Not impressed

Peew

Hey lads, I have been lurking here for a while now, reading and learning from ye.
As I have read here there are a number of guys here who give some great advice so I hope someone can advise.i have been buying products for a while now to experiment with and hopefully do a good job but I'm not impressed with my choices of snow foam so far.
Last weekend I had some carcare snow foam that I loaded into the lance and went over the car, left to dwell and rinsed but the car was still filthy, my understanding of these products was that they would dwell and lift the dirt, am I missing something.
So this week I bought bilthamber snow foam as well as some other products, anywhoo I was at it again today and again I'm less than impressed with this product either.
I know the theory that you run the foam then wash but am I asking too much of these products on their own.

Dean12319

Peew wrote: »

Hey lads, I have been lurking here for a while now, reading and learning from ye.
As I have read here there are a number of guys here who give some great advice so I hope someone can advise.i have been buying products for a while now to experiment with and hopefully do a good job but I'm not impressed with my choices of snow foam so far.
Last weekend I had some carcare snow foam that I loaded into the lance and went over the car, left to dwell and rinsed but the car was still filthy, my understanding of these products was that they would dwell and lift the dirt, am I missing something.
So this week I bought bilthamber snow foam as well as some other products, anywhoo I was at it again today and again I'm less than impressed with this product either.
I know the theory that you run the foam then wash but am I asking too much of these products on their own.

Simply answer yes you are asking too much. Snow foam will soften the dirt then as you go to rinse a lot will come off but the car will not be clean until you follow with a proper wash.

*Kol*

You still need to wash the car after snow foam. As I wash the car so often I don't normally foam it.

ianobrien

OP, I've found the snowfoam good for loosening the dirt. The car still needs to be washed off. I find it great for fresh road spray but if its after getting emgrained, itll loosen it for the two bucket wash. If you have a good layer of wax, it dirt won't stick as much and can come off after the foam. It does for me (usually). Foaming isnt a one stop shop for cleaning, it's just the first step in the cleaning/detailing process.

I assume you left it for a good few minutes (15 minutes or so) for it to work. Also, what lance were you using? Some are much better than others, and no matter how good the foam is, if the lance is crap, you'll get crap foam.

Not being smart, throw up pictures of your equipment and posters here will guide you on how to get the best from it.

Curran

Perhaps you are expecting a bit too much. Some people expect that a snowfoam should be able to offer a touchless wash, that is, foam and power wash down. With the weather and road conditions we have in Ireland, it's simply not possible...save maybe 2 or 3 weeks in the summer when the car might only pick up some light dust.

I would be asking similar questions as above...
- what lance are you using? Is it an attachment that came with your power washer or is it a heavy duty version?
- what protection have you on the car?

Protection (wax/sealant) would have an effect on how much dirt will be removed during the snowfoam and rinse process. If the car has no protection, dirt forms a stronger bond to the paintwork than it would if it had been waxed. If you've been following the posts of someone like 'vectra', his car is protected with a nano coating which actually offers even more ease of washing and thus more removal during the snowfoam and rinse process.

The snowfoam process is designed to lift heavy dirt and grit from the surface, by suspending it in the foam and safely washing it away. It will also help soften the remaining grime that will be left after the rinsing.

Peew

Dean12319 wrote: »

Simply answer yes you are asking too much. Snow foam will soften the dirt then as you go to rinse a lot will come off but the car will not be clean until you follow with a proper wash.

Kinda what of I thought.cheers

Peew

*Kol* wrote: »

You still need to wash the car after snow foam. As I wash the car so often I don't normally foam it.

See I thought it should be the reverse of this i.e. Time saved manually washing a car, quick blast with machine and the job is oxo.

Peew

ianobrien wrote: »

OP, I've found the snowfoam good for loosening the dirt. The car still needs to be washed off. I find it great for fresh road spray but if its after getting emgrained, itll loosen it for the two bucket wash. If you have a good layer of wax, it dirt won't stick as much and can come off after the foam. It does for me (usually). Foaming isnt a one stop shop for cleaning, it's just the first step in the cleaning/detailing process.

