In Wal-Mart, they have a foam gun

[EBPcivicsi]

I went down the car care aisle today to see what was new. They had this foam gun that is very similar to this one offered by CMA http://www.properautocare.com/suprosorino.html



I am sure there is a difference in quality as this was about $6.



They also had a new rain-X spot free wash system if anyone is interested. Not for me, but.....



Just thought I would share. I will probably use it as a presoak of sorts, we'll see how it holds up.

 

[Corey Bit Spank]

Interesting. How much was the RainX self-drying wash? It looks kind of....funky.

 

[EBPcivicsi]

^ IIRC it was about $6. It was actually two small containers with a switch and a hose connection up top. Looks like you rinse with the soap in one side, wash the car, then switch it to rinse and it dries spot free. I didn't pay too much attention to it as I have no need for it.

 

[Bill D]

Judging by the CMA photos and the size of the bottle, this device is not meant to produce a constant stream of soapy water over the finish--an active, cleaning and lubricating barrier between the paint and the finish. The photos seem to show it good for lubricating the mitt /eliminating a soap filled bucket.



Might be worth a shot any way for someone who just wants to try something new.

 

[EBPcivicsi]

Judging by the CMA photos and the size of the bottle, this device is not meant to produce a constant stream of soapy water over the finish--an active, cleaning and lubricating barrier between the paint and the finish. The photos seem to show it good for lubricating the mitt /eliminating a soap filled bucket.



Might be worth a shot any way for someone who just wants to try something new.

Yeah, I can't think of anyway to avoid using a bucket during washing, nor do I want to. I like my multiple buckets just fine.



I was thinking of rinsing the vehicle as usual, then filling the nozzle with soap and applying it to the car(all over), then washing and rinsing as normal. Might not improve my process, but we will see.....

 

[jmsc]

the theory behind a good foam gun? What does it actually do to the paint surface?



I read the article about the Wisconsin Co. that makes the better quality gun but can't figure out why do I need one.

 

[Bill D]

I must have missed the article on the Wisconsin Co.



I want a constantly flowing soapy mix over my finish as I whisk with my mitts a portion at a time. FWIW I will never return to the bucket method although I do use at least as many buckets as non foam gun users any way : a rinse water one on both sides of the car, and two smaller pails for holding used mitts after I switched to fresh ones.

 

[OI812]

I must have missed the article on the Wisconsin Co.

I agree with Bill D, I must have missed that article to. IMO I think the gun is just plain faster. Do you need one no you don't. Does it make thing easeir yes.



Bill D and others have more extreme method of washing then most of us. By using the foam gun you can eliminate a certain amount of risk in introducing dirt to the vehicle through the bucket method. I am not saying it is better, just a risk. The other thing I like about the foam gun is that the foam clings to verticle surfaces, which IMO is really nice. I like to let the soap sit on the vehicle for a bit before I actually wash it. That way some of the dirt has a chance to loosen and get washed away before the mit hits the vehicle.



The above picture is not a true Foam Gun. It's just a wanna-be that will never-be.

 

[Corey Bit Spank]

Couldn't you just use a Mr Clean auto dry and use your own soap and not the autodry cartridge?

 

[jmsc]

Messner (company out of Madison, WI) they carry this hi-quality foam gun that I read about here a few weeks ago.

 

[Accumulator]

Bill D and others have more extreme method of washing then most of us....

Heh heh, I resemble that remark



It's a matter of answering this question: How do you get abrasive dirt off the surface of the car without causing scratches? Or perhaps: How do you move abrasive dirt over the surface of your paint, in order to get it *off* the paint, without causing scratches?



If you hold a mitt against a dirty car and then move the mitt, the dirt, trapped between the mitt and the paint, will scratch the paint. That's what causes wash-induced marring.



Bill and I (and some others) use a "dislodge and flush" approach to getting the dirt off the panels, as opposed to the regular "scrub it off" method. The best way we've found to do this is with a constant stream of sudsy water from the foam gun.

 

[Mr. Clean]

Heh heh, I resemble that remark

You do, don't you!



Accumulator, I'll admit your fascination with this process has piqued my interest for a while now. :up Not enough to take the plunge, however.



