I'm a foam on the dry surface guy. I then rinse and do another foaming for the contact wash. Really like the Sonax snow foam product and then i go with CarPro reset for the second foam and contact wash.
Great video as always! I originally was doing a touchless wash (mostly fleet vehicles) so I’d foam, let it dwell foam again let that dwell and then rinse clean (manufacturers recommendation) But I’ve since switched to ph neutrals and I’ve adopted the foam rinse foam technique and I have to say for my auto details it’s been working incredible. I find the foaming a dry vehicle really helps boost the cleaning and lifting of the grime. And it makes the contact wash even safer since most of the heavy contaminants are gone
I Pre rinse because I work in my driveway and its almost always sunny when I detail a car so keeping the panels cooler outweighs having a slightly more diluted product. Doing a contact wash is going to work better than just foam regardless so its kind of a moot point.
I think the issue isn't dilution. That sounds pretty absurd to me. The real issue in my opinion is that absorbent dirt clumps will fill with water and practically resist the soap from entering.
Thank you for this precise and uncomplicated explanation of foaming vs not foaming...this continues to be a hot topic in the industry but imo is pretty easy to understand..it's completely situational and to the detailers discretion... look at the condition of the paint and go from there!!! Great video!!
Thanks for the great insight. Over the past few months, I have been doing the pre-wash foam wash, followed by the rinse; then a second foam followed with contact wash. This gets me the best result. The downside: more products is used and wash time is longer.
Not worth it. Never was. Never will be. Wash with good car wash and a mitt if your paint is special. Dry with chamois blow if u have to and drive only on not rainy or dusty days. Ridiculous..
I do this as well. To put it into perspective though, I’m washing a small Porsche Cayman that’s more dusty than dirty. I also use the first foam application to catch the cracks and crevices with a detail cleaning brush. By the time I’ve finished, it’s time to rinse off the foam. The second foam application is when I start hand washing.
No pre rinse here. If I do that, it will remove a bit of surface crud but the car has Si02 and topper on it. As soon as I spray the car with water the hydrophobicity returns a bit and the foam doesn't want to stick on the panel. This means I have to use more soap. Having said that, I fom the car, rinse and foam again. The second foam is either for clay block or washing depending on what I am doing.
I recently started pre treating with GS on the lower or heavier contimated panels then foam rinse then contact. I did notice GS helping out in the rinse process knocking down some of the heavy mud and dirt. Next wash pretreating whole vehicle with rinse less before foam or put some rinse less in the foam cannon
I personally always pre-rinse before doing my foam. Like you say, yeah it could dilute the foam down but it's rather marginal in my eyes. I put a little more soap in my foam cannon than I used to so I find the foam comes out rather thicker then it used to before when I used less soap. I think it's about prespective right? Yeah, on one hand you can say it dilutes the foam/ soap down if you pre-rinse first. However, you could also use the argument that you're "wasting" some of that soap by foaming first as it's loosening up or carrying off loose contamination that would be washed away with the pre-rinse. I always detail outside PLUS consider that my clients drop their vehicles off in the mornings meaning extra drive time leading to a warmer engine. Another reason why I like the pre-rinse, along with the fact it blows off all the loose dirt that isn't benefiting from a foam first regiment. I want the foam to dwell and work on the tougher, more stuck on dirt and contamination. Either way, you're going to follow up with a contact wash, but I want as much off the paint as possible to avoid further swirling and scratching. That's just from my experience
Thank you Josh. I have always rinsed first either to cool down the car (living in Nevada always means hot panels) or to get the big chunks off first. And being in a generally hot and sunny climate, by the time I foam the car, most of it has dried. I guess I'm getting the best of both worlds! 🤔
I'm glad you did this video, it's good to hear advice from the pros, Ivan from DIY detail recommends foaming first, but you bring up some good points, at the end of the day, we all have our methods of madness, so best to keep learning and happy detailing.
Yeah I agree with foaming on first and having that help to lift dirt to reduce any potential damage, but before we had foam cannons, we would always pre rinse and I don’t ever remember damaging anything like that. I still do prefer to foam first now though whenever I can.
bucket and mitt is the only time i feel you should pre rinse. incidentally, i feel this way about engines too! i do like your MO with engine details, but i get tremendous results with no pre rinse...just degreaser. now i use a more harsh degreaser than you do (though still non-solvent), so i becomes necessary to follow up with car wash soap to neutralize. i will put my results up against anyone. same with my tire dressing skills. in both cases i DO NOT rinse, as it just dilutes. another fantastic vid! i have had this argument with ppl.
I need help and hopefully you or one of your subscribers can offer some suggestions. Former gas pressure washer user. Frankly, I could attach the cheapest foam canon and get the best results. Since switching to electric, not so much. Runny foam and by runny its “watery”. I’m not looking for shaving cream foam, but certainly something equal to what was shown in this video. I have a Westinghouse WPX 3000 E, 3000 psi with 1.76 GPM Between the outside faucet and the pressure washer, the water passes through a SPOTFREE PRO100 DI water system. I’ve tried the MJJC V3, TRINOVA, and a noname off Amazon. I’ve used each of their supplied orifice and stepped down to a 1.1. Although the 1.1 was better than each other”stock” orifice (1.25?), the results were nowhere near anything shown in this video. I suspected the DI system might be the culprit restricting the GPM so I went directly from the faucet to the power washer. No improvement. I measured the water output from the pressure washer and its meeting spec at about 1.8 GPM. Any ideas what the issue could be… I’m lost here? I ordered the MJJC V2 pro out of desperation because it seems to always work for others, it arrives on Monday. The low noise of electric might please the neighbors but performance out of these electric power washers isn’t anything I’ve been pleased with so far. H E L P needed!!!!
