Foam Cannons

[LCDRChemEng]

[iconic 1812 Overture playing in the background]

Not that I'm a stranger to car detailing, but I've been up to now reliant upon old school car washing and shining. It does not seem like that long ago when a bucket of Vel dish soap and a sponge were deemed perfectly acceptable, along with a tube of elbow grease.

We have worked the self-same gun, quarterdeck division,
Sponger I and loader you, through the whole commission...

It seems to this old fart, however, that the car detailing market has exploded with an exponentially increasing barrage of new products, technologies, and techniques. Ye olde funky sponge is now considered an implement of automotive torture; microfiber comes in several grades for different purposes, and woe be to him who does not clean the brake calipers. Soap must be pH neutral, and if you were to ask for carnauba wax you would probably be referred to one of those medicinal produce joints that seem to be popping up everywhere.

My neighbor recently asked me why I did not use a foam cannon to wash my car, considering the semi-classic nature of the vehicle, with the slick wheels and the custom paint job (yes, it's custom faded). I've been looking into this newfangled contraption and decided it may be worth a try, at least to step into the new millennium.

So, at the risk of igniting a conflagration of different opinions, I would like to ask for input about which one to buy. There's like a million offerings out there, some that work with the hose, some with a pressure washer, some cheap as dirt, some quite pricey. My preference would be to get one made in the USA and for use with an electric pressure washer (~1K psi), if there is such an animal.

Let the fusillade begin!

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[jhunt47]

mjjc 2.0 with the smaller orifice.

 

[McSmugger]

I have a 1800 psi electric pressure washer that I got as a gift. I bought a Chemical Guys foam cannon to use with it and it works great.

 

[highvoltage]

I bought one off Amazon for like $18-20 years ago. I used chemical guys honeydew Mellon car wash as i like the smell and it foams up really good. Rinse car, lay on foam. Let is sit and as it just starts to dissipate i start washing with the two bucket method.

 

[DFB5.0]

Firstly, it important to have realistic expectations when considering the use of a foam cannon.

For the garden hose type foam "guns", these are merely an application devise, in that I mean they help get a lot of soap onto the car, meaning you provide additional lubrication to the car rather than relying on the bucket solution. However, these guns will not provide lasting "foam", rather producing soapy water. This can be good or bad, but don't expect shaving cream type foam. The good thing about these guns is you don't need to set anything up or pack anything away, just fill with soap and connect to a garden hose.

Brilliant Finish Foaming Sprayer | Car Wash - Griot's Garage (griotsgarage.com)
Adam's Polishes Standard Foam Gun | Best Foam Gun For Car Soap Shampoo (adamspolishes.com)

A foam "cannon" on the other hand is vastly more useful and effective. Depending on your soap of choice, you will get anything from wet/runny foam right through to thick/shaving cream foam. The benefit here is the soap in foam form can stay present on the car for longer, allowing a longer working time. Foam cannons are used with a diluted soap solution, usually 10:1, are then connected to a pressure washer and applied to the car.

The Griot's Boss Foam Cannon and the MTM PF22.2 are the two benchmarks on the market, but the MJJC gets a lot of love too. Depending on your pressure washer, most foam cannons are sold with the choice of adaptor. (PM me if you need help)

THE BOSS™ Foam Cannon | Ultimate Foam Delivery - Griot's Garage (griotsgarage.com)
MTM Hydro - PF22.2 Foam Cannon Kit | The Rag Company

While I'm at it, avoid the foam cannons sold alongside pressure washers at the hardware store, the accessory type made by the pressure washer company. These are completely useless, ask me how I know.

And so we return to "expectations". I suspect a lot of people who are new to foam cannons expect that this is a touchless or low effort way of cleaning your car. However, for the most part that is not true. Unless you are using an extremely harsh alkaline soap, there is no such thing as a touchless wash. As such, foam cannons should be looked at in two ways -

1 - As a pre-treatment for an excessively dirty car, the foam soaks and breaks down the contaminants, which can then be pressure washed off and taking the majority of the dirt with it. That then makes your hand wash safer.

2 - As a way of applying the soap directly to the vehicle rather than relying on the soap in your bucket. This maximizes lubrication and minimizes micro scratching. Personally, this is how I use my foam cannon on my well-maintained vehicles, teamed with a single bucket to rinse out the wash mitt between sections. If the car is dirtier than that, I foam and allow to dwell, rinse, re-foam and wash as above with the single bucket.

As for which soap, most on the market these days will foam just fine. Don't necessarily get locked into products labelled as "Snow Foam" or "Foaming Soap" ect. Two soaps that I recommend that are very approachable are Adam's Car Shampoo (the blue one) and Adam's Mega Foam (the red one). While the blue version is not necessarily marketed as a foaming soap, it does just fine in a foam cannon. Both are cost effective with excellent lubrication and lovely scents, I favor the red version as its easier to measure out / pour.

Adam's Polishes Car Wash Shampoo | Ph Neutral Car Care Foaming Soap (adamspolishes.com)
Adam's Mega Foam Car Shampoo | The Best For Foam Cannons & Foam Guns - Adam's Polishes (adamspolishes.com)

If you want to go a little further, then have some fun with Carpro Reset or Koch Chemie GSF, both will knock you out with how slick they are, not to mention the delightful scents.

