Car Washing: Snow Foam vs Hand Washing

mrhugo on 31/10/2021 - 14:23

Wanted to gather some opinions on how you wash your car.

I still wash my car the old-fashioned way, a bucket, water, a mitt and some good quality washing liquid (I'm using Bowden’s Nanolicious Wash).

I'm seeing more and more interest in these snow foam systems. And by interest, I mean more talk in forums/deals, and some punter in the office that swares by them.

Now, I'm yet to try them, so I don't know how effective they are.

With my hand washing, it’s a pre-rinse of water, then a hand wash, making sure I remove those black spots, or yellow droppings, both requiring a bit more effort to remove followed by a final rinse.

As I understand with snow foam, you just spray it on with a pressure cleaner, wait a bit, and then just rinse it off.

I occasionally use the pressure cleaner (if it's really dirty), and that doesn't always dislodge the black spots or baked on bird crap, but I can remove that with my finger nail, which I prefer then just getting in closer with the pressure cleaner and risking damage to the clearcoat.

To me it seems like the snow foam is more of a convenience, but what gets a superior finish. I feel that the chemical composition of a snow foam would be geared toward foaming agents and less towards waxes, and other cleaning and protective/UV additives.

Have you tried both, what do you prefer and why?

Automotive

Comments

  • apsilon on 31/10/2021 - 14:35
    +5

    Snow foam is a pre wash or maintenance wash if you use it couple of times a week. The idea is it loosens and removes a lot of stuff that you'd otherwise be rubbing around with the hand wash and therefore helps minimise swirls. In most cases you're still going to do a hand wash afterwards.

    The other advantage of having a foam cannon is you can use things like Bowdens Own Happy Ending.

    • eug on 31/10/2021 - 16:33

      Snow foam is a pre wash or maintenance wash if you use it couple of times a week.

      Wow, is it normal to wash/rinse your car a couple of times a week?
      I wash mine every few months which is why it looks filthy. But a couple of times a week seems like a lot of effort.

      • pharkurnell on 31/10/2021 - 17:46
        +1

        Wow, is it normal to wash/rinse your car a couple of times a week?

        no

      • apsilon on 31/10/2021 - 18:10

        Some do but if they're just doing snow foam and rinse off it'd only take 15min. Vast majority of people though, no way.

  • Melb69 on 31/10/2021 - 14:39

    Use the snow foam as your prewash to loosen dirt especially off the wheels. Then 2 bucket wash. Using high pressure hose as rinser spray in between. Then a wax or quick detail and your done.

    • jrowls on 01/11/2021 - 21:34

      I've tried the 2 bucket wash recently.

      I like it, but I can't get round the car before half of it is dry. What am I doing wrong?

      • [Deactivated] on 03/11/2021 - 04:01

        @jrowls

        don't wash your car out in the sun to start with

        • jrowls on 03/11/2021 - 08:48

          Where else can I wash it? 😂I don't have a garage

          • apsilon on 03/11/2021 - 09:38
            +1

            @jrowls: I don't have anywhere other than outside to do mine either. It's not ideal but it is what it is. Do half the car at a time if you need to. Do it as early or as late in the day as possible rather than the hottest part of the day. Odds are the sun will be hitting one side so do the other side first as it'll dry slower. Finally have a look at Bowdens Own products. They're an Aussie company and their products take into account our environment so many are OK to apply in full sun though should still be done to cool panels to maximise working time.

  • Hithere on 31/10/2021 - 14:56
    +4

    Snow foam to loosen the buildup of crud that would otherwise scratch the paintwork, then a pressure washer rinse to get rid of the foam, then the popular 2 bucket hand wash for any missed areas.

    Finish off with Collinite 845

  • Muzeeb on 31/10/2021 - 15:01

    Looks awesome on 4K ultra slow motion YouTube influencer videos with a funky backing track.

    A good pre-rinse with a pressure washer is probably 90%* of the way there.

    *I made that data stat up

  • HairyChickens on 31/10/2021 - 15:08
    +2

    I saw a guy washing his new car with his hand and a hose one time. No washing liquid.

  • mrhugo on 31/10/2021 - 15:12

    Thanks for the comments guys.

    The people I see use it in my area and the guy at work use that snow foam as the only wash cycle. They spray it on, have a beer and rinse it off. Job done, will redo it ~3 weeks later.

    • apsilon on 31/10/2021 - 15:17
      +4

      Unless their cars are basically permanently garaged that's just not going to work. It'll be better than not doing it but car will still be dirty with a lot of bonded contaminants.

      • mrhugo on 31/10/2021 - 15:24

        Nope, not garaged.