My perfect combo has been to pre rinse with rinseless wash solution and pressure wash it off and then do a contact wash using rinseless solution. Works great in the Phoenix heat
Hey guys this is so over my head it's ridiculous I have a 2012 white Tahoe and the body is pretty much Immaculate as far as any chips are damaged I have a Portland Harbor Freight pressure washer and it comes with the foaming gun. I have obviously been using a local AutoZone car wash and then a car wash brush and my garden hose. Question one if I switch to the pressure washer technique and I bought one of these good foaming concentrates and foamed my Tahoe down dry I assume you guys mean touchless as in foam it down let it sit rinse it off let it dry? Question 2 contact means I would foam it down let it sit and then use my car brush and brush it or a wash mitt then rinse it off? Last but not least what do you recommend for the little black spots of Road Grime that hit the front and around the sides of the panel near the floorboards
Foam and wait 2-3 mins. Foam and contact wash with 2nd coat of foam - no bucket needed. Rinse thoroughly and dry with blower. If there’s excessive road film and road salt, start the process with high alkaline foam then follow steps above. I’m not a pro detailed, but my car looks almost showroom new and it’s 4 years old. Helps keep my close to 20 SUV looking spiffy too.
Yeah especially as now in FL we are going into Summer time i tend to use rinseless washes. Unless i can wash the vehicle early in the morning. I prefer to wash in the evenings.
I just tried Labocosmetica products for the first time, particularly Primus 2.0 (Alka) and Purifica (Acid) and was blown away how effective it is! I highly recommend them!
Apex Detail did a video about the acidic nature of pollen and recommended pre foaming with a higher ph soap to naturalizer it. I like the concept behind it.
Living in the desert makes me scared to omit the pre rinse. I always start with a pressure washer to get rid of any surface dirt that might scratch when I start using a mitt.
I wish i lived in San Diego so i could pay you to come detail my car, and learn from you, but im on the other side of the country 😭 But i'm watching all your vods and learning alot.
Foaming before rinsing with pressure washer on a dirty vehicle is also the safest method. Foaming allows the surfactants to encapsulate the dirt particles, making for a safer removal. Think of blasting dirt directly into the paint at 1000 or greater psi. It can make a big difference on black and softer paint types.
When I pre-foam, I turn up the water mixture a little so it's not so thick to let it break down loose dirt, then rinse, then full power foam, agitate, then rinse and dry.
Good video there! In the UK we've got a fairly big culture of pre-wash foaming, we'll tend to use something more like Super Foam in terms of pH levels, but we'd very rarely pre-rinse (unless there is thick mud). Obviously I don't speak for the whole nation 😂 but people who are properly into their detailing will always foam, and most will use something with a high pH. But now AF is in 1L (hopefully here soon) I will definitely give this a go!
If I'm detailing the car by myself, or with just one extra person, you might as well do a pre-wash with water, before you hit the rims. By the time you're done with the rims, the water will have dried. You're getting off a lot of dirt, just with the pressure washer, therefor giving more room for the soap to help out. Basic concept. If you're detailing with multiple people, it doesn't matter what you do, in that sense, because the cars going to get clean regardless with that much man-power.
This topic has come up dozens of times with other UA-cam influencer detailers.. Do what YOU want or like doing , honestly it makes very little difference in the real world if you foam a wet car or dry car...there's no right or wrong.
I ran a apc around handles down . Let dwell a minute or two and then rinse. Then foam . I feel where you live has alot to do with the process. My state and my county has alot of dirt roads . Most driveways are dirt . Mud season, snow . You name it . Unless the vehicle is coated I don't worry about marring. Won't be anymore than claying . Expeacialy of I'm putting a machine to it .
I can't use base products. Problem I have is the irrigation comes from the river and it has an extreme calcium level. I have to Pre rinse with a 10% hydrochloric acid mix to cut the calcium.
On a cry dirty car I first use P & S PROFESSIONAL DETAIL PRODUCTS Absolute Rinseless Wash as a pre-treatment before I spray off with water and then you my car foam etc, I think it works well to pretreat before foam,
Maybe just pre rinse to remove any heavy stuff and follow with a quick blow dry, no need to remove 100 percent of the water, just enough to avoid water spots and then hit it with the foam. This way you get the pre rinse and the foam and only add a minute or two for blow drying. Thanks for the video.
I've always rinsed and then foamed....and completely see that it's the wrong way round. But after I've foamed i do a hand wash and I somewhat use the foam to see what I haven't done ;)
Put a rinse-less in a sprayer - spray the vehicle and give the rinse-less some time to encapsulate the dirt then use your power washer to rinse then foam and contact wash. Great results
Good video, Josh. I've always been in camp dry-foam, but maybe that's not the most effective. I still think it's the safest method and the best for an only slightly dirty surface.
I do a pre-foam, rinse, foam again, and do a contact wash. The prefoam gets a bunch of the grotty stuff off the paint, so my contact wash isn't knocking off all that big grit.
I'm new to this cleaning regimen. In my younger days, just a bucket of water and some Dawn was enough to clean my cars. Thinking about the spray foam process but have a really basic question...after foaming and rinsing, would I still need to manually soap up the vehicle and hand wash? What soap is recommended for hand washing? Another complication is that my water source is well water.
