Using snow foam to wash car

C

cheekyage

New member
Joined
Oct 13, 2013
Messages
141
Reaction score
0
Hi guys

I’ve been watching a stack of YouTube videos on car washing techniques and so far the majority if not all are doing the following method:

1. Rinse car
2. Foam car with snow cannon (MTM/MJJC or similar)
3. Use foam on car with microfibre wash mitt and wash car with two bucket method
4. Rinse car
5. Dry car

My question is - is the snow foam that is on the car safe to use?
I would have thought you are still moving around dirt and debris if the snow foam is left on the car?

I understand leaving the snow foam on the car would act as extra lubricity, but I’m worried that I would still be causing marring or swirls.

Thanks


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
For me, using a foam gun in the way you described is the safest, most fool proof way to wash. I’ve had absolutely no swirls because the soap and the mitts flush and whisk it away.
 
cheekyage said:
Hi guys

I’ve been watching a stack of YouTube videos on car washing techniques and so far the majority if not all are doing the following method:

1. Rinse car
2. Foam car with snow cannon (MTM/MJJC or similar)
3. Use foam on car with microfibre wash mitt and wash car with two bucket method
4. Rinse car
5. Dry car

My question is - is the snow foam that is on the car safe to use?
I would have thought you are still moving around dirt and debris if the snow foam is left on the car?

I understand leaving the snow foam on the car would act as extra lubricity, but I’m worried that I would still be causing marring or swirls.

Thanks


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Regardless of your method, there is always the potential to induce some type of marring during the wash phase. As Bill D indicated, his method is one of many that will reduce the chances of that occurring. I prefer to use a pre-wash foam (Bilt Hamber Touchless for me) first, to do the heavy lifting and carry the bulk of the dirt away. After rinsing that off, I will then wash with multiple mitts....but that's just me.
 
cheekyage said:
1. Rinse car
2. Foam car with snow cannon (MTM/MJJC or similar)
3. Use foam on car with microfiber wash mitt and wash car with two bucket method
4. Rinse car
5. Dry car
Click to expand...

^^Exactly what I do. I do use 3 mitts, 1 for the horizontal sections, 1 for the vertical sections and another for the lower sections that get hit with the most dirt.
 
^ yup, me too. I rinse, foam, rinse, foam then contact wash.
 
cheekyage said:
Hi guys

I’ve been watching a stack of YouTube videos on car washing techniques and so far the majority if not all are doing the following method:

1. Rinse car
2. Foam car with snow cannon (MTM/MJJC or similar)
3. Use foam on car with microfibre wash mitt and wash car with two bucket method
4. Rinse car
5. Dry car

My question is - is the snow foam that is on the car safe to use?
I would have thought you are still moving around dirt and debris if the snow foam is left on the car?

I understand leaving the snow foam on the car would act as extra lubricity, but I’m worried that I would still be causing marring or swirls.

Thanks


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

If you RINSE first (presumably with a pressure washer), you are basically removing most of the loose surface contaminants which contributes to marring. As soon as it is rinsed away, the layer of snow foam adds another lubrication barrier so that the contact from your wash media against the paint further reduces/eliminates marring from the wash.

But honestly, the biggest factor to any potential marring doesn't come from the wash stage, it comes from the DRYING stage. Aggressive drying methods such as applying too much pressure to the towel when wiping (which is easy to do on vertical panels because you have to put more force forward to keep the towel against the surface) or dry wiping panels that have little water. There are MANY preferred drying techniques that people utilize to avoid marring so you'll want to research all of them and use the one that works best for you. (ie. blow dry, blot dry, pull dry, drying aids, etc.)
 
I’ll play devils advocate here and suggest that you should FOAM first, and then RINSE.

Why?

Because water is not a lubricant. If you power wash all the dirt and grit first you run a greater risk of marring the paint by blasting it with your pressure washer.

Better to foam first, allowing the foam to dwell and begin to break down the contaminants while providing lubrication to then power rinse as much away as possible before beginning to do a contact wash.

If you don’t want to foam first you could alternatively use a rinseless wash to pretreat all the panels before pressure rinsing, again with the idea of encapsulating the surface dirt and providing lubrication.

Not convinced? I’m just repeating what I’ve heard from Yvan Lacroix in the past.

You do you however .
 
BadgerRivFan said:
I’ll play devils advocate here and suggest that you should FOAM first, and then RINSE.

Why?

Because water is not a lubricant. If you power wash all the dirt and grit first you run a greater risk of marring the paint by blasting it with your pressure washer.

Better to foam first, allowing the foam to dwell and begin to break down the contaminants while providing lubrication to then power rinse as much away as possible before beginning to do a contact wash.

If you don’t want to foam first you could alternatively use a rinseless wash to pretreat all the panels before pressure rinsing, again with the idea of encapsulating the surface dirt and providing lubrication.

Not convinced? I’m just repeating what I’ve heard from Yvan Lacroix in the past.

You do you however .
Click to expand...

That's an interesting point. I bet the foam sticks better too.

Just feels weird to me. Like brushing my teeth without first wetting the toothbrush or putting handsoap onto dry hands.

