# BH Auto Foam - Foam lance or pump sprayer?



## m140i (Jun 20, 2017)

I have used BH Auto Foam a few times now and the results seem ok, but I'm not so sure I'm using it correctly or getting the same results as some on here by how well some of you rate it.

I think part of my 'problem' (that's if I actually have one ) is that I'm using the standard foam nozzle/bottle that came with my Karcher K2 Pressure washer. I'm not sure of the actual size but its the small one, certainly not a 1Lt bottle).

With the bottle I'm currently using on my K2 I'm kind of just guessing how much to put in the bottle, then I top it up with water, assuming that's correct? I have also seen people on here/other web sites use it in a pump sprayer type device and some using 1Lt bottles on a pressure washer appear to just have some neat in the bottle without adding water in the bottle?

So, having seen a few different ways people have been using it, would any of you on here who use the BH Auto Foam care to comment on how you use it, e.g. in a Foam Lance (if so, are there any recommendation please, so I can stop using the small K2 one if it means being able to work out the ratio easier/better) or, do you use a pump sprayer?

I'm also not 100% sure how to get the correct ratio when using either of the above methods?

Appreciate and pointers as I would be interested to know if I can improve on what I have previously been doing.

Thanks! :thumb:


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

This might help with working out dilution ratio etc etc...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=400542


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## tripod (Feb 8, 2018)

I use Nilfisk and I don’t use BH auto foam - but upgrading the standard nozzle/bottle made a HUGE difference to the amount of foam.


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## olliewills (Feb 10, 2017)

BHAF isn't designed to make a thick shaving foam like you get with most other products so always looks thin going on in that regard. It does however clean far better than most other products in my experience, despite not being a thick foam. 

It sounds like you have the FJ6 foam bottle with your K2 and if so, this is the same as my current setup. To get the 4-5% panel impact ratio (PIR) that BH recommend you'll need about 360ml in the 600ml lance bottle, with the rest filled with warm water. 

BHAF works equally well through a 2l garden pump sprayer and is actually more economical this way, since you only need 40ml of product per litre of water and a single full 2ltr sprayer (80ml of product) will easily do a medium size car, including the wheels.

I'm at the point now where I use BHAF through the garden sprayer even if I'm breaking out the PW to rinse it off, simply because it saves product and I find it easier to get the foam just on the car and not all over the driveway!

Whichever method of application you choose, it's worth mentioning that you can increase/supplement the cleaning power of BHAF by using warm water. I always do this with the sprayer because it's easy and I'll occasionally use my outside hot tap to feed the PW.

Hope that helps you.


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## OvEr_KiLL (Mar 2, 2015)

would he not benefit from a proper lance? i use a nilfisk c130 with a in2detailing lance and fill up 1 inch topped with warm water  cleans great but isnt as foamy as others out there


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## olliewills (Feb 10, 2017)

A better lance will never hurt sure, but in this situation it won't, just by buying one, make BHAF clean any more effectively. It also won't solve his problem, largely because he doesn't actually have one and isn't doing anything 'wrong' per-se. He just needs to know how to mix up BHAF to the correct PIR which he now knows how to do and can do with the tools he has on hand.

I would highly recommend a pump sprayer though. At £3 from Wilko for a 2ltr model they're cheap and are really useful all over the car. They can't blast dirt like a PW sure, but you can gently spray engine bays, door shuts, arches, wheels and even any fragile paint if you have rust/chips etc. 

When you add in the fact that using them with BHAF makes it more economical, you end up saving money and get a really useful tool for other purposes. You can even be mobile with a pump sprayer. I take mine to work and use them in the work car park to clean my wheels during lunch for example.


