IK 9 Foam Sprayer vs Foam Gun?

JustJesus said:
YES! On the rare occasion I do use mine, I use the pistol grip. Didn`t even know there was another way of using it. How? Please teach me! :)
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Well, it starts with my spending your money again ;)

Unscrew and discard the pistol grip. Screw a male brass quick-connect in there in its place.

At the end of your hose, put on a full-flow (wide orifice/ball valve) shutoff and screw the female brass quick connect onto that.

Water flow into the foamgun is then controlled with the above-mentioned shutoff via thumb action.

While it might take a little acclimation, and you just never know about those personal preferences, I find that operating the foamgun that way *vastly* eases the whole business of "wash medium in one hand, foamgun spraying at point-of-contact in the other". Just having your hand/wrist somewhat parallel to the foamgun/hose rather than perpendicular to it makes a huge diff for me, but hey...YMMV.
 
Accumulator said:
Well, it starts with my spending your money again ;)

Unscrew and discard the pistol grip. Screw a male brass quick-connect in there in its place.

At the end of your hose, put on a full-flow (wide orifice/ball valve) shutoff and screw the female brass quick connect onto that.

Water flow into the foamgun is then controlled with the above-mentioned shutoff via thumb action.

While it might take a little acclimation, and you just never know about those personal preferences, I find that operating the foamgun that way *vastly* eases the whole business of "wash medium in one hand, foamgun spraying at point-of-contact in the other". Just having your hand/wrist somewhat parallel to the foamgun/hose rather than perpendicular to it makes a huge diff for me, but hey...YMMV.
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I learned this from you, and do the exact same thing. Easy to turn the foam gun in my left hand on/off with my thumb, and use my right hand to wash. AutoGeek sells a rinseless wash mitt that releases dirt really easily, and I use one or more of those. If the dirt doesn`t rinse off the mitt instantly, I`ll grab a new mitt after using both sides.
 
gspam said:
I learned this from you, and do the exact same thing. Easy...
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I *really* appreciate that feedback, and I`m glad it`s working for you.

(NOTE- I value all feedback, even when it`s negative..really do want to know whether my advice was good/bad.)

.. AutoGeek sells a rinseless wash mitt that releases dirt really easily, and I use one or more of those..
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If I ever wear out my current wash mitts I`ll have to look into those. Though I do think I`d prefer just having a zillion Eagle Edgeless MFs.
 
I have 3 of the smaller IK pump foamers, and use them for tires/wheels. Each are chemical dedicated
HD wheel cleaner
HD tire cleaner
Ph balancing, mild all in one T/W cleaner for final soak.

The small IK has a very dense foam, which needs a very thorough rinse, plus many many pumps.

The larger foamer I am thinking about, just don`t know how you could rinse all that thick foam off ??

My pick would be the foam gun, then you have it all, without the pumping.

:cheers:
 
This looks like a decent alternative to the top of the line foam guns and it`s less expensive than some of the pump sprayers--- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9ifurdYHIM

I put in the wrong link so have updated it. Keep in mind this video is with a 1500 PSI pressure washer--foam might be better with more pressure or different soap.
 
The iK foamers are definitely produce the best foam of all the foamers I`ve used. (Well, actually, the Griot`s pneumatic foamer produces the richest, driest, fluffiest foam, but it needs a gallon reservoir to cover a vehicle without reloading.)

The best foam isn`t all that important for presoak.

I still foam for presoak, but I believe I do it because of its therapeutic value to me. What had dirt before the foam still has dirt after the foam. The dust and loose grit, however, are gone. (But those would`ve been gone with plain water.)

Every detailer should have some iK foamers.

(The bigger iK foamer should be offered with a air-fill valve for pressurizing with an air compressor. Someone showed how he did it (maybe it was Merlin), but the process looked a little uncomfortable for me. I have a big Lafferty foamer with this valve and I use it more often than my Kwazar Orion because of how easy it is to pressurize.)

IXLRS, pay attention to what Accumulator says about his wash method. You`ll read about the virtues of the dual-bucket method, and they`re great, but Accumulator`s method achieves the same goals at an even higher level of clean (less contamination in rinse water and soap). Plus, it`s faster.