I believe an important part of the wash process is the need to flush the surface with water (not necessarily a soapy/foamy water) before the washing process to loosen/dislodge/remove a large part of the surface contaminents. I also believe that suds is better than no suds with your wash soap. Slick (high lubricity)soap is good, bt sudsy slick soap is better. IMO suds help to "lift/float/suspend" dirt above the surface for safer washing. Slick soap w/o (or low) suds just helps push the "dirt" along the surface faster.

 

[AutoNova]

I bought one of these foam guns at Wal-Mart, it isn't a very good product it uses up the soap you place in the container way to fast and the jet setting on the nozzle has very little force. I did find the perfect use thought, I fill it with dish detergent to wash down my garage floor. If you used it to do a car you better use cheap soap and fill it about 6 times.

 

[mike189]

Quick question. I don't know too much, well nothing, about foam guns. I have a water issue where I live and that is the water will leave white water spots within literal seconds of rinsing the vehicle. Okay, maybe its a minute and a half. Either way, it's quite frustrating. Enough ranting....does a foam brush have filter ability for my final rinse? Will it help me "spot-free" my rinse or at least give me 60 full seconds to get the panel dry?



thanks,



Mike

New Orleans

 

[Eliot Ness]

....does a foam brush have filter ability for my final rinse? Will it help me "spot-free" my rinse or at least give me 60 full seconds to get the panel dry?........

The soap dispenser pictured at the start of this thread and the foam guns that some use are different beasts altogether. Neither one, however, has a filter for your rinse. You could use a Mr. Clean AutoDry which has a filter in it for your final rinse. While I don't really care for the soap they use, using the filter to rinse your car should help your water spot problem. They are sold almost everywhere, including Wal-Mart:



http://www.homemadesimple.com/mrcleanautodry/index.shtml

 

[ZaneO]

I just picked one up tonight...probably be a while before I get to try it out, but I'll do a short review when I get a chance.

 

[Bill D]

I believe an important part of the wash process is the need to flush the surface with water (not necessarily a soapy/foamy water) before the washing process to loosen/dislodge/remove a large part of the surface contaminents.

I feel it's necessary not only before the washing process but during as well: the foam gun allows this with its production of the constant flowing mix.

 

[OI812]

Heh heh, I resemble that remark

Yep I meant you . I think its great what you and Bill are doing. I use it more for a speed issue. Usually, not always I am washing and drying 3 vehicles, and I think you can understand why I say it is a speed thing.



I know you can testify to the verticle cling of the suds on the side of the vehicle.

 

[Accumulator]

Mr. Clean- Heh heh, $72 shipped isn't all *that* much of a plunge to take, considering some of the stuff we spend good money for



I sorta crept up on my current wash technique gradually, refining the process until I quit marring the paint. Just couldn't do it quite right until I got the foamgun. Putting the hose nozzle in the soap-filled mitt and letting a little water flow through it that way wasn't bad, but the foamgun is a lot better.



I'll readily admit that wash-induced marring is a pet peeve of mine and that I'm willing to go to some pretty extreme lengths to avoid it. I'll also admit that if wash-induced marring isn't an issue for somebody, there's little need for a foamgun, but see below...

I use it more for a speed issue. Usually, not always I am washing and drying 3 vehicles, and I think you can understand why I say it is a speed thing.

Oh yeah, absolutely. Whether using the thing for marring prevention as Bill and I do or for speeding up a "regular" wash, it's a great tool. The way the "foam" (more like "suds") will stick to the vertical surfaces really *is* something. Much better than with the other devices of this type.



You can even use a combination of the two methods with a BHB for quick and relatively safe washing. This works especially well when dealing with the sort of dirt that tends to stick to/in a mitt. Such stuff rinses out of the BHBs just fine, and the spray from the foamgun adds enough lubrication/flushing that the BHBs won't mar unless you have especially soft paint. And even then it's gonna beat the "regular" two-bucket method with mitts. Handy system for some of the wintertime messes I've been dealing with, where abrasive stuff is really plastered onto the lower portions of the vehicles.

 

[imported_The Uncle]

That $6 foam gun looks a lot like the $25 one I bought at Brookstone. I found that nozzle to be fairly useless. As one of the above posters noted, it depletes the soap very quickly and doesn't really generate foam (just soapy water). Even worse, when you go to rinse the car off, it tends to make the clean water stream "soapy". So, I can never hose the soap off my car without changing the nozzle or something.