Is snow foam worth it?

[stephenmercedes]

I love snow foam! No idea if it works or not, but it makes my car all nice 'n' soapy...

 

[SeasidePete]

As SummitDetailing says, you will be dissapointed if you expect snowfoam to clean your car. It will however, help remove grime and sticky substances left after an initial power wash with just water, or citrus valet spray then water. Key is to remove as much surface dirt and grime as possible before you actually touch the car.

My own routine for a basic wash is:

1. Bilberry wheel wash
2. Valet Pre spray
3. Plain water powerwash
4. Snowfoam wash
5. Car shampoo with mit
6. Wax spray
7. Rinse
8. Drying towels
9. Glass clean

This means the car is only touched once, when it's dried.

Sunset

• SeasidePete
• May 23, 2019

My routine for a detail is way too long to type here!

 

[Will]

My own routine for a basic wash is:

1. Bilberry wheel wash
2. Valet Pre spray
3. Plain water powerwash
4. Snowfoam wash
5. Car shampoo with mit
6. Wax spray
7. Rinse
8. Drying towels
9. Glass clean

This means the car is only touched once, when it's dried.

Did you mean twice (5 & 8)?

 

[SeasidePete]

God dammit!

 

[SeasidePete]

I have to say that the bilberry wheel wash is brilliant. You need a way of spraying it on, leave it for 5mins then power wash and it will remove most of the brake dust and other crap. This stuff....

View media item 8485

 

[Hakon]

Not sure if it works but I still do it, may help with oils...

 

[shadowboxer]

Snow foam in my opinion has a two fold potential benefits. Firstly for a heavily solid car, help to soften grime and general dirt before a good rinse and 2 bucket wash. Secondly when you haven't go the time for a full wash, dry and detail then a quick snow foam does a reasonable job.

 

[chrisk2010]

I'm a big fan of BH snow foam it certainly seem to remove more than a couple of others I have used.

I cleaned the shed the weekend and found some Auto finesse snow foam left over so I thought I'd use it up, well I was quickly reminded why it was in the back of the shed as it didn't remove any grime (I hadn't washed my car for 2 weeks) instead it created some greasy film on the car in a pattern that looked crystallised.

I went around again with some BH snow foam which removed the greasy mess than I mixed some autoglym shampoo in the foam gun and treated the car to a good soaking with that before washing using it periodically to rinse the panels as I went.

 

[windsorWorth]

Snow foam is a concentrated liquid wash that is formulated to pre-clean the exterior surfaces of the vehicles. It comes out as a thick foam, which also happens to look like snow, hence the name, i have used it on my e-class and i'm amazed with the result.

 

[stephenmercedes]

Snow foam is a concentrated liquid wash that is formulated to pre-clean the exterior surfaces of the vehicles. It comes out as a thick foam, which also happens to look like snow, hence the name, i have used it on my e-class and i'm amazed with the result.

Mercedes Benz is a brand of car widely accepted to be developed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz with a patent registered in 1886. Owners often are amazed and love their cars, when they work... LOL

 

[oldhamm]

I did all 3 of my cars yesterday with just a a generic snow foam from Cleantec (where I also got my bottle and lance) Not ideal day because the cars were probably too warm but I was amazed at how much grime comes off with one application. I might be lazy but I didn't need a second shampoo with the mitt.

 

[Dukey28]

I use snow foam although im never amazed at the results, i usually jet down first then snow foam and tbh it does nothing, i never understand when people say it got so much dirt off they didnt bother washing with a mitt. That has NEVER happened to me and is still filthy even after leaving it for 5 minutes... So to me its a gimmick, my dad when i was a young lad never used it and his cars were always spotless, its just another step that makes the missus more annoyed that its taking me ages to give me a car a 'quick' clean.

 

[AltonAnt]

I use snow foam although im never amazed at the results, i usually jet down first then snow foam and tbh it does nothing, i never understand when people say it got so much dirt off they didnt bother washing with a mitt. That has NEVER happened to me and is still filthy even after leaving it for 5 minutes... So to me its a gimmick, my dad when i was a young lad never used it and his cars were always spotless, its just another step that makes the missus more annoyed that its taking me ages to give me a car a 'quick' clean.

Firstly, try a snow foam that is known to clean well such as BH or AG polar if you aren't already.
Secondly, how well is your car still beading? If it is well protected previously, the dirt should not stick so snow foam might be enough.

I never rinse first as I understand both of the above snow foams are designed to work directly like this and make sure your dilution rates are good as it does have a big impact.

Forensic detailing did a Snow foam test recently which is up on their Youtube channel.

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

I think it’s worth saying

If you don’t bother going balls out on the car I.e waxes etc, and are the type of person to apply T&G & Fallout remover on every single wash (including on the wheels) as part of your wash routine then snow foam and the like probably isn’t for you

My car will be caked and the snowfoam will drag it all off, I won’t spray down before I apply snowfoam either and it really is effortless

I’m still waiting to get a spare day where I can show the results on my work van which is absolutely filthy, just to put some misconceptions to bed

 

[AndyRC]

Hese a sight you don't often see, a New Holland covered in the stuff!! View attachment 85416

Aren’t they usually coated with Gtechniq Organic Serum

 

[sc3992]

Snowfoam: fools and their money are easily parted.

Good placebo effect but who the hell would pay just for the bubbles of a car washing detergent?

Prewash, afterwash, it doesn’t matter: the actual bubbles do nothing to clean the car, it’s the detergents in the wash that shift the grim..........

 

[AltonAnt]

Snowfoam: fools and their money are easily parted.

Good placebo effect but who the hell would pay just for the bubbles of a car washing detergent?

Prewash, afterwash, it doesn’t matter: the actual bubbles do nothing to clean the car, it’s the detergents in the wash that shift the grim..........

And the bubbles keep the detergents in contact for longer
It's not rocket science.
You don't need to use a snow foam formulation. Any detergent will generally work.

 

[sc3992]

And the bubbles keep the detergents in contact for longer
It's not rocket science.
You don't need to use a snow foam formulation. Any detergent will generally work.

The bubbles in the Snowfoam reduces the surface tension of the liquid, effectively reducing the time that the liquid is in contact with the dirt on the surface of the vehicle which also reduces its properties of soaking into the dirt.

All you get from Snowfoam is a visual confirmation of where the detergent is, a reduced strength of detergent in contact with the dirt, which flows away quicker from the dirt due to the decrease in the surface tension of the liquid.......

You’re correct, it isn’t rocket science, is it.........?

 

[AndyRC]

WTF happed to a good squirt of Fairy Liquid in a bucket of hot water

 

[sc3992]

WTF happed to a good squirt of Fairy Liquid in a bucket of hot water

It maybe full of salt but at least it wasn’t as pretentious as Snowfoam!