Foam guns and pre foaming

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JHZR2

JHZR2

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I use meguiars hyper wash, which recommends a 400:1 dilution.

I have a gilmour foam gun that runs off my hose.

It makes foam nicely, but it doesn't stay "foamy", it's almost like it's too watery, when running at 128:1. It goes on nice and rich, but the suds flatten quick.

I cant imagine doing a whole vehicle with suds that remain in place. Just isn't going to happen. Is it because I'm not using a lance from a pressure washer? I can imagine suction is only so good, should I further pre dilute to get viscosity down? Say, dilute to 50:1 or 100:1, then use the 4:1 setting on the gun? I used that with hydrofoam once and it wasn't any better, though that's not meguiars...

Is it practical to fully foam a big vehicle like an SUV or van, and wash the whole thing down then rinse the whole vehicle at once? Not going to happen with my current setup.

Thanks!
 
Yes a pressure washer foam lance creates more foam.

I don't think with your Gilmour that you could improve the foam quantity that much by optimizing the dilution ratio.

I have a pressure washer foamer but not the lance type that you see on youtube.

It's not foamy enough to stay on the entire vehicle either, but I think some of the ones on youtube look like they would. But, they might be that effective because they use more pressure rather than there being something particularly different about different lances.
 
Jump to 5:00 in this video and ChrisFix shows the difference between the foam cannon that goes on a garden hose and the foam cannon that goes on a power washer. It's a BIG difference.
 
You wont get the same foam with ur hose attachment, it needs more pressure. I dont find even the foam lance to allow you to wash whole vehicle in one shot. I bought a lance but rarely use it...besides looking cool, its not very effective unless you can find some sort of car wash that cleans or works well at loosening up the gunk. I personally feel its more of a gimmick than a product. I like the idea of it, but i have my doubts on its effectiveness versus just hosing car down and doing 2 bucket wash.
 
JHZR2 - Unless you really want that whole foam cannon effect, I think you'll find that some sensible pre-wash rinse and spot treatment (via spray bottle w/ water and stronger soap mix) will be more than adequate.

I know the white coat foam cannon stuff looks great and probably impresses the neighbors, but I've always seen it as quite wasteful over a simple double-bucket method. If the end goal is to prevent wash induced marring then a high lubricity soap and high quality wash mitts will matter more.
 
I use a Gilmour foam gun and Meguiar's D111 Shampoo Plus. I've always been a huge skeptic of the the whole foam gun/cannon thing and, to some degree, still am. I examine the finish after pre-rinse and before washing and sometimes see grains of sand on the rear bumper behind the wheels along with the other dirt that is stuck on the finish. Wanting to take extra good car of the black paint on my BMW (and black S2000) I decided the following: the wash contains lots of good surfactants that will help carry dirt away before I take the wash mitt to the finish. So I got the foam gun. I only use it when the car is particularly dirty and the post-foam wash is always using the two bucket method.

In order to get decent foam out of this setup you must forget the 400:1 ratio (or whatever it happens to be) and load the gun with about as much wash as you would use for TWO full wash buckets. Then the gun needs to be set to the lowest dilution setting (highest concentration) D or E.

Is it a waste of wash? I'm sure it is to some degree but it's fairly cheap in gallon containers. Is it helping my car? I can't quantify this but I know it carrying away some dirt before washing.

48E15CDE-711D-4B41-989E-79D1FF9EEAD1_zpsp16hpbnh.jpg
 
While 400:1 seems light for a foam gun, I wouldn't worry that you don't get that "encased in foam" look.
I use a Bunny-K foam gun with 2-3 ounces of car wash then filled with water to hose down the vehicles. Let sit, then rinse off. That and a two bucket wash (using a grit guard) result in swirl free finishes on both my truck and my wife's CRV. I look at out neighbor's swirly finish on his new truck and just cringe.
 
Not looking for any specific appearance, unless the visibility and retention times for the foam are important. Key is best washing performance and protection for seemingly "soft" dark color Honda paint.

Ive never used a two bucket system and don't really plan to start. I thoroughly rinse and wring the sponge after each panel, and use a separate sponge for the top 3/4 vs the bottom 1/4 of the car.

Im good with higher dilution rates. Ill consider that. It seems to me that foaming at least by panel (in addition to a soapy sponge/mitt) is prudent to assure chemical action is occurring longer, and there's plenty of soap.

