# Pre Wash vs Snow Foam



## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Am thinking about buying a foam lance. Have done a bit of research and have noticed a lot of people say it looks good/fun to use but doesn't actually do that much to taking the dirt off the car. 

I know if depends on how dirty and what snow foam your using. And in an ideal world you would use a pre wash and snow foam then on to your proper wash. 

But if you could only use pre wash, or snow foam. Which would it be? Because am trying to workout if am better spending the money on a good pre wash or a foam lance. But just now a, not really feeling the 'need' or struggling without a lance just want one :lol:


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## TooFunny (Sep 18, 2012)

Pre-wash every time. Foaming takes longer, is too messy and is no better at cleaning than a good citrus pre-wash like VP.


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## majcas84 (Aug 24, 2012)

I have a foam lance but use the citrus pre-wash with a pump sprayer more.

I think the results are better and it's less of a faff. 

Oh and the VP citrus smells fantastic too. Bonus!


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## Tank. (Dec 26, 2011)

i really enjoy using snow foam, looks great and is effective but i find a pre wash more effective,

still find myself using snow foam more often though, although begginning to get annoyed with the mess


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## Subc (May 30, 2008)

Pre Wash,:thumb: no contest after spending a small fortune on buying most foams available which all promised miracles..:tumbleweed:


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## D.Taylor R26 (Feb 5, 2012)

Depending on the state of the car being washed plays a big part. 

I find for a weekly wash snow foam is strong enough perhaps with a few sprays of citrus power on the worst areas. I prefer snow foam as its good for working with a brush into shuts and grills and would rather use the mildest of products to do the job.


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

I have ValetPro Advanced Neutral snow foam (imo, the best foam out there) and ValetPro Citrus Pre-Wash.

I've only used the Pre-Wash a couple of times and been very impressed with the results, in fact possibly more so than the foam. If you dilute the foam correctly it's a fantastic product though, more fun to apply too.

The one thing I don't like about pre-wash compared to foam is that you're only covering the dirty/lower areas. 

I live down an unmade road, in the summer the amount of dust on the car is absolutely horrific. For me, I feel more comfortable applying foam to the whole car to ensure I've softened the dust as much as possibly before my wash.

For me, it's ANSF on a fairly dirty or dusty car, pre-wash on a horrific car's lower areas.


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

Pre wash for me,i ain't used snowfoam for years,and don't miss it either,,pre wash is much more effective,hands down.


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## Tsubodai (Oct 20, 2012)

bildo said:


> I have ValetPro Advanced Neutral snow foam (imo, the best foam out there) and ValetPro Citrus Pre-Wash.
> 
> I've only used the Pre-Wash a couple of times and been very impressed with the results, in fact possibly more so than the foam. If you dilute the foam correctly it's a fantastic product though, more fun to apply too.
> 
> ...


Is there a reason why you only use the pre-wash on the lower parts? I've used it all over the car a few times?
Also, try the ANSF as a pre-wash:thumb:


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

I'm so pleased with pre-washing, using VP Citrus pre-wash, I sold my snow foam lance

Won't go back to snow foaming :thumb:


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## mr.t (Oct 1, 2010)

Glad to hear these reviews.I was very close at getting a lance and foam but ive opted to try valet pro pre wash instead.Yet to try it but i cant wait to see how effective it is.I think i only wanted snow foam and a lance for the sake of it but its a very costly thing and i think the pre wash makes more sence by the sounds of it.


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## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

I like the foam as it gives the car time to soak while I go tackle the nooks and crannies.


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## BJG (Feb 8, 2013)

As a newbie I have tried both a few times and have to say that I have not really got on with the snow foam despite it being great fun to use! 

The last few washes I have done purely with VP Citrus Pre-wash and have to say it is clean, quick and very good at softening the dirt ready for a quick pressure wash off.

The snow foam is fun but I am not sure if I will venture back to it again. 

Maybe give it a few more goes to finish off what I have and, as I now have a decent LSP, will see if that makes any difference.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Just did a side by side valet pro at 1/5 along side Bilt Hamber auto-foam.

Both great results.

If i had to buy one product i think the bilt hamber auto-foam as i can use as a foam or as i have in the past as a pre wash.

Both products work great but the valet pro is no good through a lance.

The time taken going round with a pre wash solution is possibly longer than coupling up the foam gun.

Both valid methods and the choice is yours.


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## shine247 (Mar 1, 2010)

Used snow foam for a long time, MF, NT and others. Pre-wash is far more straight forward and most comments suggest people like it. You do not see too many Pre-wash "no good" threads. 

I have found my AF citrus very good, simple and no trails of foam to walk about in. If had to pick one or the other now it would be Pre-wash.


