# Best snow foam for sprayer application?



## gaswizards (Oct 7, 2016)

Hey guys was wondering what is the best snow foam for application using a pump sprayer. It's for these dark nights when I don't have time for full wash. Any help would be greatly appreciated 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


----------



## bigbruiser (Apr 16, 2016)

gaswizards said:


> Hey guys was wondering what is the best snow foam for application using a pump sprayer. It's for these dark nights when I don't have time for full wash. Any help would be greatly appreciated
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


You want to be using TFR, BH auto wash or some sort of pre wash not snow foam from a pump  :thumb:


----------



## gaswizards (Oct 7, 2016)

bigbruiser said:


> You want to be using TFR, BH auto wash or some sort of pre wash not snow foam from a pump  :thumb:


Bh auto wash sounds good. Will this strong enough to lift dirt and grime?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


----------



## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

Angelwax snow foam works fine in a spray bottle mixed 1:9 :thumb:


----------



## voon (Apr 28, 2010)

Well, first, the best sprayer is important  I had best results with the classic Gloria FM10 myself. I also recently tried out the Shiny Garage Blue Foam with it. About 40ml of that foam mixed with 1.25l of Water in the Gloria left a solid, thick, slow moving foam on the vertical wall I tried it on.


----------



## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

gaswizards said:


> Bh auto wash sounds good. Will this strong enough to lift dirt and grime?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


Auto foam not wash:thumb:


----------



## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

A&J said:


> Angelwax snow foam works fine in a spray bottle mixed 1:9 :thumb:


Been using this for a while now and am very happy with its cleaning ability :thumb:


----------



## PWOOD (Apr 30, 2007)

BH Autofoam works really well in a sprayer.


----------



## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

BH auto foam


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Power Maxed TFR or Jet Wash & Wax. Beyond that I still like Valet Pro Citrus Pre Wash.


----------



## bigbruiser (Apr 16, 2016)

chongo said:


> Auto foam not wash:thumb:


ops yeah i use both got them wrong way around:thumb:


----------



## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

I've used Auto Foam a lot via pump sprayer, the cleaning is very good. 

One that's been mentioned a few times but I've not yet tried is Auto Glanz Spritzer. That said I've been impressed with most other things I've tried from them so maybe worth a look...


----------



## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

Auto-foam is the best I know of. 80ml to 1920ml water is plenty for a normal sized car and the cleaning power is exceptional.


----------



## gardian (Apr 4, 2008)

Do you mean a pump sprayer like this one?


----------



## voon (Apr 28, 2010)

gardian said:


> Do you mean a pump sprayer like this one?


Those won't create any proper foam. There's a million brands of those, usually marketed for gardening .. they can be used to apply rim cleaner and such that profit from a fine misty spray, but it's nothing for foam. The foam sprayers look very similar, but have a special nozzle to create the foam. The system Gloria uses works best from what I tested ... the foam is generated by pushing the liquid through some sort of sponge pads inside the nozzle before spraying it out.


----------



## gardian (Apr 4, 2008)

Do you know if there are any similar which i could perhaps buy from a shop today? like a diy store? cheers


----------



## JayMac (Sep 4, 2016)

I use BH Auto-Foam through a sprayer and it works great!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

gardian said:


> Do you know if there are any similar which i could perhaps buy from a shop today? like a diy store? cheers


I (and many other forum members) use Auto Foam in a normal pump sprayer, as commonly available in garden centres etc. It doesn't generate any foam but for the purpose of a touchless pre-wash, this doesn't matter at all. You just need to wet the paint surface and leave it for ~5 minutes, then power wash off in the usual way.


----------



## gardian (Apr 4, 2008)

steelghost said:


> I (and many other forum members) use Auto Foam in a normal pump sprayer, as commonly available in garden centres etc. It doesn't generate any foam but for the purpose of a touchless pre-wash, this doesn't matter at all. You just need to wet the paint surface and leave it for ~5 minutes, then power wash off in the usual way.


like the one i posted above or the ones without a lance? like this one

Cheers, looking to get out today and give the car a much needed clean while the weather is ok.


----------



## voon (Apr 28, 2010)

steelghost said:


> purpose of a touchless pre-wash


Well, that is the purpose of foam. The idea is, that the stuff sticks as long as possible to soak the car, without the stuff vanishing too fast, because it was too liquid.


----------



## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

voon said:


> Well, that is the purpose of foam. The idea is, that the stuff sticks as long as possible to soak the car, without the stuff vanishing too fast, because it was too liquid.


But that itself isn't required with auto-foam. Even used through a foam lance it's not thick, it doesn't need to be and it's actually counter productive to the performance if it was thick. It's best as a thin but wet foam or as a pre wash as this better soaks into dirt compared to a thicker foam.


----------



## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

gardian said:


> like the one i posted above or the ones without a lance? like this one
> 
> Cheers, looking to get out today and give the car a much needed clean while the weather is ok.


Either type will work fine, however my experience suggests that unless you have a pretty small car, you will need more than 1.25 litre capacity. My large estate car usually needs about 2.5-3 litres for complete coverage. I also find it's much easier to cover the roof, inside wheel arches, etc when you have a "lance" on the end of a hose. This one from Spear & Jackson is a reasonable bet, but anything similar will do the trick.



voon said:


> Well, that is the purpose of foam. The idea is, that the stuff sticks as long as possible to soak the car, without the stuff vanishing too fast, because it was too liquid.