        I'm getting the feeling that the guys in the street have the wrong idea how to use it based on what I reading above. I would watch them and think "wow, that seems so easy, but is it a good job"….guess I know the answer now.

        Even the guys at work just spray it on, walk away and hose it off. And I'm thinking, "how's that any good"

        I do hose my car once a week to freshen it up, and give it a proper rinse before washing. There is always the risk that the mitt gets something abrasive in there causing some damage. I try to avoid this by agitating the mitt in the water and never letting the mitt rest on the bottom.

        • Richardc on 31/10/2021 - 17:36

          If they're happy with the result, then that's good enough for them. Everyone has their own standard.

        • apsilon on 31/10/2021 - 18:16

          I do still recommend it, just in conjunction with proper hand washing. If you want the best results and minimal swirls I also recommend looking into the 2 or 3 bucket hand wash method if you don't already do that and grit guards for the buckets.

  • the Unforgiven on 01/11/2021 - 21:26

    I use my pressure cleaner first to wet the car down, it also washes away the mud & other stuff
    Then I use the foam wash dispenser & it has Armor All Wash & Wax in it. I do a section of the car at a time, from the top down
    Then I get my sponge & elbow grease & give it a bit of a rub
    I then blast off the soap with the pressure washer & give the next section a water as well
    I keep going until done & then I just make sure there is no soap left on the car
    The pressure washer makes it so much easier
    I prefer to wash my car on a cloudy day as the soap doesn't dry as quick, if not, you just have to hurry up

  • sp3ctr41 on 02/11/2021 - 23:18

    I used to use the snow cannon as a prewash then do the 2 bucket method. Waste of time. There is virtually no difference between pressure washing your car with just water and using a snow cannon. I did a blind test by washing one side with foam and pressure washing the other side of the car with water and when I asked those that were not involved they couldn't tell the difference. Both sides had dust when dry.

    So what I do now:
    1) Pressure wash loose debris off your car (just water).
    2) Use the snow cannon to lay a thick layer of soap on your car, then scrub the soap with a towel - have a bucket of water ready to rinse of excess soap.
    3) Pressure wash any remaining soap and dry car with a leaf blower and towel
    4) Every three to six months wax car

    Get the job done in 15-20 minutes without leaving scratches

  • [Deactivated] on 03/11/2021 - 04:37
    +1

    Most snow foam liquids and even a lot of standard car wash products also are basically PH neutral so whether its used in a snow cannon or by hand , they literally do sweet F all to remove actual contaminants on the paint.

    They are basically used to get the "bulk" of the dirt off so it "appears clean" , but if you look at it under the right lighting conditions you will probably see lots of water spots or actual contaminants on the paint itself. It is why when you take your car to a proper Car Detailer or Ceramic Coat Specialist they will have generally a special light setup so they can correct imperfections very accurately and restore the overall condition of the paint to the best it can be.

    And the wash and wax products on an extremely dirty cars are even more worse for wear , they just bake in the contaminants more by creating layers of chemicals on already contaminated paint. if your car is garaged its extremely beneficial to long term ownership and a lot worse for wear then cars left outside however if you only wash your car once a month or you let the dirt cake on then its really no different to cars left outside full time.

    A proper car wash entails use of a heavy duty car wash product with the traditional 2 bucket method , dried with a microfiber towel and then followed up with a chemical sealant of your choice (wax , sealant wax , hydrophobic coating) , and if time and energy permits a foaming pre-wash is always beneficial. however if you just use the pre wash and don't follow up with an actual wash and you actually dry your car afterward , you will find there was probably ALOT of actual dirt still on the paint and you have just damaged the paint.

    You either do commit to doing a proper job or don't do it at all. make the choice , you either foam or you don't but never skip the hand wash.

    Every time you wash your car , irregardless of what coatings you have on the car (wax/liquid wax , ceramic , hydrophobic sealants) you are unintentionally wearing away at the paint job over time.

    The whole purpose of using a snow-cannon is to get the BULK of the contaminants to fall off the paint and loosen-up so when you go in for the hand wash you are reducing a lot of dirt that can cause unnecessary additional friction causing swirl-marks and damage to paint or the clear coat as you wash and the purpose of adding coatings to the car is to act as a sacrificial layer between washes and fill any "gaps" in the paint in addition to its other benefits (adding shine , protection , hydrophobic properties etc).

    I am very OCD when it comes to my paint , after it rains ill give it a wash , weekly is far too often but generally won't leave it longer then a fortnight at most. I get approached by a lot of people commenting on how shiny my car is and asking what products i use , the reality of it isn't so much the products i use but the time and methodological effort i put into taking care when i wash.

    If you care about your car then great , if you don't then that's fine too as there are a lot more important things in the world to worry about , but we all have our choices in life to make.

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