Snow foam virgin

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During the more recent of my 50 years of cleaning cars I've thought about snow foam but never got round to doing anything about it. But reading so many comments in this forum that included praise of the technique, and now having a Karcher K7, I took the plunge and bought a lance and some jollop (you can tell I know all the terminology now). But before subjecting my C350's lovingly cared for black paintwork to my new toys, I thought it best to check up on how to use the stuff. So off I went to YouTube and ploughed through a few rubbish videos before getting to this guy who seemed to know his stuff. https://youtu.be/Fmp6Hw9pH4s

It's not the most exciting presentation and takes at least twice as long as needed, but still informative for a total novice like me. But well over half way through we get to a bit where he tells us that snow foam is hardly any better than just water!! But he also said he still uses it, without explaining why. I was hoping snow foam would make my life easier when cleaning the car because I suffer with a very bad back and all the bending I have to do just makes it worse. So will I be wasting time and effort using my new toy?

(As a slightly connected aside, I've just seen my neighbour wash his new to him car. Immediately after washing a front wheel with an old cloth, he quickly dipped it into his bucket of soapy water - washing up liquid possibly? - and ran the cloth over the bonnet. He continued in the same random, grit sharing manner. I had to chuckle - after all, it's only a Vauxhall - but I know that it would have made many of you cry.)
 
It helps loosen the dirt and surface gack, but it's no replacement for handwashing. You'll probably still have to bend, I'm afraid.
 
Do report back on how you get on and thoughts about the whole Snow Foam thing. I've been considering getting a pressure washer (KarcherK2 - £50) and incorporating it into my wash workflow but opinion seems varied and many of the products seen very alkaline so wondering what that will do to wax.

Keep us posted, let us know your thoughts.
 
All snow foams are not made equal, which one did you end up buying? Especially with a black car like yours, no-touch cleaning methods pay dividends. Snow foams are designed as a pre-wash stage for a moderately dirty or worse car prior to you doing a hand wash with the 2-bucket method. However, if you clean your car regularly and only allow the car to get lightly soiled, there are certain snow foams that do a good enough job to allow you to proceed directly to the rinsing stage. I strongly advocate the use of Bilt Hamber's Auto Foam for its superior cleaning ability as I demonstrated in the previous thread on the subject:

Bilt Hamber Auto Foam in action
 
Going in green may have been a mistake. I bought a bottle of Karcher's own snow foam that I've since discovered is a tad short of information.


image-2991868538.jpg

It seems to be saying pour the whole lot into the foam container. Does that sound right? Everything I've read says use it as a concentrate with water. It also says it's phosphate-free. I did my chemistry O'level more than 50 years ago so have no idea what the advantage of that is.
 
I use either BH Autofoam or Elite's own brand. The next door neighbours have been doing building works so they've had to earn their keep.
 
Bought snow foam when I had a black BMW , didn't think it did much at all really, now with a silver car I just hose the car over first with just water before I wash the car, think the stuff is a bit gimmicky. imho :D
 
Going in green may have been a mistake. I bought a bottle of Karcher's own snow foam that I've since discovered is a tad short of information.

View attachment 59113

It seems to be saying pour the whole lot into the foam container. Does that sound right? Everything I've read says use it as a concentrate with water. It also says it's phosphate-free. I did my chemistry O'level more than 50 years ago so have no idea what the advantage of that is.

I use a Karcher K2 and this Karcher nozzle on the end of the lance. It clips on to the bottle which you've bought. The price of the refills seems to vary from £5-£9 at Halfords but instead I just buy big 10 litre bottle of Autoglym and decant it into the empty Karcher bottle

j77wie.jpg
 
Snow actually works better if you DON'T make snow with it, put it on with a pump hand sprayer and let it soak. Then get your pressure washer out and blast it off.

Doing it that way you'll use a lot less because it all goes on the surface of the car rather than most of it getting it nowhere near.

You also want decent stuff like Valet Pro Advanced Neutral Snow Foam. That also does a cracking job of cleaning wheels too, just mix it up a bit stronger.
 
There is a lot of talk about the two bucket method. But, is it better than a hose in one hand and a micro fibre mitt on the other?
 
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.
 
Snow foam works the same way as shampoo or washing detergent does, you wouldn't wash hair or clothes with just water and not something that lifts dirt

Check out my thread which is pretty much the same, quite a few products and techniques mentioned in there :thumb:

(Can't paste link to my thread as I'm on the app)
 
If I'm honest the thread title promised a lot and delivered very little of what I was expecting.
 
brush

I also have a bad back, although I love cleaning cars it kills me, the best way I find is using a brush a neighbour gave me he used to clean his caravan, it is very soft and has a long handle, rinse the car first, use a good quality shampoo, even snow foam, but as a shampoo in the bucket, then rinse with clean water, lather off with a microfibre chammy B&Q about a fiver, results great about 20 mins a car. :thumb:
 
Big Paul said:
I also have a bad back, although I love cleaning cars it kills me, the best way I find is using a brush a neighbour gave me he used to clean his caravan, it is very soft and has a long handle, rinse the car first, use a good quality shampoo, even snow foam, but as a shampoo in the bucket, then rinse with clean water, lather off with a microfibre chammy B&Q about a fiver, results great about 20 mins a car. :thumb:
20 minutes! It takes me longer than that just to wash the wheels. OCD is literally a pain.
 
snow foam lifts the grit and allows the owner to wash the car with less risk of grinding this grit into the paintwork causing all that swirling you see after a wash.
Microbore wash glove after snow foam is the way fwd if you cherish your body!
 
To me snow foam is another stage to add to an already time consuming process, particulary as it needs to be rinsed away somewhere - not ideal as you blast it into the road/drain (probably).
 
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
 
To me snow foam is another stage to add to an already time consuming process, particulary as it needs to be rinsed away somewhere - not ideal as you blast it into the road/drain (probably).

Hold on a minute you can't be that concerned about the environment when your profile says you drive an E63??
 

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