Does foaming the car REALLY help or not?

[evo77]

I have the Gilmour foam gun. Have had it for a few years and never really used it. I figured this season I'd give it another go.



For pH neutral soaps, does foaming the car and letting it dwell 5-7 minutes do anything such as emulsifying dirt and/or break down some grime, etc? And for the dwell time, does it help the glossifiers in the shampoo to adhere to the paint better?

Or is it just simply a good pre-lube before applying the contact wash?

[Buster906]

I have a CG foam gun and I do not use. Never was able to remove the road grime that adhered to the finish. Yesterday I bought a cheap foam cannon for my 1500 psi electric pressure washer. Applied a nice layer of foam. Did not touch the finish except to dry.

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[FUNX650]

Using the description of the bolded
products in your OP; then...

•IMO:
-“Foaming” becomes merely a form
of entertainment.


Disclaimer:
However, that doesn’t mean that I’m
accusing it of negatively impacting society
in any way, shape, or form—including any
artistic value, if so perceived.


Note:
On the other hand, “foaming” vehicles with
products specifically formulated as honest to
goodness Traffic Film Removers (TFRs) may
elicit a completely different response.



Bob

[evo77]

I have a CG foam gun and I do not use. Never was able to remove the road grime that adhered to the finish. Yesterday I bought a cheap foam cannon for my 1500 psi electric pressure washer. Applied a nice layer of foam. Did not touch the finish except to dry.

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Interesting. So in your experience a thicker foam from the foam cannon was able to pull and remove road grime better than a more "watery" mix from a foam gun?

Do you think that the high pressure water contributed in blasting away the film/dirt more than the actual soap did? What shampoo do you use?

[Buster906]

Yes, high pressure water definitely helps. I used Griots Garage soap. Kind of a pink or red color. I bought the soap from one of the major parts stores.

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[JCDetails]

IMO:

The garden hose foam guns actually can be MORE effective at removing things like pollen, storage dust, or light dirt than a pressure washer foam cannon due to the 'wetter' foam they produce. However, this is made up on the back end with the pressure washer setup as I believe the high pressure rinse does more work than the soap itself.


Like FUNX650 said, most car wash shampoos in general unless specifically formulated, will not perform a significant level of cleaning when applied to the surface on their own, but rather function as lubrication for a wash media that WILL remove the dirt via contact washing.

[Route246]

Using the description of the bolded
products in your OP; then...

•IMO:
-“Foaming” becomes merely a form
of entertainment.


Disclaimer:
However, that doesn’t mean that I’m
accusing it of negatively impacting society
in any way, shape, or form—including any
artistic value, if so perceived.


Note:
On the other hand, “foaming” vehicles with
products specifically formulated as honest to
goodness Traffic Film Removers (TFRs) may
elicit a completely different response.



Bob

While I basically agree with this sentiment the foam does provide and air gap between the cleaning device (brush, MF mitt or towel, etc.) and the paint surface. The air gap also contributes to the effective surface area of the soap which can reduce marring. But, dubious skepticism does have validity because it is the chemistry of the soap that is going to determine the effectiveness of the cleaning. I just view foam-making devices as a hassle that takes time to setup and take down.

[SWETM]

I think with a foam gun and a hose to rinse and a car soap. The only thing you do is to incapsulate the loose dirt on the car and maybe loosen the bigger dirt particals. With the use of a dedicated prewash foam or a tfr and the foamcannon and the PW cleaned with the water pressure from the PW. And not only rinse off with the PW but really use the water pressure and use the angle from the nozzle to work your way from bottom up. This in my experience works better than only rinse off with the PW and no prewash or tfr. And this is to some of the imbedded road grime. Still this don't take away the need of a regualar wash afterwards with a 2bm wash in my case. The benefit you get is that the paint is cleaner when you touch it with the wash mitts. And you extend the time between the claying is needed. This is very much more noticed in the harsher winter weather. But in the longrun also effective to extend the time between decon the paint in any climate IMO. In the summer months you could use the prewash foam which is often LSP safe. To foam and PW clean rinsing it off and blow dry it with a leafblower or a another blow dry machine or even drive the car dry with a great water sheeting LSP. And you can do a touching wash every 3e week.
So a prewash foam like gtechnic w4 citrus foam or gyeon foam from a foam gun would get you a little cleaner surface when you start to touching the paint when washing. The benefit of a foam gun I think is after the prewash rinsed off to help you have an awesome lubrication when combine the foam gun solution and the wash bucket solution with the wash mitts. Some use the foam gun to spray the wash mitts as you go over the paint. Think that Mike Phillips has done some video or write up on that.

[JMak97008]

I have a CG foam gun that I have only used CG citrus gloss and wash with. Other than being fun for the kids to apply for me, I don't think it does very much at all. Laying it on as thick as possible, it runs off fairly quickly and because the car usually has a layer of traffic film on it, it dries out quick, too. By dry out quickly, I mean that, when I layer the foam on and start the contact wash, by the time I get done with one side of the car, the other side is basically all run off and I have to layer it on, again. So, we end up using more product to keep the car lubed up. Laying it on and then rinsing results in really only removing loose dust. So, imo, with this foam gun and soap, the gun isn't worth it at all.

Perhaps in my case another soap would work more effectively, but I'll wait until I am through this gallon of wash and gloss (that I got with the foam gun along with several towels for like $8) to find that soap.

My next step is to get a power washer, but that's more because we ant one at the house rather than just for car washing.

[JCDetails]

A technique that works great with foam guns is to 'foam as you go', where you have a mitt on one hand and the foam gun in the other. Foam the panel ahead of where you're washing, and hit the mitt with the foam gun every panel or two and rub it with a bare hand to knock dirt out of it, or have your rinse bucket nearby.

That method alleviates the soap drying on one side of the car and provides really good lubrication while contact washing. It also conserves product in comparison.