Snowfoam

[Harris.]

No. Snow foam does not strip, not unless you're using thinners to foam. That's the whole point. You shouldn't jet first as all that does is drive the grit into the paint.

So clearly the instructions are wrong then as it clearly says do not use on a dry car ,the body needs to be wet .

And it does strip as it takes the finish back to standard hence why detailers use it then after they machine etc, I noticed it with my car then had to do a full polish + wax again .

[doodlebug]

I've never seen that on a foam product. And all of the detailers I've used have foamed first. Foaming on a wet surface reduces the impact of the foam.

Foam lifts the dirt just as bubbles in your washing up do. If you had to polish and wax after every use you'd be through the lacquer after a couple of months.

[Harris.]

This is my routine now for a zero contact clean:

Jet wash to blast dirt off.
snow foam for pre-wash, leave for 20 mins
jet wash
car shampoo / wax (meguiars) in a foam lance (no rubbing)
jet wash
rinse with water from filter
drive round the block

pat dry any bits left over if I have to although as its filtered water it shouldn't leave any marks so I normally leave it.

Hi Mike that's the correct way to do it , although I don't drive it round the block .

The reason why you hit the car with water first is to remove as must loose dirt / grime as possible , then while the car is wet hit it with the foam which will then run with the water removing even more .

Key to not scratching is keeping the car as wet as possible .

[doodlebug]

Why would you jet wash a car covered with grit? High pressure water on to grit on painted surface. If you were to wet it with a hose first I might understand, but driving grit into the paintwork isn't something I'd want to do!!

[Harris.]

I've never seen that on a foam product. And all of the detailers I've used have foamed first. Foaming on a wet surface reduces the impact of the foam.

Foam lifts the dirt just as bubbles in your washing up do. If you had to polish and wax after every use you'd be through the lacquer after a couple of months.

Not at all hence why I use non resin polish so I don't thin the paint .Ive been doing it for years on all my cars and never had a problem .

Wet is key !

[MikeFish]

The reason why you hit the car with water first is to remove as must loose dirt / grime as possible , then while the car is wet hit it with the foam which will then run with the water removing even more .

This is what I learnt from a detailers how-to guide.

[doodlebug]

I've never seen that on a foam product. And all of the detailers I've used have foamed first. Foaming on a wet surface reduces the impact of the foam.

Foam lifts the dirt just as bubbles in your washing up do. If you had to polish and wax after every use you'd be through the lacquer after a couple of months.

Not at all hence why I use non resin polish so I don't thin the paint .Ive been doing it for years on all my cars and never had a problem .

Wet is key !

Sure, but if you're not removing even a few microns then you're not actually achieving a polish. You have to remove something in order to remove the defects ergo thinning is inevitable. If you don't measure the depth then there surely could be a surprise one day.

A brief video on foaming from Autofinesse. Foam on to a dry car. James has detailed many of my cars, though he's doing less of this spending more time on his products. He's one of the best out there, I'm happy to take his word for it!

https://vimeo.com/120611258

[Harris.]

But your not going from start to finish then . jet the car , snow foam the car , jet again then while its wet use a claybar which removes grit etc . then polish and wax

The clay is one of the most important bits .

[doodlebug]

But your not going from start to finish then . jet the car , snow foam the car , jet again then while its wet use a claybar which removes grit etc . then polish and wax

The clay is one of the most important bits .

Agreed, but you shouldn't have to clay every time, and claying itself is a bit of an art. Like anal, use plenty of lube.

[Harris.]

[Harris.]

But your not going from start to finish then . jet the car , snow foam the car , jet again then while its wet use a claybar which removes grit etc . then polish and wax

The clay is one of the most important bits .

Agreed, but you shouldn't have to clay every time, and claying itself is a bit of an art. Like anal, use plenty of lube.

I don't clay after every wash ,I maybe do it once a quarter .

[Surrey Sam]

It's absolutely pointless foaming a wet car.

Water has an inherent property called surface tension; this is what pond skaters utilise to move across the water surface in a natural wildlife pond and not sink. If you foam a wet car, then the foam will slide across the wet panel doing virtually sweet FA because of this surface tension!

A good quality snow foam will not remove any LSP previously applied the paintwork, the vast majority are PH neutral products. The design of the foam is to agitate and lift dirt away from the surface, so that water can move it away from the paint. Also, don't be fooled by the - more foam = better clean, way of thinking. Letting a foam dwell for more than 10 mins is also asking for trouble; you should not let any cleaning product dry out onto the paintwork.

[doodlebug]

^this!

[Harris.]

It's absolutely pointless foaming a wet car.

Water has an inherent property called surface tension; this is what pond skaters utilise to move across the water surface in a natural wildlife pond and not sink. If you foam a wet car, then the foam will slide across the wet panel doing virtually sweet FA because of this surface tension!

A good quality snow foam will not remove any LSP previously applied the paintwork, the vast majority are PH neutral products. The design of the foam is to agitate and lift dirt away from the surface, so that water can move it away from the paint. Also, don't be fooled by the - more foam = better clean, way of thinking. Letting a foam dwell for more than 10 mins is also asking for trouble; you should not let any cleaning product dry out onto the paintwork.

Its not pointless at all . it clearly states on the above picture jet car first . This is how i've always done it , and it takes the 10 minutes to work so its not asking for trouble or doing any harm as long as it don't dry . Yes I agree with the inherent comment but anyone who thinks just using the foam will give you a clean car is wrong .

The Detailing on any car doing it properly is 2/3 days / I can easily spend a day doing my car and it don't get that dirty

[RossDagley]

Some misinformation here :/

Snowfoam will fall off a wet car and not lift dirt. Should be done dry.
Snowfoam will NOT remove any lsp/wax (if designed not to - some generic noname crap from halfords might, but I don't use anything other than ph neutral).
I contactless clean for 4-5 washes before I use a mitt. When you have a decent lsp and foam/rinse frequently (don't allow a big build up of dirt) this is all that's needed.

Process for contactless:

Treat wheels first.
Snowfoam whole car.
Dwell foam for approx 5 minutes.
Jetwash car.
Rinse with 0ppm water.
Dry with compressed air/blower.

That's IT. For a top up, I might use a QD but normally only need that on cleans 3-5 when I'm close to needing an actual tbm wash.
Trust me when I say I have a clean car.
I detail. A lot. I've been using this method a long time.

The key is the LSP.