# Snow Foam Guide?????



## Owensy (Jul 27, 2010)

Hi :wave:

Since ive joined here one of the biggest things ive noticed is people using snow foam. I've looked around on the forum for a 'guide' to what it is, using and what I need to get started but i cant seem to see anything, can someone point me in the right direction please or give me a little advice?

Also is snow foam ph neautral?.....

Stephen


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## 66Rob (Sep 25, 2007)

Hi Owen

I'm no Snow Foam expert but you can certainly get PH Neutral Snow Foam from Clean Your Car and no doubt others. I tried it last week and is pretty good. I'm sure others will be along with a guide to foaming later.

Rob


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Not all foams are pH neutral - they're generally all a little alkaline, even when diluted to recommended strengths, but some are more alkaline than others, and tend to be of the TFR variety (traffic film remover).
As for what's needed - pressure washer and a HD foam lance.
You can get okay foam from some of the plastic foamers you get or buy for particular brands of machines, but the best foam comes from the HD variable output ones.
Obviously your lance needs to be the same connection as your pressure washer's trigger - most are catered for, but not every machine, namely the Makita HW130.


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## Gleams (Jul 26, 2010)

There's probably no guide, as you don't need a guide :thumb:

You need:
Snow foam lance (the part which holds and sprays the snow foam mixture)
Snow foam (your choice or foam/tfr)
Pressure washer

You do:
Attach snow foam lance to your pressure washer
Fill snow foam bottle with choice of snow foam (about an inch of snow then topped up with water is a good starting point)
Spray onto car
Smile at your white car 

Wait 5 mins or so then pressure wash the dirty mixture off...carry on with the detail.

Have fun!


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## Razzzle (Jul 3, 2010)

this is the guide that found me the forums,,,, when searching google for how to use it..

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=71201&highlight=snow+foam

Tells you how to work out how much you *should* need etc.

Daz.


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## Owensy (Jul 27, 2010)

Thanks! I appreciate all your help 

Sorry to sound simple but what is a 'HD' Lance?..... :tumbleweed:

Stephen


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## Razzzle (Jul 3, 2010)

I *think* it means High Density foam lance 

Daz.


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## Herefordquattro (May 31, 2010)

Owensy said:


> Thanks! I appreciate all your help
> 
> Sorry to sound simple but what is a 'HD' Lance?..... :tumbleweed:
> 
> Stephen


1 of these :

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/foam-lance-various-fittings/prod_371.html

http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/HD_Snow_Foam_Lance_1L.html

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/pa-foam-lance-cat2.html

personally i got mine form polished bliss but all the dealers do the same 1 (i think it's the same PA model?) have a shop about:thumb:


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Heavy Duty - Razzzle's been watch too much late night Pr0n to forget the HD moniker used there!


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## P1Daveyboy (Aug 2, 2007)

Hi my jet wash has a head to put wash liquid in but no adjustment on it 
Will this be ok for a foam wash ?


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## RCZ (Aug 13, 2010)

Apparently not!

On my pressure washer, the detergent only comes out of the bottle when the rotary brush is used. It doesn't come out with any of the 'normal' lances.


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## zedzedeleven (Jan 16, 2009)

I think you might find that a low pressure attachment will allow foaming, I had one of the Karcher machines with a built in detergent tank and it would dispense detergent if you turned the pressure down on the lance regulator. As for the rotary brush, well I got well and truly roasted on here when I `fessed up to using one ! I have a Kent brush that has a water channel up the handle but to be honest I got a noodle mitt and there isn`t much difference time wise between the two methods.I think I am still suffering the consequences of using the rotary brush as in certain light conditions I can see circular patterned scratches. I was very careful to snow foam thouroughly before washing with the brush but I guess I still inflicted damage. It`s a steep learning curve but do a bit of research on here and you should be ok. Or better still book in on one of the demo day/courses that run from time to time. My excuse is that the Transporter van I have is a big beast and takes a bit of time to clean and detail.


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## RCZ (Aug 13, 2010)

Yeah...don't think I'll be using the rotary brush on the new motor


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## corsaauto (Jun 2, 2009)

I bought my hd lance from 'Autobrite' (trader on here). There doing a deal at the moment with a HD Lance with 5ltrs of snow foam, you will have to check price but last week it was £56 for both, delivered to your door, really good service/advice and friendly.
TC


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## ChromeDome (Aug 15, 2010)

Once you have washed your car off,does the 'washed off' snow foam hang around on the floor or does it go quite quickly ? (i.e leave a white mess everywhere?)


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## SurGie (Aug 6, 2010)

Does the snow foam take off the previous detailing polish wax etc ?


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## imycool (Sep 20, 2010)

corsaauto said:


> I bought my hd lance from 'Autobrite' (trader on here). There doing a deal at the moment with a HD Lance with 5ltrs of snow foam, you will have to check price but last week it was £56 for both, delivered to your door, really good service/advice and friendly.
> TC


I can recommend this. Bought the kit last week - it is by far the bes offer around. you will have to ring them an mention the group buy on this forum. It is still full price on their site.


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## Keir (Aug 31, 2010)

lol bombardment of questions in here.

*What is snow foam suppose to be doing?*

Is it a de-greaser?
Attempts to remove traffic film?
Makes the car easier to wash? (by breaking down stuck on dirt)


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## adlem (Jul 6, 2008)

Depending on your chosen snowfoam no it won't strip any exisiting eax etc of you opt for a PH Neutral foam.

It shouldn't stain anything or leave residue (i haven't heard of it happening, put it that way..)

Yes it makes the car easier to wash - it will soften dirt and remove light dirt etc so that when it comes to the 'contact' wash it's easier to clean the car as the dirt has been softened - therefore no scrubbing and it lessens the risk of marring/damaging the paint :thumb:


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## Cactoose (Jan 28, 2011)

*wet or dry?*

Should the car be wet before you foam it or is it best to apply to a dry vehicle?

Cheers
Chris


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## Razzzle (Jul 3, 2010)

I like to apply mine to a dry car as it seems to cling and clean a little better.

Daz.


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## Mr Yellow (Apr 30, 2009)

This wet/dry thing... a couple of points. 

1) A lot of the time you can remove a lot of dirt with nothing more than water. If you spray foam on without rinsing the heavy stuff, you are wasting some of it on looser deposits that it should never need to get near.

2) Detergents/surfactants are wetting agents. That is how they work. They are surface active (hence surfactant), they reduce the surface tension making it easier to 'solubilise' (broad over simplification) the dirt and unstick it from the surface. The more you penetrate the dirt with water, the more effective the cleaning will be. By spraying onto a dry vehicle, especially if you like a really solid, sticky foam, you are simply not getting enough water on there to penetrate the dirt.

Cleaning in general is often done based on what people know and we are always dealing with situations where someone cannot get the job done with their existing product. More often than not it is simply down to mis-use and misunderstanding. I know people will not take my word for it, but there are good physical and chemical reasons for some methods being better than others.


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## Cue (Feb 19, 2009)

I did mine today after giving it a once over with the pressure washer first and I got good results.. Just need to master clay barring and the DA Mac polisher now and it's happy days


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