So Josh, what is your take on spraying rinseless wash from a pump sprayer onto the panels prior to foaming a car instead of pre-rinsing? I've used this method for the last three washes and have come to love the cleaning abilities before a mechanical wash. I've followed this cleaning up with a rinseless wash and have found very little contamination on my Eagle 350s! Products used are ONR version 3 or 4 and two different soaps, Stjarnagloss SNO and P&S Frostbite from an IK Foam Pro 12.
Hi Josh. I just had a question about the 300 GSM Edgeless Micro Fiber - GRAY (12 Pack) that you have for sale on your website. Can you give me some advice on what those would be best used on? Would they be best for drying a washed car? Cleaning windows? (I think waffle weave are best for windows though?). Or is there something else they should be best used for? Also should they be prewashed before doing anything? Thank you very much!
Yeah, usually for myself I’m looking at foaming the car dry, rinsing it off very carefully, and then foaming it again and using my wash mitt and bucket, I found that it’s the safest way and the fastest way to getting a clean clean car the first go, your really just using the wash mitt for fun sometimes 😂
To be honest I don't see any difference if i use a snow foam or not, not even higher ph or something, I'm doing everything ok, all dilutions all that and i still don't think it makes a difference. However using snow foam instead of the 2 bucket method is way more efficient. And yes i do it in all sorts of vehicles and i still don't see a lot of difference. Even using it to clear some polishing dust after a heavy correction, all the dust is there unless i agitate it. For me, snow foam just for lubrication and show.
It is not a dilution, but rather foam uses water molecules to penetrate dirt so foam can kick off loosing dirt particles through expansion and separation. Plain watering before foam just saturates dirt filling pores with water molecules so foam can’t get much into dirt but rather covers it over.
After watching tons of videos of different youtubers, I haven't found the answer to this question yet, When is it better to use a lower ph car wash soap? Or it doesn’t matter at all? In some comments, I read it is good to disolve salt. Is it true? When use neutral? I guess for pre wash, it is better a high ph soap.
Hey Josh I have a 2022 Chevy Silverado. Was wondering how you would go about washing a bigger truck and being quick about it so it does t get spotted up?? Love your videos!!
I got a 23 silverado myself. When i do it i start from top to bottom, washing and rinsing one panel at a time starting from roof, windshield and hood. I also do vertical panels on all the top halves first and then come back around and do the bottom halves since the bottom halves have more dirt and mud on it, so theres less risk of picking that dirt up and scratching up the upper panels. And to avoid the spots, get an inline mineral removal filter from amazon, it screws inline with your water hose, and i put a articulating hose joint, theyre made of plastic or metal, i put mine inline with my pressure washer at the hose inlet. The filter will remove the minerals from your water so when it dries, it wont leave mineral water spots. Same with washing, you don’t want the soap to dry on the paint, so go one panel at a time. Wash in shade or overcast, or before the sun gets too hot in the morning or if you can keep the paint cool as the sun goes down. You just dont want to let it evaporate before you rinse it. They do sell blowers specifically to dry cars after washes. Mine got a 9” lift with 37s, so its a pain in the ass to wash, especially on the roof, id recommend ceramic coat also, makes things much easier between coats.
Thank you I’ll have to look water removal products. I’m usually good during cooler months but it’s starting to warm up so the panels will air dry a lot faster. I always tried keeping the truck wet as I rinse off but sometimes it’s not possible. Thanks for the info
Imo it doesn't matter if you're going to contact wash. Also pre rinsing is just an extra step to me since you're going to rinse it again after foaming. Again, the negligible difference doesn't matter if you're going to contact wash. I think it matters more if you're not going to contact wash, or if you have literal mounds of dirt on the car but either way its getting rinsed off so I'd rather save time
Understandable but the point of pre rinse is to take a car that really dirty and safely remove as much dirt before the contact wash. If you just rinse and foam you will pick up a lot of that dirt and you have more of a possibility of scratching your car again it depends on the situation. Most cars you don't have to but some you should.
There's a few videos of someone showing a pre-rinse vs a prewash. Prewash visibly shows less dirt on the car. Less dirt on the car during contact wash = less chance of scratching paint. Meguiars Gold Class does have a lot of lubrication though so totally understand you trying to save time instead of be OCD like us lol.
Another very informative video!! How much AF do you use in your foam cannon and what is the dilution ratio? I have the Adam’s foam cannon which is 35 oz and i just bought some AF after watching your other pre foam video. Thank you.
Pre-rinsing isn’t that going to cause scratching because you are pushing the dirty along the paint? Using a Rinseless Product or foaming will limit the amount of dirt being pushed over the paint. Right?
can you do a tutorial on cleaning and maintaining a foam cannon? my MJJC S V3 foam cannon stopped foaming last week, i have tried filling it with water and run it to flush out any debris but it did not solve it.
what would be the best product to use for removing all that grime off REAR Motorcycle RIM? I dont usually reach to this area especially on Harley Touting (with bags and pipes, etc.), just noticed that when my tire was changed and mechanic could not remove all that grime. any idea? thanks.
Great vid. I've always been a good car wash soap in a bucket and wash mit guy. Been happy with the results. I'm now learning about car wash soap and foam cannons. Learned a lot in your vid. What, in your opinion, should be the max PSI when using a pressure washer to clean your car. Thanks. Scott.
