# Anyone tried bilt hamber auto foam ?



## whiteclio59 (Aug 13, 2013)

I've recently brought gtechniq W4 foam its not the best I'm thinking about buying bilthamber auto foam has anyone tried it?


----------



## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

whiteclio59 said:


> I've recently brought gtechniq W4 foam its not the best I'm thinking about buying bilthamber auto foam has anyone tried it?


Only one I use, brilliant via Mesto sprayer, prefer it over Power Maxed TFR


----------



## whiteclio59 (Aug 13, 2013)

I use my foam with a lance I like fast foam the best so far don't know why I changed my foam


----------



## jebus (Jun 2, 2009)

In the great Snow Foam War/Debate/*****fest Autofoam always pops its head in as being a good cleaner and well liked by the people that have used it.

I think it has suffered by not having had use by the various pros therefore gain hype from that, nor do BH go for all the glitz and glamour and showmanship while not really concentrating on the product. that many companies do, they just do their thing, make products well and sell the for fair prices all the cleaning stuff seems to get great reviews and punch well for the price they charge.
After gone through my various current stock am hitting the bank account with an order for some of their cleaning gear ,rust treatment and prevention stuff.


----------



## MEH4N (Mar 15, 2012)

Yes it's a great foam and VFM too.


----------



## whiteclio59 (Aug 13, 2013)

I'll try that next is it better cleaning power than fast foam MEH4N


----------



## s29nta (Mar 9, 2013)

does anybody think it has changed, had some a while back, went on to valet pro then have recently gone back to BH, different colour and smell and to be honest not impressed with performance of it. bought from forum sponser too so no issues with purchasing from dodgy sellers.


----------



## rocky1722 (Sep 17, 2006)

I highly recommend Bilt Hamber Autofoam, however I can only vouch for it through a garden sprayer as I don't have a snow foam lance.
Great cleaning power and great valve for money. I use it at it's weakest at 4% (100ml of Autofoam + 2,400ml of water) and it still greatly removes the dirt.
Much prefer it over ValetPro Citrus Prewash that I used to use.


----------



## rory1992 (Jul 22, 2012)

It's the best cleaning snow foam out there imo.


----------



## rocky1722 (Sep 17, 2006)

s29nta said:


> does anybody think it has changed, had some a while back, went on to valet pro then have recently gone back to BH, different colour and smell and to be honest not impressed with performance of it. bought from forum sponser too so no issues with purchasing from dodgy sellers.


I bought mine just before Christmas from Ultimate Finish and it's green in colour and has an OK smell. When mixed up it looks a bit like Fairy washing up liquid.


----------



## s29nta (Mar 9, 2013)

rocky1722 said:


> I bought mine just before Christmas from Ultimate Finish and it's green in colour and has an OK smell. When mixed up it looks a bit like Fairy washing up liquid.


same as mine then, thought it was lighter in colour last time and the smell was not quite as nice., probably just me then as you have just described exactly how it is.


----------



## MEH4N (Mar 15, 2012)

whiteclio59 said:


> I'll try that next is it better cleaning power than fast foam MEH4N


Yes I would say about the same at least, if not better. :thumb:


----------



## James Bagguley (Jul 13, 2013)

Can vouch for its badassness, no touchless product can yield perfection, but despite that, BH AF can give really surprisingly good results.


----------



## Criptop (Dec 13, 2013)

whiteclio59 said:


> I've recently brought gtechniq W4 foam its not the best I'm thinking about buying bilthamber auto foam has anyone tried it?


Yes and its really good! :thumb:


----------



## whiteclio59 (Aug 13, 2013)

Thanks guys very helpful I'll buy this next


----------



## Bigoggy (Sep 1, 2014)

Bilt hamber is good stuff ! Used and like it. Using car chem snow foam now and also like this. I think car chem might have a deal on their one, £10 for 5l


----------



## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

Very good stuff!


----------



## JMED (Jan 19, 2015)

BHAF is not an ph neutral, so it's not lsp save. Ph is over 12% That's the main reason why it cleans better than most of the foams.


----------



## nickyd (Jan 16, 2014)

JMED said:


> BHAF is not an ph neutral, so it's not lsp save. Ph is over 12% That's the main reason why it cleans better than most of the foams.


Is this a ph of 12 (very alkaline) in its concentrated form?
If so, what is the ph in its 'foam' state?
N.


----------



## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Its a brilliant pre-wash foam.
Really really impressive

Ive moved from ValetPro ph neutral to this

Its brilliant in the winter with all the salt everywhere
Cleans my car to a touch less wash, particularly in this cold weather when you've already washed one car

And yes I find that the wax/sealant finish is not as good as before washing, so it seems it does take some LSP off.
Although for how much effort it takes to re apply BSD/C2v3 its worth it


----------



## Choppy (Aug 8, 2013)

i was going to get this but ended up getting KKD blizzard force and im really impressed with that!


----------



## chewy_ (Mar 5, 2014)

Really like BH Autofoam. Have got 10 litres of it stacked away in the garage.

