Snow foam virgin

[Alex225]

Personally I think Snow Foam is a fun novelty but offers little benefit over rinsing with water.

I bought a decent lance and Valet Pro PH Neutral Snow Foam. Never ever saw the benefit of the stuff.

I was then recommended Valet Pro Citrus Pre Wash which you spray on with a pressurised bottle. Let it dwell and rinse. Genuinely gets into the grime and helps it rinse off, doesn't affect protection either.

 

[renault12ts]

2BM is all about getting rid of the grit the wash mitt picks up into a separate bucket. Your hose 'n mitt method may be quicker but if you have picked up abrasive particles in the mitt early on in the process you are effectively washing your car down with sandpaper.

Not if you use the hose to rinse the mitt before dipping it into the soapy water...with no grit guard because I wouldn't drop it in the bucket.

There is a lot of carp talked about washing cars...isn't there?

Please, don't anybody get too agitated while you dwell on that.

 

[LTD]

Am I the only sad guy that uses multiple mitts to avoid reusing a dirty mitt ?

 

[b1g1an]

Personally I think Snow Foam is a fun novelty but offers little benefit over rinsing with water.

I bought a decent lance and Valet Pro PH Neutral Snow Foam. Never ever saw the benefit of the stuff.

I was then recommended Valet Pro Citrus Pre Wash which you spray on with a pressurised bottle. Let it dwell and rinse. Genuinely gets into the grime and helps it rinse off, doesn't affect protection either.

That's how you should've used their snow foam, it does an even better job than the pre wash and likewise leave your finish in tact.

 

[b1g1an]

I've ised snow foam for a few years now & swear by it. I use the standard lance to jet wash the majority of the dirt away , then switch to the foaming lance & apply snow foam then wait 5 minutes for it to pull the remaining dirt away,,,,, then standard lance rinse & as said earlier the microbore wash glove. Once washed rinse & then chamois. Looks the dogs danglies after that. You can then apply Autoglym super resin polish to stop any water beading when it rains. I wash my car every week but only apply the polish every three weeks.

Mark

SRP is the wrong product, it's like a glaze which is effectively an undercoat for a wax or sealant.

If you stay with AG you should be using something like Extra Gloss Protection and it will last more than three weeks. Put your SRP on first floor a deeper shine.

 

[zoros]

Be honest - how many of you experience swirl miniscule scratches after you wash the car? You then have to buff it out with T-cut or polish?
Snow faom LIFTS grime away from the bodywork before you wash it minimising (not removing completely) the chances of swirling.
Only dark finishes need apply. Silver/gold/light colours need not apply because swirling is much more difficult to notice. But black, dark cars - snow foam is essential if you do your own cleaning. Plus you can hose the dog down and watch him running around in a different colour with foam all over him !!!

 

[Alex225]

That's how you should've used their snow foam, it does an even better job than the pre wash and likewise leave your finish in tact.

Well I used a dedicated foam lance which foamed it up well enough but I didn't find it lifted the dirt away as I would expect.

I was recommended the Citrus Pre-Wash by a friend who happens to be a professional detailer who happened to comment on the ineffectiveness of snow foams he'd used as I had.

If you use a pressure washer to remove the snow foam you'll see the dirt go but I found the same effect with or without the foam.

Most of the time I simply use the pre-wash and a hose with adjustable nozzle.

 

[b1g1an]

Well I used a dedicated foam lance which foamed it up well enough but I didn't find it lifted the dirt away as I would expect.

I was recommended the Citrus Pre-Wash by a friend who happens to be a professional detailer who happened to comment on the ineffectiveness of snow foams he'd used as I had.

If you use a pressure washer to remove the snow foam you'll see the dirt go but I found the same effect with or without the foam.

Most of the time I simply use the pre-wash and a hose with adjustable nozzle.

Think you may have missed what I was getting at, use that snow foam from a hand sprayer exactly like you do the pre wash rather than make foam with it. It's more effective than the pre wash and more effective than using it as a foam as your friend suggested.

 

[Alex225]

Think you may have missed what I was getting at, use that snow foam from a hand sprayer exactly like you do the pre wash rather than make foam with it. It's more effective than the pre wash and more effective than using it as a foam as your friend suggested.

Oh I did get what you meant, I'll give it a shot from the spray bottle mate as I've still got some sitting around.

I just think snow foam as it's designed to be used in a foam lance and like shaving foam sprayed all over the car isn't what it's cracked up to be.

 

[b1g1an]

Oh I did get what you meant, I'll give it a shot from the spray bottle mate as I've still got some sitting around.

I just think snow foam as it's designed to be used in a foam lance and like shaving foam sprayed all over the car isn't what it's cracked up to be.

Couldn't agree more

The container actually has mix ratios for using it this way and double that makes a very effective wheel cleaner, which I think it also mentions.

A guy on the Detailing Forum did loads of tests both as snow and just hand sprayed and came to that conclusion, you use laods and it doesn't achieve much. Gets ignored by a lot though as it doesn't look as clever!

From memory, although it costs more you use less so it all works out much the same.

