas, most notably the roof, that I had already washed and rinsed. So, my question is, have you guys experienced this and changed your washing approach to washing from he bottom up or some other routine? I could envision going from bottom up, e.g., front hood and air dam first, then sides and windows, then trunk, then roof and windshield? This is a bad idea I know as the dirt from the roof travels across areas cleaned already. So, does the foam cannon use change your routine? Maybe the foaming each section method is flawed from the get go and is not a good way to go.

Thanks.
 
1. IMO and I've proven it myself, letting a shampoo that is not of high pH dwell is pointless. Letting AF Avalanche dwell works very well, but letting Lusso Auto Bathe dwell does nothing more than just allow the suds to collapse quicker.

2. No concern here, remember that its being further diluted by water coming through the pressure washer; how much? I don't know--I haven't done the math. Also, its been proven that these shampoos don't remove LSPs very easily. I think time/sun degrades LSPs more than washing a car with a shampoo.

3. I spray the car with foam on one panel at a time (after rinsing it) and have 2 buckets with grit guards to wash my pad out after each panel. I also sometimes add 2oz of ONR in the second rinse bucket. Spray as you go is probably the best way to describe it. Then if its sunny--I foam the car down completely at the end before rinsing to help avoid water spots on the sides that are rinsed last. (I always go top down)
 
The soap coming out of the cannon isn't as concentrated as you might think. Yes, you are diluting 2ozs or so in only 32ozs of water. But, don't forget to factor in the water that is being put out by the pressure washer is further diluting the soap.

For example, if your pressure washer puts out 1.5 gpm - and it takes you exactly 2 continuous minutes to empty your foam cannon (assuming your using the whole bottle contents), that means your 2 ozs of soap is actually being diluted in:

( [1.5 gallons x 2] + 32 oz ) = 3.25 gallons.
 
I never let my ride get that dirty to begin with.

With that being said I blow THROUGHLY with my pw before I use my cannon and soap up the whole thing, then goto town using 2 mitts no buckets, then blow again.
 
IMO there will be no LSP being removed if you use the right soap (designed for cars). I use a foam gun 2 bucket 2 grit guard method if my ride is real dirty. I have no issues of the LSP coming off.

I think you should be fine and should not worry
 
I actually calculated the dilution with my pressure washer.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/75253-auto-finesse-avalanche-foam-cannon.html

Kranzle 1400 psi / 2GPM + Cam Spray Foam Cannon: ~3 oz Avalanche / 12 oz water (total 15 oz)

After several timed tests and measuring the results (in bucket, left in foam cannon), I determine the PW's output was 2.2 GPM. The foam cannon pulled 10 ounces from the reservoir at max setting so now I can start calculating the actual dilution ratios! I figure I was using Avalanche around 1:200 ratio. This is probably a bit stronger than I expected.
 
I doubt few actually know what they're doing in terms of correct dilution ratios ...they just dump a couple of ounces in the canister and fill the rest with water and if it looks cool, they think its ok. My take is that way too much soap is used but these soaps are so darn tame" and designed primarily for visual effect...nothing is harmed.



It gets real interesting when much harsher presoak products are used that are meant to cut through anything on the paint. Coatings are the only protection that can withstand such things in my testing of what I call as close to touchless washing as possible.
 
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