*shivers*
 
I haven't foamed much, usually only when the vehicle is very dirty, but I've always sprayed it on to a dry vehicle. I can't remember if that's what the original instructions said, but it makes sense that the foam wouldn't dwell on a wet surface.

I don't think I could use the foam to do a contact wash, unless it was the second foaming with a rinse in between.

Does anyone else get "dirty" looks from neighbours when the foam runs down the driveway onto the footpath, I think they don't like walking through, or having to step over the rinsed off foam.

I am planning on using foam more, I might try it one day when it's raining outside, just for fun.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk
 
Big Dave said:
I haven't foamed much, usually only when the vehicle is very dirty, but I've always sprayed it on to a dry vehicle. I can't remember if that's what the original instructions said, but it makes sense that the foam wouldn't dwell on a wet surface.

I don't think I could use the foam to do a contact wash, unless it was the second foaming with a rinse in between.

Does anyone else get "dirty" looks from neighbours when the foam runs down the driveway onto the footpath, I think they don't like walking through, or having to step over the rinsed off foam.

I am planning on using foam more, I might try it one day when it's raining outside, just for fun.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I get looks from people driving by while i'm foaming, but that could also be the "Micro Bikini" that i wear. :dunno::wowwow:
 
1. Rinse car
2. APC pre-soak
3. Rinse
4. Two bucket
5. Rinse/dry
 
How does “foam” work in dry conditions? Out here in AZ I find on a 65 degree day in the shade, Doing a rinseless wash one panel at a time, evaporation is fast!
 
briarpatch said:
Regardless of your method, there is always the potential to induce some type of marring during the wash phase. As Bill D indicated, his method is one of many that will reduce the chances of that occurring. I prefer to use a pre-wash foam (Bilt Hamber Touchless for me) first, to do the heavy lifting and carry the bulk of the dirt away. After rinsing that off, I will then wash with multiple mitts....but that's just me.
Click to expand...

That’s my new method and I find it works much better than just rinsing first. I find that using Auto Foam (switching to Touchless when it runs out) pretty much gets my car clean and the contact wash is just to remove that last little bit of leftover dirt. I use a few Autofiber Double Flip cloths to make sure any removed dirt never enters my wash bucket.
 
Big Dave said:
Does anyone else get "dirty" looks from neighbours when the foam runs down the driveway onto the footpath, I think they don't like walking through, or having to step over the rinsed off foam.
Click to expand...

It’s probably just in your head..

But even if they are ‘upset’, they’re probably the same type of folks who grumble about how people today are lazy and nobody plays outside anymore like they used to.

But once someone actually does either of those things they find another reason to be upset over what that person is now doing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
BadgerRivFan said:
I’ll play devils advocate here and suggest that you should FOAM first, and then RINSE.

Why?

Because water is not a lubricant. If you power wash all the dirt and grit first you run a greater risk of marring the paint by blasting it with your pressure washer.

Better to foam first, allowing the foam to dwell and begin to break down the contaminants while providing lubrication to then power rinse as much away as possible before beginning to do a contact wash.

If you don’t want to foam first you could alternatively use a rinseless wash to pretreat all the panels before pressure rinsing, again with the idea of encapsulating the surface dirt and providing lubrication.

Not convinced? I’m just repeating what I’ve heard from Yvan Lacroix in the past.

You do you however .
Click to expand...

I will play devils advocate as well. This all sounds good and the theory sounds good. But there is no proof of this other than Yvan stating it. Not saying he is wrong but there is no proof and nobody has tried to capture this to show proof.
 
CleanIT said:
1. Rinse car
2. APC pre-soak
3. Rinse
4. Two bucket
5. Rinse/dry
Click to expand...

Op- Going to second the above CleanIT. That rinse in-between the foam and shampoo helps avoid the risk of product drying on a hot summer day, or even just a day with intense sunlight.
 
The Guz said:
I will play devils advocate as well. This all sounds good and the theory sounds good. But there is no proof of this other than Yvan stating it. Not saying he is wrong but there is no proof and nobody has tried to capture this to show proof.
Click to expand...

where are those myth busters when you need 'em?...bet they could come up with some way of testing it
 
BadgerRivFan said:
I’ll play devils advocate here and suggest that you should FOAM first, and then RINSE.

Why?

Because water is not a lubricant. If you power wash all the dirt and grit first you run a greater risk of marring the paint by blasting it with your pressure washer.

Better to foam first, allowing the foam to dwell and begin to break down the contaminants while providing lubrication to then power rinse as much away as possible before beginning to do a contact wash.

If you don’t want to foam first you could alternatively use a rinseless wash to pretreat all the panels before pressure rinsing, again with the idea of encapsulating the surface dirt and providing lubrication.

Not convinced? I’m just repeating what I’ve heard from Yvan Lacroix in the past.

You do you however .
Click to expand...

Marring the paint by using high pressure rinse? I honestly don’t believe that’s a realistic possibility. To take it even further, that would make it somehow possible to get swirls from driving a really dirty car in heavy rain.

Water isn’t a lubricant?

Car wash soap isn’t a detergent.

-Car wash shampoo drying on a vehicle is less of a concern than plain water from the hose drying on a vehicle because car wash shampoo doesn’t cause water spots, water causes water spots.
 
Mar the paint by power washing it? Bruh.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top