Foam Cannon Question
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jlb85
New member
- Mar 31, 2008
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img, here is something I wrote in an email to a client who was asking about foam guns:
Regarding foam guns and why to use them...
[They are] quite popular. The device (a nozzle with a suction feed to a reservior bottle for soap) is attached to the water hose, and mixes the shampoo as you spray water, creating a nice thick foam that is flinged to the car. There are models for a regular garden hose that work OK, but using it with a pressure washer is the only way to get the really thick and sticky foam that makes such great pictures.
There are shampoos that work better than others at foaming, but it does not mean they are better at cleaning, or suspending (surfacing) soil. Each shampoo has its strength at the expense of other factors.
However, the foam works very well at loosening soil and breaking down grime, much faster than the 2 bucket method. You can mix chemicals to safely and easily strip wax. You use less shampoo and it works better. But is it necessary? You could acheive similar results with the 2 bucket method and a strong stream from a hose, but it would take significantly more effort. For a pro, it is the obvious choice. For the DIYer it is more expense, but still very useful, and fun. They are about $60 for the garden hose version, and $120 for the pressure version (plus the actual pressure washer).
Regarding foam guns and why to use them...
[They are] quite popular. The device (a nozzle with a suction feed to a reservior bottle for soap) is attached to the water hose, and mixes the shampoo as you spray water, creating a nice thick foam that is flinged to the car. There are models for a regular garden hose that work OK, but using it with a pressure washer is the only way to get the really thick and sticky foam that makes such great pictures.
There are shampoos that work better than others at foaming, but it does not mean they are better at cleaning, or suspending (surfacing) soil. Each shampoo has its strength at the expense of other factors.
However, the foam works very well at loosening soil and breaking down grime, much faster than the 2 bucket method. You can mix chemicals to safely and easily strip wax. You use less shampoo and it works better. But is it necessary? You could acheive similar results with the 2 bucket method and a strong stream from a hose, but it would take significantly more effort. For a pro, it is the obvious choice. For the DIYer it is more expense, but still very useful, and fun. They are about $60 for the garden hose version, and $120 for the pressure version (plus the actual pressure washer).