# Snow Foam Help



## shaziman

Hi All,

I have had an Autobrite Snow Foam Lance for 6 months or so now, but i can't help thinking something is not right.

I am using Super Snowfoam, neat at the minute as part of a solution of this test with a Karcher K702 pressure washer.

The problem i have is i live on a new build estate and my drive is not flat, one half is inclined to the front door and the other half is split like it inclines and then declines towards the garage. The snowfoam doesn't come out of my lance with alot of power and the foam isn't thick, it seems to run straight off the panels. a 1 minute dwell time is unachievable forget 10 minutes. I have tried playing with the concentration of the foam and the faning effect, but it still isn't thick. The problem is then it runs off my drive into the close, and as the close declines away from my drive, the foam ends up 5 or 6 houses down and bypasses all the drains.

I have a feeling that either the Super snowfoam is seriously watered down, as it runs like water, or my lance is defective. I haven't tried anyother shampoo as i only have Zip Wax and it will probably strip off the Wax from the last protection.

I am concerned as my neighbours all have small kids, and in the winter it looks like it has snowed and i don't want any of them coming out and trying to play in it and then consuming it. Also it probably isn't cleaning my car as much as it should do.

I saw this video on Youtube, and mine isn't anywhere as thick as this.






You help is much appreciated!


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## Avanti

Zip wax ain't gonna strip wax, anyways are you putting about 150ml in and then filling the bottle with water?


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## shaziman

I was filling it with water initially but the foam was still very very thin. So as part of the test to resolve the problem, i have now filled the bottle half with neat snowfoam.

Just seen this video, with neat foam, it comes out similar to the first part of this video. My technique is much better than this guy through, i have it with much mire of a fan, and not so much pressure.


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## hoikey

Is the knob cranked round to the - and not the +? - is more foam


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## shaziman

Yep is on max concentration, when its round the other way it just throws water


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## Avanti

shaziman said:


> I was filling it with water initially but the foam was still very very thin. So as part of the test to resolve the problem, i have now filled the bottle half with neat snowfoam.


Perhaps you miss the point, 1 litre of soap solution is a lot for a car, don't be getting eat up on wax stripping, as you will be missing out on some great products, LSP is applied to be a sacrificial layer, so let it do it's job, when it is gone, put some more on, put some on tomorrow and it should last you until March, anyways are you absolutely sure you have no other products to try? 
The video clip does show a good foam, with that product I cannot replicate similar results


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## shaziman

Thanks Avanti, i will take that on board.

Its just i am expecting more like this:


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## hoikey

Get some magifoam


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## andy monty

strip the lance and boil the gauze in water for 20 mins or so then soak over night in de scaler or vinegar

go from step 5 here

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=84349


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## shaziman

hoikey said:


> Get some magifoam


I did have that thought, but i could end up buying many products with no real gain. The last video posted is with Supa Snowfoam, which is what i am using, so i may have a defective lance or a pressure washer. Just want to get some opinions first.


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## shaziman

Many Thanks andy_monty, i think you may have cracked it!


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## Avanti

shaziman said:


> Thanks Avanti, i will take that on board.
> 
> Its just i am expecting more like this:


This is when I used SSF (click on the pic to play the video)



and this is magifoam


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## Avanti

shaziman said:


> I did have that thought, but i could end up buying many products with no real gain. The last video posted is with Supa Snowfoam, which is what i am using, so i may have a defective lance or a pressure washer. Just want to get some opinions first.


After I have covered the car I run the bottle empty of product

I have not had to strip my lance


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## shaziman

Thanks Avanti, i'll do a video before and after a strip down of the lance and with Zip wax and see if i get similar results to you.


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## shaziman

Right guys, due to the weather, i decided to strip the lance straight away and see whats what. I was amazed at what i found.

I did as andy_monty suggested and went from step 5. The gauze filter was clean.










Then i carried on stripping out the rest of it, and found everything to be super tight, but it all came off.










The injector nozzle was covered with Red threadlocker, i could barely see the hole in the centre, i gave it a quick scrape and this is what i could see.










Turns out that when the Lance was assembled, the assembler must have dipped the whole fitting in threadlocker, and not just put a couple of drops on the thread.

I spent 2 hours cleaning the threadlocker off and cleaning the insides of the lance.

I'm not sure, but my initial thoughts were right, the lance was defective. Are autobrite that worried about their product falling apart with use that they bonded the whole thing together? i had to use my vice and a spanner with a pole on the end to take it apart!

My lance was made in Feb'2011, so if your lance isn't working properly, and it was made circa the same time, you may also have threadlocker heaven inside your lance!


