Ive always liked the idea of snow foam but never found it to really do anything. Thought I would have another play with it yesterday. The car was cleaned then stripped with with Dodo lime prime and waxed with two coats of Blue velvet 4 months ago and its still holding up pretty well (you can see in the final photos during the rinse)

 

So i thought this wash i would take some photos and put them up here for you guys to see what you think im doing wrong or if a snow foam is just a bit of fun for no real gain

 

The back of the car before i started. probably a month without a wash as ive just been too busy!

 

 

So I gave it a quick blast with the jetwash which took a bit off and then foamed the whole car minus the right hand side of the boot. about an Inch and a half of valet pro ph neutral in the bottom of the foam lance then topped with water. nice thick clingy foam came out and covered the car

 

 

After nearly 10 mins it looked like this. the staining in the foam on the drive was just drive scum not from the car itself

 

 

So gave it a blast off with the pressure washer, now both sides look the same? as if the foam did absolutly nothing?

 

 

so I washed the panel on the boot with the badges down using autofinesse lather shampoo a mf noodle mit and the 2 bucket method and both sides cleaned up as easily as each other. then rinsed and the water shot of both sides showing there is still some protection left from the blue velvet. There is a fair bit of fallout on the car but that will be tackled next wash with some iron remover and a rewax ready for winter

 

 

I then gave the rest of the car a quick wash as the sun was started to come out and i have very limted shade around the house, The bonnet still looks pretty good even after 4 months of abuse on the blue velvet!

 

 

 

 

So am i doing it wrong? or are there better products out there. This is not my first test, just the first with photos. I have tried the foam thinner and so thick it stayed around for days lol! nothing ever seems to remove any more dirt than just a good jetwash alone

 

Thanks guys

 

From the pictures your car doesn't look all that dirty. People tend to expect too much cleaning power from snow foam. I think the results from your test are a testament on perhaps how well you maintain your car. Foam is only really to loosen up the crud on your car, as said, it didn't look too bad to start with.

Thanks, It looked worse in real life but it was generic sun baked on road dirt.

Maybe I will save the snowfoam for when I get it really dirty

Did you jetwash it 1st before snowfoaming to wet the dirt before you apply the snowfoam. TBH I use it everytime as amongst other things it removes any dust on the car before I use a wash mit. My personal opinion is that anything I use that removes some crud before I shampoo has to be a good thing as that will reduce any swirling. In winter I often use citrus spray 1st then snowfoam after! Both my buckets- shampoo and rinse are very often still completely clean after which to me suggests what I'm doing is right for my cleaning regime.....or I'm washing it too often!

Yes i jetwashed it first and it looked pretty much the same as the after shot.

Im all for anything that removes dirt before I physically touch the car but I'm not for wasting time on things that don't work. My rinse bucket was horrible when I finished although the wheels contribute a fair bit towards that!

I foam mine up just to loosen off any stubborn stuff on the front like dead bugs. Then just was as normal with a mitt and mr pink!  You'res looks good to me, I still see road grime on the car after the foam has slid onto the floor but its nice and easy to wash off. :yes:

Edited 14 September, 201411 yr by Keith64

Try foaming a dry car instead of pre-rinsing.

Water on the car before foam will see the cling and cleaning effect lessoned IME if the objective is a deeper clean.

It's all a balancing act, there are foams and pre-washes with greater cleaning power but you need to consider if you want that heavy Alkali mix in contact with door rubbers and other such for a long time.

I do find valet pro only a passable snowfoam, but that is as much personal taste as anything.

To my eyes the protection is doing it's job and the car isn't that dirty. But maybe the foam carried away some small scratchy particles you just can't see. Personally I am foaming much less these days in favour of a premixed pump spray pre-wash.

I like the idea of a pre-wash. Foaming a dry car will show more dirt removal as none has been jetwashed off to start with. It will cling better I'm guessing.

Better cling is key as it allows the surfactants more time to work-more cleaning potential.

Snowfoam hitting a wet panel will run off quicker.

I understand form your posts we are talking about that grey scummy traffic film, which PW doesn't remove either unless you are much too close.