I assume you left it for a good few minutes (15 minutes or so) for it to work. Also, what lance were you using? Some are much better than others, and no matter how good the foam is, if the lance is crap, you'll get crap foam.

Not being smart, throw up pictures of your equipment and posters here will guide you on how to get the best from it.

Thanks for your reply, I did leave it dwell for 10 to 15 minutes, the lance is an autobrite.

JAMES VTI S

I moved on from foam ages ago, to me it's just toy. I use an APC, TFR or degreaser now depending on the the surface if it is waxed, coated or just plain nasty. Some.

Foam is also very messy VERY.

Peew

Curran wrote: »

Perhaps you are expecting a bit too much. Some people expect that a snowfoam should be able to offer a touchless wash, that is, foam and power wash down. With the weather and road conditions we have in Ireland, it's simply not possible...save maybe 2 or 3 weeks in the summer when the car might only pick up some light dust.

I would be asking similar questions as above...
- what lance are you using? Is it an attachment that came with your power washer or is it a heavy duty version?
- what protection have you on the car?

Protection (wax/sealant) would have an effect on how much dirt will be removed during the snowfoam and rinse process. If the car has no protection, dirt forms a stronger bond to the paintwork than it would if it had been waxed. If you've been following the posts of someone like 'vectra', his car is protected with a nano coating which actually offers even more ease of washing and thus more removal during the snowfoam and rinse process.

The snowfoam process is designed to lift heavy dirt and grit from the surface, by suspending it in the foam and safely washing it away. It will also help soften the remaining grime that will be left after the rinsing.

So maybe I expect too much, same as above autobrite lance, bought lately as I'm getting into this.not sure if it's classed as heavy duty lance.
The car is a recent purchase for herself which wasn't particularly minded, this is the main reason for me trying to get it as best I can with my recent purchases.

So protection is probably zero which would make sense with dirt being more stubborn.
I have read vectras posts, brilliant, what is nano coating?
Cheers

Curran

APC and TFR is fine for a one off job you are doing on a car; not ideal for regular use. It will degrade plastic and rubbers. It is perhaps time consuming or a waste for you who would be progressing onto machine polishing anyways....but for people maintaining their cars weekly, it has benefits.

Some people reckon it's a gimmick, and we could start a debate on that, but its been played out many times on the forum, and the outcome is always that there will be some who rate it and others who think it's a waste of time.

Curran

Peew wrote: »

So protection is probably zero which would make sense with dirt being more stubborn.
I have read vectras posts, brilliant, what is nano coating?
Cheers

Having no protection is a large factor in you not getting expected results....as you say, dirt will be more stubborn than on a well protected surface.
A protected surface will be more slick and less dirt bonded to it and also easier to remove it. Perhaps that will improve things if you get a cat of wax or sealant on the paintwork.
Another factor is that the car is unlikely to have been clayed in the past...another contributor to poor cleaning.

A nano sealant is an ultra durable coating. It has a much tighter nano structure than a carnauba wax for example. Meaning less can penetrative it and it's even slicker. Doesn't get as dirty as quickly and much easier to wash.

Peew

JAMES VTI S wrote: »

I moved on from foam ages ago, to me it's just toy. I use an APC, TFR or degreaser now depending on the the surface if it is waxed, coated or just plain nasty. Some.

Foam is also very messy VERY.

I was beginning to think like you after my initial play with the carcare snow foam last week then wondered was it the product so I read some more and I had experience of bilthamber stuff before so I bought their snow foam.
I used it yesterday and it was only mildly better hence not impressed so I thought I'd ask the experts here.
My understanding of APC etc is that these are not for regular use.
Messy foam I can deal with if it cleans.

vectra

As stated above
A lot will depend on what LSP you have on your car.
I recently moved on to CQUK and do indeed notice there is very little left behind to wash after snow foam.
Mainly soot stains from house chimneys in my area.
The foam is great to remove the harmful grit etc prior to washing but it is no miracle worker.

