Thoughts on Foam Cannons

I have a Griot's Garage Foaming Gun and love it. I use it when my vehicles are dirty, driven in the rain, etc.. However, following a drive on nice days where the car just picked up road dust I use a Rinseless Car Wash with great success.

 

I’ve been using the foam cannon followed by the two bucket method because I enjoy washing my cars. My rational is the foam cannon could help remove anything large/abrasive before hand washing to potentially decrease micro-scratches. I use it on all my cars. I’m not sure how beneficial it is but it’s fun to use, the kids like seeing the foam and it gives my wife the illusion I know what I’m doing.

 

I completely agree with you, I don’t use the power washer for rinsing. The foam doesn’t come out with too much force and I rinse with a standard garden hose. You can look into the foam guns and completely forgo the power washer, they still have a good amount of foam.

 

I've been using a foam cannon for at least 2 yrs. I foam my car using Mr. Pink without pressure co existing pressure washer after throughly hosing the car down initially. Then I foam the car with a 2oz. load. Then allow car /foam mixture to remain on car for approx. 5min. Followed by a rinsing. Reapply foam followed by Bucket mixture with 1 oz of Mr. Pink, clean micro mitt hand wash mixture. Then full rinse. New addition -followed by application at 2-3 mo intervals with Avalonking new product as a fast ceramic spray.

 

Foam cannon is just so satisfying. Cannon then a rinse. Cannon then a microfiber glove followed by rinse and microfiber / compressed air dry. I've been happy with the Chemical Guys. products. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Agreed. To put it simply…they are fun to use and it looks cool having the entire car covered in suds.




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Hello,

I’ve been using Griot’s Garages “The Boss” foam cannon on my 458 for three years. They are great and easy to use. I also use the Griot’s foam wash and Poly Gloss foam ultra shine product after the foam wash.

To be extra safe, I cover my wheels when using the foaming wash and poly shine to keep it off of the CC rotors, just in case. The wheels and rotors are only cleaned with de-ionised water.

Cheers!

 

Mmmmm! - if that was the case most cars paint finish would be wrecked within weeks?, think about all the crap and debris that hits the lower half of your car when travelling at speed in the rain on the motorway / freeway for hours at a time.
You will do more damage to your cars paint finish by not rinsing at the initial stage of washing believe me, the action of loosening and removing the dirt prior to hand washing cannot be emphasised enough.
Some detailers like to foam first, then rinse, then foam again, i like to rinse first, then foam, whilst the foam is doing its work i concentrate on the wheel arches and alloy wheels etc, then rinse. I then foam again prior to washing, the foam provides extra lubrication for the lambs wool wash mitt.
Simply keep the pressure washer at a safe distance and pressure and no damage will occur.
Each and everyone to their own way, each detailer has their own method when it comes to washing.

 

Ps re post " cleaning ceramic coated PPF ".
Have a look at the Bentley Speed, this car gets driven to London and back ( 300 miles ), at least once per month, in all weather conditions.
I have to use the pressure washer to rinse and foam in order to remove the dirt prior to hand washing.

 

Foam cannons are a prewash so you still need to do a contact wash to get rid of rad grime and film. It should be used in ADDITION to a contact wash and not in place of. So you are adding time, supplies, and steps.

The foam and rinsing take away possible contaminants that may scratch your car. This is for your "important cars"

For my daily driver I use it as a time saving device. I rinse, foam, let sit, contact wash, then rinse knowing I may get some scratches on it. But far less than what 90% of the people will put into their cars from their wash method or, Heavan forbis, take it to a car wash

For your two bucket method, you should hav 4-5 mitts and you just use 1 mitt for a portion of the car working top down and then throw that mit into the empty bucket. This way you never have to worry about contamination by rinsing a mit in dirty water (even with a grit guard)

I dry with a leaf blower to further reduce contact, even on my daily driver. It wont get it all so then you pat (not rub) remaining drops with a fluffy microfiber and detailing spray

 

I used a foam cannon for awhile as it was touted as a touch-less wash but it never really got the car as clean as using a mitt. So I bailed and went back to using a mitt. I have PPF on my cars so it really doesn't harm the car to us a mitt.

 

Most car soaps are ph nuetral. This means their cleaning power is weak. if you used a higher or lower ph soap it would do a LOT better, but you have to know what you are doing and time things correctly.

