What is the most powerful/effective soap for foam cannons?

[olenderc]

I purchased my first power washer/foam cannon combo Im the MAN, and was wondering what your experiences have been with different soaps. I've heard good things about the DP Extreme Foam with regards to the amount of foam produced.

However, I'm looking to see if there are any soaps more powerful for heavier grime/greasy run off from under door handles and from under the bottom of the door sill onto the side skirts.

It seems during maintenance washes this greasy run off under door handles and side skirts doesn't come off with a few passes of my Incredimitt. It seems the only way to definitely clear it off is using more firm pressure and I feel this is most certainly too much pressure and progressively swirls the paint.

The car is coated with PBL paint coating so stripping wax/sealant is a non-issue. Is there any soap strong enough that it will dissolve away most if not all of this residue so that after foaming once I start a traditional 2 bucket wash, the residue is already gone or easily removed with a normal pressured pass?

Tried searching already and couldn't really find a concise answer aside from maybe specifically adding a degreasing agent like P21S total auto wash or another degreaser. Is there one soap a little more powerful than the rest that will lift off more dirt and dissolve away more grease than say something like DP Extreme Foam? I have some CG wash and clear left over and mainly use CG Mr. Pink for maintenance washes. Not sure if I should just use that up or if there's something worth buying over either or a combination of the two I already have.

[silverfox]

You need either a strong citrus based European presoak foam like auto finesse avalanche, or add an APC to your soap solution which won't hurt a coating. The everyday popular American maintenance soaps like the ones you've listed aren't strong enough to "cut"....but are primarily mild surfactants that loosen.

[Bunky]

YThe everyday popular American maintenance soaps like the ones you've listed aren't strong enough to "cut"....but are primarily mild surfactants that loosen.

CG claims any of their ph balanced soaps used at 5x dilution would strip. I just wish we had a definitive test.

[PiPUK]

I would call CG on their claim. I would put a healthy bet that they are just coating their test LSPs with surfactant films and temporarily hiding the performance, not removing it. Since I know that their products won't strip the LSPs I have tested, either the above is true of they are outing their LSPs as being rather weak.

As to the topic, there is no issue in getting a super powerful cleaner but there is issue keeping it safe. Some of the UK products are strongly caustic and are really sledgehammers. Caustics are what will generally be responsible for dulling of trims and similar and it is extremely easy to do if you apply too strong. Frankly, vehicle cleaners which are based around sodium hydroxide have no place in a hardcore detailing regime - the only reason to use one is because you cannot be bothered doing it a safer way and accepting a bit more work. Unfortunately, what you seem to be asking for is almost a touchless wash and there is no way of achieving this without really strong chemicals.

FYI, the heavy duty vehicle cleaners will be stronger than your detailing APCs, so it is amazing that some people insist on adding APC to boost the clean!

[Bunky]

Which products are sodium hydroxide based to significant boost alkalinity and not just ph tweaks?

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Auto Finesse Avalanche

[PiPUK]

Which products are sodium hydroxide based to significant boost alkalinity and not just ph tweaks?


Auto Finesse Avalanche

Thanks for that.

If you have an MSDS (dream on you say), it is pretty easy. Sodium hydroxide is incredibly potent you need 1 part in 200 to make a solution an 'irritant' and that will be more than enough to have the pH above 13. So if you have more than half a percent, it will very likely be one of the primary alkalinity providers. In truth, most of the time when we use KOH/NaOH to adjust pH, you would be talking about much less than this, to the level that it wouldn't even be included on an MSDS. Moreover, it is rare that you would be adjusting to anything other than neutral... so if you have an elevated pH product containing sodium hydroxide, it is hard to believe that the sodium hydroxide is there for any other reason than to boost alkalinity.

This is something to be very careful with when it comes to UK sourced products, the detailing scene has become quite dilute with industrial type products frequently being packaged up and marketed as boutique detailing products.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

If Avalanche is so "irritant", then why doesn't it strip wax?


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[PiPUK]

If Avalanche is so "irritant", then why doesn't it strip wax?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Do some searching on LSP stripping. I have posted repeatedly on the topic. Frankly, you will damage your trims with a caustic based product at concentrations less than would be necessary to strip a good LSP. At the sorts of dilutions we talk about with foams (say 100:1), stripping ain't going to happen with anything.

[olenderc]

I appreciate all the input. Though, I wasn't looking for a miracle soap to offer a touchless wash, just the strongest (or a few of the stronger) soap that will remove the most contaminants per dwell time compared to another soap. Also, I'm not looking to dull any trim so I don't think I'll be sampling any caustics or things of that nature.

Has anyone experienced any (uncoated) trim dulling using something like avalanche? I'm sure it has to do with it's chemical properties but how is avalanche wax safe, yet one of the stronger foaming soaps?

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Found a good one that's non-caustic and cleans very well! Bilt Hamber Auto Foam!! I just ordered a 5 liter jug.

[olenderc]

Found a good one that's non-caustic and cleans very well! Bilt Hamber Auto Foam!! I just ordered a 5 liter jug.

I was looking to order some of this actually, but cannot find a US-based website to order from. Every place I looked at is in the UK and would end up charging about 3 times product cost just for shipping. Might I ask where you ordered from? PM me directly as I'm guessing it might violate forum rules to post it here.