 

[liamt]

Interesting thread on snow foam, I have used the Car Plan foam with my previous car and it did a reasonable job of loosening dirt as a pre-wash. I now have an new A Class that has been Star Guarded (came as part of the deal) and I'm wondering whether anyone can recommend a particular brand that won't strip it off. I know certain snow foams have traffic film remover in and can remove Paint Protection/Wax if used neat/incorrectly hence I'm being rather cautious before purchasing anymore.

 

[b1g1an]

Interesting thread on snow foam, I have used the Car Plan foam with my previous car and it did a reasonable job of loosening dirt as a pre-wash. I now have an new A Class that has been Star Guarded (came as part of the deal) and I'm wondering whether anyone can recommend a particular brand that won't strip it off. I know certain snow foams have traffic film remover in and can remove Paint Protection/Wax if used neat/incorrectly hence I'm being rather cautious before purchasing anymore.

The one I recommended is meant to be exactly that, hence the PH Neutral in it's name.

 

[Alex225]

As above, anything that says PH Neutral will generally not strip wax off. So that would apply to snow foam or pre-wash products.

Same goes for shampoos as well as if you mix up products like Meguiars Gold Class shampoo it can strip waxes.

 

[jr2007]

I have always used Autofinesse Avalanche, it doesn't foam up quite as much as the Autobrite stuff but it cleans off the surface gunk really well without compromising the LSP sitting on the paint.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

For various reasons I haven't been here for a while so just had to catch up on what others have said.

A couple of weeks ago I finally got round to trying out my new foamy bits because the weather was right: dry and not too much hot sun. I have to say that I wasn't all that impressed. It could be that I wasn't doing it right, or it could be that the Karcher snow foam jollop isn't much kop, or it could be that the car wasn't all that dirty so not much carp to shift.

Problem 1) was that I'd read a bit about this foam game and saw varying ideas on how much to dilute the supplied foamer before putting it into the bottle. Then reading the instructions on the Karcher stuff, it said nothing about diluting it. Thinking that this would be an expensive game if I didn't dilute, I opted for about 20% solution with 80% water.

Problem 2) was that the Karcher instructions said to use on a low pressure. But the pressure adjustment on my Karcher 7 is on the extended lance, which can't be used with the snow foam bottle.

Problem 3) was that the bottle didn't have any instructions about setting the control (?) knob. Trying it out adjusted the spray width a bit and seemed to alter the pressure from "jeez, that comes out quick" to "f***, that's powerful". Quarter of the bottle down, I set about directing it at the car, actually managing to cover everything.

Problem 4): after leaving it for 5 minutes to do its stuff I hosed it off with the lowest setting on the Karcher - and didn't think it was any better than if I'd just used the jet wash on its own.

The rest of the cleaning process was as normal. I just seemed to have wasted a few pounds, fortunately not that much, and 15 minutes. I'll just have to try again when the car has some real winter dirt on it.

(Not snow foam related, but I also did a little test on surface treatment. I gave half the bonnet some extra tlc with a pre-wax cleaner followed by polish then finished with wax. I honestly couldn't see the difference, whether in bright sun or shade. The only difference was the more glass-like feel of the treated side. When it rained the next day, the beading was slightly different on either side, but I wouldn't like to say that one was "better" than the other. I'm thinking that my once a year paintwork regime is more than enough.)

 

[Image2000uk]

Knight
The snow foam lance you are using is to say the least not very good you need one like this
tp://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pressure-Washer-Snow-Foam-Lance-for-Karcher-K2-K3-K4-K5-K6-K7-made-By-PA-Italy-/271637682488?nav=SEARCH
Then stick some proper snow foam in it like this
tp://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bilt-Hamber-Auto-Foam-5-Litre-Snow-Foam-Bulk-Size-/142086677961?nav=SEARCH
You need about 2" in the bottom if the bottle then top it up with warm water
Use it on a dry car, coat the car and leave for5 mins to run off the car this will lift and drag most of the dirt off the car. Then when you come to wash it won't have so much dirt on it.

If you can find a autosmart rep local to you pick up some smart wheels cleaner from them and mix at a 1:5 ratio this will make your wheels almost not needed in a scrub to get them clean. It's non acidic too.

 

[Toobad]

Amongst the valeting supplies companies, I've found that the snow foam lance is always one of their very high margin products. Remember when you bought your shoes from a proper shoe shop, the assistant would always follow up with a hardsell for their shoe polish. There is not that much to differentiate the various snow foam lances available. A brass-bodied head and a strong foam container is what is required. IMHO i6 Automotive meet these requirements in spades. Anybody with a modern Karcher pressure washer using their bayonet connector system who fancies some snow foaming action would do well to take a punt with this lance. You even get a sample of their proprietary snow foam to try with it although, as I said in an earlier post, Bilt Hamber Auto Foam is the stand-out product for me.

Brass-bodied snow foam lance with foam sample £15.99 delivered

Happy foaming!

 

[jml3p]

That is great stuff
I am at the of 60 - anew convert, just about to have my first try.
Information really helpful.
Kind regards
Jonathan

 

[Huw 800S]

Always fancied snow, but think I'll stick with two buckets

 

[jon.english68]

Wow that bloke on the Video knows how to waffle on doesn't he [emoji849] that said, I popped my snow foam cherry last weekend and couldn't help thinking it just made the hole job of cleaning the car twice as long, however, once the car was finished it did look pretty amazing, so I guess the go the snow foam does remove makes for a better clean [emoji15]


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