To Foam or Not to Foam???



I use the foam for my soap review videos because it look cool.... :banplease:





The one time I have found foaming to be useful is when I am trying to help strip off an LSP. A good strong soap like CG CW&G + some APC usually does the trick and helps the process along...



 
I only foam for 2 reasons.



1. If the car has a thick film layer of dirt. Only useful if you have a pressure washer IMO.



2. To help strip lsp.
 
I've had a Gilmour foamer and a G-blast. IMO foaming is a waste of time and money if you have a pressure washer. It isn't exactly great for the environment. Even with a strong hose, the abrasives you need to worry about, sand and dirt wash off easily. The grime/road film will not wash off with regular soap. Only very harsh chemicals or a wash mitt/sponge will remove that film. So with that in mind, what exactly is foam good for?



It does look cool, can't deny that.
 
I consider it a waste of product and one unnecessary step, a Pre Wash using a good Fire Hose Nozzle Type or pressure washer, makes all the difference in the world.
 
While I can't wash marring-free without a foamgun (I often go through over a gallon of ~1:20 shampoo mix with the foamguns in the course of a regular wash), that kind of "conventional foaming" is something I only use as a presoak, and I consider it to be of relatively minimal importance.
 
I'll do it on my own car and occasionally to strip LSP or remove polishing oils on a clients car. I have no data to prove that it actually helps loosens dirt, but I do believe it helps. (I often mix some OPC in with my soap)





...and I love the looks I get when people drive by! :)
 
It looks cool and attracts customers. Other than that, it's utterly useless. Foaming doesn't work, people just have a warm and fuzzy feeling about it.



Those that strip paint always do so with APC or a strong soap. BUT, I've found that pre-spraying with a 2-gallon pump sprayer with some OPC/APC is much more effective, cost efficient and faster. It just doesn't look as cool as it would coming out of a foam gun.
 
Besides being a waste, I market alot as being eco-friendly, so I couldn't see all that foam along with everything else coming off the car fitting in with what I do. I do alot in apartment and condo complexes that don't normally let people wash their cars due to runoff so I doubt they would be too keen on all that foamy runoff either.



It does look cool though!
 
I foam to strip LSPs when I am going to be reapplying. It is also attention getting, thus good for visibility. It is also useful for cleaning in crevices and seams that are otherwise impossible to get to. As good as Rinseless washing is it I don't see it completely eliminating the need for a good, high pressure wash. Dirt gets behind trim, into mirror housings, in roof rail seams, etc. that rinseless washes fail to reach. While I have the foam dwelling I use a small, soft brush for cleaning these areas. You'd be amazed at how much dirt often comes pouring out of these areas when the pressure washer rinses away the foam. (Most noticeable on white vehicles.) This dirt is often what causes the "candling" that is often visible on white vehicles under the side mirrors and door handles from rain running into those areas and dislodging the dirt.



Rinseless is great for routine maintenance washes and when regular, high-pressure washing isn't an option. But I will never get away completely from high pressure, foaming washes.
 
I won't use foam unless I'm preparing for paint correction/coating. I'll foam it up, brush cracks and crevices, rinse and then continue my normal wash cycle.



-Kody-
 
Richard Grasa said:
Besides being a waste, I market alot as being eco-friendly, so I couldn't see all that foam along with everything else coming off the car fitting in with what I do. I do alot in apartment and condo complexes that don't normally let people wash their cars due to runoff so I doubt they would be too keen on all that foamy runoff either.



It does look cool though!
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Even though I promote Eco-Friendly, I also promote the best option for detailing as stated below by Nth Degree...



Nth Degree said:
I foam to strip LSPs when I am going to be reapplying. It is also attention getting, thus good for visibility. It is also useful for cleaning in crevices and seams that are otherwise impossible to get to. As good as Rinseless washing is it I don't see it completely eliminating the need for a good, high pressure wash. Dirt gets behind trim, into mirror housings, in roof rail seams, etc. that rinseless washes fail to reach. While I have the foam dwelling I use a small, soft brush for cleaning these areas. You'd be amazed at how much dirt often comes pouring out of these areas when the pressure washer rinses away the foam. (Most noticeable on white vehicles.) This dirt is often what causes the "candling" that is often visible on white vehicles under the side mirrors and door handles from rain running into those areas and dislodging the dirt.



