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      02-23-2014, 02:59 PM   #1
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Car washing question - foam dilution?

Based on discussions I've seen here as well as Amazon reviews, I bought some Chemical Guys CWS_110 HoneyDew Snow Foam Car Wash, as well as an electric pressure washer which has a spray bottle attachment.

Apparently this stuff is highly concentrated and when you use it with a bucket they say to use a capful per gallon.

I wasn't sure whether dilution was called for when using it in a pressure washer bottle, so I didn't initially. When I went to apply the foam, it wasn't foamy at all - just some bubbles here and there. So I added some water to dilute it - probably wound up 3 parts water to soap - and it didn't change a thing - still just mildly bubbly spray. I went ahead and sprayed the whole car that way, waited a bit, then sprayed with the wand to get the bit soap off.

It worked OK, but the reviews for this stuff indicate that it should come out very foamy - some even compared the foam to shaving cream.

What am I doing wrong? Maybe my pressure washers bottle thing just sucks?

This is the pressure washer I bought - it was otherwise pretty great - I enjoyed using it and it has a nice range of adjustability for the stream.

http://www.amazon.com/AR-Blue-Clean-...ressure+washer

Thanks
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      02-23-2014, 03:27 PM   #2
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I normally fill up my foamer bottle with 3/4 water and some soap.

On my PW there is a black knob that allows for changing to foam to soapy water.

I like zaino for glossy paintwork. Just about any car shampoo you put in the PW foam bottle will make the shampoo foam.
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      03-11-2014, 06:41 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by avlnch View Post
I normally fill up my foamer bottle with 3/4 water and some soap.

On my PW there is a black knob that allows for changing to foam to soapy water.

I like zaino for glossy paintwork. Just about any car shampoo you put in the PW foam bottle will make the shampoo foam.
As an FYI, I have been using this and I'm very happy with it.

http://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-...cal+guys+matte
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      03-11-2014, 06:47 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by avlnch View Post
I normally fill up my foamer bottle with 3/4 water and some soap.

On my PW there is a black knob that allows for changing to foam to soapy water.

I like zaino for glossy paintwork. Just about any car shampoo you put in the PW foam bottle will make the shampoo foam.
What do you use on your tires? I've been using nothing, but if think I should use something.
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      03-11-2014, 07:10 PM   #5
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I use that stuff on my E500. It should foam using 4 oz. of soap, the rest warm water.

That is the honeydew soap in my foam cannon from chem guys
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      03-11-2014, 08:12 PM   #6
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@stealth.pilot
Zaino Z-16

For our type of paintworks:
Make sure you always wipe this stuff off with a throw away after applying it. The sidewall should be dry when you wipe your finger over it.

I use eagle one tire swipes to apply it. You can find it at a local autozone. My throwaways are black microfibers and terry towels.
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      03-11-2014, 10:41 PM   #7
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Snow foam works great. Use an ounce then fill the rest up with warm/ hot water. What type do attachment do you have ?
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      03-11-2014, 10:45 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stealth.pilot
Quote:
Originally Posted by avlnch View Post
I normally fill up my foamer bottle with 3/4 water and some soap.

On my PW there is a black knob that allows for changing to foam to soapy water.

I like zaino for glossy paintwork. Just about any car shampoo you put in the PW foam bottle will make the shampoo foam.
What do you use on your tires? I've been using nothing, but if think I should use something.
Stealth,
Go buy http://www.autogeekmobile.net/tuf-sh...rance-kit.html" rel="ugc" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.autogeekm...e-kit.html</a>

If you don't want the kit just pick up the dressing. If cleaned good before this stuff lasts months. No need to keep applying every few days ! It's like a coating for your tire. Autogeek approved !
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      03-11-2014, 10:47 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by avlnch
@stealth.pilot
Zaino Z-16

For our type of paintworks:
Make sure you always wipe this stuff off with a throw away after applying it. The sidewall should be dry when you wipe your finger over it.

I use eagle one tire swipes to apply it. You can find it at a local autozone. My throwaways are black microfibers and terry towels.
I really like Zaino products and wax. They make great stuff. I stuff have z16 around and used it every few days before I discovered tuf shine.
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      03-12-2014, 06:05 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spinny02 View Post
Snow foam works great. Use an ounce then fill the rest up with warm/ hot water. What type do attachment do you have ?
So my power washer came with what turns out to be a shitty bottle for adding chemicals to the stream, but it really doesn't foam much at all.

I picked up a Gilmour Foamaster II - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Y190WE/..._26725410_item - and tried it last weekend with a better diluted mix.

