Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

Wash & Snow Foam

nigel99

Well-known member
Joined
16 Jul 2015
Messages
1,882
Finishing work early yesterday I took the opportunity to give the P&J a well deserved pamper and to try out my new foam lance.

Before:




First thing was to rinse using Karcher jet washer.

Then using my new Autobrite Snow Foam Lance http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lance-Karch...151&sr=8-1&keywords=autobrite+snow+foam+lance

I used the snow foam that was included with the lance. The instructions said to add 1-2 inches to the lance bottle so I filled until it reached the label (approx. 1.5 inches). This was about half of the snow foam! I then filled the lance bottle to the top with warm water.

On the lance I turned the mixing filter as far as I could to the "-" and then gave it a quarter turn towards the "+".

The foam came out great and the car was soon covered top to bottom. I still have half a bottle left in the lance too.





15 minutes later there was still plenty of foam on the car.



After rinsing of the foam with the Karcher, I then washed by hand using two buckets and a wash mit.



I used a drying towel to finish off and the results look good.





I'm still not very happy with the drying process as there were still a few swirls left behind, possibly because my towel was too damp towards the end so I will try using multiple towels next time.

There wasn't enough time for me to polish after drying and this would have got rid of the remaining swirls. Next time.....
 
Looks great :thumb:

Did most of the dirt on the car come off with when you rinced the foam?
 
Thanks Michael. Most of the grime did come off with the foam but it didn't seem to have much of an impact on the wheels. I think it still needed the hand wash after though so you could question the benefit of using the foam other than the sheer enjoyment of spraying it!
 
Do you think that the cold weather made the foam less effective regarding grime lifting?

I was thinking about getting this stuff as previously used only 2 bucket method, would you still recommend foam stage or think it is overrated ?

Perfectly timed post, so thanks
 
mavster said:
Do you think that the cold weather made the foam less effective regarding grime lifting?

I was thinking about getting this stuff as previously used only 2 bucket method, would you still recommend foam stage or think it is overrated ?

Perfectly timed post, so thanks

It was my first attempt with the foam lance so I'm not sure if the weather affected it. It was pretty cold, approx. 4 degrees.

The car had about 6 or 7 weeks of dirt and was definitely much cleaner after the foam but there was still a layer of grime that needed to be removed by hand, the number plates and wheels were clearly still dirty.

The jury is still out for me on the benefits of the lance and I probably wont use it every time I wash but just as a prewash from time to time when the car is very dirty. I don't think you would be able to replace the hand wash, but the hand wash was quicker after the foam.
 
I tried this a few years ago having my been led to believe the snow foam process COULD replace the need to wash and hand dry. It can't. It looks so impressive but imho did very little. Not to piss in the OP's cornflakes but for me a total waste of resources and effort. I don't bother with it anymore.
 
Hi Nige
Best thing for snow foam is to apply it to a dry car, it clings more and therefore has more of a cleaning effect.
I've used the stuff for well over ten years, have tried alsorts of combinations and have discovered thesis the best.
:thumb:
 
highway said:
I tried this a few years ago having my been led to believe the snow foam process COULD replace the need to wash and hand dry. It can't. It looks so impressive but imho did very little. Not to piss in the OP's cornflakes but for me a total waste of resources and effort. I don't bother with it anymore.

:agree:

It's quite good fun (for a while) but not particularly effective in removing road grime. I really wanted it to work and gave it a right good try with different brands and different mixes but like Highway I don't bother any more.

For anyone thinking of trying it I would say prepare to be quite disappointed.

My choice for the pre-wash now is a Traffic Film Remover applied with a pump sprayer and then jet wash off. This does what I'd hoped snow foam would do and it's much less of a faff too. Still need to handwash afterwards though.
 
An yes but TFR is that strong it removes any former protection.
You may have spent a good deal of money on this and it's washed away in seconds. :thumb:
 
Nigel I think it has made your car look nice with a deep shine some of these foams are better than others in getting a deep shine. my detailer washes mine every week he uses a very good snow foam and a fairly concentrated mix this improves the retention time while that's doing its thing he does the alloys with a traffic film remover he has in a little pump spray thing to apply the traffic film stuff and as you found he uses two of three drying cloths. when I asked him about the traffic film remover he said he tries not to use it much on the bodywork as over time it removes the waxes and polishes that I have paid him lots of money to apply to the car. :hand: so maybe try a different product on the alloys and experiment with the snow in different strengths and from different companies. too thick and it will still be on your drive a day later :eek: . but as I said it looks good in the pics :thumbs: :thumbs:
 
I've given up on snow foam myself as well. You don't have to use a TFR, a citrus pre wash is extremely effective at removing grime and is completely wax safe.

With regards to drying - if you have a decent enough LSP coverage, you can dry your car with the open end of the hose then just pat dry the few remaining beads. Alternatively use a pet dryer if you aren't bothered about looking a tit :)
 
Jamie© said:
I've given up on snow foam myself as well. You don't have to use a TFR, a citrus pre wash is extremely effective at removing grime and is completely wax safe.

With regards to drying - if you have a decent enough LSP coverage, you can dry your car with the open end of the hose then just pat dry the few remaining beads. Alternatively use a pet dryer if you aren't bothered about looking a tit :)

Jamie mate, won't you get the RSPCA on your case if you use your pet to dry the car and what about the hairs. :floor: :hand: :floor:
 
Phil 997 said:
Jamie© said:
I've given up on snow foam myself as well. You don't have to use a TFR, a citrus pre wash is extremely effective at removing grime and is completely wax safe.

With regards to drying - if you have a decent enough LSP coverage, you can dry your car with the open end of the hose then just pat dry the few remaining beads. Alternatively use a pet dryer if you aren't bothered about looking a tit :)

Jamie mate, won't you get the RSPCA on your case if you use your pet to dry the car and what about the hairs. :floor: :hand: :floor:

Haha you have to use one of those hairless cats Phil :D

This is the car version http://www.chemicalguysuk.com/mobile/Product.aspx?id=264 or you can get a pet dryer which is exactly the same for around £50 off eBay. Or you can go full ghetto and use a leaf blower
 
Jamie© said:
Phil 997 said:
Jamie© said:
I've given up on snow foam myself as well. You don't have to use a TFR, a citrus pre wash is extremely effective at removing grime and is completely wax safe.

With regards to drying - if you have a decent enough LSP coverage, you can dry your car with the open end of the hose then just pat dry the few remaining beads. Alternatively use a pet dryer if you aren't bothered about looking a tit :)

Jamie mate, won't you get the RSPCA on your case if you use your pet to dry the car and what about the hairs. :floor: :hand: :floor:

Haha you have to use one of those hairless cats Phil :D

This is the car version http://www.chemicalguysuk.com/mobile/Product.aspx?id=264 or you can get a pet dryer which is exactly the same for around £50 off eBay. Or you can go full ghetto and use a leaf blower

Hairless cats :eek: its't that called a baby :lol: or is it a Brazilian :hand: :floor: seriously I do like the fancy car dryer with hot air :grin: :thumb:
 
imo snow foam is good if the car is actually muddy, anything that get the dirt lifted and away before using a mitt is good. Snow is however hopeless on traffic film - I save it for when the car is packed in rural road muck
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,355
Messages
1,439,462
Members
48,714
Latest member
Ron2325
Back
Top