I might suggest also 4 months from Dodo Juice blue velvet unless the pro version is very optimistic for durability, I find two coats from the standard dodo waxes gives about two months. I suspect the panels LSP is a bit dead in your example SF.

Definitely give a quality pre wash in garden pump sprayer a go, you can go for a slightly stronger mix and less contact time to get the same net result in less time.

Yeah traffic film, I dont get closer than 12" although I do have an adjustable nozzel for it

4 months is pushing it I will admit but the water still beads and runs off really well, check out the last photo... I've not put any thing on it since so that's just the wax unless there is also something in the lather shampoo

I will give a pre wash a go

Yeah traffic film, I dont get closer than 12" although I do have an adjustable nozzel for it

4 months is pushing it I will admit but the water still beads and runs off really well, check out the last photo... I've not put any thing on it since so that's just the wax unless there is also something in the lather shampoo

I will give a pre wash a go

Not a criticism, but a clean totally unprotected panel will also show good water behaviour, that was my only point.

Sheeting is better evidence than beading for me, but neither is a foolproof guarantee of your wax or sealant still being present.

Yes i jetwashed it first and it looked pretty much the same as the after shot.

Im all for anything that removes dirt before I physically touch the car but I'm not for wasting time on things that don't work. My rinse bucket was horrible when I finished although the wheels contribute a fair bit towards that!

My rinse bucket gets dirty too once I start on the wheels, my reference was to when I'd just done the paintwork. As Sparly says it's a balancing act to get as much off without stripping your LSP and just like other detailing and cleaning products there's loads of options available, finding the one that suits your needs/budget is not always easy.

If time is a factor for you try getting out your jet wash and connect it up first-whether you rinse before foaming is up to you. Go indoors and fill up your SF lancebottle with warm water after putting the SF in 1st. Snowfoam the car. Then go back inside and fill up your 2 buckets. By the time you've done that and taken them outside it'll be time to rinse off and you'll be ready to shampoo.

Try foaming a dry car instead of pre-rinsing.

Water on the car before foam will see the cling and cleaning effect lessoned IME if the objective is a deeper clean.

It's all a balancing act, there are foams and pre-washes with greater cleaning power but you need to consider if you want that heavy Alkali mix in contact with door rubbers and other such for a long time.

I do find valet pro only a passable snowfoam, but that is as much personal taste as anything.

To my eyes the protection is doing it's job and the car isn't that dirty. But maybe the foam carried away some small scratchy particles you just can't see. Personally I am foaming much less these days in favour of a premixed pump spray pre-wash.

Sparkly - what pre wash do you recommend and at what dilution rate ?

If time is a factor for you try getting out your jet wash and connect it up first-whether you rinse before foaming is up to you. Go indoors and fill up your SF lancebottle with warm water after putting the SF in 1st. Snowfoam the car. Then go back inside and fill up your 2 buckets. By the time you've done that and taken them outside it'll be time to rinse off and you'll be ready to shampoo.

Well said... This is my exact routine... Timing works out pretty much perfect!

That is pretty much how I do it. Make up my wash buckets whilst its dwelling.

I'll will try a prewash though

That is pretty much how I do it. Make up my wash buckets whilst its dwelling.

I'll will try a prewash though

It certainly speeds things up, as does using a wooly mammouth drying cloth, which is the dogs IMO. If it helps I was advised by ChisRS that when the car is really dirty then a citrus prewash followed by a rinse before the usual snowfoam helps though he thought repeated use would likely degrade your LSP so he doesn't use it every wash. I have both valetpro snowfoam and their citrus prewash and both seem to offer a good price/performance compromise and are ph neutral so are less likely to strip your LSP than those that are not.

Sparkly - what pre wash do you recommend and at what dilution rate ?

 

At the minute I have a bottle of Auto Finesse Citrus Power on the go which comes pre-diluted, good cleaning power and you don't need to use excessive amounts to get a result so reasonably economical.