CARPRO Reset Car Wash 500ml (17oz) (carpro-us.com)
Koch-Chemie - Gentle Snow Foam | The Rag Company

Word of warning though, you may find using a foam cannon extremely addictive!

Good luck, send me a PM if you need.

 

[LCDRChemEng]

Thanks a million, very informative. Seems like the Boss is the only one of the three mentioned that's made in the US. I'll give it a shot.

 

[EdMan63]

I use Adams products along with their branded foam cannon. Works really well. I just started using the cannon this past summer along with their MegaFoam shampoo. Works really well.

 

[Interstellar]

I would go ahead and just listen to everything @DFB5.0 said.
My only additional comment is to be careful with the pressure washer when switching between tips and foam cannons.
I've seen pictures where people don't test the tip is on properly by shooting the ground first, and end up with a "bullet" flying at their car

 

[LCDRChemEng]

I would go ahead and just listen to everything @DFB5.0 said.

You know the guy knows his shit by just looking at that bucket. I mean, that's some serious buckettage. Mother Mary would be proud to take a field shower with that thing. Mark me words, the days of using a regular Homer orange bucket are also long gone, tossed in the trash with ye ole funky sponge.

I'm wondering, though, if he uses a different bucket for different cars. Like, what does the chevy bucket look like? Can't wash a 'Vette with a Ford bucket you know.

Lastly, if that's how he pampers his car paint, you GOTTA wonder what he uses for toilet paper. Surely not John Wayne heinie paper (it's rough, it's tough, and it takes no shit from nobody).

Yeah, not serious. b-)

 

[marcekb]

Firstly, it important to have realistic expectations when considering the use of a foam cannon.

For the garden hose type foam "guns", these are merely an application devise, in that I mean they help get a lot of soap onto the car, meaning you provide additional lubrication to the car rather than relying on the bucket solution. However, these guns will not provide lasting "foam", rather producing soapy water. This can be good or bad, but don't expect shaving cream type foam. The good thing about these guns is you don't need to set anything up or pack anything away, just fill with soap and connect to a garden hose.

Brilliant Finish Foaming Sprayer | Car Wash - Griot's Garage (griotsgarage.com)
Adam's Polishes Standard Foam Gun | Best Foam Gun For Car Soap Shampoo (adamspolishes.com)

A foam "cannon" on the other hand is vastly more useful and effective. Depending on your soap of choice, you will get anything from wet/runny foam right through to thick/shaving cream foam. The benefit here is the soap in foam form can stay present on the car for longer, allowing a longer working time. Foam cannons are used with a diluted soap solution, usually 10:1, are then connected to a pressure washer and applied to the car.

The Griot's Boss Foam Cannon and the MTM PF22.2 are the two benchmarks on the market, but the MJJC gets a lot of love too. Depending on your pressure washer, most foam cannons are sold with the choice of adaptor. (PM me if you need help)

THE BOSS™ Foam Cannon | Ultimate Foam Delivery - Griot's Garage (griotsgarage.com)
MTM Hydro - PF22.2 Foam Cannon Kit | The Rag Company

While I'm at it, avoid the foam cannons sold alongside pressure washers at the hardware store, the accessory type made by the pressure washer company. These are completely useless, ask me how I know.

And so we return to "expectations". I suspect a lot of people who are new to foam cannons expect that this is a touchless or low effort way of cleaning your car. However, for the most part that is not true. Unless you are using an extremely harsh alkaline soap, there is no such thing as a touchless wash. As such, foam cannons should be looked at in two ways -

1 - As a pre-treatment for an excessively dirty car, the foam soaks and breaks down the contaminants, which can then be pressure washed off and taking the majority of the dirt with it. That then makes your hand wash safer.

2 - As a way of applying the soap directly to the vehicle rather than relying on the soap in your bucket. This maximizes lubrication and minimizes micro scratching. Personally, this is how I use my foam cannon on my well-maintained vehicles, teamed with a single bucket to rinse out the wash mitt between sections. If the car is dirtier than that, I foam and allow to dwell, rinse, re-foam and wash as above with the single bucket.

As for which soap, most on the market these days will foam just fine. Don't necessarily get locked into products labelled as "Snow Foam" or "Foaming Soap" ect. Two soaps that I recommend that are very approachable are Adam's Car Shampoo (the blue one) and Adam's Mega Foam (the red one). While the blue version is not necessarily marketed as a foaming soap, it does just fine in a foam cannon. Both are cost effective with excellent lubrication and lovely scents, I favor the red version as its easier to measure out / pour.

Adam's Polishes Car Wash Shampoo | Ph Neutral Car Care Foaming Soap (adamspolishes.com)
Adam's Mega Foam Car Shampoo | The Best For Foam Cannons & Foam Guns - Adam's Polishes (adamspolishes.com)

If you want to go a little further, then have some fun with Carpro Reset or Koch Chemie GSF, both will knock you out with how slick they are, not to mention the delightful scents.