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## TooFunny (Sep 18, 2012)

No reason not to use pre-wash on all of the car wherever it's dirty.


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

^^Exactly,i just splash it all over,,as the great henry cooper would say.


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## JoeB (Jan 25, 2013)

I haven't used foam so feel free to ignore me but I've been using citrus pre wash and find it really effective. Cheaper also as you don't need to invest in a lance.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

You can see the grime snow foam removed when I cleaned the car last Wednesday. Works for me -


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Cheers for all the comments guys :thumb:

Well think am going to look in to a pre wash first and see how I like it before going for a lance if I don't. 

But for using the pre wash is there a reason for using a pressure sprayer? Or could you will do the same job with a normal bottle with a spray head/trigger on it? 

Also what's to best one to look at? Seems like Valet Pro - Citrus Pre Wash is the one to go for?


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## JoeB (Jan 25, 2013)

I've got a hand pressure pump and a few litre bottles mixed to different dilutions, the pressure sprayer is just a bit easier to use and a tad faster but other than that I find no real difference


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## BJG (Feb 8, 2013)

Wisey said:


> But for using the pre wash is there a reason for using a pressure sprayer? Or could you will do the same job with a normal bottle with a spray head/trigger


I use it through a pressure sprayer. Bought a £3 one from Wilko and does the job. You could use it in a spray bottle but you will probably get cramp with all the spaying and may find the bottle a little small! 

I tend to use around 1L of mix for each wash depending on state of car. If you can get a larger spray bottle, I see no reason why this won't work.


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## Russ and his BM (Jan 1, 2008)

I have a black car and in summer, the pre-wash had dried by the time I'd done the whole car and begun to pw it off. So, no good for me. I use magi foam, and find it very good at shifting the bulk of the dirt before I touch the paint. Trying not to get it on the neighbours car, and the mess that hangs around is the downside...


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## Philb1965 (Jun 29, 2010)

Stopped foaming, only pre wash now..not sure how it will work on a hot car in the summer though.


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## BJG (Feb 8, 2013)

The last couple of replies are interesting as it would appear that the VP citus Pre-wash may not work as well in the summer as it dries quicker whereas a foam would be better as it does not dry so quickly. 

May have to hold onto the lance and foam until the summer just in case the Pre-wash is not so effective!


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Sorry but i thought snow foam was a pre wash
You either pre soak the lightly wetted car with a tfr solution
OR you spray snow foam which is a foaming TFR.
Hosing the car down is also a pre wash it jst depends how dirty car is and how long you have got.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Foaming is a pre wash or standalone in some cases of low muck and good protection and good foam.

Pre wash is just used as an easy way to distinguish between snow foam pre wash and the pump sprayer washes.

As stated a normal spray bottle would work but likely cramp would ensue been tehre done that.

The pressure from the pump sprayer does not really add to removing power its just simpler to use and no cramps.

I do find the valet pro is more likely to leave something of itself behind as in marking so it certainly is a pre wash as even if all muck removed with the valet pro pre wash.

You would still need to do bucket wash to remove whats left on of the valet pro prewash.

I never fancied the ghost busters back pack type pump sprayer but thing ill go for one next time machine mart have a clark vat free on.

Unless i spot a cheap gardena.

Who you gonna call... Muck Busters...


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Shiny said:


>


Thats a tasty Meringue...


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## ElGaby (Jul 23, 2010)

I use snow foam, with a wet washmitt for remove the dirt


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## Dangerroush (Nov 4, 2010)

Just bought the pre wash, can wash in side in summer so not a problem, can't wait to try it, any one want to buy my lance...


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Bought some pre wash yesterday, so will hopefully be here today 

Will report back with the results :thumb:


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

What Pre wash did you buy?


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Valet Pro Citrus. Only bought 1 Litre to see how I get on with it


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

I was thinking of doing the same thing mate, you buy a pressurised container to use it in?


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Yeah, I bought one out of asda the other day. Think it's 1.5L and was £7, asda are selling there own ones which are £3.50 iirc but when I had a play with them the dearer one was better, a lot more pressure with less pumps, felt better built etc :thumb:

Will be interesting to see how wax friendly it is. The recommend mix for exterior is 1:8 but read if you do 1:10 then it should nearly be pH neutral  So will give that ago when I get it.


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

If it arrives today you gonna try it? if so let me know how it goes


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Yeah am going to give it a try if I get some time 

Will take a few before and after pictures if I remember :lol:


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

Cheers Buddy and have fun!! :thumb: :detailer:


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

Any Luck on this yet?


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

I use both!

I use G101 through a pump sprayer on the lower half of the car, then use the CG no touch as normal...