For maintenance washes in which your Macan is very lightly soiled, consider a rinseless wash. A rinseless wash on a lightly soiled car often results in a shinier finish than washing a dirty car with a traditional soap. After you`ve done a rinseless wash a few times, you might appreciate it as your fastest wash.
 
A tips for you with a big container and pump to get pressure. You need to have a over pressure valve to be safe to do this. Get an air valve that is for tires on cars those you can buy for a low price. Drill a hole that is recommended for the air valve on top of the container/bottle and mount it to this. Know you are able to fill it with an air compressor instead of pumping it up. To get this effective you need an oversized volume container/bottle and fill it up to 2/3 with solution. If you fill it up to much with product the compressed air will last less. This is for all pump pressure bottles. And be certain that you have a safety to not get to much of pressure in the bottles. An air compressor fill it up very fast.
 
Jaddie said:
The best foam isn`t all that important for presoak.

I still foam for presoak, but I believe I do it because of its therapeutic value to me. What had dirt before the foam still has dirt after the foam. The dust and loose grit, however, are gone. (But those would`ve been gone with plain water.)
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That`s kinda what I had figured, and it`s why my foamer never even got properly unpacked (just set on a shelf and neglected).
When people use a foamer and rinse the foam off, is the vehicle basically clean looking?
..pay attention to what Accumulator says about his wash method. You`ll read about the virtues of the dual-bucket method, and they`re great, but Accumulator`s method achieves the same goals at an even higher level of clean (less contamination in rinse water and soap). Plus, it`s faster...
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Heh heh- my test for the TBM: if there`s dirt in your rinse bucket then uh-oh. Dirt stuck to wash medium, which is moved across the paint, is an Rx for marring. By the time it makes it into your rinse bucket it`s already been dragged across the paint. I use the TBM too, but I recognize its limitations. And if I see dirt in my rinse buckets it means I messed up.

I honestly don`t know whether I get things *cleaner* with my method as I`m really concentrating on not marring things. "Clean enough", though..not like claying a test-spot shows contamination; I just clayed the whole Tahoe for the first time in *years* and it wasn`t even remotely bad, could`ve just skipped it.

Getting things clean is easy, I bet you could train a smart monkey to wash a car and get it clean. It`s doing that over and over for years without marring the paint up (too badly) that`s a challenge. Having a LSP/coating that releases contamination is crucial IME.

Faster? It can go pretty fast indeed, but just because an approach will allow you to clean a panel in five seconds that doesn`t mean you shouldn`t spend five minutes at it instead.

Jaddie said:
For maintenance washes in which your Macan is very lightly soiled, consider a rinseless wash. A rinseless wash on a lightly soiled car often results in a shinier finish than washing a dirty car with a traditional soap. After you`ve done a rinseless wash a few times, you might appreciate it as your fastest wash.
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I do that except that I first rinse it off with the pressure washer (to the point where it "looks perfectly clean") and then do a wash with the BHB/foamgun combo, which I bet most people could just skip if the soiling was really light. And THEN...yeah, rinseless wash using basically a lazy guy`s version of the GDWM. I just wouldn`t do a RW if I could actually see the dirt on there. (Yeah, I know others do it all the time.)

If I skipped all the out-of-sight areas, I bet that Macan could go very fast indeed if washed often enough.
 
Accumulator said:
Well, it starts with my spending your money again ;)

Unscrew and discard the pistol grip. Screw a male brass quick-connect in there in its place.

At the end of your hose, put on a full-flow (wide orifice/ball valve) shutoff and screw the female brass quick connect onto that.

Water flow into the foamgun is then controlled with the above-mentioned shutoff via thumb action.
Click to expand...

Well, it`s been a while since you`ve spent my money! So maybe it`s time?

That process sounds easy enough. It will be some time before I can do it, though. Haven`t washed with a hose in a while. Thanks California water restrictions.


Accumulator said:
I *really* appreciate that feedback, and I`m glad it`s working for you.

(NOTE- I value all feedback, even when it`s negative..really do want to know whether my advice was good/bad.)
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All my money you`ve spent, and all the advice you`ve given me has worked out well. Not a single issue that would cause me to doubt anything you would say.

