How to Use a Foam Cannon/ Foam Gun
When the sun comes out, it’s time to bring the guns …cannons out? well, foam cannon, that is. If you’re using just a bucket wash, you’ll likely never ever whip up that abundant, thick foam you get at an automatic car wash. Don’t worry, that’s most likely the only time we’ll ever claim anything wonderful about a gas station car wash. If you include a foam gun in the mix, you too can take pleasure in abundant, thick foam. It’s visually appealing and to be honest, 100% good clean fun.
WHY A FOAM CANNON?
Making use of a foam cannon will allow you to use less water, as well as your abundant, thick foam is going to adhere to the surface areas of your car, breaking down impurities almost instantly. You can either use your foam gun for a presoak and even as the primary wash. Both of these options can help you avoid micro-abrasion since it will both elevate surface particles in addition to lubricating your wash mitt. These two factors improve your ability to wash the vehicle without marring its fragile clear coat.
FOAM CANNON VS FOAM GUN
You have two various options for foaming, which rest upon what equipment you have and your choice. Foam guns can generally be affixed to any type of traditional garden hose, and also a fast connection lets you relocate quick from your frothing into a fireman-type nozzle to do your rinsing. Foam cannons, as indicated by the name, require even more water pressure because they’re more durable and have a much smaller solution aperture than their garden hose counterparts. Both of them can develop a thick layer of foam, yet foam cannons are much better at producing foam that sticks to vertical surfaces. I recommend a foam cannon and pressure washer for application, and a regular garden hose for rinsing.
IF YOUR CAR OR TRUCK IS DIRTIER THAN MOST, YOU SHOULD PRE SOAK BEFORE MOVING ON TO YOUR TYPICAL TWO-BUCKET WASH TECHNIQUE.
STEP 1:
The first step is to fill up the cannon’s reservoir with water. Ideally, you should use warm to hot distilled water, but cold tap water from your sink works just fine as well. Remember: water BEFORE soap. If you flip-flop these two, you’ll end up with quite a bit of wasted soap when the wash concentrate is agitated and foamed up by the incoming water. What’s more, adding soap before water significantly increases the amount of prep time necessary as you are forced to wait for the foam to subside. Remember the last time you had the dreaded bottom-of-the-keg “beer” that ended up being more foam than anything else? It’s like that. No good.
STEP 2:
Start with the bottom of the vehicle and work your way to the top using overlapping passes. This allows the solution to adhere to the surface for long enough to begin breaking down dirt and grime before running off onto the ground. If you spray top-down, all that wonderful foam you initially sprayed will be at the bottom of the car before you’re half-way through applying your suds. This means much of the foam has ran off the car before it’s had a chance to work its magic. By now, you need to have a nice, thick foam raising dirt off the surface and offering your clean mitt lots of lubrication. The two-bucket method involves utilizing one for rinsing, as well as one more for washing; do this to all set your mitt and afterwards wash your automobile. Follow this up with a rinse either from the pressure washing machine or your garden hose (preferred due to the fact that it provides no additional agitation to the soap: less foam!) , before moving on to the drying stage.
CONCLUSION
With this post, my hope is help car owners like YOU to gain knowledge of car care-related topics. We’ve always focused on superior results, customer satisfaction, and affordable prices, so if you live in the North Bay Area and are interested in what we offer, drop us a line here. We offer our services in cities throughout Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, and Petaluma. For more info about what services we offer, take a look around our site.