Snow Foams - An Idiot's Guide, please

[iluvmercs]

I've heard about snow foams and seen the detailers use them and I'm interested to know more.

My usual wash regime includes a pressure wash, followed by a two bucket method to shampoo the car. It always comes up well.

So is it worth giving a snow foam a go?

I know nothing about the foams available, nor how to use them correctly. So any information you guys and gals could offer would be greatly received.

I understand you have a foam attachment to a pressure washer and leave it to dwell for a certain period of time.
But how do you go about spraying the foam? With normal pressure washing, I throughly (read slowly and sometime repeatedly) spray the area of the bodywork. I also get into all the wheel arches properly and alloy wheels.
So is it an identical process with a foam, so do I just cover the car and leave it?

What brands should I consider? Which should I avoid?

Is there anything else I should consider?
Many thanks in advance.

Darren

[belleair302]

Darren, spend some time on detailingworld.co.uk and see what the experts think of different brands. I use snowfoam, usually more in the winter than the summer. Yes you need a special spray bottle and I like to use Valet Pro. It will NOT magically clean your car, but can help when the arches and lower bodywork is especially dirty.

You can also mix snowfoam with a good all purpose cleaner or with a shampoo for more bite.

Little beats a good shampoo, two buckets, grit guards, a wash mitt (sheepskin or natural wool sponge), a good wheel cleaner, plus waxes, applicators, drying towels and trim / window dressings.

Snowfoam does help and is well worth the effort and cost if you car is really dirty.

[PJ S]

Snow foam is a pre-wash stage treatment - designed to soften the fine sticky traffic film, and remove the larger dirt molecules.
You need to use it at high pressure setting through a lance, not in the onboard detergent tank (low pressure), and diluted.

My preferred brand is Bilt Hamber Auto Foam - www.bilthamber.com - and this thread will explain how to get the optimum dilution.... http://www.detailingworld.com/forum/showthread.php...