It was much better than last time, but still not as foamy as I had hoped or as I see in Youtube videos. It doesn't get foamy enough to stick - it just slides off. What is the secret I'm missing?

I find that powerwash, followed by foam, then wait a bit, followed by powerwash - doesn't quite do the job down by the fenders etc. I still have to go over certain areas with a sponge to get everything really spotless. Maybe this will change once I get the foaming right?
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      03-12-2014, 06:08 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GladiatorOwner View Post
I use that stuff on my E500. It should foam using 4 oz. of soap, the rest warm water.
What do you use on your M5?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GladiatorOwner View Post
That is the honeydew soap in my foam cannon from chem guys
What foam cannon do you use?

Thanks!
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      03-12-2014, 06:47 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dhirm5 View Post
Based on discussions I've seen here as well as Amazon reviews, I bought some Chemical Guys CWS_110 HoneyDew Snow Foam Car Wash, as well as an electric pressure washer which has a spray bottle attachment.

Apparently this stuff is highly concentrated and when you use it with a bucket they say to use a capful per gallon.

I wasn't sure whether dilution was called for when using it in a pressure washer bottle, so I didn't initially. When I went to apply the foam, it wasn't foamy at all - just some bubbles here and there. So I added some water to dilute it - probably wound up 3 parts water to soap - and it didn't change a thing - still just mildly bubbly spray. I went ahead and sprayed the whole car that way, waited a bit, then sprayed with the wand to get the bit soap off.

It worked OK, but the reviews for this stuff indicate that it should come out very foamy - some even compared the foam u to shaving cream.

What am I doing wrong? Maybe my pressure washers bottle thing just sucks?

This is the pressure washer I bought - it was otherwise pretty great - I enjoyed using it and it has a nice range of adjustability for the stream.

http://www.amazon.com/AR-Blue-Clean-...ressure+washer

Thanks
LOL you need a snow foam gun not a karcher, the Karcher pressure washer needs the gun connected to foam the snow foam.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/14120...ff14=95&ff19=0
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      03-12-2014, 06:56 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dhirm5
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spinny02 View Post
Snow foam works great. Use an ounce then fill the rest up with warm/ hot water. What type do attachment do you have ?
So my power washer came with what turns out to be a shitty bottle for adding chemicals to the stream, but it really doesn't foam much at all.

I picked up a Gilmour Foamaster II - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Y190WE/..._26725410_item" rel="ugc" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.amazon.co...25410_item</a> - and tried it last weekend with a better diluted mix.

It was much better than last time, but still not as foamy as I had hoped or as I see in Youtube videos. It doesn't get foamy enough to stick - it just slides off. What is the secret I'm missing?

I find that powerwash, followed by foam, then wait a bit, followed by powerwash - doesn't quite do the job down by the fenders etc. I still have to go over certain areas with a sponge to get everything really spotless. Maybe this will change once I get the foaming right?

http://www.autogeekmobile.net/snow-soap-combo.html

Use this one, you can find similar also made by chemical guys. You want a foam cannon not gun. You will see significant difference. Enjoy the foam.

The Gilmore foam master should be used with a hose only and not a psi washer.
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      03-12-2014, 07:00 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dhirm5 View Post
Apparently this stuff is highly concentrated and when you use it with a bucket they say to use a capful per gallon.

I wasn't sure whether dilution was called for when using it in a pressure washer bottle, so I didn't initially.
If you have the want or the time to, you could experiment with how much water the pressure washer is adding to the 'solution' in your foam bottle by filling a known volume bucket, deducting how much 'solution' is removed from the foam bottle at the same time allowing you to work out the actual dilution ratio leaving the pressure washer lance (apologies in advance if I'm teaching you to suck eggs)?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dhirm5 View Post
What am I doing wrong? Maybe my pressure washers bottle thing just sucks?
My experience is that the foam bottles that are supplied with domestic pressure washers aren't all that good for creating foam (little better than the foam bottles you can connect to garden hoses, such as Gilmour Foamaster II). Dedicated foam lances (as per the example pictures) are better, but you'll need to search for one that fits your pressure washer lance. Having just bought a pressure washer, perhaps not something you may want to explore, but the alternative is a pressure washer with a detergent reservoir (I have this, but rarely use it, although you can adjust the dilution ratio) as the pressure washer lance flow rate will not be reduced.