A bigger question is why don't people pressure wash the WHEELS with water first? Unless they have caked-on brake dust they get 90% clean before even using any wheel cleaning products.
Just as a curiosity, I live in a wet environment, so road dirt get's really bad after rain. Do you experience the same where you live? And is there a way to get it cleaned without mechanical brushing? Cool video, I've obesrved the same thing with rince no rince. I do dilute my cheap soap 50/50 in the cannon.
Great video, thanks Josh. What would you recommend for a black, ceramic-coated car? I've been using the KC GSF - is AF safe for ceramic? Up to now, I've been foaming with GSF, agitating, rinsing.
I tried this on my car that is washed & waxed all the time and my wife's car that is not. I find that using the dirt cannon on a dry car that has wax on it comes out much better that the dry car that has little to no wax on it.
I just came upon your channel about a week ago and have since purchased pretty much everything you suggest including the 1.1 orifice. Without trying to find a video that you might have already made can you direct me to a video where you show washing the vehicle from foam to finish? Thanks
I just did a video recently on prepping a car for a ceramic coating and the first half of that video should apply to what youre looking for! Here you go: ua-cam.com/video/nGvebJqP3WE/v-deo.html
@@imjoshvI'm in Maryland and I was just curious how does that stuff work on bird crap that's landed on your car that may have sat for a day or two before you got around to it or you noticed it because it was on the roof?
What foam works good a c ter driving wet dirt roads with magnesium chloride? The sides of my truck are covered in dirt road spray with magnesium chloride, and plain water doesn't even touch it. I am to.d a degreaser is needed to break down the mag chloride. Any thoughts?
can you do a video on Malco CW-37 Carwash concentrate ? I think it's an older soap but I'm using it and it's amazing. only need like 15 20 ml of soap to foam. and it's usable up to 400:1 for other applications ! and it's like 35$ a gallon. slick and sudsy n won't remove new wax or sealant
Foam first with light pressure....it will loosen up the filth, bird poop, and bug guts. Then when you use your pressure washer after foaming as then you are not marring up the protective wax and clear coat from hardened foreign substances. Anyways, manual by hand is best, use low water pressure - garden hose, car soap, couple of fresh water buckets to rinse the microfiber towels, washing, and waxing your vehicle is better than those contaminated and harsh automated car washes/brushless car wash as they can destroy your vehicle with unnecessary force, bad chemicals, and recycled toxic water.
Can you use this active foam with ceramic coated vehicles? I have a brand new Ford F150 and I use Chemical Guys, carbon force which I’m extremely pleased with that how slick it is. I just don’t want to damage the coating which should I use with a foam Canon? I bought a mtm hydro pf22.2, I was just going to use Mr. pink and then after wash I use Chemical Guys hydro speed detailer or any high quality ceramic detailer like Mcquires or Adams etc? Is Active foam 9.5 ph ok for ceramic coating??
I'm a foam on the dry surface guy. I then rinse and do another foaming for the contact wash. Really like the Sonax snow foam product and then i go with CarPro reset for the second foam and contact wash.
Great video as always! I originally was doing a touchless wash (mostly fleet vehicles) so I’d foam, let it dwell foam again let that dwell and then rinse clean (manufacturers recommendation)
But I’ve since switched to ph neutrals and I’ve adopted the foam rinse foam technique and I have to say for my auto details it’s been working incredible.
I find the foaming a dry vehicle really helps boost the cleaning and lifting of the grime. And it makes the contact wash even safer since most of the heavy contaminants are gone
This is masterclass in how to turn a 10 second answer into a 14 minute fluff video.
A masterclass, nonetheless
Can't stand repetition.
I'm sure your 198k followers would agree with you.
To pre fluff or not is the question…
I Pre rinse because I work in my driveway and its almost always sunny when I detail a car so keeping the panels cooler outweighs having a slightly more diluted product. Doing a contact wash is going to work better than just foam regardless so its kind of a moot point.
I think the issue isn't dilution. That sounds pretty absurd to me.
The real issue in my opinion is that absorbent dirt clumps will fill with water and practically resist the soap from entering.
@@nullfield1126definitely won’t happen, but I understand you thinking that
Thank you for this precise and uncomplicated explanation of foaming vs not foaming...this continues to be a hot topic in the industry but imo is pretty easy to understand..it's completely situational and to the detailers discretion... look at the condition of the paint and go from there!!! Great video!!
Thanks for the great insight. Over the past few months, I have been doing the pre-wash foam wash, followed by the rinse; then a second foam followed with contact wash. This gets me the best result. The downside: more products is used and wash time is longer.
Not worth it. Never was. Never will be. Wash with good car wash and a mitt if your paint is special. Dry with chamois blow if u have to and drive only on not rainy or dusty days. Ridiculous..
I do this as well.
To put it into perspective though, I’m washing a small Porsche Cayman that’s more dusty than dirty.
I also use the first foam application to catch the cracks and crevices with a detail cleaning brush. By the time I’ve finished, it’s time to rinse off the foam. The second foam application is when I start hand washing.
@@ubeuonly Most people do not have luxury of foregoing driving based on weather lmaoo. ridiculous..
No pre rinse here. If I do that, it will remove a bit of surface crud but the car has Si02 and topper on it. As soon as I spray the car with water the hydrophobicity returns a bit and the foam doesn't want to stick on the panel. This means I have to use more soap. Having said that, I fom the car, rinse and foam again. The second foam is either for clay block or washing depending on what I am doing.
