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Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Sweet! Do they sell replacement parts for the foam gun? I lost the brass screw on the top of the mixing head which you said is prone to being lost :-p
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Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Excellent write up as usual Mike, I'll be picking up a few of these items during the next sale, thanks for sharing.
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Super Member
Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Great write up Mike. I love foam guns!
And you're correct, the foam deflector is for use in food processing applications. They use products like foaming chlorinated de-greasers etc and the deflector lets you direct foam up under and behind the machines in the manufacturing areas.
2013 Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track Edition
2015 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 2016 Pearl White Nissan Altima SR
2019 Nissan Rogue SL
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Super Member
Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Mike, thanks for the thread. I'm not completely sold on one yet, but I'm getting there. Do you find that the foam tends to resist drying on the paint any better than a traditional layer of mitt applied soapy water?
Originally Posted by ekennett
Sweet! Do they sell replacement parts for the foam gun? I lost the brass screw on the top of the mixing head which you said is prone to being lost :-p
If not, you may be able to find a brass replacement in a local hardware store; I've seen knurled thumbscrews at mine. Take the gun and remaining screw in (they look to be the same screw) and make sure the replacement has the same thread & length. A music store may have the correct part, too. Also, that might be a good place for some medium grade thread locker.
Originally Posted by custmsprty
Great write up Mike. I love foam guns!
And you're correct, the foam deflector is for use in food processing applications. They use products like foaming chlorinated de-greasers etc and the deflector lets you direct foam up under and behind the machines in the manufacturing areas.
Might work well for wheel wells and under rocker panels, too.
I'm thinking a foam gun would help me blast crud out of my truck's shocks, or at least neutralize some of the corrosive winter swarf.
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Super Member
Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Originally Posted by scuff
Mike, thanks for the thread. I'm not completely sold on one yet, but I'm getting there. Do you find that the foam tends to resist drying on the paint any better than a traditional layer of mitt applied soapy water?
If not, you may be able to find a brass replacement in a local hardware store; I've seen knurled thumbscrews at mine. Take the gun and remaining screw in (they look to be the same screw) and make sure the replacement has the same thread & length. A music store may have the correct part, too. Also, that might be a good place for some medium grade thread locker.
Might work well for wheel wells and under rocker panels, too.
I'm thinking a foam gun would help me blast crud out of my truck's shocks, or at least neutralize some of the corrosive winter swarf.
Foam gun doesn't have much pressure, it just lays the foam out. It definitely doesn't have enough power to dislodge dirt or mud build up. But it's the only way I wash my vehicles. In the time it takes to break out an electric or gas pressure washer and fire it up with a foam cannon I'm easily half way through washing my vehicle. That's one of the major benefits and they do create a lot of foam.
I like clean cars, I don't necessarily "like" cleaning cars LOL. So for me faster = better.
2013 Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track Edition
2015 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 2016 Pearl White Nissan Altima SR
2019 Nissan Rogue SL
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Super Member
Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Originally Posted by custmsprty
Foam gun doesn't have much pressure, it just lays the foam out. It definitely doesn't have enough power to dislodge dirt or mud build up. But it's the only way I wash my vehicles. In the time it takes to break out an electric or gas pressure washer and fire it up with a foam cannon I'm easily half way through washing my vehicle. That's one of the major benefits and they do create a lot of foam.
I like clean cars, I don't necessarily "like" cleaning cars LOL. So for me faster = better.
I was thinking that foaming the wheel wells might help break down what I can't easily reach. After a foam soak, my puny pressure washer or low pressure hose might do a better job in there. Having a better way to clean coilover shocks and leaf springs before applying a rust inhibitor would be welcome.
I've given up on using a pressure washer most of the time. In my experience, unless it's a commercial unit with serious gpm, high pressure soap, & heat, they don't offer much of an advantage unless I'm blasting off relatively loose material like mud. I do like the idea of speeding up the process, though. Walking through my process, I don't think the HP model would offer much time savings for me, either. With three vehicles to wash, $60 for the low pressure model seems like a reasonable price to save time when servicing the fleet.
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Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Originally Posted by scuff
Mike, thanks for the thread.
Been meaning to do a full write-up for some time now...
Originally Posted by scuff
I'm not completely sold on one yet, but I'm getting there.
A foam gun isn't for everyone just like a RUPES isn't for everyone just like a Porter Cable isn't for everyone.