I used to use 300ml of it in the snow foam lance to 700ml water.

However, since discovering Bilt Hamber Surfex HD I now mix the two tegether with 60ml's Surfex and 240ml's Autofoam- the rest water in a 1 litre lance.


Combined, the Bilt Hamber products work very well bringing the car almost to a touchless wash which isn't always easy at this time of the year.


----------



## chewy_ (Mar 5, 2014)

s29nta said:


> *does anybody think it has changed,* had some a while back, went on to valet pro then have recently gone back to BH, different colour and smell and to be honest not impressed with performance of it. bought from forum sponser too so no issues with purchasing from dodgy sellers.


From the bit in bold: I hope this isn't true. Got my 2 x 5 litre tubs back in the summer, the color is the same old green that it used to be when I first tried it in 2013. I hope they didnt change the recipe....


----------



## Paul S (Jan 27, 2015)

Another :thumb: for the BH foam, did 3 vehicles this week with it, really good and one I'm happy to stick with. I followed it with their shampoo which is good too..


----------



## Chownie (May 16, 2014)

I find the BH foam great! Works well and won't be using anything else. Their Surfex apc is superb too and get used all the time, in the car and indoors. I like the fact that BH don't go down the hype route and no silly names or flash packaging. Just great products that do what they say.


----------



## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

nickyd said:


> Is this a ph of 12 (very alkaline) in its concentrated form?
> If so, what is the ph in its 'foam' state?
> N.


Yes in concentrated form.
Second guestion... no idea... maybe Bilt Hamber can answer for that or you can measure it if you have meter.


----------



## clap (Aug 26, 2013)

BH autofoam is very good. I've used it this afternoon. I prewashed with Serious Performance citrus then used the BH. Car was 95% clean after, no need to wash with a after.


----------



## szladob (Jun 5, 2013)

sm81 said:


> Yes in concentrated form.
> Second guestion... no idea... maybe Bilt Hamber can answer for that or you can measure it if you have meter.


pH is a logarithmic scale though, so a 10x dilution brings is down only 1 point on the scale.. not sure what is the proper dilution for the lance..

I have bough a 5 liter package after reading all the reviews on here, and being tired of the maxbrite snow foam that only creates foams even hours after the wash on the driveway, but cleans hardly anything beyond what the power washer does...

First use of AF was very runny (which I have read should be fine), but was so runny, that I couldn't really leave it to dwell much, thus not a lot of extra cleaning other than power wash (rolling down foam was very white - ie no discoloration on a properly dirty car)...

May need to play with dilutions; this is only based on very first use..


----------



## weemaco (Jul 16, 2012)

SO before i buy this new snow foam and give it a try, can anyone shed light on if the auto foam is wax/sealant safe?


----------



## weemaco (Jul 16, 2012)

BUMP?!?

cheers


----------



## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

I've tried lots of foams and fine most of them disappointing but everything I use Autofoam it really cleans well leaving my rinse bucket pretty clean:thumb:


----------



## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

weemaco said:


> BUMP?!?
> 
> cheers


Yes, at the right dilution.

It needs to be mixed with water at greater than 4%, to be any good, and is wax safe up to a 10% (?) mix. These are the percentages when it leaves the end of the nozzle, not necessarily the mix percentages in the bottle.

Does of course depend what wax / sealant and what shape it is in etc,etc.


----------



## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

It's good stuff, but not the foamiest of snow foams. Cleans brilliantly though.


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

*Think i will have to add my test...:lol:​*


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

*This is my test of Bilt Hamber Autofoam comparing cleaning ability on un protected paint and protected paint...​*
*Well folks started on a bit of a foam test a few months back and out of what i tried the Bilt Hamber Took Top Honours For Me.










Now i must Confess i have not been impressed with snow foams for this touchless washing ability.

However after a few Months with the Bilt Hamber I have experienced a touchless wash using the Bilt Hamber Auto Foam.

Now thats not every wash but if anything left behind after the foam was rinsed off it was very very little.

What did become apparent was as i suspected it very much depends on your level of protection on your vehicle.

No protection on i cannot see the foam taking the muck all off period.

Another point is all the mix ratio's all this 1 or 2 inches in the foam bottle, the bottle often been 1lt capacity but some may use a smaller bottle or try using the sometimes supplied with there power washer foam bottle.

However im set on using neat product in the bottle as this will give me a mix ratio of 1/25 this been product to water upon delivery through the lance.

My calculation below.

All areas will have different pressure some use off there main, rising main that may feed the washing machine dishwasher etc.

So pressure and volume of water supplied to the washer can vary, the power washer can vary on its delivery rate, the foam lance will alter the delivery rate also.

So folk will not always be getting an equal measure of foam to water on there vehicle as another.

As Bilt Hamber state with there Auto-Foam you should be aiming for minimum 4% Foam to water hitting the panels... so this will be 1 part neat foam to 25 parts water upon delivery. so 1/25 ratio product to water.

This is the minimum to actually get a cleaning action.