Foam is just perfect! Before another layer of foam, pre rinse then contact wash 🚿 it makes everything go by more effectively🙌🏽!
I recently started pre treating with GS on the lower or heavier contimated panels then foam rinse then contact. I did notice GS helping out in the rinse process knocking down some of the heavy mud and dirt. Next wash pretreating whole vehicle with rinse less before foam or put some rinse less in the foam cannon
I personally always pre-rinse before doing my foam. Like you say, yeah it could dilute the foam down but it's rather marginal in my eyes. I put a little more soap in my foam cannon than I used to so I find the foam comes out rather thicker then it used to before when I used less soap. I think it's about prespective right? Yeah, on one hand you can say it dilutes the foam/ soap down if you pre-rinse first. However, you could also use the argument that you're "wasting" some of that soap by foaming first as it's loosening up or carrying off loose contamination that would be washed away with the pre-rinse. I always detail outside PLUS consider that my clients drop their vehicles off in the mornings meaning extra drive time leading to a warmer engine. Another reason why I like the pre-rinse, along with the fact it blows off all the loose dirt that isn't benefiting from a foam first regiment. I want the foam to dwell and work on the tougher, more stuck on dirt and contamination. Either way, you're going to follow up with a contact wash, but I want as much off the paint as possible to avoid further swirling and scratching. That's just from my experience
Thank you Josh. I have always rinsed first either to cool down the car (living in Nevada always means hot panels) or to get the big chunks off first. And being in a generally hot and sunny climate, by the time I foam the car, most of it has dried. I guess I'm getting the best of both worlds! 🤔
I'm glad you did this video, it's good to hear advice from the pros, Ivan from DIY detail recommends foaming first, but you bring up some good points, at the end of the day, we all have our methods of madness, so best to keep learning and happy detailing.
Yeah I agree with foaming on first and having that help to lift dirt to reduce any potential damage, but before we had foam cannons, we would always pre rinse and I don’t ever remember damaging anything like that. I still do prefer to foam first now though whenever I can.
bucket and mitt is the only time i feel you should pre rinse. incidentally, i feel this way about engines too! i do like your MO with engine details, but i get tremendous results with no pre rinse...just degreaser. now i use a more harsh degreaser than you do (though still non-solvent), so i becomes necessary to follow up with car wash soap to neutralize. i will put my results up against anyone. same with my tire dressing skills. in both cases i DO NOT rinse, as it just dilutes.
another fantastic vid! i have had this argument with ppl.
I love pre foaming with bilt hamber. It works amazing. Great video!
I need help and hopefully you or one of your subscribers can offer some suggestions.
Former gas pressure washer user. Frankly, I could attach the cheapest foam canon and get the best results. Since switching to electric, not so much. Runny foam and by runny its “watery”.
I’m not looking for shaving cream foam, but certainly something equal to what was shown in this video.
I have a Westinghouse WPX 3000 E, 3000 psi with 1.76 GPM
Between the outside faucet and the pressure washer, the water passes through a SPOTFREE PRO100 DI water system.
I’ve tried the MJJC V3, TRINOVA, and a noname off Amazon. I’ve used each of their supplied orifice and stepped down to a 1.1. Although the 1.1 was better than each other”stock” orifice (1.25?), the results were nowhere near anything shown in this video.
I suspected the DI system might be the culprit restricting the GPM so I went directly from the faucet to the power washer. No improvement.
I measured the water output from the pressure washer and its meeting spec at about 1.8 GPM.
Any ideas what the issue could be… I’m lost here?
I ordered the MJJC V2 pro out of desperation because it seems to always work for others, it arrives on Monday.
The low noise of electric might please the neighbors but performance out of these electric power washers isn’t anything I’ve been pleased with so far.
H E L P needed!!!!
My perfect combo has been to pre rinse with rinseless wash solution and pressure wash it off and then do a contact wash using rinseless solution. Works great in the Phoenix heat
Awesome, I wouldnt have thought about that, but figuring out what works best for your own situations is a great way to go!
I live in Casa Grande and my biggest challenge is the window of opportunity for washing my truck. Early morning or evening. Stupid sun. lol
Hey guys this is so over my head it's ridiculous I have a 2012 white Tahoe and the body is pretty much Immaculate as far as any chips are damaged I have a Portland Harbor Freight pressure washer and it comes with the foaming gun. I have obviously been using a local AutoZone car wash and then a car wash brush and my garden hose. Question one if I switch to the pressure washer technique and I bought one of these good foaming concentrates and foamed my Tahoe down dry I assume you guys mean touchless as in foam it down let it sit rinse it off let it dry? Question 2 contact means I would foam it down let it sit and then use my car brush and brush it or a wash mitt then rinse it off? Last but not least what do you recommend for the little black spots of Road Grime that hit the front and around the sides of the panel near the floorboards
Foam and wait 2-3 mins. Foam and contact wash with 2nd coat of foam - no bucket needed. Rinse thoroughly and dry with blower. If there’s excessive road film and road salt, start the process with high alkaline foam then follow steps above. I’m not a pro detailed, but my car looks almost showroom new and it’s 4 years old. Helps keep my close to 20 SUV looking spiffy too.
Saving water and time and getting a better result. Great Video once again Josh!
Yeah especially as now in FL we are going into Summer time i tend to use rinseless washes. Unless i can wash the vehicle early in the morning. I prefer to wash in the evenings.
I love how clean your “very very dirty car is!”