Rinseless is great for routine maintenance washes and when regular, high-pressure washing isn't an option. But I will never get away completely from high pressure, foaming washes.
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When I'm at home, where my neighbors know I'm a detailer, I don't foam unless I want pictures :). I foam when away from the house, which when combined with my wash mat is like a customer magnet!



I had stopped doing regular washing, but after coming back to a few customer that I regularly ONR, there were too many "candles" as you call them on the cars. I let a lot of ONR drip and use a NOMAD sprayer the first wash, but it doesn't work as well as a pressure washer. When I would blow out crevices after an ONR wash, I would still get dirt. With the pressure washer, it's almost always just water, maybe a little soap.
 
Quenga said:
Even though I promote Eco-Friendly, I also promote the best option for detailing as stated below by Nth Degree...
Click to expand...



If you promote "the best option for detailing" or what Nth Degree stated, which is foaming, why did you call foaming utterly useless in your previous reply? Or am I just reading it wrong?



Foam and a pressure washer is not the only way to get dirt out of cracks and crevices. It certainly speeds up the process, but not the only way.



Quenga said:
It looks cool and attracts customers. Other than that, it's utterly useless. Foaming doesn't work, people just have a warm and fuzzy feeling about it.
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I actually manufacture these sorts of things over here in UK/Ireland where foams are very popular. However, from a read of the comments, I am not sure the actual chemical make up of our products is the same. Over here, snow foams are basically the least aggressive of the prewash products and would definitely not be used specifically for stripping LSP. Some products are nastier and bunged full of caustics so could be used for this but it also makes them corrosive so I personally do not recommend their use unless working with commercial vehicles (basically they are equivalent to heavy duty traffic film removers). For me, snowfoams are more a novelty and realistically they just aren't good at dealing with heavy levels of soiling. If you need cleaning power, the next step up is the prewash products which you will dilute and spray with a garden type pressurised sprayer. These are a good compromise before moving into the stronger alkaline and then caustic TFRs (which will often strip much of the LSP).
 
kakeuter said:
I won't use foam unless I'm preparing for paint correction/coating. I'll foam it up, brush cracks and crevices, rinse and then continue my normal wash cycle.



-Kody-
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Boom. Nail head meet hammer.
 
I've been searching and reading for about an hour on the whole foam cannon/lance thing. I am thinking about getting a foam gun. From what I have read and who I've talked to it seems even thought the foam cannon/lance "looks" cool it doesn't use enough water to actually carry the dirt off the car. Am I correct thinking that?



It seems people either like foaming or think it's a complete waste of time. I think the concept of it is good but does it actually work?



Any more input would be appreciated. I can't tell if Accumulator likes or dislikes a foam gun :confused:
 
I recently bought a foam gun (Gilmour) because I wanted to have it and try it, no other reason. I read all the different opinions and felt that although it may not be a panacea for keeping paint clean, it certainly can't hurt. I have used it once and it foams okay, although nothing like a cannon would but to tell you the truth, I think a little runny foam is better than a real thick one that just sits there. I did not notice a lot of dirt and grime getting washed away but some did and it certainly got soap into places a mitt or sponge misses. With only my limited experience, I have concluded that a foam gun is a nice thing to play with but it is not a necessary tool.
 
I use one, I don't have a pressure washer, but I wouldn't use one to rinse the car anyway simply because blasting a dirty car to me with that sort of pressure might cause a sand blasting effect before the car is mostly free of dirt. Of course dirt is going to be likely to just slide down the car anyway, but sliding is better than pressure blasting IMO. I use the the Glimour foam gun set on a or b and use the soap to wash the car and then the bucket to rinse the sponge and then rinse again with the gun. Yeah a good wash takes me an hour and a half to 2 hours :(
 
I would like to have a foam gun, but I have a feeling once I get one it will sit in the trailer and hardly ever get used. I think the divide is somewhat created by people who ONR vs. traditional wash. Once you start the ONR way, its hard to turn back. :)
 
IHA Mark said:
I would like to have a foam gun, but I have a feeling once I get one it will sit in the trailer and hardly ever get used. I think the divide is somewhat created by people who ONR vs. traditional wash. Once you start the ONR way, its hard to turn back. :)
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Mark,



I have my foam gun to presoak and rinse before doing my ONR washes. I seem to always have much more bonded contamination than I personally feel is safe to tackle with ONR. But doing a pre-soak & rinse usually get the majority off and get me ready to ONR.

 
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