Foam cannon soap

rjd598

rjd598

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Hey guys I feel like I've searched forever but haven't really found the answer I wanted. I'm looking for a soap to put in my foam cannon that is cost effective, totally lsp safe when using 2-4oz, and has good cleaning abilities as a prewash. What do you guys recommend and I know obviously I can't have all three qualities at the same time.
 
auto finesse avalanche, maxi suds ii, honeydew snow foam etc. they all work in the end. Some a little better than others.
 
BlackHawk said:
auto finesse avalanche, maxi suds ii, honeydew snow foam etc. they all work in the end. Some a little better than others.
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Avalanche is actually my number one pick. I've used citrus power plenty of times and think its amazing. I've looked into maxi suds and honeydew, but was afraid of its lsp stripping capabilities. I could never find a straight answer for cg soaps and whether they can strip or not
 
Honeydew Snow Foam was made for foam cannons. Been using honeydew and it does not strip lsp.
 
any soap at the right dilution will strip an LSP at some rate. You pour 10oz of Avalanche into your foam cannon and i assure you that it would do some sort of damage to the LSP.
 
BlackHawk said:
any soap at the right dilution will strip an LSP at some rate. You pour 10oz of Avalanche into your foam cannon and i assure you that it would do some sort of damage to the LSP.
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Over time yes I totally believe this. That's why I asked for 2-4oz the typical amount
 
I haven't found a soap yet that doesn't foam in a foam cannon. I know some folks use Megs Gold Class; I use Mothers California Gold, Pinnacle XMT Gell Shampoo & Conditioner, Dodo Juice BTBM, etc.... all do the job but some foam just a little more than others, giving a better look when the vehicle is covered in foam.
 
Soap soap soap... that meaningless term that we cannot seem to get shot of!

Shampoos (the stuff you throw in a bucket and dilute with water) should be very different from snowfoams (the ones you fire through a foam cannon/lance). A standard shampoo is necessarily skin safe. A good snowfoam has no such requirement. Shampoos are simply nowhere near as effective as properly formulated snowfoams. I appreciate the differentiation between these is not really considered on your side of the pond but it is very important. And to return to what I started with... the perpetual misuse of the term 'soap' means that it is almost impossible for a novice to grasp the differences!
 
PiPUK said:
Soap soap soap... that meaningless term that we cannot seem to get shot of!

Shampoos (the stuff you throw in a bucket and dilute with water) should be very different from snowfoams (the ones you fire through a foam cannon/lance). A standard shampoo is necessarily skin safe. A good snowfoam has no such requirement. Shampoos are simply nowhere near as effective as properly formulated snowfoams. I appreciate the differentiation between these is not really considered on your side of the pond but it is very important. And to return to what I started with... the perpetual misuse of the term 'soap' means that it is almost impossible for a novice to grasp the differences!
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So recommend me some snow foams that meet my requirements
 
rjd598 said:
So recommend me some snow foams that meet my requirements
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This is very difficult because of the terminology 'fail'. Most of the products out on the US market fail to identify themselves adequately. CG do some dedicated foam cannon products and Auto Finesse Avalanche is an example of what you would find in the UK (strangely, we are miles ahead here).

In practice, a snowfoam should probably be more closely related to an APC. Ideally you want some alkalinity since this provides the cleaning power but you want to make sure it does not contain sodium/potassium hydroxide - this starts to risk your LSP, not to mention chrome trims etc. Since alkalinity is cheap, so thus are the products - $20 for a gallon is about the right price point. I cannot help beyond these recommendations as I am in the European market and most of our products are not available in the US.
 
PiPUK said:
This is very difficult because of the terminology 'fail'. Most of the products out on the US market fail to identify themselves adequately. CG do some dedicated foam cannon products and Auto Finesse Avalanche is an example of what you would find in the UK (strangely, we are miles ahead here).

In practice, a snowfoam should probably be more closely related to an APC. Ideally you want some alkalinity since this provides the cleaning power but you want to make sure it does not contain sodium/potassium hydroxide - this starts to risk your LSP, not to mention chrome trims etc. Since alkalinity is cheap, so thus are the products - $20 for a gallon is about the right price point. I cannot help beyond these recommendations as I am in the European market and most of our products are not available in the US.
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Understood thanks for the definitions anyway. The European market does have way better snow foams
 
When I need something hardcore I use Bilt Hamber Snow Foam. I bought the bullet and payed the shipping and got a gallon of it from the UK.

But I hardly ever use it. Maxi Suds and Honeydew are more than sufficient 99% of the time.
 
Also, I don't think your stripping any LSP that has polymers with any snow foam. You may have to worry about waxes, but these things won't touch sealants IMO.
 
swanicyouth said:
Also, I don't think your stripping any LSP that has polymers with any snow foam. You may have to worry about waxes, but these things won't touch sealants IMO.
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Bang on. Further than that, with heavily diluted products (foam, APC, shampoo, etc.), if you think you have stripped the LSP, chances are you have done little more than coat it with surfactants. I demonstrated this recently with a very strongly alkaline detergent which appeared to have removed the LSP... but I was able to recover it with an IPA wipe (removing the surfactant residue).
 
swanicyouth said:
Also, I don't think your stripping any LSP that has polymers with any snow foam. You may have to worry about waxes, but these things won't touch sealants IMO.
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I actually guessed as much with sealants especially since there are such strong sealants on the market nowadays. I currently have crystal rock on my car but am due for a detail. Cquartz is what most likely ill be going with
 
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