It certainly speeds things up, as does using a wooly mammouth drying cloth, which is the dogs IMO. If it helps I was advised by ChisRS that when the car is really dirty then a citrus prewash followed by a rinse before the usual snowfoam helps though he thought repeated use would likely degrade your LSP so he doesn't use it every wash. I have both valetpro snowfoam and their citrus prewash and both seem to offer a good price/performance compromise and are ph neutral so are less likely to strip your LSP than those that are not.

 

All Pre-wash, snowfoam and a lot of shampoos will degrade Wax LSP's to some extent, some are gentler than others.  Cleaning power has to come from somewhere and chemicals don't discriminate between traffic film and carnauba.

This all makes sense, I will have to try the citrus power, does this help with tar spots as my octy is covered around the bottom of the arches due to recent road resurfacing and with it white they really stand out, suppose it makes them easy to find when its time to remove!

This all makes sense, I will have to try the citrus power, does this help with tar spots as my octy is covered around the bottom of the arches due to recent road resurfacing and with it white they really stand out, suppose it makes them easy to find when its time to remove!

 

If they are fully bonded tar spots then Citrus Power is unlikely to shift them.

 

You will need a dedicated tar remover, these are typically solvent heavy and will strip waxes, best to plan de-tar into a bigger detailing session - winter or summer season prep detail as you will need to re-apply your LSP,

 

I don't personally recommend clay for large tar spots, I much prefer to use a chemical decon, then follow up with clay if anything remains, clay although very good for decontaminating paint carries a moderate risk of marring the paint which will require a light polish to remove, not an issue at all if you already planned to have a polish stage in your detail as this will pick up any marring left by clay, but if you pick up a decent size lump of tar in clay it is all too easy to pull it across the paint.

 

Depending on your area and car colour, Tar spots can be a pain.  If you find they are a regular problem then something like a durable silica coating from someone like ArtDeShine might help as this will help to stop the tar bonding.

I was planning to remove them before the big winter sesh along with some correction I need to do on the gloss B pillars and small scuff on the wing and rear bumper from works car park :-( I've got a bottle of valet pro orange tar remover (can't remember the exact name) to try but I do prefer a spray applicator.

I remember resorting to white spirit in an old AG engine and machine cleaner bottle for my Passat with a 30 second dwell and it ripped it off then rewashed the car and re waxed. It actually worked really well and the car looked great afterwards. Not something I was looking to make a habbit of though. I was careful to keep it away from the plastic trimmed lower doors and sills though.

I'm considering getting mud flaps for the octy just to save the panels behind the wheels.

Car also appears to have a lot of spots of rust or fallout on it so hoping some ironX style product will help me remove them.

I've got a big detail on the wife's eunos roadster to do first with some major correction needed. Maybe this weekend if the weather holds up

Sorry for hi-jacking this Thread but as it concerns Snowfoam, I will continue.The last 5ltr Snowfoam I bought was Bilt-Hammer Autofoam and have used it in conjunction with a CYC Foam cannon (OK it,s not the best way of applying Snowfoam). The results where to say the least not as good as a previous unbranded one.This week I bought some Valetpro Ph neutral Snowfoam and what a difference. The settings were exactly the same as previous type, but as said before totally different appearance on the Yeti. Is there so much difference between Snowfoams?

Tony

Sorry for hi-jacking this Thread but as it concerns Snowfoam, I will continue.The last 5ltr Snowfoam I bought was Bilt-Hammer Autofoam and have used it in conjunction with a CYC Foam cannon (OK it,s not the best way of applying Snowfoam). The results where to say the least not as good as a previous unbranded one.This week I bought some Valetpro Ph neutral Snowfoam and what a difference. The settings were exactly the same as previous type, but as said before totally different appearance on the Yeti. Is there so much difference between Snowfoams?

Tony

 

In a word Yes. 

 

Bilt Hammer snowfoam is normally a less think foam, more runny - but this is by design;

it still does a great job of dragging surface dirt from the paint surface.

 

Whereas ValetPro tends to foam much more and give a thick foam appearance.

 

 

I have bottles of both SF's in question - but prefer ValetPro