Peew

vectra wrote: »

As stated above
A lot will depend on what LSP you have on your car.
I recently moved on to CQUK and do indeed notice there is very little left behind to wash after snow foam.
Mainly soot stains from house chimneys in my area.
The foam is great to remove the harmful grit etc prior to washing but it is no miracle worker.

I hear ya.cheers
CQUK I have read about, I think I've enough stuff for awhile so I will use what I have and then have a rethink.

Any opinions/experience lads on bilthamber or carcare products.

Curran

Bilt Hamber products are up there with the very best of them. They are a group of people who spend their time developing fantastic products and not on advertising, etc. Their products aren't flashy but they do exactly what they say on the tin!! They depend on word of mouth, almost, do get recognised as most people are attracted to fancier labels and products with funky colours or smells.

Another thing to consider on their Auto Foam is that it is wax safe. Other snow foams will offer more cleaning ability but on the flip side, more likely to remove strip away some of the protection...in a similar way that TFR will offer a powerful cleaning option but strip protection in one or two uses.

Carcare product range I'm not familiar with...what products?

Peew

Curran wrote: »

Bilt Hamber products are up there with the very best of them. They are a group of people who spend their time developing fantastic products and not on advertising, etc. Their products aren't flashy but they do exactly what they say on the tin!! They depend on word of mouth, almost, do get recognised as most people are attracted to fancier labels and products with funky colours or smells.

Another thing to consider on their Auto Foam is that it is wax safe. Other snow foams will offer more cleaning ability but on the flip side, more likely to remove strip away some of the protection...in a similar way that TFR will offer a powerful cleaning option but strip protection in one or two uses.

Carcare product range I'm not familiar with...what products?

Yes I was familiar with bilthamber from before, as I had used their stuff for projects.i believe they are a bunch of white coats who are well respected in the classic world.
Just so I'm clear are you saying that the bilthamber foam won't strip the wax from the paint.
Carcare products were snow foam,wheelcleaner and some others I need to check out in the shed as I went a bit buying products from several sources;)

Curran

The problem with snowfoam is to strike a balance between cleaning ability and being wax safe. Generally speaking, powerful cleaners will strip wax. Something 100% wax safe won't clean. Many snowfoam will have a small effect on your wax, and it's finding one that suits your needs best. If you don't wash the car often you'll might want a stronger cleaner....Bolt Hamber offers, in my opinion, very good cleaning ability without effecting wax too much.
Magifoam, that I've used a good few years ago, was a good cleaner, but stripped a fresh coat of Pete's53 wax after 3 uses...and Pete's53 is a fairly durable wax.

Regarding the Carcare products you mention...I've never heard of the range, nor does Google throw up anything; what are the individual product names?

Peew

Curran wrote: »

The problem with snowfoam is to strike a balance between cleaning ability and being wax safe. Generally speaking, powerful cleaners will strip wax. Something 100% wax safe won't clean. Many snowfoam will have a small effect on your wax, and it's finding one that suits your needs best. If you don't wash the car often you'll might want a stronger cleaner....Bolt Hamber offers, in my opinion, very good cleaning ability without effecting wax too much.
Magifoam, that I've used a good few years ago, was a good cleaner, but stripped a fresh coat of Pete's53 wax after 3 uses...and Pete's53 is a fairly durable wax.

Regarding the Carcare products you mention...I've never heard of the range, nor does Google throw up anything; what are the individual product names?

This snow foam stuff isn't as simple as these lads power washing cars make it look, I have never gone to these guys but the impression I got was it was all done with foam and a machine hence time is money and they wouldn't be putting a hand near a car.
Wax friendly foam and all jeez, by the way curran the products spelling is a misspell dohit is CARCHEM, my bad sorry :rolleyes:
Thanks for your replies though.

Curran

Ahhh CarChem, yes, that makes sense!
Middle of the road products. CarChem will sell their products under any re-labelled name/product range you wish...so there is plenty of ranges out there with similar products only different scents, dilution ratios, or slight tweaks.