[ember1205]

Originally Posted by cmitchell17

So what is a foam cannon supposed to do? My guess is its supposed to foam up the soap so it sticks better and that somehow makes it clean better?

One thing that I can't stand is that a pressure washer with 5hp can't remove some simple dirt on the surface that you can wipe your finger on, but it takes a rag or mitt and you have to physically wipe it off which takes probably 1/100 of a horsepower.

In a nutshell, the foam cannon is supposed to A) create a very foamy soapy coating that should stick quite well and stay in place for "a while" as well as help to better float the dirt away from the paint and B) allow you to soap up the whole car in one sweep so you can just go at it with the wash mitt all at once.

Personally, I see zero advantage from the foam cannon, and feel like it might actually slow me down. It takes me longer to drag out the pressure washer and pack it back up than just using the hose with a wash bucket.

[20Bluezl1]

I have a Karcher power washer 1700 and works great fir now, I also bought the Obsessed Garage kit for the power washer with is pretty expensive but great quality. The goal that I have is when the Karcher gives up buy a AR Blue clean or a Kranzle. I figured i could break up the purchase in 2 parts buying the kit then the power washer.

https://www.obsessedgarage.com/colle...essory-package

[cmitchell17]

Originally Posted by ember1205

In a nutshell, the foam cannon is supposed to A) create a very foamy soapy coating that should stick quite well and stay in place for "a while" as well as help to better float the dirt away from the paint and B) allow you to soap up the whole car in one sweep so you can just go at it with the wash mitt all at once.

Personally, I see zero advantage from the foam cannon, and feel like it might actually slow me down. It takes me longer to drag out the pressure washer and pack it back up than just using the hose with a wash bucket.

Thanks, I find it takes me way to long to wash as I obsessively go over every spot probably way more than necessary and potentially probably push to hard and may be causing more micro scratches. Although I have plenty of those from when I ruined my car from car washes.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by cmitchell17

Thanks, I find it takes me way to long to wash as I obsessively go over every spot probably way more than necessary and potentially probably push to hard and may be causing more micro scratches. Although I have plenty of those from when I ruined my car from car washes.

Getting a good hydrophobic coating on the paint that also helps to repel dirt and such can help immensely. I took the pressure washer to the car last weekend with just water and got 99% of everything off of the paint in about five minutes. Then I hit it with the cannon, the microfiber wash cloth, and then another pressure rinse. Total time to pull everything out, set it all up, do the wash, and break everything down was probably about 30 minutes.

It took another 20 minutes or so to take the leaf blower to the car to get the heavy water off and then wipe it down by hand. I find that parking the car facing slightly uphill seems to do the best job overall in keeping the water and soap from collecting under the edges of the trunk and under the convertible top tonneau. Facing it downhill is horrid for allowing soap and water to collect.

[MatthewAMEL]

Originally Posted by cmitchell17

So what is a foam cannon supposed to do? My guess is its supposed to foam up the soap so it sticks better and that somehow makes it clean better?

One thing that I can't stand is that a pressure washer with 5hp can't remove some simple dirt on the surface that you can wipe your finger on, but it takes a rag or mitt and you have to physically wipe it off which takes probably 1/100 of a horsepower.

So you raise a good question and it's important to know what a pressure washing/foam cannon combo will do for your washing process.


The whole idea behind a Foam Cannon/2-bucket/extra step wash is to get dirt off the paint without introducing swirls or scratches.



Using a Foam Cannon creates a thick, sudsy layer that grabs the surface dirt and lifts it away.


You should never spray the car with soap from the foam cannon and then wipe it with your mitt.


Foam the car and then let the foam run down the car. Rinse. Then using your 2 bucket wash, wash the car by hand.


You shouldn't expect to spray the car with your cannon, rinse and then have a clean car without ever touching it with your wash mitt.


But, by using foam first, you greatly reduce the amount of crud on the paint that can scratch when you finally have to touch it with a wash mitt.


It's sounds like a lot of work, but I can go from dirty car in garage to clean car in garage (Pressure wash, hand wash, dry) in about an hour.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by MatthewAMEL

So you raise a good question and it's important to know what a pressure washing/foam cannon combo will do for your washing process.


