i'm no math genius! consult about dilution rates foamgun

J

jojo69

New member
Ok, i've done some search and I am still confused.



Just got my Gilmour Foamaster II.

Read the thread here on that same topic but I remain confused.



Based on the directions, one would think you put the chemical (in this case CGCW&G) into the reservoir, plug your hose and dial the setting to the dilution you want.



But a) no one seems to do that, but instead already put a water/shampoo mix in the reservoir. why? wouldn't dilute even more your washing solution?



At any rate, please bare with me here:



In this case, i want to strip the lsp.

Based on CG's label, a 1oz/1gal will do the job.

On the FII, that is the 'A' setting. I will assume for arguments' sake that my water pressure is within adequate range and based on the FII's description, I will be outputting 1-1.5 Gallons of water per minute.



If I follow with my reasoning, I would then put 1oz of CGCWG in the reservoir, and shampoo the car for 1 minute and I would roughly be able to strip my lsp... as I would be in the 1oz/1gal of washing medium as per CG's instructions.



But say I want to continue to wash using the FII and a wash mitt, so I would realistically be washing for more than 1minute (on and off).

I know this is not a hard science (sometimes I wished), so would it be reasonable for me to say add 3 to 4 oz of CGCWG, assuming i'll actually'foam' the car for 5 minutes total (that is spraying it for that amount of time total).



Does that make sense? Am I correct?



Similarly, for a regular wash, I would add similar amounts of shampoo and use a differnent setting since I wouldn't want to strip the lsp. right?





I guess some of that will come when I actually use it this week.



I am on the right track or over-analyzing this:rolleyes1:



thanks
 
You are at least thinking it out.



The reason for diluting the soap in the reservoir (especially a thick one like CGCW&G) is to thin it enough to flow freely and to mix properly. When I use CGCW&G I mix it, let it sit for a few minutes then mix it again and sometimes even that doesn't get it completely dissolved in the water. If I were to not dilute it first it wouldn't flow through the pick-up tube.



Remember that dwell time can affect efficiency of stripping as much as dilution ratio. Rather than trying to come up with a mathematical formula you might need to do a little experimenting first. Dilute some soap in the reservoir and play with it until you get the foaming action you want. Work backward from there. Figure out how long it takes you to foam a vehicle. Then calculate how much water that equates to. (Spray into a bucket if necessary. Don't trust the label.) From that you can figure out how much of your diluted mixture in the reservoir has been used in that time. (You can experiment with this with colored water in the reservoir and spray into a bucket if you don't want to waste soap.) From all of this you should be able to figure out exactly what you need.





I recommend something other than CGCW&G for regular washing with a foam gun.
 
Thanks for the reply.



I felt CG'soap would work because the few times I've used it in the 2 bucket wash i usually do, it foamed quite a bit. (It also gave me the ratio to strip).

I figured it would foam lots with the gun.



I'm open to other suggestions on potentially more "appropriate " soaps.

I have Gary's Deans soap&bubbles, Meg's ultimate wash&wax. Id rather stay away from Dawn but that's also available.











Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2
 
Jo, can I make a suggestion for a really simple solution (pun intended) to this?



There's no harm in doing trial 'n' error on something like this and you can adjust the strength on the fly by changing the dial. Start off with 1 oz of your preferred soap and see if that works. If it's too strong, turn the dial down. If it's not strong enough, add 2 oz of soap next time around ;) Not a big deal, right?



(I'm always trying to minimize the amount of soap I use during my weekly wash in an attempt to preserve my LSP. So, some may use more than the 1 oz of soap in the quart reservior on a routine basis.)
 
Some sorta-random thoughts follow (and note that I have the other Gilmour Foam Gun, with the sliding brass mixture bar):



- I'd be *shocked* if that 1 oz/gallon mix of Griot's Car Wash stripped LSP. I'd use something else for that as I find the Griot's to be (nicely) gentle on LSPs even in a quite strong mix (which I use for wheels/wells/etc. without stripping my LSPs there). Griot's use to say that their Car Wash, undiluted, would clean off tar/etc. but it sure never did for me



- I don't *WANT* a lot of foam with the foamgun, or otherwise...IMO foam isn't all that useful since it has a lot of air in it



- I mix up gallons of Car Wash concentrate, and fill the foamgun with that, adjusting its setting for the job at hand. My usual dilution for the concentrate is 6 oz. Griot's Car Wash with enough water to fill a gallon jug. Using that, my maintenance washes generally use the mid-to-high settings on the foamgun
 
thanks accumulator.



COnfused though, are you referring to the Chemical Guys' shampoo when you say griot's car wash shampoo?



Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2
 
jojo69 said:
COnfused though, are you referring to the Chemical Guys' shampoo when you say griot's car wash shampoo?
Click to expand...



Heh heh, nah, *I* was the one who was confused...I misready your post and thought I saw "GG" instead of "CG" :o Sheesh....sorry about that. Never mind..... :wall
 
Accumulator said:
- I mix up gallons of Car Wash concentrate, and fill the foamgun with that, adjusting its setting for the job at hand. My usual dilution for the concentrate is 6 oz. Griot's Car Wash with enough water to fill a gallon jug.
Click to expand...



+1. That's my starting point, too; 5 - 6 ozs a gallon jug or I'll start with 1 oz directly into the quart container on the FoamMaster and run it at the max ("E") setting to see how it's doing. Fine-tuning from there is a piece o' cake :)
 
One reason I gotta use the jug/concentrate approach is the quantity of shampoo mix I use. I go through a *LOT* during a wash and I want to keep it efficient.



I'll have maybe six quartsize containers filled when I start, and I'll refill them as needed from a(nother) jug of concentrate...I generally keep three gallons mixed up. Hey, most of my vehicles are pretty big these days...
 
So I used it today, despite the 50 degrees out.

Eyeballed 3-4 oz of CG's mixed with some water in the reservoir. Used setting C at the beginning.

Noticed that it foamed decently. When I put it on E, it foamed even better!



Anyhow, had fun with it. BUT soon realized i was out of product!



I quickly used Meg's shampoo (again eyeballed) with some water. I can't say that it foamed more or less than CG's one, but again, the E setting had more foam that clung longer to the car than the other settings (which makes sense).



I know understand Accumulator's comment of having jugs ready near by!

I'll know for next time. Prepare a gallon jug of your mixed product so you can use it to replenish the reservoir.



:) Maybe next time i'll try Gary Dean's bubbles soap! :)



Oh yeah, and I don't know that the lps was "stipped" per se... I still noticed a wee bit of beading, but whatever! it'll do!

managed to use ONR v3 as QD to clay car before I couldn't feel my fingers! (it's an outdoor car port).



thanks for the comments guyz!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top