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I have not used a foam cannon before. I modded mine immediately and it produces delicious amounts of slippery foam. At a minimum, it is amusing.
I drive my Z06 a lot, including in the rain. It gets grubby; I am not merely rinsing off garage dust. I also ride sport bikes which get seriously dirty with bugs, road grime, track rubber.
So what is the best way to wash the car when incorporating a foam cannon? Foam the dry car, let sit for a bit, and spray off the foam? Power wash the car first, then foam?
In either case, do you leave the foam on and then start washing the car with a nice mitt and bucket of soap? Or wash only after rinsing the foam off? Or rinse the car and re-foam to wash?
I appreciate these are ridiculously basic questions, but to my surprise I have been unable to find straight forward answers. Please do not hesitate to point me to an FAQ if there is one which describes how best to proceed.
Here is a basic car washing regiment you can use with a pressure washer and foam cannon. This is what I do every time I do a proper maintenance wash.The aim here is to let the high pressure water and chemicals remove as much of the contaminants and grime as possible before you touch the car with a mitt; touch the car with your hands as little as possible - its all about scratch and swirl mitigation.
I use a Kranzle 1122 TST pressure washer and an MTM PF22 foam cannon. About a constant 1,000 PSI and 2 GPM.
Always begin by blasting the vehicle off with high pressure water. The idea is to remove simple and visible contaminants.
This step is not always needed, depending on your roads and drive frequency - but a traffic film removal step is a good idea . Take an APC like CarPro Multi-X or Optimum Power Clean @ 5:1 in a spray bottle or IK foamer and let sit on the panels for about 4-5 minutes. Blast it off with the pressure washer. Make sure these products do not dry on the paint, so shorten your dwell time if hot and sunny - maybe 2-3 mins maximum. You will also want to make sure you get all of this stuff off - leave no residue, so an extra pass or two with the pressure washer is a good idea to be sure.
Snow Foam Pre Wash.This type of product begins to break down what is left after the traffic film step. I like Griot's Foaming Surface Wash 2-4 oz and 20 oz of warm water in the foam cannon. I've heard some good things too about Ethos Foam Party - it is on my review list. If you can get your hands on Bilt Hamber Auto Foam, you've got a champion right there.However, you will need to use it @ 4% P.I.R. I try to get 6 minutes dwell time before I spray off. You need not be as concerned with this drying on the paint as you would be with the APC traffic film removal step - these products are pH neutral and will reactivate and dissipate with water. Side note : Bilt Hamber is not technically pH neutral but it is in no way shape or form caustic so it won’t remove waxes, but I’d make sure it doesn’t dry on the paint like the others can.
This is where I take whatever I'm using in the wash bucket for my contact wash and foam the car again. I do this to add slickness and lubrication since I am now ready to "touch" the car with media such as a micro-fiber or chenille wash mitt. I like CarPro Reset for my contact wash; especially if your have a coated car. Regardless, the straight up cleaning power and lubricity of this soap is elite. There are easily a dozen or more other good soaps out there too, but I chose this one because I've yet to find one that tops it in my experiments. 2 oz of reset and 20 oz of warm water in the PF22.
After I've foamed the car with Reset, I begin my single bucket contact wash. 2 oz. of Reset in a 5 gallon bucket with 5-6 clean wash mitts. I don't use the multi-bucket method since once I use a mitt on a section of the car it never goes back in the soap bucket. This way, there is absolutely no way possible it can swirl anything since it never touches the car again. Why chance rinsing a used mitt off in a second bucket with a grit guard when you can toss it off to the side and reach for a clean mitt that has not touched the car?
From there you’d dry the car with forced air or drying towel and finish with LSP of your choice
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions about what I've posted.
1) buy foam cannon and soap
2) spray car with foam
3) take pictures of car all soapy
4) post pictures of car on internet
5) rinse foam off and then wash your car like normal anyways.
A bit tongue in cheek, but the foam is just a presoak to loosen some dirt and stuff up, at best. At worst it's just something stupid we all do cuz it looks cool.
1) buy foam cannon and soap
2) spray car with foam
3) take pictures of car all soapy
4) post pictures of car on internet
5) rinse foam off and then wash your car like normal anyways.
A bit tongue in cheek, but the foam is just a pre soak to loosen some dirt and stuff up, at best. At worst it's just something stupid we all do cuz it looks cool.
I use Mr. Pink wash.. it ended up being the perfect PH balance for my well water.. be sure to get a good quality wash from a reputable company.. and NO DAWN dish soap lol
Basic Foam Cannon Questions