The thing is... for the most part you never know if you like something till you spend some time with it. I'd say RUPES polishers and the FLEX 3401 are good examples of this. A person that's always used a rotary buffer has to spend some time with a FLEX 3401 before they get a feel for the gear-driven orbital action. People that have always used 8mm free spinning tools like the PC and the Griot's need to spend some time behind a 15mm or 21mm orbital polisher before they become acquainted with the long orbit stroke action.
What I tried to do with this article is to give a person that's NEVER used a foam gun a LOT of information with really good pictures so at the intellectual level they "know" the tool.
This will help them decide if this is something they would like or take a pass on but a person really needs to get one and NOT use it one time but put some time behind it just like a person needs to put some time behind a new polisher to become good with it.
I can wash my truck or my wife's car in 30 minutes or less using the foam gun and do a damn good job. But that's because I've used it a lot and I have my "method of madness" dialed in.
As I typed the above paragraph, talking about washing in under 30 minutes it reminded me that I wrote an articles by that title.
Half the work I do on the forum is simply remember what I've written and how to find it. Then I can share it instead of re-doing work already done.
Here you go...
Wash and dry a car in less than 30 minutes!
You say you're not sold on one yet and I say go with your instincts. If you don't think it's for you then it's probably not.
I don't ever play the part of Salesman - I play the part of Problem Solver. If I can solve you're problem the product I'm showing with sell itself. This approach has been working for me for as long as I've been in this industry.
Originally Posted by scuff
Do you find that the foam tends to resist drying on the paint any better than a traditional layer of mitt applied soapy water?
Nope. The laws of physics are not changed by how the soapy foam is transferred to a body panel.
What I've always done is MOVE FAST. Yep... even me with an artificial leg when it comes to washing cars I move fast. Wash a panel and then rinse.
This is why I shared the brass water connectivity tools I use. I have everything set-up for ME to wash my cars quickly and effectively. I hate rinsing water off with the red water sprayer that comes with the foam gun. Does it work? You bet. Do I like it? Not really. I like the sprayer I showed in the picture. I like a Shower setting. It's a LOT more effective that a Jet setting. At least for me.
This is why I took the extra time to show the tools in this write up and explain why and how they work. These tools solve problems.
I like my cars clean and shiny but that doesn't mean I like washing my cars. I wish they could keep themselves clean. But since that isn't going to happen I make washing my own cars as pleasant or fun as possible and this takes the paint out of the process.
Especially here in South Florida. Right now the only way to wash a car here in South Florida is very early in the morning before it gets hotter and more humid. It's already hot and humid in the morning so the earlier the better.
I STRONGLY believe washing your car (or truck), is a LOT FASTER when you maintain the finish. By maintain the finish I mean maintain a coat of wax, sealant or coating on the paint. Dirt doesn't like to stick to maintained paint like it does to neglected paint so to make the washing process fast and easy start by keeping a good coat of wax on the car.
I wax my truck but I use coatings for the wife's Mercedes. Both make washing and drying fast and easy.
Originally Posted by scuff
Might work well for wheel wells and under rocker panels, too.
A foam gun works well for spraying foamy soap into wheel wells, onto wheels and tires as well as into the back of a truck bed.
Originally Posted by scuff
I'm thinking a foam gun would help me blast crud out of my truck's shocks,
The foam gun is not a replacement for the jet setting on a good water sprayer. The foam gun is LIGHT on how it sprays foamy soap onto a surface.
Originally Posted by scuff
or at least neutralize some of the corrosive winter swarf.
Flushing a surface with water and/or foam followed by water will act to rinse the surface clean and probably to some level neutralize the surface just in that it's removing not so much chemically neutralizing.
I guess a person could add the appropriate chemical to the soap solution or use a soap solution formulated to neutralize but the soap I tend to use the most is formulated for normal cleaning of normal dirt and road grime.
I'd say the foam gun is a great tool for people that like to take care of their automotive investments. If you already LIKE washing and waxing your cars, that is you consider yourself a car guy or a car girl and besides washing your cars you also like polishing and waxing your cars and keeping the interior pristine... then you would like a foam gun and learn how to become great with it.
If a person looks at washing their cars or any part of car maintenance as a burden that they only do because they feel they have to then I don't think the foam gun is going to make them like washing their car and they might as well take their car to a swirl-o-matic car wash and be done with it.