Assuming that I don't wash my car enough, so it starts reasonably dirty, some general questions:

- is a pre soap prudent? (Ie soap on rinse off, no agitation)

- If so, is it better to use car wash soap or something like ONR better for this step?

- is there any reason to vary from soap up one panel, agitate, rinse completely, repeat for the next panel, going from the top down?

Thanks!
 
Originally Posted By: gofast182
In order to get decent foam out of this setup you must forget the 400:1 ratio (or whatever it happens to be) and load the gun with about as much wash as you would use for TWO full wash buckets.


I don't wash very often and the last time I washed, things were pretty dirty.

After a good rinsing with the pressure washer, I decided to foam more generously than usual with my pressure washing foam gun. I used a fair bit of Blue Coral wash and wax to do this. I followed up by wiping down with a bucket of ONR water.

There was still a lot that came off on the wash mitt. But all that extra wash and wax / foaming made the vehicle looked as if it had been properly waxed, not just wash and waxed, and the look has survived for a while now.
 
If there was still a lot that came off on the wash mitt, I wouldn't attribute the look to the foam. Without agitation the foam still isn't going to get all of the dried-on dirt and grime.
But I'm of the mind that the foam can only help when it comes to eliminating big/loose dirt before rubbing it across your finish with the wash mitt, so a good result.
 
Originally Posted By: gofast182
If there was still a lot that came off on the wash mitt, I wouldn't attribute the look to the foam. Without agitation the foam still isn't going to get all of the dried-on dirt and grime.
But I'm of the mind that the foam can only help when it comes to eliminating big/loose dirt before rubbing it across your finish with the wash mitt, so a good result.


Most of what came on the mitt was from the lower third vertical surfaces. But I agree that you need agitation (unless you're brave with a pressure washer).
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Assuming that I don't wash my car enough, so it starts reasonably dirty, some general questions:

- is a pre soap prudent? (Ie soap on rinse off, no agitation)

- If so, is it better to use car wash soap or something like ONR better for this step?

- is there any reason to vary from soap up one panel, agitate, rinse completely, repeat for the next panel, going from the top down?

Thanks!


- In theory yes the pre soap on a dirty car would remove a certain amount of grime.

- ONR is designed to change the lubricity of water so that when you wipe with it, any contaminants won't scratch the paint. I can't see it doing anything without some sort of contact.
 
IMHO, a pressure washer is one of the best investments you can make, if you wash your car(s) often. A pre-spray with just water will knock off a majority of the dirt from the car's paint, reducing potential marring massively.

Add to that the incredible economy and coverage of using a foam lance, and you've got a winning combination. As far as suds go, I make a solution of heavily diluted car wash (something like 50:1) in the foam lance's resevoir bottle, and the foam lance gives me thick long-lasting suds. I can cover the entire car and still use less than 1/2 of the bottle of diluted mix.

I tried using the one that just attaches to the garden hose, and found it to be overwhelmingly disappointing.. which is why I spent the extra money and got the pressure washer and foam lance attachment. WELL worth the money spent.
 
I use a foam cannon and a Ryobi electric pressure washer. It does a great job, I fill the foam cannon with hot water and then a few big globs of car wash soap. I could probably use more soap and make it thicker, but it's good enough for me.


 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These foam cannons for the power washer have peaked my interest. I have one for the garden hose which is OK. Can the foam cannon made for a power washer handle an 11 HP power washer putting out 3,000+ psi if I throttle it back enough? Or is the machine too strong? I'm looking at this: https://www.amazon.com/LEMONBEST-Professional-Washing-Pressure-Adjustable/dp/B00ZOT9NNW Thanks!
I think it'll be fine, I wish my electric pressure washer had more oomph for the foam cannon.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These foam cannons for the power washer have peaked my interest. I have one for the garden hose which is OK. Can the foam cannon made for a power washer handle an 11 HP power washer putting out 3,000+ psi if I throttle it back enough? Or is the machine too strong? I'm looking at this: https://www.amazon.com/LEMONBEST-Professional-Washing-Pressure-Adjustable/dp/B00ZOT9NNW Thanks!
I think it'll be fine, I wish my electric pressure washer had more oomph for the foam cannon.


Thanks Nick, I'll be buying one shortly.
 
Perhaps a Noob question but what about those pressure washer attachments that have the swirling bush that is part of the foaming/detergent application?
This would be done after a very careful water only rinse prior to a soap or pre-wash application.
 
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