After the car is waxed etc... I just use the foam once a week for my wash - no need for buckets / cloths / shampoo etc...

:thumb:


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

JamesCotton said:


> Any Luck on this yet?


Just arrived about about an hour or so ago and had a chance today.

If the weather holds out I'll be giving it ago tomorrow :thumb:


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

Ok Cheers Mate . Blooming delivery!!


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

How did it go today?


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Sorry for the delay, been a bit busy today and sorry for the photo's there not the best 

Car has done 400-500 miles since its last wash about 2 weeks ago, put around 130ish ml of pre wash in my 1.5L sprayer which should give 1:10 ratio if I worked that out right?

My wax has started to wear off as well, so not really a fair test imo. And would have probably been better going for 1:8 ratio.

Anyway the photo's :























































After letting it sit while I cleaned the wheels, about 10 mins....























































Overall was quite pleased with it. Removed most of the dirt, but as you can see in the photo's there is still a bit of road grime left behind. But like I said the wax is starting to wear off so not really the fairest test.

But hope you get the idea


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

Cheers buddy!! Looks good, say its worth it?


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## mr.t (Oct 1, 2010)

WOW! impressive.CANT WAIT to try this stuff out


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Well I have never tried a foam lance so got nothing to really compare it to.... 

But from what I have seen, for the cost of the pre wash vs snow foam. I would say its well worth it :thumb: But even for my clio I used the whole 1.5L so that means out the litre bottle I got I will get 7-10 washed out of it


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

Yea so worth looking at the 5L one then?


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## Wisey (Dec 15, 2007)

Yeah I would go for 5L :thumb:

And wouldn't buy a pressure sprayer straight away imo. I think you would waste less product if you just put it on with a good spray head on a normal bottle to be honest. Might be a bit harder on your hand, but I think it could work better, for more even coverage then a pressure sprayer using less product. 

So going to try that next :thumb:


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## dave89 (Mar 12, 2013)

See now I apply TFR(pre wash) using a 1lt pump bottle and snow foam is applied using a 5/10l hand pumped unit with a lance(get a better pressure and spray pattern than the handheld one so it foams better) but I depends what the customer wants, for only a valet I use jut snow foam, for a full detail I use TFR then snow foam. And for a cheapo in n out I use neither, just double bucket. 

All followed by double bucket method clean.


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## mr.t (Oct 1, 2010)

I went round my mates earlier and he took some sample of my valet pro pre wash.Ive yet to try it but i watched him use via a snow foam lance.I think he let it dwell abit too long (20 minutes)and it started to dry up on the car which cant be good??BUT...he pressure washed it off and from what i saw i think it bl**dy fantastic.His car was very dirty and it seemed to remove a hell of a lot.

Cant wait to try it on my car via a pump sprayer?(hopefuly itl work better?).But so far it looks a must have.


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

Just orders my VP Citrus pre wash, got a hand pump sprayer from wilko for £3.50 so can't wait to try it


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## mr.t (Oct 1, 2010)

JamesCotton said:


> Just orders my VP Citrus pre wash, got a hand pump sprayer from wilko for £3.50 so can't wait to try it


tried to get one from wilko today but couldnt find car parking space grr.


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## dave89 (Mar 12, 2013)

I find the little hand pumps are good for
Pre wash/TFR but for snow foam a bigger hand pump with its own lance is best as they seem to build up a bigger pressure and have a better spray patern for the foam


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## mr.t (Oct 1, 2010)

What do you guys think of..
a)my mate used the valet pro via snow foam lance?
b)let it dwell for 20 minutes.

Just wondering if this has an effect.


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

I heard that through snow lance it dilutes it to different amounts because of flow rate etc. but hand pump will be correct dilution


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## Scotty Pro (Nov 12, 2008)

VP Citrus is really good stuff in a Wilko spray pump bottle.

so is Autobrite Snow Foam and Lance.

I like to use both, and for those worried about the foam all over the place, all I do is give it a quick blast away with the pressure washer, just angle the nozzle end about 45 degrees to the ground and blast the foam away, it literally takes 2 minuts to get rid of it around the car.


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## dave89 (Mar 12, 2013)

mr.t said:


> What do you guys think of..
> a)my mate used the valet pro via snow foam lance?
> b)let it dwell for 20 minutes.
> 
> Just wondering if this has an effect.


On a customers car I never leave foam or TFR for more than 5minutes, just in case lol


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## Gangstarrrrr (Jul 22, 2012)

Why is it that citrus pre wash appears to be used primarily on the lower half of the car? What's wrong with using it all over/the top half? I'm going to use pre wash instead of snow foam and want to know the drawbacks of this.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Gangstarrrrr said:


> Why is it that citrus pre wash appears to be used primarily on the lower half of the car? What's wrong with using it all over/the top half? I'm going to use pre wash instead of snow foam and want to know the drawbacks of this.