Me? I love using a foam gun to wash my cars and I also use it to wash my customer's cars if they are modern cars. As a practice I don't use running water from a hose to wash classic cars, muscle cars or streetrods but instead I use a waterless wash as a professional courtesy to the car owner.
I don't introduce water to places where rust can be an issue on cars like these. Plus cars like these don't tend to be daily drivers and as such don't tend to be real dirty.
I do make exceptions to this practice and I'm making an exception this Thursday, that's tomorrow. Tomorrow night I have a detailing class where I'll be teaching some local guys how to machine polish as well as other detailing tasks. The car we're working on is a convertible 1969 Oldsmobile 442.
The owner has told me the convertible top is dirty. The RIGHT way to wash a convertible top is with running water so you can FLUSH the convertible top material to completely remove any dirt and cleaners. Convertible tops that are dirty are not good candidates for rinseless washes or waterless washes because you want to flush both the dirt and the cleaners out of the weave of the material to do the job right and you can't do that by wiping.
So tomorrow the owner is bringing the car in a few hours early and we're going to wash the convertible top using a product from Griot's and then we're going to wash the entire car, top and body panels using the foam gun.
In my world - this will be the last time I ever wash THIS car with running water. The car is for sale and my guess anyone purchasing a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible won't be washing it much into the future either as it is and will be a Garage Queen.
1969 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible
Stay tuned... I'll share some foam gun washing pictures from this project to this thread next week after the 4th of July Holiday Weekend.
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Super Member
Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek
What I've always done is MOVE FAST. Yep... even me with an artificial leg when it comes to washing cars I move fast. Wash a panel and then rinse.
This is why I shared the brass water connectivity tools I use. I have everything set-up for ME to wash my cars quickly and effectively. I hate rinsing water off with the red water sprayer that comes with the foam gun. Does it work? You bet. Do I like it? Not really. I like the sprayer I showed in the picture. I like a Shower setting. It's a LOT more effective that a Jet setting. At least for me.
This is why I took the extra time to show the tools in this write up and explain why and how they work. These tools solve problems.
I like my cars clean and shiny but that doesn't mean I like washing my cars. I wish they could keep themselves clean. But since that isn't going to happen I make washing my own cars as pleasant or fun as possible and this takes the paint out of the process.
Especially here in South Florida. Right now the only way to wash a car here in South Florida is very early in the morning before it gets hotter and more humid. It's already hot and humid in the morning so the earlier the better.
Great post. Thanks, Mike!
Based on these comments, is it safe to assume your only real defense against heat/sun is speed? I really like the idea of a foam gun, but envisioned the soap drying on the paint faster than I could wash it off, especially on a large-ish SUV. At times I find when even doing a panel at a time with the two bucket method, soap will start to dry before I can finish washing larger panels like a hood or roof.
I notice the ratio's are much higher when using a gun vs two bucket method. Does this lead to someone going through shampoo much faster than using a two-bucket method?
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Super Member
Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek
What I tried to do with this article is to give a person that's NEVER used a foam gun a LOT of information with really good pictures so at the intellectual level they "know" the tool.
And you did a great job or I probably wouldn't have bothered reading it.
"Sold" seems to have struck a nerve! Mike, I'm new here, but I've read a lot of your posts and one of your books. You're clearly not the Professor Harold Hill of Detailing, and I don't think you'd ever push a product on anyone. My apologies.
"Convinced" would've been a more appropriate word. I completely agree with everything you said about a person figuring out if a product or process is right for them. I was just walking through my decision process in the thread, seeing if a foam gun would help meet my needs any better than what I currently use. Some of my questions were borne out of a desire to find more ways to use one. From what you and others have said, it's a tool that will be in my cart soon. Thanks for all of your articles, tips, and stewardship of the forum. PBMG made a wise move in bringing you on board.
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Super Member
Re: How to use a foam gun by Mike Phillips
I'll add that a foam gun is great for washing dogs and cats too. Both my dogs have thick fur and this cuts down on the shampoo used which in turn makes rinsing easier. It has cut their bath time in half. Because you don't have to wet them before the shampoo, cats are already wet and sudsed up before they're completely sure whats going on.
I also thrown some apc in it for various things around the outside of the house. It is definately more than a car washing tool.
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