Are there any foam cannon type wash systems that do a decent job without touching the vehicle?

[J S Machine]

I'm trying to research all I can on this. My wife and I just recently acquired two newer vehicles, both black and larger in size. I am no stranger to the whole paint correction process or paint care. I actually did a full correction on a black Corvette I used to own and detailed the process here:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-and-buffing/56926-first-shot-fixing-black-vette.html

Anyway, I want to try to keep these two newer vehicles we have as clean as possible, because I know that black looks terrible when dirty. I have already done Klasse paint sealer on my truck, and still have to do it on my wife's Tahoe.

I'm looking for a no touch type wash system that I can hit these vehicles with maybe once a week, to keep them fairly clean between (possibly) monthly hand washes. Is this even possible? I guess what I am asking is what is the purpose of the foam cannon type systems? I understand it as an application of soap or some surfactant that breaks down surface crud and then it gets washed off. -Similar to a touchless car wash. I've always had concerns about the soap and how caustic it might be in these processes. I would not want something so aggressive that it is rough on my paint sealer.

I just don't want to have to hand wash these vehicles every week. Any advice on some sort of touchless system would be great.

Thanks

[Bruno Soares]

No touch wash only if it's just dusty. If you've driven in rain then they need to be touch washed. You can do rinseless washes if the vehicles aren't too dirty but you'll need good technique, especially with black vehicles. A 2 bucket wash is safer.

There's no owning a black car and having an easy time to maintain them. Black cars are tough to keep looking good.

Being that you used Klasse, I guess you might have some catching up to do, there are better products out there today and they might offer more protection and make cleaning the vehicles easier.

[BurnsDetailing]

After our new car department kept trying to blame us for every nick and scratch on vehicles potential customers were actively test driving, I had to devise a touchless wash. Given these were brand new vehicles with no kind of protection, I used the higher pH of Griot's Foaming Surface Prep in our IK Foam Pro 12 as a starter, allowed to dwell, rinsed, and then used pH neutral Griot's Foaming Surface Wash in the MTM PF22 foam cannon, final rinse and dry with MetroVac Master Blaster.

On a car with wax, sealer or a ceramic coating, using something like Foaming Surface Prep has the high chance of degrading, or removing, the protective layer.

I do not recommend this method. What I do recommend is what I use as a maintenance wash for my coating customers, Wolfgang Auto Bathe in the PF22 foam cannon, Wolfgang Uber SiO2 Coating Wash in the bucket, hand wash, rinse and dry. This will provide a hydrophobic layer to help keep it cleaner. It's bi-weekly for my customers, but given driving habits and customer's expectations, it could be stretched out to once a month, saving you from having to do it every week.

[J S Machine]

Interesting that Klasse is old news. Guess I have been out of the loop for a while. That being said, What would be a good sealant or surface protectant?

It will mainly be dust that gets washed off. We live on a dirt driveway and that's the main nuisance.

[Bruno Soares]

For ease of cleaning a ceramic coating is the way to go but one thing to keep in mind is that if the cars stay outside, ceramic coatings are more susceptible to water spots than a wax or sealant. A great sealant is Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant. They also have a new SiO2 version that looks promising.
Klasse is not bad, just older stuff that usually is more work to apply than modern products.

[Coatingsarecrack]

I'm trying to research all I can on this. My wife and I just recently acquired two newer vehicles, both black and larger in size. I am no stranger to the whole paint correction process or paint care. I actually did a full correction on a black Corvette I used to own and detailed the process here:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-and-buffing/56926-first-shot-fixing-black-vette.html

Anyway, I want to try to keep these two newer vehicles we have as clean as possible, because I know that black looks terrible when dirty. I have already done Klasse paint sealer on my truck, and still have to do it on my wife's Tahoe.

I'm looking for a no touch type wash system that I can hit these vehicles with maybe once a week, to keep them fairly clean between (possibly) monthly hand washes. Is this even possible? I guess what I am asking is what is the purpose of the foam cannon type systems? I understand it as an application of soap or some surfactant that breaks down surface crud and then it gets washed off. -Similar to a touchless car wash. I've always had concerns about the soap and how caustic it might be in these processes. I would not want something so aggressive that it is rough on my paint sealer.

I just don't want to have to hand wash these vehicles every week. Any advice on some sort of touchless system would be great.

Thanks

I have a black car and touchless washing to clean is not possible. I’ve tried almost everything out their. Bilt Hamber AutoFoam came closest but no cigar.

If vehicle not too dirty look into rinseless washes. Works well and a time saver


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[amalik]

For ease of cleaning a ceramic coating is the way to go but one thing to keep in mind is that if the cars stay outside, ceramic coatings are more susceptible to water spots than a wax or sealant. A great sealant is Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant. They also have a new SiO2 version that looks promising.
Klasse is not bad, just older stuff that usually is more work to apply than modern products.

The best of both worlds would be to seal on top of a ceramic coat it sounds like (If it is staying outside).

[J S Machine]

For ease of cleaning a ceramic coating is the way to go but one thing to keep in mind is that if the cars stay outside, ceramic coatings are more susceptible to water spots than a wax or sealant. A great sealant is Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant. They also have a new SiO2 version that looks promising.
Klasse is not bad, just older stuff that usually is more work to apply than modern products.