I just tried Labocosmetica products for the first time, particularly Primus 2.0 (Alka) and Purifica (Acid) and was blown away how effective it is! I highly recommend them!
Apex Detail did a video about the acidic nature of pollen and recommended pre foaming with a higher ph soap to naturalizer it. I like the concept behind it.
Thats makes sense, in my dide by side the pollen was able to wash away easier and was broken down more on ths ide that got foam on the dry panel.
Been down this road several times. My preference for a contact wash is foam on dry, rinse then foam again for my contact wash.
Josh you are a great sales person and very helpful when it comes to washing things thanks ,t
Living in the desert makes me scared to omit the pre rinse. I always start with a pressure washer to get rid of any surface dirt that might scratch when I start using a mitt.
I wish i lived in San Diego so i could pay you to come detail my car, and learn from you, but im on the other side of the country 😭 But i'm watching all your vods and learning alot.
Some prerinse to remove some loose dirt. However, if you prerinse the existing water can carry some of the foam away-catch 22.
Foaming before rinsing with pressure washer on a dirty vehicle is also the safest method. Foaming allows the surfactants to encapsulate the dirt particles, making for a safer removal. Think of blasting dirt directly into the paint at 1000 or greater psi. It can make a big difference on black and softer paint types.
exactly
When I pre-foam, I turn up the water mixture a little so it's not so thick to let it break down loose dirt, then rinse, then full power foam, agitate, then rinse and dry.
That’s a good idea
Good video there! In the UK we've got a fairly big culture of pre-wash foaming, we'll tend to use something more like Super Foam in terms of pH levels, but we'd very rarely pre-rinse (unless there is thick mud). Obviously I don't speak for the whole nation 😂 but people who are properly into their detailing will always foam, and most will use something with a high pH. But now AF is in 1L (hopefully here soon) I will definitely give this a go!
If I'm detailing the car by myself, or with just one extra person, you might as well do a pre-wash with water, before you hit the rims. By the time you're done with the rims, the water will have dried. You're getting off a lot of dirt, just with the pressure washer, therefor giving more room for the soap to help out. Basic concept.
If you're detailing with multiple people, it doesn't matter what you do, in that sense, because the cars going to get clean regardless with that much man-power.
This topic has come up dozens of times with other UA-cam influencer detailers..
Do what YOU want or like doing , honestly it makes very little difference in the real world if you foam a wet car or dry car...there's no right or wrong.
I ran a apc around handles down . Let dwell a minute or two and then rinse. Then foam . I feel where you live has alot to do with the process. My state and my county has alot of dirt roads . Most driveways are dirt . Mud season, snow . You name it . Unless the vehicle is coated I don't worry about marring. Won't be anymore than claying . Expeacialy of I'm putting a machine to it .
I can't use base products. Problem I have is the irrigation comes from the river and it has an extreme calcium level. I have to Pre rinse with a 10% hydrochloric acid mix to cut the calcium.
I would recommend doing a rinse first if the paint surface is hot.
Either works really, obviously pre rinse if the paint is hot from the sun but if you're in the shade with a cool vehicle I'd foam first
On a cry dirty car I first use P & S PROFESSIONAL DETAIL PRODUCTS Absolute Rinseless Wash as a pre-treatment before I spray off with water and then you my car foam etc, I think it works well to pretreat before foam,
Maybe just pre rinse to remove any heavy stuff and follow with a quick blow dry, no need to remove 100 percent of the water, just enough to avoid water spots and then hit it with the foam. This way you get the pre rinse and the foam and only add a minute or two for blow drying. Thanks for the video.
I've always rinsed and then foamed....and completely see that it's the wrong way round. But after I've foamed i do a hand wash and I somewhat use the foam to see what I haven't done ;)
Put a rinse-less in a sprayer - spray the vehicle and give the rinse-less some time to encapsulate the dirt then use your power washer to rinse then foam and contact wash. Great results
Super helpful as I was one of the peeps wondering about this...
You can also raise the PH level by using warm water in the foam cannon and with a really good soap might not need to do a full contact wash
@Yorkiepoocharlie warm water raises the PH level
When it heavy with dirt I like soak without high pressure then foam, rinse that and foam again and run soft sham, no scratches
I always prefer Rinseless and rarely do foaming 😁 I have been doing it for years
You can foam on some rinseless washes like DIY Rinseless. It increases the dwell time and makes it easier to see where you've contact washed.
@@TheBreakfastLover yes, that's the one I preferred since Yvan had it. I used ONR v3 with a bit of APC too on the lower panels.
All and all, whatever’s most comfortable for you👍
Thnx for the comprehensive session!
Good video, Josh. I've always been in camp dry-foam, but maybe that's not the most effective. I still think it's the safest method and the best for an only slightly dirty surface.
yea dry foam definitely showed a better clean in the test and i do agree with it being the safest in most cases!
I thought the whole point of foam first was to add some lubrication so you're not blasting the dirt particles into the paint with the power washer
That doesn’t happen though.
Thank you Josh for another lesson in doing it right another great video
Glad you liked it!
Pre-rinse also dilutes your current product ratio no? I would assume that's why the non pre-rinse maybe works better.
I do a pre-foam, rinse, foam again, and do a contact wash.
The prefoam gets a bunch of the grotty stuff off the paint, so my contact wash isn't knocking off all that big grit.