This is the principle behind snowfoam, it's true. However the experiences of many folks on here is that Auto Foam cleans very well without needing to be "foamed" - the formulation of the product seems to be such that as long as you've wetted the paint with it, it will clean as well as pretty much any other snowfoam. The issue you can have is that the thin layer of fluid can dry onto the car, especially on dark paints in sunny weather. The trick I have found to combat this is to use the pressure washer at a distance from the car to create a "mist" effect, which will "re-hydrate" any drying panels without washing the Auto Foam off.

Some folks on here swear by Koch Chemie Green Star but from what I can tell that is an aggressive APC / degreaser, similar to Surfex HD and is likely a bit rougher with your LSP - depends on the tradeoff you want to make between pre-wash effectiveness and LSP life.


----------



## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

steelghost said:


> Either type will work fine, however my experience suggests that unless you have a pretty small car, you will need more than 1.25 litre capacity. My large estate car usually needs about 2.5-3 litres for complete coverage. I also find it's much easier to cover the roof, inside wheel arches, etc when you have a "lance" on the end of a hose. This one from Spear & Jackson is a reasonable bet, but anything similar will do the trick.
> 
> This is the principle behind snowfoam, it's true. However the experiences of many folks on here is that Auto Foam cleans very well without needing to be "foamed" - the formulation of the product seems to be such that as long as you've wetted the paint with it, it will clean as well as pretty much any other snowfoam. The issue you can have is that the thin layer of fluid can dry onto the car, especially on dark paints in sunny weather. The trick I have found to combat this is to use the pressure washer at a distance from the car to create a "mist" effect, which will "re-hydrate" any drying panels without washing the Auto Foam off.
> 
> Some folks on here swear by Koch Chemie Green Star but from what I can tell that is an aggressive APC / degreaser, similar to Surfex HD and is likely a bit rougher with your LSP - depends on the tradeoff you want to make between pre-wash effectiveness and LSP life.


Very well said Steelghost :thumb:


----------



## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

steelghost said:


> Either type will work fine, however my experience suggests that unless you have a pretty small car, you will need more than 1.25 litre capacity. My large estate car usually needs about 2.5-3 litres for complete coverage. I also find it's much easier to cover the roof, inside wheel arches, etc when you have a "lance" on the end of a hose. This one from Spear & Jackson is a reasonable bet, but anything similar will do the trick.
> 
> This is the principle behind snowfoam, it's true. However the experiences of many folks on here is that Auto Foam cleans very well without needing to be "foamed" - the formulation of the product seems to be such that as long as you've wetted the paint with it, it will clean as well as pretty much any other snowfoam. The issue you can have is that the thin layer of fluid can dry onto the car, especially on dark paints in sunny weather. The trick I have found to combat this is to use the pressure washer at a distance from the car to create a "mist" effect, which will "re-hydrate" any drying panels without washing the Auto Foam off.
> 
> Some folks on here swear by Koch Chemie Green Star but from what I can tell that is an aggressive APC / degreaser, similar to Surfex HD and is likely a bit rougher with your LSP - depends on the tradeoff you want to make between pre-wash effectiveness and LSP life.


Spot on. If I know I won't have the chance to clean the car for a while, I'll put some Autofoam in a pressure sprayer and go to a jet wash at a petrol station. I'll pressure spray the car with Autofoam, leave it soak then jet it off. Does a very good job on the car with a decent LSP on. They often have a rinsless wash option (filtered water) so spray that on too so when you drive home it helps dry the car pretty clean.


----------



## gaswizards (Oct 7, 2016)

Thanks guys. Looks like I'm getting bh auto foam! Lol now what are best dilution ratios?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


----------



## bigbruiser (Apr 16, 2016)

gaswizards said:


> Thanks guys. Looks like I'm getting bh auto foam! Lol now what are best dilution ratios?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


4% at the panel for auto foam but lets do this easy way 100ml in a 2L pump sprayer is golden for everything apart from a real neglected car in my book, im sure the other will chime in :thumb:


----------



## gaswizards (Oct 7, 2016)

bigbruiser said:


> 4% at the panel for auto foam but lets do this easy way 100ml in a 2L pump sprayer is golden for everything apart from a real neglected car in my book, im sure the other will chime in :thumb:


I like the easy way

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


----------



## neilmcl (Mar 26, 2010)

bigbruiser said:


> 4% at the panel for auto foam but lets do this easy way 100ml in a 2L pump sprayer is golden for everything apart from a real neglected car in my book, im sure the other will chime in :thumb:


Why is 80ml in a 2L not easy


----------



## voon (Apr 28, 2010)

I guess it's as easy .. the idea was to just give working absolute amounts instead of asking people to do percentage math


----------



## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

voon said:


> I guess it's as easy .. the idea was to just give working absolute amounts instead of asking people to do percentage math


40ml for each litre of water, seems fairly absolute 

Worth quoting the manufacturer's instructions:



> Use on a cool surface.
> 
> Dilute as required to obtain a PIR (panel impact ratio) of between 1:100 and 5:100.


Ie 5% is the top end they recommend (and there is a thread about somewhere on here where BH essentially say there's not much point going much higher than that as it doesn't clean any better, you're just wasting product) and it's still effective down to 1% on lightly soiled vehicles.


----------



## voon (Apr 28, 2010)

steelghost said:


> 40ml for each litre of water, seems fairly absolute


Uuuhm, ya .. it is. As well  That's about the amount I can use with my foam (Shiny Garage Blue Foam) ... I tried 40ml on 1.25l there and have an extremely thick foam .. i will try 30ml next time.


----------



## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Incidentally - though reposting this link might be fun reading in the context of this thread


----------