I have one similar to the picture for my Karcher pressure washer to which I add 1 inch of snow foam/car wash and top the rest up with hot water. The amount/quality of the foam will also be dependant on the detergent product used. Personally I only use 'snow foams' (which result in shaving cream consistency) when I'm stripping a car of previous protection ready to complete a re-detail. If I want to do a contactless pre-wash I use diluted Zaino Z-7 in the foam lance and just accept that I will not get shaving cream consistency foam (although it's still better than what your describing using the pressure washer foam bottle).

EDIT; sorry just read above, John & Spinny beat me to it.
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      03-12-2014, 07:35 AM   #15
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I had a gilmour foam gun that lasted all of 2 months and a foam lance/cannon that worked pretty well... But the best yet is this thing:

http://www.autogeekmobile.net/tornador-air-foamer.html

2 oz soap, top off with water, hook to air compressor and go.

Also, at least here in Texas, the water softener kit is a must:

http://www.autogeekmobile.net/deluxe-filter-system.html

And for tires I use the opti product.. It's thick, long lasting, and VOC free:
http://www.autogeekmobile.net/optimu...-gel-32oz.html
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      03-12-2014, 07:48 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B-1Pilot View Post
I had a gilmour foam gun that lasted all of 2 months and a foam lance/cannon that worked pretty well... But the best yet is this thing:

http://www.autogeekmobile.net/tornador-air-foamer.html

2 oz soap, top off with water, hook to air compressor and go.

Also, at least here in Texas, the water softener kit is a must:

http://www.autogeekmobile.net/deluxe-filter-system.html

And for tires I use the opti product.. It's thick, long lasting, and VOC free:
http://www.autogeekmobile.net/optimu...-gel-32oz.html
Wow; that 'air foamer' looks like a serious piece of kit - I'm going to have to spend more money on detailing kit now

And good call on the water softener - hard water=less foam or more detergent.

Stealth - another option for tyres/tires - I use GTechniq P1 - I've just re-applied it 6 months after first application.
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      03-12-2014, 08:01 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dionysus View Post
Wow; that 'air foamer' looks like a serious piece of kit - I'm going to have to spend more money on detailing kit now

And good call on the water softener - hard water=less foam or more detergent.

Stealth - another option for tyres/tires - I use GTechniq P1 - I've just re-applied it 6 months after first application.
Thanks. I think I will try the GTechniq T1. This looks like what I want - a nano sealant. No risk of it getting on bodywork. Infrequent need for application. This is a next gen product.

That system BTW doesn't just soften the water, it fully demineralizes it. I use this too, and I just rinse the car after a wash. I don't need to dry because the lack of minerals in the water means the car will dry spotless.

I use this one which I find is excellent.

http://www.crspotless.com/de-ionizin...nd-system.html
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Last edited by stealth.pilot; 03-12-2014 at 08:11 AM..
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      03-12-2014, 08:28 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stealth.pilot View Post
Thanks. I think I will try the GTechniq.

That system BTW doesn't just soften the water, it fully demineralizes it. I use this too, and I just rinse the car after a wash. I don't need to dry because the lack of minerals in the water means the car will dry spotless.
Sorry,

Should have said GTechniq T1, as per the picture (unfortunate typo as P1 is polish). Let me know if you have problems finding a US re-seller and I'll PM details of the UK distributer.

I use this (+resin) via pressure washer (to wash car): -

http://www.ro-man.com/shop/index.php...product_id=248

And this (I have 30ppm followed by 0ppm due to water hardness) via hose (generally used to dilute Meguiars APC, QD, Glass Cleaner, etc.): -

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/a...filter-30.aspx

You do need to dry your car fully if using DI water though, however, as I believe you said in another thread Stealth, the advantage is that you can drive your car dry.
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      03-12-2014, 11:10 AM   #19
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Thanks a ton, all. I'm buying a proper foam cannon.
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      03-25-2014, 08:08 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dhirm5 View Post
What do you use on your M5?


What foam cannon do you use?

Thanks!
Crap, I totally missed your questions. Looks like you have the foam cannon thing worked out. I use chemical guys meticulous matte auto wash in my foam cannon. Let it sit, rinse it off, then wash with a mitt using a nanolex car wash soap - 2 bucket method. The foam just loosens everything up. Don't really need to put a lot of pressure on your wash mitt to remove the crud. But, a real wash is needed to get everything clean. But I'm thinking you all know this.
Sorry for the rambling.

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      03-25-2014, 12:20 PM   #21
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After using Amorall Shield, I just "Snow foam" leave then pressure wash and dry, never needed to wash mit the car yet.
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      04-02-2014, 08:38 AM   #22
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Is Armorall Shield like Opti Coat?
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