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## Peter77 (May 29, 2016)

I use something like this









I add 40ml of BH auto foam for 1 litre of warm water. I've got it down too 2 litres, gets me round my car twice(lower half of car and up the boot). If the car is particularly minging, which it usually is this time of year, I then go over it with a foam through the lance, I'm using obsession wax blizzard, 30ml of that gives a nice thick long dwell over the BH doing its thing underneath. 
I'm happy with how well this works for me

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## olliewills (Feb 10, 2017)

I use two of these:

http://www.wilko.com/hose-pipes-sprinklers+spray-guns/wilko-pressurised-sprayer-2l/invt/0339854

They're cheap, easy to fly around the car with and plenty of capacity for a single car. I use one for chemicals like BHAF and keep another for just clean water rinsing & wetting up.

@Peter77: What would be great is to see some swab tests of your approach to using BHAF with OW Blizzard on top, versus just using BHAF(pump or lance) by itself and letting it run off at it's natural pace. It'd maybe give us a bit more insight into whether:
A) the BHAF is cleaning the panel any more effectively by being held in place longer by the OW foam.
B) the OW foam is adding anything in terms of cleaning power or is it being blocked by doing so due to the layer of BHAF already on the panel.
C) either one of the products when used by themselves outperforms the other.
D) Are the two products naturally/chemically compatible and do they remain LSP-safe or as LSP-safe when layered together?

Granted D isn't really going to be answered by a simple swab test! I do love though that we all have so many creative ways of using these products. It does go to show that how you use something is just as important as what you use, and that products like this can be used differently depending on if you value efficiency, economy, effectiveness etc.


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## Peter77 (May 29, 2016)

My only reason for doing it this way, was I found the BHAF drying out very quickly on the surface of the car when misted on using the pump sprayer. My theory was the thicker snow foam over the top allowed a lot longer for BH to dwell. Gives me plenty of time to do tight areas with brush etc. Never really gave it a thought about the performance of the OW blizzard


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## AndyN01 (Feb 16, 2016)

Pump Sprayer all the way.

Cheapo one from Wilkinsons is fine. Dead easy to get the 4% on the panel ratio.

Doesn't "foam" as such (but there are tweaks that can be made to the pump sprayer) but really does clean - which is what I buy it for.

Good Luck.

Andy.


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## olliewills (Feb 10, 2017)

Peter77 said:


> My only reason for doing it this way, was I found the BHAF drying out very quickly on the surface of the car when misted on using the pump sprayer. My theory was the thicker snow foam over the top allowed a lot longer for BH to dwell. Gives me plenty of time to do tight areas with brush etc. Never really gave it a thought about the performance of the OW blizzard
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It's a very fair point, you really don't want to let any foam dry on your paint if you can help it. With my Wilko sprayer I tend to use the more 'jet' setting as opposed to misting it onto the panel. It means using a bit more product but even if I put the entire 2ltr sprayer over the car, I'm still only using 80ml of product and the car gets plenty wet enough for BHAF to do is job and not dry out. I'd easily use twice that amount of product to do the same with a PW.

It is harder in summer though I will admit.


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## m140i (Jun 20, 2017)

Thanks for the info everyone :thumb:

The standard foam gun thing that came with my K2 pressure washer is this one...

Pic

So a bit smaller than the one mentioned by Ollie from checking what that one looks like. Because of the current one I have I haven't bothered to work out the throughput of my pressure washer/water used etc, as per the guide listed on here further up this thread.

I do quite like the idea of the pump sprayers though, especially if it makes things easier with the ratio, 1 or 2 Ltrs of water and 40 or 80 ml of product, jobs a good'n! Plus I can go around the car with that, then by the time I have got the pressure washer out and ready, it would have had a few minutes to work it's magic.

One final question....... previously I have always given the car a quick once over with the normal water lance to blast away and loose bits of dirt, before using BHAF - is it better to put the BH Auto Foam on the car when it's dry or carry on as I am giving it a pre-blast before going over it with the BHAF?

Thanks!


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## olliewills (Feb 10, 2017)

If by 'loose dirt' you mean thick patches of the stuff that completely hide the paint then yes, you'd want to blast those off with the hose first. Snow foams can do quite a lot and BHAF is up there with the best/strongest of them but they'll all still be bested by thick mud.