The lowers are generally the worse and only doing the lowers would save a little on product.

However i do all over.


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## Deep blue (Sep 21, 2009)

I'm a little surprised that so many dislike snow foaming stage

To me it's one of the most important stages on the washing progress. Of course it does not clean as well as chemical cleaners, but it wasn't never designed for that. To me it's cheap and fast way to soften up and clean crime from top to bottom of the car. Lower parts of the car of course does need a bit aggressive cleaning method especially at winter time, but that's totally different story.


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## Gangstarrrrr (Jul 22, 2012)

I can't snow foam as I live in a flat and doing it at my parents it's too noisy and the neighbours car gets foam on it too!

Ditching the pressure washer in favour of the citrus pre wash and a normal hose.


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

For me snow foam is a process I agree with DB, not many of the professionals do not snow foam with some great products on offer, pre-wash just seems to get better and better, so either or both whatever works for you.

John Tht.


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## Westy OCD (Mar 21, 2013)

*Newbie advice*

I am new to this proper cleaning and need some advice

I have bought a new nilfisk pressure washer which came with the detergent bottle, do a lot of motorway miles and want to get as much of the nasty dirt off before the main wash.

Am I better to buy a snow foam attachment and some snow foam cleaner or buy some of the pre wash fluid? I guess I will need to buy a hand pressure pump bottle too, what do you use for best results prior to a good clean with bucket and mitt?


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## GAVSY (Mar 19, 2013)

OK, I'm getting that VP Citrus Power is the way forward 
I can't work out from the previous post if it's OK for the entire vehicle or just the bottom half.
Could you use it in differing dilutions for a bottom half soak and an all over soak. or is there a single dilution that does all tasks?
Would you use it on the shuts aswell or APC in the shuts?
Sorry if I've hijacked the post a bit, still learning and I've got LOTS of questions!
Thanks for any help on this


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

You can use it all over the car at the same dilution. You can use it in the door shuts too, just remember to rinse them out.


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## mr.t (Oct 1, 2010)

Tried V.P citrus power yesterday = Best product since slice bread.Didnt think it would be as good as it was.Iv tried snow foam before but i cant justify the cost just cos its fun.I couldnt see any difference after using it.


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## peecee77 (Feb 4, 2013)

Where can I buy this vp citrus power pre wash??


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

peecee77 said:


> Where can I buy this vp citrus power pre wash??


Ebay :thumb:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261178776692?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649


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## peecee77 (Feb 4, 2013)

Just searched for it in cleanyourcar.co.uk it's pound cheaper


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## JamesCotton (Feb 25, 2013)

peecee77 said:


> Just searched for it in cleanyourcar.co.uk it's pound cheaper


Have to pay for delivery though and it's more than that eBay link 

Works out £1 cheaper on eBay


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## andystevens (Dec 12, 2011)

I've never quite understood the Pre-Wash Scenario.
When I wash a car if it is mildly grubby I allways wet it first & give it a blast if using a hose pipe. If using the PW then it will get properly blasted to remove all the debris then wash the car with a microfibre pad/ Autoglym PH Neutral shampoo doing a side at a time or roof & all glass then so on & rinsing off every now & again which also keeps the rest of the body wet so not washing dry panels.

So what exactly is the difference between a Citrus Pre-Wash or Snowfoam?
I read above & see that some have had Pre-Wash dry before going around the whole car. I have snowfoamed but had the same issue of drying so both to me seem pointless unless in a temperature controled enviroment.

Are you supposed to agitate the foam or let it do it's bit then rince off then wash it.
If you are using a mitt or pad when the car is foamed & you are working it then what is the need to washing it again afterwards with normal shampoo?


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## loyalblue (Apr 3, 2013)

andystevens said:


> I've never quite understood the Pre-Wash Scenario.
> When I wash a car if it is mildly grubby I allways wet it first & give it a blast if using a hose pipe. If using the PW then it will get properly blasted to remove all the debris then wash the car with a microfibre pad/ Autoglym PH Neutral shampoo doing a side at a time or roof & all glass then so on & rinsing off every now & again which also keeps the rest of the body wet so not washing dry panels.
> 
> So what exactly is the difference between a Citrus Pre-Wash or Snowfoam?
> ...


You are supposed to allow it to sit and dwel for x minutes and then rinse it off and then shampoo with your mitt. It's purpose is to losen up guff and dirt before you wash it.


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