CARPRO Reset Car Wash 500ml (17oz) (carpro-us.com)
Koch-Chemie - Gentle Snow Foam | The Rag Company

Word of warning though, you may find using a foam cannon extremely addictive!

Good luck, send me a PM if you need.

Two questions: aside from cost, is there value in diluting the soap in a foam cannon, or alternatively, is there benefit in not diluting the soap?

Second, what's your take on Americana Global Ceramic Aftercare?

 

[DFB5.0]

I would go ahead and just listen to everything @DFB5.0 said.
My only additional comment is to be careful with the pressure washer when switching between tips and foam cannons.
I've seen pictures where people don't test the tip is on properly by shooting the ground first, and end up with a "bullet" flying at their car

It's a really good habit to get into, it took me a bit but pointing and squeezing the trigger facing the ground is now instinctive for me.

 

[DFB5.0]

Two questions: aside from cost, is there value in diluting the soap in a foam cannon, or alternatively, is there benefit in not diluting the soap?

Second, what's your take on Americana Global Ceramic Aftercare?

Most detailing companies design their soaps to work at a certain dilution, so being too generous or lean will alter the performance or deliver adverse effects. From what I have found, some soaps remain stable under dilution, some will change their pH value. So, if a soap is naturally alkaline leaning, not diluting as suggested can start to speed up the degradation of your coating or wax. I'm talking very generally here.

I will say I'm probably more generous with soap content than I should be, but again, it depends on the soap. For example, Carpro Reset mentioned earlier is extremely concentrated, which explains why it's more expensive, which means you can get away with just 50ml to 950ml of water in a foam cannon. Other soaps work better at double or triple that figure.

As for Americana brand, not one I am familiar with.

 

[DFB5.0]

You know the guy knows his shit by just looking at that bucket. I mean, that's some serious buckettage. Mother Mary would be proud to take a field shower with that thing. Mark me words, the days of using a regular Homer orange bucket are also long gone, tossed in the trash with ye ole funky sponge.

I'm wondering, though, if he uses a different bucket for different cars. Like, what does the chevy bucket look like? Can't wash a 'Vette with a Ford bucket you know.

Yeah, not serious. b-)

My buckets were very upset having to wash a bloody Holden Cruze (Chevy). I had to black out the badge from pure shame.

 

[marcekb]

Most detailing companies design their soaps to work at a certain dilution, so being too generous or lean will alter the performance or deliver adverse effects. From what I have found, some soaps remain stable under dilution, some will change their pH value. So, if a soap is naturally alkaline leaning, not diluting as suggested can start to speed up the degradation of your coating or wax. I'm talking very generally here.

I will say I'm probably more generous with soap content than I should be, but again, it depends on the soap. For example, Carpro Reset mentioned earlier is extremely concentrated, which explains why it's more expensive, which means you can get away with just 50ml to 950ml of water in a foam cannon. Other soaps work better at double or triple that figure.

As for Americana brand, not one I am familiar with.

Thank you for your insights!! That's very helpful.

 

[5.0ALM]

I'm dipping my toes down into this rabbit hole of foam cannons.

Yesterday I purchased a Gerni 5000 pressure washer to replace my 15 YO Karcher Winner 11.

https://gerni.com.au/products/high-pressure-washers/gerni-5000/

Now the Foam Cannon conundrum!

Had almost decided on the MTM Hydro PF22.2 along with the SGS28 spray gun.
The only turn offs with MTM are the narrow neck and metal on plastic thread.

Are these a real problem for casual use, or just a perceived problem?

And then I discover MJJC are on the cusp of releasing a new V3 foam cannon, taking pre-orders expected to ship 1st week of January (in Australia at least).

https://mjjc.com.au/products/mjjc-f...k-connect-pressure-washer-snow-foam-lance-gun





What's New with Cannon S V3

• New & Improved structure & mechanism
  • Smoother Controls on the 360-degree spray pattern twist control.
• New Extended Suction Tube & Gravity Ball
  • Extended Suction Tube moves around the bottle ensuring snow foaming solution is completely dispensed without any wastage.
  • Gravity Ball ensures the suction tube stays at the bottom of the bottle & acts as a filter to prevent debris from entering the foam lance system.
• New & Improved Foam Lance to Bottle Quick Twist Lock
  • Improved bottle thread ensures tighter & more secure connection between Foam Lance & Bottle.
  • Quick Twist lock only requires a 90-degree turn to tighten the foam lance to the bottle.
  • Especially convenient when attaching or detaching the foam lance from the bottle with wet & soapy hands.
• New & Improved Foaming Technology - Lesser Solution, Thicker Foam
  • Thicker & more consistent 'Shaving Cream' thick foam.
  • Requires lesser snow foaming solution but produces thicker foam.
  • Reduced operational noise from foam lance.
• New Bottle Design
  • Wider Bottle mouth bottle eases filling snow foam shampoo and water.
  • Wider Bottle Base to avoid bottle tipping over.

I dunno, the new MJJC v3 just has a "cheap Chinese" look about it.

First world problems continue.

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