Snow Foam
- Thread starter Gary M
- Start date
I can vouch for Valet Pro PH Neutral Snow Foam and if the car is a little more dirty than normal I mix some Valet Pro Citrus Pre-Wash with it.
But as said this is like asking which beer is the best
But as said this is like asking which beer is the best
............i have used most on the market but in all truth i find it a bit of a gimick, yes it looks great & my neighbours always comment on it but in reality i find it over rated & a good blast with water from the pressure washer is just as good.
I’ll second that. You need to use the really aggressive snow foams for them to be effective and these normally strip LSP/waxes etc. It’s not quite the non touch wash most hopes for.
Only semi decent ones are the ones that has a purpose like the iron x snow foam as that removes iron fallout and not just a generic wash. I normally use this after a quick wash and not before so it can dissolve the iron deposits more effectively. I park at train stations and found the car gets caked with iron fallout. Worse when I had a white car as you can see orange rusty colour spots all over the car. Iron x snow foam is ok for most if you keep on top of it otherwise use iron x or trix to remove stubborn marks.
Do we really need snow foam?
I've lived within a mile of the sea in several places for last 35yrs. I've always soaked the car with a hose, used a good quality car shampoo, two washes if really bad, hosed off, dry off with a large microfibre cloth [not a chamois any more] do any tar spots with white spirit then a light waxing where I've done this. Autoglym polish twice a year and glass cleaner when needed. A damp microfibre cloth works a treat on the inside and a light spray of wd40 on any scuffed plastic trim. I never use a jet was on the car or the caravan. It is to easy to do damage.
I've just sold my near 5yr old Yeti and it was as shiny the day it left me as the day I collected it.
Just my opinion on what has worked for me, but I know we are all different.
Colin
I've lived within a mile of the sea in several places for last 35yrs. I've always soaked the car with a hose, used a good quality car shampoo, two washes if really bad, hosed off, dry off with a large microfibre cloth [not a chamois any more] do any tar spots with white spirit then a light waxing where I've done this. Autoglym polish twice a year and glass cleaner when needed. A damp microfibre cloth works a treat on the inside and a light spray of wd40 on any scuffed plastic trim. I never use a jet was on the car or the caravan. It is to easy to do damage.
I've just sold my near 5yr old Yeti and it was as shiny the day it left me as the day I collected it.
Just my opinion on what has worked for me, but I know we are all different.
Colin
Bilt Hamber auto foam through a pump sprayer, I've tried a lot of pre washes and this is definitely the best so far.
I have a mobile car valeter who lives at the end of my road and comes to our office to clean some cars as well
I asked him what was the best and he said do you ever see me using it
Enough said!!
I asked him what was the best and he said do you ever see me using it
Enough said!!
If I paid for a professional detail (which i wouldn't) and he turned up to do my car without any type of pre wash I'd be very concerned.
Totally disagree, a good quality snowfoam used along with a similar quality pre wash is the best way to clean the car and minimise the damage washing creates.
A car with a correctly applied ceramic coating applied will need little more than a ph netural snowfoam applied and rinsed off to clean it. You may need to touch a few areas that are really dirty but actual washing should be minimal.
A car with a correctly applied ceramic coating applied will need little more than a ph netural snowfoam applied and rinsed off to clean it. You may need to touch a few areas that are really dirty but actual washing should be minimal.
A valeter is nothing special, a professional detailer is on another level.
A valeter does nothing I couldn't do myself, I wouldn't attempt to undertake a detail myself.
Wouldn't be using this guy if his services were free.
You don't like the polar snow foam? Why not?
I've used it, and it's fine, but i have nothing to compare it too.
I use him for paint sealing on a new car but he does use a pre-wash which I have some of - Just doesn't think the snow foam is any better than pre-wash rinse down then soap and rinse and leather etc
That's all I do and my car cleans up fine
What because he doesn't cover your car in a really frothy shampoo before he then valets it exactly the same way someone else does without the foam
I wash my own cars but he's helped me out before and does an excellent job without the gimmicks
Yes of course that's exactly what I'm saying just me and this one bloke - Glad you bothered to read the other posts about him using pre wash just not snow foam but par for the course these days for people to read just the one thing
You are implying that snowfoam is a gimmick, I completely disagree.
Snowfoam is designed to dwell on the car and help remove a lot of the dirt before you actually wash the vehicle, applied properly this is exactly what a good snowfoam product does.
The less dirt there is on the surface before you start washing the better the results.
I don't know any professional detailers or car owners who care about their cars that don't use snowfoam as part of their washing process.
Quite a lot of the time if my car is only moderately dirty I only have to snowfoam and rinse the car to clean it, this of course only applies if you car has a good quality layer of protection applied.
Iron X snow foam will turn the exterior rubber trims round your windows grey as its a bit caustic mate
So I wouldn't use it on a regular bases
I know lots of car owners who care about their cars me being one who don't use snow foam so that's a bit of a loaded answer from you there tbh - It's each to their own but me personally I don't like the idea of something being sprayed over a car that could be covered in salt and grit at this time of the year and this stuff then as you put it dwells on the car possibly working into my paint.
