Thought Exercise - Foam vs Fine Mist Question

[oneheadlite]

Sorry if I jump around a little, trying to get my thoughts down during the day when I should be working.


So, In recent years pump up foamers really seem to have jumped up in popularity. My understanding is that for normal products like wheel cleaners you get longer dwell time from less product as it's not just running off as you spray/saturate. Then there are other products like Foaming Waterless Washes (there's a popular NY one I'm thinking of) that were made from the get-go to function as a foam. Also products like Griot's Foaming Surface Wash/Prep/Poly Gloss.

I don't know the exact science behind it, but the Griot's stuff advertises as being a dual stage foam, where the first function lifts the dirt from the surface and the second phase allows it to run off the car.

I haven't picked up a foamer yet (I did build one from a $9 parts store pump up sprayer, but only have had a chance to use it for degreaser at work). I did recently pick up a battery powered sprayer to use for ONR at work. It's a 1 liter bottle; it was advertised as a "plant mister". Turns out it's able to put out a really fine mist which clings quite uniformly. (you can adjust it to a regular spray as well. Straight stream shoots 20ft!)


This got me to thinking - is there a functional difference between saturating a surface via foam versus via a very fine mist? Would a second misting be work to replicate the foam responding to gravity as it breaks down and returns to a liquid? (Saturate with mist, allow to soak/break down grime, re-mist)

I know experimenting will yield the best answer on this, but I thought it would be fun to get peoples opinions, especially those who are frequent foamers.

Hopefully soon I'll be able to wrangle some free time; seems like a good test would be to try mixing up batches of the Foaming Surface Wash and a Rinseless wash option and see how it works. I'll also try it out in my homemade foamer and see how that compares.

If this sprayer continues to work out I may have to pick up another/more. If nothing else I could see it working well for applying a drying aid after washing.

[Mike Phillips]

This got me to thinking - is there a functional difference between saturating a surface via foam versus via a very fine mist? Would a second misting be work to replicate the foam responding to gravity as it breaks down and returns to a liquid? (Saturate with mist, allow to soak/break down grime, re-mist)

A fine mist would in theory adhere to vertical surfaces longer than a heavy application of product or foam, (I would consider foam an heavy application of product), and this enable the magic secret sauce, (whatever it is), to do it's magic.


The above is just off the top of my head...