Snow foam gun review

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:31 pm

Mr Nobody at home broke my old snow gun (attached to a gernie) so I replaced it with an air powered one from ebay.

Old one:

New One

Results (used about 1 container worth of mix of 50ml car wash and the rest warm water)

Before:

During (yes it is a different car):

After:

A few minutes later (leave on to soak):

Rinsed off:

Beefs:
It is difficult to adjust the amount of mix that is sucked up (the valve is either on or off)
The knob to adjust the amount of air (to produce the foam) is very sensitive, hence the amount of foam made is nothing or equivalent to AFFF

AFFF is firefighting foam.
More expensive than the one it replaces

Pluses:
It has its own built in regulator!
Does what it says it will, make heaps of foam.
Worth the extra cost as the old one was difficult to get set up.

The final job after a cut and polish:

All the photos are here https://plus.google.com/?gpsrc=ogpy0&tab=XX#photos/115769813738304087848/albums/5760108472384593585

Old Dude · Postby **Old Dude** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:15 am

So where does one purchase this Snow foam gun?........and thats all there is to it... spray it on, wait and wash it off?... with no scrubbing?

Cheers
Dale

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:00 am

Correct, provided you use the right foam it is just rinse the car off (I use my bernie as I an on tank water), spray with gun, leave soak, rinse and then chamois. No scrubbing. The benefit is that you don't transfer dirt from the water bucket to the sponge to the car paint

Here is where I got the first one from (and I use the recommended wash) http://www.carcareproducts.com.au/product/autobrite/ab_snow_foam_lance detergent http://www.carcareproducts.com.au/product/autobrite/supa_snow_foam_

The new one came from ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tornador-Air-Liquid-Cleaning-Foam-Gun-Detailing-Truck-Bus-Car-Wash-Watch-Video-/270997178602?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f18b0c8ea#ht_5066wt_1156

A cheaper version (if you have a karacher gernie) is http://www.bigbrandbargains.com.au/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=10&products_id=223 but it does very little foaming and uses a fair bit to detergent. I can get it out and do some caparisons if people would like to see the difference between the 3.

Old Dude · Postby **Old Dude** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:26 am

Thanks Magpie, I've never seen that before,it certainly does a good job of foaming up. It would be interesting to see how the cheap Karcher one goes.

Cheers
Dale

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:30 am

The idea is that the foam holds any dirt etc in suspension away from the paint.

I've seen detailers use them, but they tend to also use it with a microfibre mitt to wash (otherwise things like road grime will remain)

deviant · Postby **deviant** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:38 am

Yeah they use it like a 'pre-soak' to soften dirt and carry loose stuff away. If your car is well detailed and you wax it regularly then using a foam gun will carry nearly all the dirt away. For whatever remains the best thing to do is have one bucket of soapy water to wash with and another bucker of water to rinse your spongle / cloth / mitt in to reduce the amount of dirt that is in the water you are using to scrub the car with.

green_comet · Postby **green_comet** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 2:38 pm

Been using a snow foam gun for a while on mine and clients cars, they work great especially if you have a dark coloured car you want to keep swirl free.

Here's me foaming up a clients Golf R before wash/detailing.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 3:22 pm

Hmm...I smell a group buy...

Anyone in Sydney interested? I've got too many cars to wash, so this will make it a snap! Means I get to pull the Karcher out and use it more often too!

I'm thinking of the Car Care Products one.

edit: Just gave CCP a call, looks like minimum for discounts is to buy 5. They'll get back to me with a price and I'll post up here.

wassup · Postby **wassup** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 3:57 pm

Apu wrote:Hmm...I smell a group buy...

Anyone in Sydney interested? I've got too many cars to wash, so this will make it a snap! Means I get to pull the Karcher out and use it more often too!

I'm thinking of the Car Care Products one.

edit: Just gave CCP a call, looks like minimum for discounts is to buy 5. They'll get back to me with a price and I'll post up here.

Im interested!

Ive got the Karcher unit and i would rate its performance as 'fair'. I havent personally used the proper foaming lances like green_comet's but the Karcher model uses up detergent fairly quickly (with it filled i can complete a single car and have alittle left over for wheels), and it sprays a watery spray of suds on the car with what i would consider medium to short dwell time. Its much much better than just rinsing down the car especially if the car is dirty from rain related road grim. To keep the cost down i buy the bulk 10ltr car detergent from Supercheap for this task and use Maguires detergent with a microfibre mitt.

I wouldnt recommend simply using the foaming lance and going straight to rinse and chamois.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:00 pm

Sorry for the thread hijack, hopefully no objections :oops:

CCP quote $110 in Sydney. I'll confirm what price I can get on a group buy.

1. Apu (Bryan)
2. wassup (Adam)
3.

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:56 pm

No problems with the group buy, happy to help people out. One of the mods could split the post out and move it (hint).

I have done a quick video of the 3, the Car Care Products one is not working as it should and I will need to spend some time getting the settings right. I used the same mix in all 3. I agree that the Karacher does not 'foam' very well, but the tornado (air powered) makes some very nice foam that sits on the car and does not flow off instantly (it hangs on). The 800M was happy to be washed 3 times on the one side (it did get a full bath in the end as it is going back under its cover).

As has been hinted at provided a car is kept polished and looked after the foam lances do a very good job and it is as simple as snow and rinse.

Foam staying power 1 - Tornado (expensive), 2 - Foam Lance (CCP) and last the Kracher (cheapest).

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:13 pm

Will set up an EOI thread :oops:

kula · Postby **kula** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:42 pm

I have one similar to your old one and love it.

Most of my washes now are just a foam spray.

green_comet · Postby **green_comet** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:39 pm

Here you go, you're looking at around $95au delivered, for exactly the same thing CCP is selling.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=371

Old Dude · Postby **Old Dude** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:52 pm

green_comet wrote:Here you go, you're looking at around $95au delivered, for exactly the same thing CCP is selling.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=371

Or here

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PRESSURE-WAS ... 27bf9e8e16