No Rinse & Foam Guns, Why?

travis2375

travis2375

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I am wondering what the big advantage to No Rinse washes and foam guns is. With the No Rinse wash you still have to agitate right? You basically just don't have to spray off with a hose? I can see the advantage for washing a vehicle in cold weather or mobile detailing but otherwise, is there an advantage to the No Rinse products? Why not just use a QD?

With Foam Cannons you still have to agitate the suds right? So you still need a wash mitt or something to do that and basically you are just putting the soap in a cannon instead of a bucket. I can see why spraying foam may be somewhat fun/cool, but is there any advantage as opposed to a soapy bucket of water? It seems like a lot of trouble to drag out the pressure washer just for a little fun spraying foam.
 
To get soap on the paint before touching it is the main goal for me. I want as much debris to come off before rubbing the paint by hand.

With my foam gun I also plan to spray it just ahead of the wash mitt as pictured on the AG store site.
 
The advantage of Rinseless is when no hose available/allowed, cold weather (can be done in the garage), time, eco friendly (less water used)... Otherwise I think most people would prefer a traditional bucket wash (except B&B - the drywash martyr).
Soap and bucket > Rinseless > Waterless > QD

The perceived advantage of a foam gun is the foam "clings" to the surface and therefore must be loosen the dirt and grime better. Some people think it's important, others think it's just cool but no advantage.
 
For me, I'm trying to get as much dirt off the surface before I touch it with anything. So, spraying with water will remove some dirt. However, spraying with soap and letting it sit for a minute should emulsify some EXTRA dirt, and allow more to be removed when I rinse the foam off prior to a hand wash. I have no idea if this is actually true, but if you think of it, those auto no touch car washes spray soap (yes much more caustic probably) and then rinse it as a mechanism to clean a car. I'm thinking if it didn't work at all, they wouldn't be waiting money on soap, just spraying water. Also, it seems most good car wash liquids may leave some polymers or similar on the surface, and that may be a plus. On my 2 cars it seems to make sense, if it was a business, and I wasn't doing a paint correction, I probably would think a "foam pre-treatment" may be an up sell for a customer with a nice vehicle.
 
I use ONR a lot. I don't have to listen to "No wonder the water bill is so high!" when I do. And I can get it done in my cramped garage if I jockey the truck around enough. I still use the hose and buckets too, just not as often.
 
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