Foam cannons can never completely replace a contact wash. Even diswashing soap that is NOT ph nuetral and works good provides a good example. Dip your dirty hands in dish soap and dont rub them and rinse. Cleaner than before, but not clean. Vs rubbing your hands together.

Lots of marketing misinformation tied to foam cannon. Its a enhancement not a replacement. Oh, and thick foam isn't the best for cleaning as well. I could go on and on

With all of this being said, I recommend adding a foam cannon to your process.

 

Oh and just to clarify my above post. Never use dishwashing soap on a car unless you want to strip off waxes and coatings. My post was to explain dishwashing soap on your hands to explain soaps in general and not just on cars.

 

I use a garden-hose based foam gun rather than a pressure washer version. For me, it’s too much work to drag out the pressure washer and I don’t like using high pressure and never felt a need to use it.

The garden hose version foams pretty well, but not snow-“like with the pressure washer. I still think it works well as a pre-wash before using a bucket/mitt.

I’ve seen people use a foam gun instead of a bucket (foam, rinse, foam, mitt, rinse) which I think is a mistake. As others have said, it should be a supplement to a regular wash, not a replacement.

 

I understand you not wanting to drag out the pressure washer


But the pressure rinse helps too. And as you stated you can’t get decent foam with a garden hose foamer


This may be a good hybrid solution for you. These things put out really good thick foam. A bit slow. But if you are only doing s car at a time, may not be a big deal. You can see them in action on YouTube.
https://www.amazon.com/iK-Foam-PRO-Pump-Sprayer/dp/B07VX947W1

 

I bought an IK Foam Pro pump sprayer a few months back and it's really good. I do have a pressure washer foam cannon but I usually wash the cars early in the morning so never felt comfortable disturbing the neighbors using a noisy pressure washer.

The foam isn't as thick as the pressure washer foam but it removes just as much dirt. Either method still requires contact wash with a mitt afterward but your wash bucket water stays a lot cleaner so I imagine does a lot less damage to the paintwork.

Just view snow form as a prewash to remove the grit etc and nothing more and you won't be disappointed

 

it will not harm if you foam then wash off. I think there is a benefit for cars you care about

This is the brand that sets the standard and everyone compares to

https://www.amazon.com/Hydro-Foam-Cannon-Wand-Bottle/dp/B083QTGTBM/ref=sr_1_3?crid=33YHO8EO32LPA&keywords=Mom+foam+cannon&qid=1674347137&sprefix=mom+foam+cannon%2Caps%2C263&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc

this is the brand that is up and coming and getting a lot of good reviews in the detailing community
https://www.amazon.com/MJJC-Connect-connection-connector-MJJC016-1/dp/B092DXFGNR/ref=sr_1_13?crid=UUQ44YOG4M8I&keywords=JCM+foam+cannon&qid=1674347221&sprefix=jcm+foam+cannon%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-13

 

Never foam or for that matter, wash your car in direct hot conditions. Even the best PH neutral foam could damage your paint if left to dry in the sun, eg water marks etc.
Shakespeare had the same problem with his Ferrari - " To wash or not to wash, that is the question ".
I am not a big fan of using waterless wash products on my cars if i am honest, i would rather not touch the paint, take her out a few times and then wash her correctly or just foam and rinse her down, before using a detailing spray or wax in between drives.

 

The entire front clip of my car is in PPF with rest in ceramic. The hassle of the power washer usually stops me from washing it with the cannon. A gentle wash doesn't seem to be hurting anything.

 

im not saying the MTM is the best. I will say there are no bad reviews on it and everyone compares theirs to it when doing reviews.

I also think foam cannons are more commonplace and the technology is known to many so even cheaper ones may work as well. But I know the MTM is a quality one.

you also need a decent pressure washer, knowing it’s not just pressure ratings but more importantly gallons per minute. And it get more complex as you to try to find the nominal ratings vs the maximum ratings.


With all this being said, you will most likely be fine. Marketing hype has made people think that thick foam is ideal. You actually want it somewhat runny so it grabs the dirt and drips off your car.

and then there are soaps…….I can save a lot of time in researching . I like Jaxwax Cannon soap. Buy it by the gallon from their site. I use 3 ounces per quart of water. Jaxwax is a good sweet spot of price and quality ingredients. And they make the only color changing wheel cleaner that smells good!