Great bit of advice and can see the whole issue of 1 inch to water in a foam bottle then mixing with the lance not actually getting any cleaning done.

Now my Nilfisk C120.2 delivers 9lt a minute just through the standard power washer lance.

However attaching my Snow Foam lance this drops to 6lt a Minute.
There can be a slight variation as stated on mains pressure etc.
But i have always tested the flow rate before every cleaning session and the above is the most consistent levels.

Having tried the foam lance on maximum foam i will get through about 450ml of foam solution a minute, However i do what most do and having turned to full foam i do half a turn back this gives me a consistent delivery of 250ml a minute.

So Delivering the Auto Foam to the panels at a ratio of just over 4% so im certainly hitting the minimum to actually get cleaning ability.

Thanks for sticking with me Folks and now some testing...

First up does just a blasting from the power washer, (remember thats 9lt a minute for me) actually remove a significant amount of grime???










Thats a No then... yes im sure the bigger stuff has gone but certainly not clean. This picture was taken actually on later testing with full protection below it.

So in This instance on the rover with failing or failed products on.... having done about 600+ Miles mixed roads and motorway spray etc...

Dirty panels...



















I Know all about rubbing muck in scratching paint but for the greater good...:lol:

The Cross idea not the greatest as i will be ingraining and probably making the cross harder to remove than surrounding grime but changed later to pad swipe testing.... But any way its dirty...










Now i had been doing some comparisons with other products, all used neat in foam bottle but the Bilt Hamber showed best cleaning and focussed on that over the next month or so.

Now i sprayed the foams and rinsed off but with all the pics etc, doing the polo in between while waiting for panels to dry and show if anything left behind as i started late on light beat me so parked her up and would see in cold light of the next day.

So next Day...










Can still see crosses and original mucky section between wing and drivers door and a certain pre wash product on the rear door certainly shows where that was used.

The front door having had the Bilt Hamber foam is by far the cleanest and on unprotected paint.

However it gets much much better when the car is wearing good protection.

Now she had full decon and winter prep...










The Hydra was used for a comparison on longevity on the Bonnet 50/50 to Finis.

Now Another 300 Miles again mixed with Motorway spray etc.










Pad Swiped through...










Foamed...



















Now depending on season and sun position you may not be willing to leave for 4 minutes or more unless you have shade, i must confess i thought i may have issues with the sunny side drying out to much but even drying sections came up great i was looking at no more than 3 mins though on the sunny side by which time i feared totally dry come 4 mins so was power washed off at that time.

Now i Gave a second swipe while still wet so no chance of any drying removing any muck and allowed the pad to dry out fully to check for Dirt.

After Drying...










So the Original Swipe of Dirty Door Panel on the Right Hand Pad and the Swipe after just using Bilt Hamber Auto-Foam no follow up washing or drying left clean pad to the Left Hand Side.

Great Result and the protection on the car had returned to its beading...










having used the power washer hose with the lance disconnected and power off, so just a stream of water free flowing this enabled the beads to sheet off.

Only leaving a few spots the most of which were due to the stream catching a trim edge etc and causing some splash back.

Now im not saying every wash will strip all the muck this is all dependent on contamination protection and how thorough the foaming etc.

i dare say you could still have the odd little section that did not get as good a clean as the rest but this is no detriment to the Auto-Foam it certainly does a superb job of cleaning.

As Shown a good protection layer to limit the adhesion of grime really does enable the Auto-Foam to work at its best.

I Have as i Say been testing this over a Couple of Months and im now whole heartedly embrace foaming as been rather a sceptic in the past.

Certainly Now having tested the Bilt Hamber Auto-Foam i Find this Foam Superb when used as recommended.

If You fear you may be using too much product i can only say i would sooner use more product at the intended ratio and get a clean vehicle than use less and still have to wash more.

For you would be wasting time and product and not getting it much if any cleaner than you started.

I have found i use between 100 and 120ml of Neat Auto-Foam on the Polo and about 120 to 180ml on the Rover.

I Have even used 100ml on the rover all dependent on how dirty and how fast you go.

Considering this ratio of use its cleaning ability and price its very reasonable.

I did the Polo a couple of days ago, i had 100ml left in the foam bottle so decided to add 150ml of water to the bottle.

This is greatly watering the Foam down and this got me round the Polo 5 times but the fact it was so diluted it did not perform great and still left film behind so confirming again that the 4% hitting the panel is paramount to its performance.

This had taken more time to do and still left me with most of the grime left behind.

Now if i had used it neat in the bottle so getting the 4% foam to water hitting the panel it would have taken one coating and stripped most if not all the grime.

I Have followed up a few times on the rover with a 2 bucket wash to see is anything else came off and as stated you may get something left in a trim crease etc but this is what i have been getting in the rinse bucket...










Bear in mind this is also holding the Bilt Hamber Auto-Wash which i have been using when doing the 2 bucket folow up wash so this will affect clarity slightly.*


----------



## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Fantastic review mate, love BH Autofoam


----------