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## AaronGTi

I got my lance atound that tine from AB and its still perfect. I've also used super snow foam and found that even with half inch product in a 1L bottle it still foams really really well. 
Have you tried foaming since your lance rebuild?


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## bigmc

hoikey said:


> Is the knob cranked round to the - and not the +? - is more foam


That's not always the case either, mine needs to be all the way round to the + for maximum foam (as it should be)


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## hoikey

bigmc said:


> That's not always the case either, mine needs to be all the way round to the + for maximum foam (as it should be)


on an autobrite lance?


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## bigmc

No on a standard HD lance.


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## oriboy

I too was having trouble with my Autobrite lance, then I found the neck of the bottle was cracked. Am now trying to find a replacement!


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## hoikey

bigmc said:


> No on a standard HD lance.


I meant the Autobrite ones


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## bigmc

hoikey said:


> I meant the Autobrite ones


Still not the case, mine is made by the same people who make the autobrite, cyc etc. lances.


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## hoikey

bigmc said:


> Still not the case, mine is made by the same people who make the autobrite, cyc etc. lances.


oh right. The only ones from autobrite I've seen have been minus for max foam


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## shaziman

Not tried it since the rebuild, but it must be better. Also, when i used it before the + to - was less than 3/4 of a turn, now its 6. This will definitely help!


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## chrisc

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOSCH-AQU...re_Cleaning&hash=item2569c7f150#ht_680wt_1031

are these a newer lance end looks different


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## Shiny

oriboy said:


> I too was having trouble with my Autobrite lance, then I found the neck of the bottle was cracked. Am now trying to find a replacement!


Loads of bottles will fit. :thumb: I'm using an original bottle (which has a SF mix), and an empty (rinsed out obviously) VP Bilberry bottle and an empty ONR bottle - one is used for a shampoo mix and the other for an APC mix.


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## shaziman

I tried a Pepsi 2 litre bottle and they fit, but obviously its too big. I'm looking for a 300ml size or so, enough for 1 car at a time


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## Ronnie

You should not be using the foam neat as even at maximum dilution it will not be enough to avoid clogging up the lance. The lance is going to need cleaning possibly replace the mesh pellet and you should be right as rain. I have found with our own foams the must be diluted or the lance will rapidly reduce performance wise. Try a tight mix of super degreaser or similar through the lance and it should help before you start stripping down the lance.


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## Dirtyboy

hoikey said:


> I meant the Autobrite ones


Just bought a Karcher HD lance from Autobrite. So should this be on - or + for max foam, confused now


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## bigmc

Try it and see is the quick answer.


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## simon burns

Right,after reading this thread i throught i would check and clean out my lance,how since i brought it from (ebay) i have used it only afew times and found that it dones't produce thick foam at all!i.m using cg no touch foam,which i know is a good product!and have a brand new pressure washer a karcher jubilee!,so stripped the lance down&checked it out as i throught all clean due to only been used about 5 times!BUT wot i noticed is when you adjust the knob to the max the needle isn't fully closed,it still half way open,looking through 1 of the 4 vent holes on the 14mm nut,so wot i tired was a carbon washer which i bought from b&q its about 2mm deep, i fitted the washer between the 14mm vent nut and its base,so the needle know fully closes to its seat and know only vents out minimal air! I spoke to david at carwashwax and you should achieve 5 mins dwell time easy but b4 this i couldn't get even 2 mins!!!,So tried the lance this morning on new years day! filled the bottle with only 50ml of cg no touch and about 500ml of water,tested on our garden patio doors,windows,and wow!:doubleshothe foam is now thick and clumpy,and it's not as messy as the foam seems to go where u want it,i also didnt seem to use as much aswell!,sorry should take some pics and maybe a small vid but not to good with a computor:lol:im still a newbie to detailing but i hope this helps and has any1 had this problem before!


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## Avanti

simon burns said:


> Right,after reading this thread i throught i would check and clean out my lance,how since i brought it from (ebay) i have used it only afew times and found that it dones't produce thick foam at all!i.m using cg no touch foam,which i know is a good product!and have a brand new pressure washer a karcher jubilee!,so stripped the lance down&checked it out as i throught all clean due to only been used about 5 times!BUT wot i noticed is when you adjust the knob to the max the needle isn't fully closed,it still half way open,looking through 1 of the 4 vent holes on the 14mm nut,so wot i tired was a carbon washer which i bought from b&q its about 2mm deep, i fitted the washer between the 14mm vent nut and its base,so the needle know fully closes to its seat and know only vents out minimal air! I spoke to david at carwashwax and you should achieve 5 mins dwell time easy but b4 this i couldn't get even 2 mins!!!,So tried the lance this morning on new years day! filled the bottle with only 50ml of cg no touch and about 500ml of water,tested on our garden patio doors,windows,and wow!:doubleshothe foam is now thick and clumpy,and it's not as messy as the foam seems to go where u want it,i also didnt seem to use as much aswell!,sorry should take some pics and maybe a small vid but not to good with a computor:lol:im still a newbie to detailing but i hope this helps and has any1 had this problem before!