Who knows I'm not a scientist but I'm going from someone who cleans cars for a living (expensive cars at that) and he doesn't rate it and he uses a lot of the Autosmart products who do a snow foam
Everyone is different
Same as the valeter I know Ferraris etc so there you go each to their own then, but coming out with comments like car owners who care about their cars is a bit steep just because it doesn't fit your ideal
Any snowfoam is better than not using one in my opinion or even a prewash via pump sprayer, in the odd occasion when l have ran out of snowfoam my car stays unwashed til I get some
I categorise snowfoams
1, winter snow foams ie one with a high foaming action and a long dwelling time great dirty cars covered in road salt add in in a little citrus prewash tothe mmix and you've got a nice concoction best winter snow foams
Valet pro advanced snow foam
Gyeon Q2 m
Autoglym Polar blast
Gtechniq
2. Summer snowfoams, ie less foaming shorter dwelling time
Bilt hamber
Valet pro pH neutral
Auto Finnese Avalanche
Angelwax fast foam
I categorise snowfoams
1, winter snow foams ie one with a high foaming action and a long dwelling time great dirty cars covered in road salt add in in a little citrus prewash tothe mmix and you've got a nice concoction best winter snow foams
Valet pro advanced snow foam
Gyeon Q2 m
Autoglym Polar blast
Gtechniq
2. Summer snowfoams, ie less foaming shorter dwelling time
Bilt hamber
Valet pro pH neutral
Auto Finnese Avalanche
Angelwax fast foam
@Bristle Hound it's got nowt to do with being subjective Again l have used dozens of snow foam products and l know the good ones, l drive my car 250 miles a week in all sorts of weather so it's pretty filthy for half the year if your using a very diluted pre wash like valet pro alone? well your car ain't getting nowhere covered in the **** my car gets covered in mate it's probably more of a driveway queen?
Each to their own and 'it's all subjective' blah, blah, blah, but I ALWAYS use a pressure washer applied decent snow foam (with a proper snow foam lance - not the ***** ones that come in a bundle with yer Karcher/Nilfisk/whatever you use) before I make ANY contact with the car. I personally use Bilt Hamber Auto Foam most of the time and BH Surfex HD sometimes (not marketed as a snow foam but is a ruddy good one if you have greasy dirt to remove). Both excellent and good value for money products.
From my personal experience, when a decent snow foam is left to dwell for a few minutes, I can SEE the dirt that the foam pulls off the car and ends up as a snowy puddle on the ground with grimy dirty bits in it before I then pressure washer rinse before hand washing. It's a no brainer for me. A £15 quid 5 litre bulk buy will do x2 cars, every week, for half a year, so cost per application is pennies, and takes minutes so why wouldn't you? I don't see it as a gimmick or show ponying for the 'neigh'bours (see what I did there, lol) . I also don't see it as a magic bullet - it WILL remove the very worst (but NOT all) of the dirt from your car before you even touch it.
Understand what it will and importantly won't do, and you're onto a winner. Just my two-penneth. Peace.
From my personal experience, when a decent snow foam is left to dwell for a few minutes, I can SEE the dirt that the foam pulls off the car and ends up as a snowy puddle on the ground with grimy dirty bits in it before I then pressure washer rinse before hand washing. It's a no brainer for me. A £15 quid 5 litre bulk buy will do x2 cars, every week, for half a year, so cost per application is pennies, and takes minutes so why wouldn't you? I don't see it as a gimmick or show ponying for the 'neigh'bours (see what I did there, lol) . I also don't see it as a magic bullet - it WILL remove the very worst (but NOT all) of the dirt from your car before you even touch it.
Understand what it will and importantly won't do, and you're onto a winner. Just my two-penneth. Peace.
@jassyo06 - Having done the whole snow foam thing for quite some years, I moved over to pre-washing with a pump sprayer
For me I have found pre-washing this way to be equally as effective as using snow foam. The most important part for me is the lack of mess using the pump sprayer
Having a double garage does eliminate the need for 'strong' pre-washing for me
Driveway queen ? No ! Garage queen ? Yes !
Main thing for me is a touchless pre-wash on a dry car
You've got to go with what works for you IMHO
As Confucius said - 'Opinions are like
.........but again, a good strong blast of clean water does the same job i.e loosen any dirt ready for washing. I'm not knocking those that belive it's the ''must have pre wash'' & still have some in my garage i just think along with others it's a bit of a gimick which looks good when used but in reality does not do a great deal.
pxr5
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Pre-wash (Koch Chemie Greenstar at the moment for me) through a pump sprayer. Maybe a snowfoam over that depending on the weather and how dirty the car is. The Autoglym stuff is as good as any, except that Autobrite Magifoam - looks great and does absolutely nothing.
I always use a prewash from a pump sprayer and then rinse before I start my washing process
^^^^THIS^^^^
^^^^AGAIN THIS^^^^
I used SF for years and thought it was great, but then tried a good strong mix of B&H with hot water in a pump sprayer and it works better and cheaper, cover all the car, leave for 5 mins, jet wash off and let drip dry...good enough for the winter...do a hand wash every 4-5th go.