The whole idea behind a Foam Cannon/2-bucket/extra step wash is to get dirt off the paint without introducing swirls or scratches.



Using a Foam Cannon creates a thick, sudsy layer that grabs the surface dirt and lifts it away.


You should never spray the car with soap from the foam cannon and then wipe it with your mitt.


Foam the car and then let the foam run down the car. Rinse. Then using your 2 bucket wash, wash the car by hand.


You shouldn't expect to spray the car with your cannon, rinse and then have a clean car without ever touching it with your wash mitt.


But, by using foam first, you greatly reduce the amount of crud on the paint that can scratch when you finally have to touch it with a wash mitt.


It's sounds like a lot of work, but I can go from dirty car in garage to clean car in garage (Pressure wash, hand wash, dry) in about an hour.

If you pre-rinse the car with a pressure washer or even a hose with very good pressure, a foam cannon isn't going to do jack for you. What you're describing is leveraging the foam cannon to remove what would predominantly be referred to as "loose dirt". If a pressure washer doesn't take that off during the pre-rinse phase, soap foam isn't going to touch it either.

I can wash the car just as quickly with a hose and bucket / cloth as I can any other method. The benefit to the pressure washer is that it helps to get more stuff off prior to the wash, making the wash itself easier. Combine it with a quality coating on the painted surfaces that reduce "adhesion" and you're even better off. The foam cannon realy doesn't add any true value in most consumer situations. For commercial use, where you're chewing through cars quickly and keep everything set up throughout the day, I could see where it would speed up the overall process of wash/rinse a bit.

[Brudda*Termite]

Two words that strike terror into the hearts of Florida Camaro drivers--love bugs. Pressure washers are worth their weight in gold dealing with those evil bastards. I have a Ryobi 3100 psi washer I got for about $350 at Home Depot, has a Honda engine and has lasted several years so far with only o-ring replacements in the wand...

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Brudda*Termite

Two words that strike terror into the hearts of Florida Camaro drivers--love bugs. Pressure washers are worth their weight in gold dealing with those evil bastards. I have a Ryobi 3100 psi washer I got for about $350 at Home Depot, has a Honda engine and has lasted several years so far with only o-ring replacements in the wand...

Ugh. Hate those things and what they can do to a paint job!

[closs2sx]

kranzle k1122tst A little on the pricey side but well worth it.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Brudda*Termite

Two words that strike terror into the hearts of Florida Camaro drivers--love bugs.

The small price you guys pay for no winter and snow and salty crap on roads

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

The small price you guys pay for no winter and snow and salty crap on roads

If you don't wash the crap off of your car within a week after driving it in the winter, it could lead to corrosion some number of years down the road. If you don't wash the love bugs off of your paint within 24 hours, the acid in their blood will etch your paint / eat through the clear coat.

I don't think that's a 'small price'.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by ember1205

If you don't wash the crap off of your car within a week after driving it in the winter, it could lead to corrosion some number of years down the road. If you don't wash the love bugs off of your paint within 24 hours, the acid in their blood will etch your paint / eat through the clear coat.

I don't think that's a 'small price'.

Well, I've done a little extra research into them love bugs and I can't but agree... pretty gross, and a time sink of course. Now if only the state and townships used something other than salt here... one can dream, eh?

[Brudda*Termite]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

The small price you guys pay for no winter and snow and salty crap on roads

Well, yes, hahaha!

[ohjabarn]

Originally Posted by Glen e

I owned two of the Karcher units sold at Lowe’s they were relatively cheap. Both broke within a year. If I was going to do it over again, I would do one that used an air compressor… And get a foam cannon.

Yeap, great to know. I'm having Kärcher K7 Premium Smart Control Pressure Washer is the only place to start when talking about Kärcher pressure washers. This premium model has incredible power (courtesy of a 180 bar max pressure, the highest on this list), which makes it well-suited for cleaning large patios and driveways. I got it from the Lowe's store and find it to be having low prices at other stores. I was just thinking to bring it back to perform Lowes Price Match on purchased Kärcher K7 as they do price match.