I'm new to this cleaning regimen. In my younger days, just a bucket of water and some Dawn was enough to clean my cars. Thinking about the spray foam process but have a really basic question...after foaming and rinsing, would I still need to manually soap up the vehicle and hand wash? What soap is recommended for hand washing? Another complication is that my water source is well water.
Josh, not only does the soap work better when applied to a dry car, it saves an extra step and thus, time.
Still using Adams strip wash in spring and megafoam after the foam is rediculous. Need to give koch chemie a try.
mega foam is great!
So Josh, what is your take on spraying rinseless wash from a pump sprayer onto the panels prior to foaming a car instead of pre-rinsing? I've used this method for the last three washes and have come to love the cleaning abilities before a mechanical wash. I've followed this cleaning up with a rinseless wash and have found very little contamination on my Eagle 350s! Products used are ONR version 3 or 4 and two different soaps, Stjarnagloss SNO and P&S Frostbite from an IK Foam Pro 12.
Old Telluride lol. Your success is showing sir lol
Hi Josh. I just had a question about the 300 GSM Edgeless Micro Fiber - GRAY (12 Pack) that you have for sale on your website. Can you give me some advice on what those would be best used on? Would they be best for drying a washed car? Cleaning windows? (I think waffle weave are best for windows though?). Or is there something else they should be best used for? Also should they be prewashed before doing anything? Thank you very much!
Thanks for the info, I haven’t been pre rinsing..
Yeah, usually for myself I’m looking at foaming the car dry, rinsing it off very carefully, and then foaming it again and using my wash mitt and bucket, I found that it’s the safest way and the fastest way to getting a clean clean car the first go, your really just using the wash mitt for fun sometimes 😂
Josh what dissolution ration do you use in foam gun with active foam. Thanks
To be honest I don't see any difference if i use a snow foam or not, not even higher ph or something, I'm doing everything ok, all dilutions all that and i still don't think it makes a difference. However using snow foam instead of the 2 bucket method is way more efficient. And yes i do it in all sorts of vehicles and i still don't see a lot of difference. Even using it to clear some polishing dust after a heavy correction, all the dust is there unless i agitate it. For me, snow foam just for lubrication and show.
It is not a dilution, but rather foam uses water molecules to penetrate dirt so foam can kick off loosing dirt particles through expansion and separation. Plain watering before foam just saturates dirt filling pores with water molecules so foam can’t get much into dirt but rather covers it over.
After watching tons of videos of different youtubers, I haven't found the answer to this question yet, When is it better to use a lower ph car wash soap? Or it doesn’t matter at all? In some comments, I read it is good to disolve salt. Is it true? When use neutral? I guess for pre wash, it is better a high ph soap.
Hey Josh I have a 2022 Chevy Silverado. Was wondering how you would go about washing a bigger truck and being quick about it so it does t get spotted up?? Love your videos!!
I got a 23 silverado myself. When i do it i start from top to bottom, washing and rinsing one panel at a time starting from roof, windshield and hood. I also do vertical panels on all the top halves first and then come back around and do the bottom halves since the bottom halves have more dirt and mud on it, so theres less risk of picking that dirt up and scratching up the upper panels. And to avoid the spots, get an inline mineral removal filter from amazon, it screws inline with your water hose, and i put a articulating hose joint, theyre made of plastic or metal, i put mine inline with my pressure washer at the hose inlet. The filter will remove the minerals from your water so when it dries, it wont leave mineral water spots. Same with washing, you don’t want the soap to dry on the paint, so go one panel at a time. Wash in shade or overcast, or before the sun gets too hot in the morning or if you can keep the paint cool as the sun goes down. You just dont want to let it evaporate before you rinse it. They do sell blowers specifically to dry cars after washes. Mine got a 9” lift with 37s, so its a pain in the ass to wash, especially on the roof, id recommend ceramic coat also, makes things much easier between coats.
Thank you I’ll have to look water removal products. I’m usually good during cooler months but it’s starting to warm up so the panels will air dry a lot faster. I always tried keeping the truck wet as I rinse off but sometimes it’s not possible. Thanks for the info
How do you like Carpro products? Reset, reload 2.0, etc
But without a low pressure pre wash some dirts or sands could scratch your paint right?😢
Imo it doesn't matter if you're going to contact wash. Also pre rinsing is just an extra step to me since you're going to rinse it again after foaming. Again, the negligible difference doesn't matter if you're going to contact wash. I think it matters more if you're not going to contact wash, or if you have literal mounds of dirt on the car but either way its getting rinsed off so I'd rather save time
Understandable but the point of pre rinse is to take a car that really dirty and safely remove as much dirt before the contact wash. If you just rinse and foam you will pick up a lot of that dirt and you have more of a possibility of scratching your car again it depends on the situation. Most cars you don't have to but some you should.
There's a few videos of someone showing a pre-rinse vs a prewash. Prewash visibly shows less dirt on the car. Less dirt on the car during contact wash = less chance of scratching paint. Meguiars Gold Class does have a lot of lubrication though so totally understand you trying to save time instead of be OCD like us lol.
Another very informative video!! How much AF do you use in your foam cannon and what is the dilution ratio? I have the Adam’s foam cannon which is 35 oz and i just bought some AF after watching your other pre foam video. Thank you.
When you prefoam with AF do you use a different soap when coming back with the contact scrub?
Thanks brother for sharing your different scenarios. It’s always great to hear your tips
I usually pre-rinse with a more runny foam mix
Pre-rinsing isn’t that going to cause scratching because you are pushing the dirty along the paint? Using a Rinseless Product or foaming will limit the amount of dirt being pushed over the paint. Right?