It is definitely a lot of work. Using Klasse is like rubbing elmers glue on, and even harder to buff it off :laughing:

The vehicles do stay outside. One may be garaged some of the time. I know I'm asking for a lot here, but just looking for something to keep this process from being so painful. One of the vehicles is a recent model Chevy HD truck. I have to get a ladder out to reach the top correctly. Never saw that coming when I bought it.

[ducksfan]

"Never saw that coming when I bought it."

I would say that applies to how hard it is to keep a black car looking clean more than needing to use a ladder. Buuut... you own it now.

Seriously, a dirt driveway and you only want to wash the vehicle once a month. Very shortly you're going to conclude that white paint is the greatest thing ever invented.

Until you get a white car though, I would suggest setting up near where you park the vehicle a way to rinseless wash. A cabinet or something that is within 10 feet. And, the hardest thing is getting started, not doing the cleaning.

I know that may sound crazy, but if you get in the habit of 'going around the vehicle' on a regular basis one panel at a time, never really finishing, just a continual clean cycle, every time you have a few minutes, you might be able to keep it looking decent.

It might also help you get over the mental block of seeing washing a vehicle as work. Much easier to see it as a quick stretching exercise (Maybe a little cardio workout) or if you want to move slower, as a few minutes to unwind. Keeping a personal car clean is more in the head than the body.

[J S Machine]

Never heard of this rinseless wash thing. Going to have to do some research on it.

[oneheadlite]

I'll agree with others that a truly touchless approach may not be possible. But, if you're able to do it weekly/often enough for low grime build up, I think something like the Griot's foaming surface wash might get you pretty dang close. The issue I see is drying after the wash - I don't know how Klasse is for blowing dry.

I bought the Griot's BOSS Foaming kit when it came out with the goal of doing weekly washes during my lunch break at work. Came with a foam cannon for your pressure washer that threads right onto the bottles of liquid. Nice part is it automatically meters the liquid so you don't have to deal with any manual mixing. The kit I bought came with Foaming Surface Wash, Foaming Poly Gloss (think mild LSP), and a huge PFM drying towel. They have a new kit now that comes with the Foaming Surface Prep which is a more aggressive wash, more intended for use before a correction (or whenever you're not worried about affecting your LSP).

The only unfortunate part is that I couldn't compress the wash time down enough to comfortably fit into my break. The positive part was that I genuinely feel it was a feasible option if I had a little more time.

When I would do it, I'd:
-Foam with surface wash (don't pre-rinse), let dwell. Rinse. If no grime left over, then:
-Foam with Poly Gloss, let dwell. Rinse.
-Then I'd follow with a very abbreviated rinseless wash (basically just a wipedown with a towel soaked in Rinseless wash) to catch any remaining dirt before following up with a drying towel.

Chasing it with a Rinseless/Waterless wash (before drying) provides lubrication and pretty well guarantees you're not grinding any stray dirt into your black paint. And you're sure to get it all dry so you're not creating water spots to deal with later. If there was grime left over after the Surface Wash (like if it had been raining), then I'd just follow it with a rinseless wash to avoid essentially sealing over the grime.

I'll cheat and just post a thread I did that better covers using it: https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/121790-doing-some-rounds-boss-foaming-system.html?highlight=foaming

I really like the system even when just used before a normal wash - There's notably less dirt/funk in the wash bucket when I'm done if I use the foaming wash first. I feel like it genuinely helps to reduce the risk of wash induced marring. One nice thing about the Griot's option VS just foaming with standard soap is that the Surface Wash was designed for this use (instead of just being used for mitt lubricant like a normal soap). The bilt hamber that Coatings mentioned is made for that as well (I believe), but it's not sold here/I haven't used it.

Hopefully this makes sense! Speaking of lunch break, typing this out as quick as I can on break. :o

Also: no, I don't work for Griot's, I've just had really good luck with their stuff. :laughing:

[tjevans]

one thing to keep in mind is that if the cars stay outside, ceramic coatings are more susceptible to water spots than a wax or sealant.

I keep finding reasons I regret coating my car. (My car stays outside 24x7).

[ducksfan]

Just remember when you research it, that basically all it is, is a car wash that you don't need to rinse off with a hose. It doesn't clean as well as good car washes. But, it gets the surface dirt and most of the grime off.

The reason I say this is that different people will have different methods of using it. You can use it out of a bucket like a regular car wash; you can use a multi-towel method where you don't reintroduce the towels to the wash medium; it can be put in a pump sprayer and used as a prespray or even wash with a sprayer and wash rag. The common denominator is you wash and then just dry - no rinsing.

So, don't buy that there is a rinseless wash method. The best method is what works best for you, in your situation.

And to add to what I posted before. Washing a car is easy. The hard part is starting. So, if you can eliminate the blocks that keep you from starting ( I don't want to spend the time to wash the entire vehicle, I'd have to get the stuff together, ...), you'll find it easier to keep your vehicle clean.

Many times when I've used the 'going around the vehicle' approach I've washed more that I set out to wash. But what has made it work for me is I don't limit myself or push myself to do more than I want to. I just start (and then stop when I feel like it). It's kind of the Forrest Gump method.