Yes the (+) & (-) refer to the air & water flow mix , not the foam at the nozzle :thumb:


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## nivr6

You also have to remember it also depends how long you have had your sf. Sf contains active ingredients and after the sf is opened it will only remain active for a certain period of time. I have found that after 4 months the sf starts to become less effective and it will eventually end up producing foam but will not clean anything.


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## SteveBtt

Need to check mine out then cos my magi foam wasn't thick at all. It did dwell pretty long but wasn't super thick. It was more like the supa snow. But then again I've only had it a week !!


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## hoikey

nivr6 said:


> You also have to remember it also depends how long you have had your sf. Sf contains active ingredients and after the sf is opened it will only remain active for a certain period of time. I have found that after 4 months the sf starts to become less effective and it will eventually end up producing foam but will not clean anything.


Really? my magifoam hasn't had a cap on it ( I broke it) for at least 2 months and its fine


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## CleanCar99

After you've finished with the foam lance, take the bottle off and place the pickup tube into a bucket of clean water (i use my rinse water that is waiting ready for the 2BM wash).
Run the lance for about 2 mins like this, and adjust the + - dial fully in both directions, and also adjust the fanout nozzle through its full range also.

This will clean out all the foam and extend the life before requiring a strip down.

Once no more foam is coming out, disconnect the lance, and drop it into the clean rinse water bucket and leave it there until you start your 2BM main wash.


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## Bkjames

After reading this i am thinking something is wrong with my ab foam lance only used it 3 new years eve new years day and Monday just gone i have tried super foam and magifoam neither of mine have come out really thick? I only got all my stuff a few weeks before xmas


Brian


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## hoikey

What pressure washer have you got?


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## Bkjames

hoikey said:


> What pressure washer have you got?


Karcher K2.36

Brian


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## Dirtyboy

First use of new AB lance with AB Super Snow. Got the camera out as soon as I put the lance down, foam been on this side of car for up to 30 seconds. Have to say a bit disappointed.... Karcher HD525


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## hoikey

Bkjames said:


> Karcher K2.36
> 
> Brian


May be due to the low flow rate


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## Z Benjamin Z

This might seem silly but would the weather have an impact on the performace of snow foam? I bought a lance from AB in the summer and its been great so far with SSF and magi foam. Also I only have a cheap karcher.


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## hoikey

Mine works fine in this weather.


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## Bkjames

One side by the time i had done the other









One side as i done it









This look right?

Brian


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## bigmc

Yes but how much is on the floor?


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## Bkjames

First time i used it mate was messing about with settings etc

So that looks right? Its ab super foam


Brian


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## bigmc

Yes looks fine, the shaving foam looking stuff is over use of product imho, unless you have apw capable of 1m3 per minute.


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## Bkjames

bigmc said:


> Yes looks fine, the shaving foam looking stuff is over use of product imho, unless you have apw capable of 1m3 per minute.


Thanks mate glad it looks fine and I ant doing something wrong

Brian


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## shaziman

Guys, i have just caught up with this thread, and glad to see i'm not the only one, i found that i was getting the same results as DirtyBoy when my lance was new and am expecting what BKJames has achieved. 

I still haven't tried my lance since the rebuild due to weather and work  

I will post pics when i do.


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## CleanCar99

Ive only used valet pro ph neutral and its like shaving foam, but only clings for 2-3 mins.
I have now bought bilt hamber foam, and some magifoam so will do a compare when i have time.


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## shaziman

Right, finally had a chance to wash the car! After the strip down of the lance, i think it is finally working the way it was intended. I used about 1/2" of foam to 3/4 bottle water.

Here is a pic of a foam after about 1 minute:










Here it is after 3 minutes:










As you can see a vast improvement, i would say this would rival what Avanti is getting! having the extra turns on the concentration knob makes all the difference.

I rinsed out the lance afterwards as i found a 2L bottle of Asda own brand something or other that has been empty in the garage, and the thread fits perfectly on the lance, so i filled it with water and washed it out.

So Autobrite, your really not in good books at the moment!


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