What are your Foam Gun thoughts?

i got my foam gun a few weeks ago from auto geek. it works pretty well for me, but you deffinatley need a separate sprayer for the water. i do the car one side at a time with it, but you need a high concentration of soap to get a good foam with the DP extreme foam formula.
 
Jay are you sure you have yours set right? I don't have the DP ext but I dont even use 2oz of GC and I get great foam. I usually fill mine up with soap just to the bottom of the in printing, add hot water and stir using the white tube, screw the cap on and spray. I use the second setting. If I am going to degrease I use the forst setting.
 
I now have two of them with all of the extra disconnects plus.

I use one at home for my car. Sometimes with buckets and sometimes just a rinse, suds, rinse, QD for quick washes with PSS or 901.

Use the second one on my fishing boat that lives in salt water. Man I love fiberglass instead of wood. Rinse, suds, brush off the blood, rinse, beer, go home, nap. I used to use Simple Green and a scrub brush and wonder why it never stayed shiny. Now use PSS and the shine stays on. No more power scrubbing, etc. I would give up the car one before this. The other wharf rats all want to use it on their boats.
 
Jay Laub said:
i got my foam gun a few weeks ago from auto geek. it works pretty well for me, but you deffinatley need a separate sprayer for the water. i do the car one side at a time with it, but you need a high concentration of soap to get a good foam with the DP extreme foam formula.
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Jay,

Do you need just one set of quick disconnects or more? Way I see it is a male connect for the hose and 2 female connections, one for the foammaster and one for the separate sprayer? Is that correct?

Howard
 
P1et said:
Trh raises a good point: even if you're using the Foamaster, I would still use the two bucket method.
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From past posts I think many just use a single rinse bucket.

Howard
 
trhland said:
the foam gun is awesome recived mine last week and love it. i use it with d/p extreme foam solution and it sprays a ton of foam . what i do is spray the car first with the foam let it soak for 30 sec or so then start washing with the 2 bucket method always even with the gun . also its fun to use . i say pick one up there great. its going to come in real handy in the winter when my trucks full of salt.
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Hey that's what I do! Love it!
 
YankeeFan said:
From past posts I think many just use a single rinse bucket.

Howard
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nope, soapy water bucket and a clean rinse bucket! the foam gun is also used to help lube when I CLAY the vehicles rough areas ...
 
I have a foam gun and a foam lance for my pressure washer and they foam like mad...but here is my take on foaming..

I foam a car that is getting prep work..and thats it...my reason now...

Do you actually know the ratio of soap being applied to the car with a foam gun...like some soaps say 1 oz to 3 gallons of water in a bucket for best results..now with a foam gun are you going over that ratio and giving the paint a stronger solution which could comprimise your wax or sealant coating...

Plus with the foam sitting on the paint while you start your bucket wash ..is it sitting to long and maybe reacting to the waxes and sealants...

I wash a panel at a time and rinse bucket style...using the recommended solution ratio ...

Think of it like using APC's..different ratios for different cleaning...4 to 1 for strong cleaning and 10 to 1 for mild cleaning...do you think the 10 to 1 will clean a engine of grease like a 4 to 1 will..

do not get me wrong..I love my foamers ..but I do not know if the foam solution is to strong for the finish...

they have thier place for me..but once my car and truck is done to my liking..I use a bucket wash to ensure I have the right mix to ensure the finish is not over cleaned....

Al
 
You raise a very good point Al. Since my foam gun has a dial on it, I usually foam the front, then wash it, then rinse. Then I foam the doors, wash it, then rinse. Etc. etc. I just don't want the foam drying on the finish, especially since it live in the South and the sun / heat can get brutal here.
 
You guys don't get water spots by rinsing right away? I read somewhere that it was better to wash the whole vehicle and then rise. The idea being that the even if the soap dried out alittle it would rinse clean as oppsed to once the water dires it will spot. It stinks because I already have 2 strikes against me...1) well water 2) live in central Fl where its hot hot hot. I hear that Meg's NXT is good soap to use for hard water but then I hear it may impact the durability. If this is getting off topic feel free to move it.
 