That being said, Snow foams will generally cling longer to a dry car so if the dirt isn't too thick, leaving the car dry can be best the best approach. This is actually where BHAF differs most from other foams however in that it is designed to clean deep and fast and run off with minimal cling. Even on a dry car it'll run off quickly but it'll still be doing its job, no problem.


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## Forsh (Jun 13, 2014)

Wetting the car first will further dilute the 4% PIR

BUT...

from here...

https://www.bilthamber.com/auto-foam



Bilt Hamber said:


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


That's 1%-5%

so a wet car shouldn't make a difference to BHAFs cleaning ability


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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

m140i said:


> Thanks for the info everyone :thumb:
> 
> The standard foam gun thing that came with my K2 pressure washer is this one...
> 
> ...


Always rinse the car down first to remove the top layer of dirt. This allows your pre wash to be more effective against the stuff that you couldn't remove with just water as leaving that top layer of dirt on effectively prevents the pre wash soaking into the real stubborn dirt underneath.

I have seen thorough tests of this carried out and on every occasion the car/panel that was rinsed first always achieved better results with the following pre wash.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## neilmcl (Mar 26, 2010)

BH themselves advised on this very site that it's best to use AF on a dry car.


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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

They do Neil but I stand by my above advice 100%. Essentially it is the same scenario as cleaning your paintwork/wheels prior to applying fallout remover. You are only wasting the ability of the fallout remover by applying it to a dirty wheel/panel. 

I came to the same conclusion about pre-washes given the results I have seen from others and from testing myself. The difference is visually noticeable on a white car.


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## m140i (Jun 20, 2017)

Thanks for the comments 

As it happens, my M140 is white so I might try each method both on a wet and dry car.

I have up to now always given the car a blast with the pressure washer first with just water, before going over it with BHAF as was also going on the basis that there would, in theory, be less dirt on the car for the product to have to deal with.

My only other thought that made me ask the question was, if the car is already wet, would the BHAF be less effective, should the water cause the product to 'run off' along with the water, therefore the BHAF would spend less time on the panel?

I suspect either way there is minimal difference but there is only one way to find out....... get out there and test it I guess!


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## olliewills (Feb 10, 2017)

You can use BHAF just as effectively on a wet car as on a dry one so no worries there. The extra bit of water on the car will be have minimal effect on the dilution of BHAF and any increase in lubricity is also negligible in my experience.


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## m140i (Jun 20, 2017)

Thought I would post an update to this as I managed to get around to getting a pump sprayer recently and then gave my car a good clean on the weekend (about 5 hours worth lol :doublesho - but it hadn't been cleaned for probably a few months!).........

Well, I did notice quite a bit of difference using the pump sprayer.....

I had quickly gone over the bottom half (ish) of the car to help remove any larger bits of dirt first, going up the doors a little with the pressure washer you could see just normal water from the pressure washer didn't remove much dirt (as you would expect).

Then went over the car with the BHAF - I used 80ml of BHAF and 2L of water in the sprayer, used pretty much all of it on the car and wheels as it was rather dirty so wanted to make sure it had plenty on it (I had already hit the wheels with BH Korrosol too).

Gave it about 5 mins or so to do its thing then blasted it off with the pressure washer. At this point I immediately noticed the difference of how much dirt was removed when comparing it to another section that I hadn't got to as yet......... rather impressed!

I never noticed this much difference before so I must have had the dilution wrong when using the crappy Karcher foam lance, although I never attempted to work it out either as the Karcher bottle was a rather odd size.

Anyway, thanks to all who passed on their experience/knowledge. I certainly noticed a big improvement! :thumb:

One final question..... is it ok to leave the remaining BHAF in the pump sprayer (already mixed)? I didn't have any remaining this time as my car was filthy, but should I have some left over next time, when hopefully I won't leave it so long before a clean, it would be ready to use?

Thanks!


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## jammyc (May 6, 2015)

I leave mine mixed after a wash in the pump sprayer. Not had any issues yet. I mix 5 litres at a time which gives me 3 washes of the 5 series.


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