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:

First shot at fixing the black Vette

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:

First shot at fixing the black Vette

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

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.