I've heard Yvan LaCroix say that a couple times in videos, especially when using a pressure washer with the higher force of the water.
can you do a tutorial on cleaning and maintaining a foam cannon? my MJJC S V3 foam cannon stopped foaming last week, i have tried filling it with water and run it to flush out any debris but it did not solve it.
Here you go! ua-cam.com/video/zmEgrOIrgvg/v-deo.htmlsi=CcUdPK_LkZOw4R6E
Excellent vid. My question if you were to foam first without pre-rinsing, then start your agitation wash, do you risk scratching the vehicle?
Good info, straight to the point.
what would be the best product to use for removing all that grime off REAR Motorcycle RIM? I dont usually reach to this area especially on Harley Touting (with bags and pipes, etc.), just noticed that when my tire was changed and mechanic could not remove all that grime. any idea? thanks.
Question: the longer the hose (20meters) the psi will go down? thank u bro
Great vid. I've always been a good car wash soap in a bucket and wash mit guy. Been happy with the results. I'm now learning about car wash soap and foam cannons. Learned a lot in your vid. What, in your opinion, should be the max PSI when using a pressure washer to clean your car. Thanks. Scott.
I know that 2000 psi is the most common used since it’s less likely to cause any damage and rinses very well
Same here. Also with the pressure washer getting an extension hose is well worth it to get around the whole car, even 2 with ease.
A bigger question is why don't people pressure wash the WHEELS with water first? Unless they have caked-on brake dust they get 90% clean before even using any wheel cleaning products.
Just as a curiosity, I live in a wet environment, so road dirt get's really bad after rain. Do you experience the same where you live? And is there a way to get it cleaned without mechanical brushing? Cool video, I've obesrved the same thing with rince no rince. I do dilute my cheap soap 50/50 in the cannon.
Great video, thanks Josh. What would you recommend for a black, ceramic-coated car? I've been using the KC GSF - is AF safe for ceramic? Up to now, I've been foaming with GSF, agitating, rinsing.
I tried this on my car that is washed & waxed all the time and my wife's car that is not. I find that using the dirt cannon on a dry car that has wax on it comes out much better that the dry car that has little to no wax on it.
Niceeee video thank you for explaining. I alway pre rinse sadly. However, now I will do a form then contact wash two bucket method 🎉🎉
I'm a lazy car washer and just want to foam/rinse my car in a touch free way. But I have a Boxster. Is Active Foam safe to use on the fabric top?
I just came upon your channel about a week ago and have since purchased pretty much everything you suggest including the 1.1 orifice. Without trying to find a video that you might have already made can you direct me to a video where you show washing the vehicle from foam to finish? Thanks
I just did a video recently on prepping a car for a ceramic coating and the first half of that video should apply to what youre looking for! Here you go: ua-cam.com/video/nGvebJqP3WE/v-deo.html
@@imjoshvI'm in Maryland and I was just curious how does that stuff work on bird crap that's landed on your car that may have sat for a day or two before you got around to it or you noticed it because it was on the roof?
Pressure pre-rinse. foam, mitt, sponge wash. Rinse,blower dry,soft towel final dry. IMHO.😅 8:19
What foam works good a c ter driving wet dirt roads with magnesium chloride? The sides of my truck are covered in dirt road spray with magnesium chloride, and plain water doesn't even touch it. I am to.d a degreaser is needed to break down the mag chloride. Any thoughts?
Where did u get that curved extension wand that is attached to your pressure washer gun?
Hey Josh what soap do you normally use for maintenance washes on clients?
Wouldn't there also be some dilution of the foam from the rinsing?
can you do a video on Malco CW-37 Carwash concentrate ?
I think it's an older soap but I'm using it and it's amazing. only need like 15 20 ml of soap to foam. and it's usable up to 400:1 for other applications ! and it's like 35$ a gallon. slick and sudsy n won't remove new wax or sealant
Soo do you a different soap for pre wash like a APCleaner than the hand to wash soap
Ok I’m interested in the rinse free that you used, where did you get it? and what is it called again I’m new to this.
Foam first with light pressure....it will loosen up the filth, bird poop, and bug guts. Then when you use your pressure washer after foaming as then you are not marring up the protective wax and clear coat from hardened foreign substances. Anyways, manual by hand is best, use low water pressure - garden hose, car soap, couple of fresh water buckets to rinse the microfiber towels, washing, and waxing your vehicle is better than those contaminated and harsh automated car washes/brushless car wash as they can destroy your vehicle with unnecessary force, bad chemicals, and recycled toxic water.
In the UK citrus pre washes are popular. Do you think a citrus first, rinse, foam (no rinse) and straight to the mitt would be safe?
Can you use this active foam with ceramic coated vehicles? I have a brand new Ford F150 and I use Chemical Guys, carbon force which I’m extremely pleased with that how slick it is. I just don’t want to damage the coating which should I use with a foam Canon? I bought a mtm hydro pf22.2, I was just going to use Mr. pink and then after wash I use Chemical Guys hydro speed detailer or any high quality ceramic detailer like Mcquires or Adams etc? Is Active foam 9.5 ph ok for ceramic coating??
Nice small wand Jos,
I’ve begun to use GS added to ph neutral Turtle wax hybrid solutions pure
Hello, How long should leave spray foam on my vehicle before rinse off? Thanks
Can you link that little angled pressure wand attachment. I love how small it is 😊