Cleaning your car - Snow Foam

[Too Late]

Looking at getting some new cleaning bits for the car and i am wondering if its worth the £46 for the Snow foam attachment (£31) and the cleaning liquid (£15)?

Any one use it and recommend it enough to spend nearly £50?

[rhinochopig]

I bought some and TBH I really could not tell the difference it made. I really didn't notice that it cleaned better than a simple blast down with the jet-wash.

[Too Late]

rhinochopig said:

I bought some and TBH I really could not tell the difference it made. I really didn't notice that it cleaned better than a simple blast down with the jet-wash.

Thats what im thinking..

Other than it looking good fun, i dont think it will do much more than jet hosing it down..

Thanks
!

[leafspring]

If it's anyway similar to the cleaning foam I used during my work experience at the bus depot... it's good but doesn't touch the heavy stuff (the brown coating of dust, road crud and diesel exhaust found on the back of buses).

BUT it was fun making double decker sized clouds

[nickfrog]

Brilliant fun so worth it !

I am pretty sure the benefits are placebo as it doesn't really dissolve anything than the pressure washer wouldn't have remove anyway, but I could be wrong.

[benters]

you may want to look at the thread i started about a week ago on this. I would add that one advantage if gave that i didnt expect was the benefit it seemed to give for the alloys on my cars, after the soaking all the normal effort required to clean them up virtually vanished and for me thats the most tedious part of taking care of your car.

[benters]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Blue Oval84]

Worked for me with my Z4, I'd had the paint polished perfectly, by snow foaming and pressure washing before touching it I was able to keep it looking good.

Is it much better than just using the pressure washer first? Not really convinced that the difference is massive, but I did find it lifted things slightly better and I enjoyed using it.

I used to find cleaning the car quite therapeutic and the snow foam just made it a bit more fun

[nickfrog]

Fair enough benters but after decontaminating my alloys with Iron X and then applying a high temp wheel sealant like Wheel Seal and Shine, cleaning the wheels is the easiest part of my routine as they wipe clean instantly just using car shampoo and rendering the use of a dedicated wheel cleaner redundant.

[plenty]

Snow foam won't clean satisfactorily by itself, but it softens and loosens dirt in preparation for hand-washing.

Not only does it make the hand wash easier, but it's kinder on paintwork as it reduces the amount of scrubbing needed to remove caked-on grime.

[zeduffman]

The snow foam loosens and lifts the dirt away from the paint, so you aren't stripping it directly from the clear coat.

It's nothing a very well lathered bucket of shampoo, two bucket/grit guard method, and a thick pile wash mitt can't do, but it's damn cool to see.

[dave7692]

We've got one on our Steam washer at home (I live on a farm) I use it regularly to clean the car and I find the foam doesn't really do much to actively remove the dirt but I've got myself a good soft brush and combined with the foam it gets the car clean very quickly and easily.

[benters]

nickfrog said:

Fair enough benters but after decontaminating my alloys with Iron X and then applying a high temp wheel sealant like Wheel Seal and Shine, cleaning the wheels is the easiest part of my routine as they wipe clean instantly just using car shampoo and rendering the use of a dedicated wheel cleaner redundant.

not heard of Iron X. . .sounds useful gear. . .my alloys are the standard ones and are on a 160,000 mile Lupo so they have seen a bit of life, but to be fair clean up quite well. Anything that helps them stay clean is good news, I have tried poorboys polish, bit as the alloy is so pourous probably because of its age i guess i will save that jollap for my other motors.

[theshrew]

It doesnt do loads but it certainly helps loosen and get rid of some dirt.

+ After i have foamed. I put some shampoo in the snow foam bottle cover the car with the mix. It makes the wash a lot more lubricated and it doesnt dry out as quick as just water which helps loads of a hot day

[Tony Starks]

To get the best out of foaming you really need to use a decent APC cleaner over a shampoo.

Shampoos and foams don't have the cleaning ability required to remove the dirt.
But using a strong cleaning agent that will can greatly reduce any LSP you have on the paint.

[Jam Spavlin]

So a jumbo sponge in my bucket I use for everything like gardening, building, golf club washing with a bit of the 5l value wash and wax I got from the market is no good?

[Blue Oval84]

Jam Spavlin said:

So a jumbo sponge in my bucket I use for everything like gardening, building, golf club washing with a bit of the 5l value wash and wax I got from the market is no good?

It wouldn't be my personal choice but each to their own

[marc147]

I use snow foam alot, it doesnt remover everything like mentioned but it removes the majority of it, i just want to get as much as i can off without actually touching the pait work,

Imo it also depends on what snow foam you use, i have found that its day and night between some of the foams, i tried to find a video i saw a while back on it that shows the comparison between snow foam and no snow foam, if i find it i will post a link

[swisstoni]

Having used some snow foam I am of the opinion that it is a good wetter of dirt and deposits making them easier to remove. However the same effect can be achieved with a hose and water. It looks good on detailer's videos but I really don't think it does much on its own.