Bags said:
You guys don't get water spots by rinsing right away? I read somewhere that it was better to wash the whole vehicle and then rise. The idea being that the even if the soap dried out alittle it would rinse clean as oppsed to once the water dires it will spot. It stinks because I already have 2 strikes against me...1) well water 2) live in central Fl where its hot hot hot. I hear that Meg's NXT is good soap to use for hard water but then I hear it may impact the durability. If this is getting off topic feel free to move it.
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I rinse often to keep the surface wet at all times. Oh, and I love the foam gun.
 
trl2112 said:
I rinse often to keep the surface wet at all times. Oh, and I love the foam gun.
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Funny because the OP's questions were on my mind this morning when I saw ScottGT's post on the little Lowe's foamer.

I do not have a foam gun, but the logic of washing and rinsing a small part of the car at a time versus soaping it up all at once would be the same whether you get the suds on with a foam gun or with a wash mitt. I think the idea is to get the soap off as quickly as possible (and do not let any part of the car dry on its own). If you are going to let the soap sit on the car, it is going to be taking off wax/sealant, at least according to Mike Phillips of Meguiars. So if you are stripping, foaming the whole car is fine, otherwise, I would get it off section by section.

The other good question by the OP was whether this does away with the soap bucket in the two bucket method. If it does not, and if you are not going to let the soap sit on the car (see above), what is the point of a foamer, besides the fact that it is neat and I want one!
 
uummm "Duragloss Car Wash Concentrate #901 Is a highly concentrated blend of mild surfactants and cleaners that actually enhance the shine of painted vehicles each time it is used. Does not contain acids or alkali and will not remove durable polishes.

If you’re looking for a pH-balanced car shampoo that preserves wax and produces mountains of suds, you’re looking for Duragloss Car Wash Concentrate #901. This shampoo is gentle on your vehicle with plenty of lubricants and suds to protect your paint while you wash.

Chemically, Duragloss Car Wash Concentrate is made up of mild surfactants, which are the safest way to clean. They surround and suspend foreign particles so they easily rinse away. Duragloss Car Wash Concentrate is non-alkaline and non-acidic so it will not remove wax or dry out the paint.
I don't get it? Now you are telling me my cars wash soap strips my wax and sealants. I thought car wash soap was designed not to strip my waxes, I might as well use dish soap.(I'm not going to but you see my point).
 
I bought a foam gun from Lowes for $10. It sucked up a lot of soap (Meg GC) and I wasnt really that impressed.

Is the $60 foam gun from AG a lot better? I used it today on my mother's Lexus (and yes I did a half assed job, washed the car and Zymbol'd it in under 45 min)
 
Bags...some soaps contain a alkali based soap...some use a acid base like citric and a few others...they clean and cheap to use ...some use a vegetable based soap like cocomide and a few other plant derived soaps.....I do not know what DG 901 is composed of ..but the Megs #00 soap is a vegetable based soap....to me the longer the soap dwells on the paint the more chance it has to compromise the LSP...I do 1 panel at a time and rinse...some soaps if let dried on paint will etch the LSP ...you see streaking on the dried surface where the soap dried...when it dries you get a higher concentration of the cleaning agent as the dilution product has evaporated..meaning the water..whats left is pure cleaning agent...undiluted...

Al
 
trhland said:
the foam gun is awesome recived mine last week and love it. i use it with d/p extreme foam solution and it sprays a ton of foam . what i do is spray the car first with the foam let it soak for 30 sec or so then start washing with the 2 bucket method always even with the gun . also its fun to use . i say pick one up there great. its going to come in real handy in the winter when my trucks full of salt.
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Great product IMO. Cut my wash time by 3/4 but that is me. I know it is also because of the great advice from all the members of AG. Worth the money in my opinion!
 
Great product. Used mine for the 1st time last weekend using the two bucket method and it really does a nice job. I just unlpug the gun to rinse and plug it back in when I needed the gun. Very simple to use.
 
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