I`m currently testing a handful of sealants, but to this day, FK1000p is still the most durable, "best" protection I`ve used. [Scare quotes intentional, as everyone has their opinion as to what "best" is for them]
 
Accumulator said:
Well, it starts with my spending your money again ;)

Unscrew and discard the pistol grip. Screw a male brass quick-connect in there in its place.

At the end of your hose, put on a full-flow (wide orifice/ball valve) shutoff and screw the female brass quick connect onto that.

Water flow into the foamgun is then controlled with the above-mentioned shutoff via thumb action.

While it might take a little acclimation, and you just never know about those personal preferences, I find that operating the foamgun that way *vastly* eases the whole business of "wash medium in one hand, foamgun spraying at point-of-contact in the other". Just having your hand/wrist somewhat parallel to the foamgun/hose rather than perpendicular to it makes a huge diff for me, but hey...YMMV.
Click to expand...

could you provide a pic of this setup?
 
briarpatch- Sorry, but no...I don`t do the Digital Imaging thing. Another of my quirks I guess, but as with Social Media, I just don`t post images to the internet.

I`m trying to ascertain whether I`ve forgotten anything about how I hook those up...don`t think so. Went out and checked:

Male Hose End -> Plastic Full-flow Shutoff -> Brass Female -> Brass Male (screwed into foamgun in place of original pistol-grip)

The plastic shutoff doesn`t really *NEED* to be a full-flow one, but IME the added water flow does help a bit. Buy a shutoff that you can imagine easily operating with your thumb; some are easier/harder to manipulate that others. I`m using ones from Gilmour that have a nice, wide/broad operating piece that`s really easy to use.

You need the brass Quick-Connects not just to make it easy to attach/detach the foamgun, but also to allow it to swivel a little so it doesn`t bind up with the normal motions of its use. DO NOT buy the brass fittings with the big plastic rings on them (which are there to provide easier disconnection) as it`s just too easy to accidentally detach/launch the foamgun. I`ve settled on the ones sold by Griot`s...don`t know just who makes them or where you could find `em cheaper, but they work *very* well for a long time and are compatible with almost all of my other brass hose fittings, even the really old ones (which I can`t say about every brand I`ve tried).
 
The results are in - I`ve been using my G TORQ foam blaster 6 (foam gun) as part of my car washing ritual and think it`s awesome. Unlike Accumulator, I like the spray nozzle. It offers adjustable water flow based on how much you depress the handle.

My ritual is
Wash wheels
Rinse the car to remove any heavy dirt.
Foam with foam blaster
Let the foam dwell
Then proceed with 2 bucket wash
Rinse
Dry car and wheels

The foam gun offers soapy lubrication over the entire car BEFORE running my incredipad over the car - lessening the chance of scratching the paint during routine washing.

This is much easier than hauling out my PW. The only down side is I use about 2-3 oz of additional soap; a trade off I`m willing to take B)

Foaming pleasure :)

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Here is how she looks after 4 mins to dwell on the paint...
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Thread Bump. Sorta on a plateau for detailing supplies - eh. Maybe looking to get something new just to get my fix on. Anyone else using the IK`s in your routine ?
 
I just checked out DBreezy`s last post as he was the one that originally brought this to my radar.
Hope he is okay. Looks like he last posted right after Harvey struck

Off topic. I hate TRC site since their redesign. It was much easier browsing their website store on the *old site*.
 
Re: TRC site. It`s odd as since I find it hard to ~navigate~, it`s also harder for me to spend my money there.....if TRC comes cross this thread.

Been scratching my head on the IK foam sprayer Thinking about what I have and what I would use it for. Nothing strikes me as something I have a immediate need for. Eh, help me spend my money
 
mobiledynamics said:
Been scratching my head on the IK foam sprayer Thinking about what I have and what I would use it for. Nothing strikes me as something I have a immediate need for. Eh, help me spend my money
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I`m good at helping people spend their money, but yeah...I feel the same way about `em.
 
well, I bought it. Spent no more than 5 minutes from unboxing to boxing it back up. Did not even bother filling it up and giving it a test drive. Double the price of a comparable sprayer, and build quality was less than a $60 equiv. sprayer......

I don`t mind paying the German tax when the build reciprocates. Well, that`s my take on the IK 9
 
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