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Seen a few pictures of people spraying their car before washing and leaving it for a time covered in soap. Just wondering what's being used ?

Do you mean snowfoam?

you need a snow foam wand and some snow foam something like https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GU1YYA0/ ... 84257&sr=3 I tried the one from Karcher is no way nearly as good... I always do it but i'm not convinced it does much more than just giving the car a blast with just water, but it looks pretty cool.. the idea is that it loosens the dirt and allows you to rinse it off so that when you come to making contact with the car with a mitt you're not pushing the dirt into your paint and getting those dreaded swirl marks or worse..

If you leave it to dwell it definitely works to loosen the dirt and makes it easier to remove the dirt when washing after. The more dirt you can remove before touching the car the less swirls you'll create!

You need to make sure your using a snow foam which has a detergent in it rather than just a straight shampoo that need some mechanical ie: a washmitt or pad to remove the dirt.

Something like Dodo Juice Apple iFoam works well or Bilt Hamber Auto Foam.

As has been mentioned you want to also get a dedicated lance for the job as the little yellow karcher bottle is not up to the job, snow foam lances have come down in price a lot in the last year and are now at the £20 mark for a good one to attach to your karcher.

HTH

It helps to loosens dirt etc that's stuck to the car and you can leave it on for quite a time without it running off. Makes washing easier , but you do need a decent snowfoam lance.

Can you get a snow foam lance that work with just a hose pipe?
It's a pain getting the pressure washer out all the time.

dhobbs wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 6:02 amCan you get a snow foam lance that work with just a hose pipe?
It's a pain getting the pressure washer out all the time.

you can even get hand pressurized snow foam guns but they're rubbish.. it's too watery without proper pressure and just runs off so it doesn't get enough time to penetrate the dirt and loosen it which in a way renders it pointless.

you can always use a simple citrus pre-wash from say auto finesse like I do and dump some in a hand pump pressure sprayer mixed with water and it'll do the same job, not as fun but works as well if not better.

I recommend www.detailingworld.com

I do use muc-off in a spray can but as you say its a PITA to apply.

For the time it takes to get the pressure washer out it'll save you 10X that when washing the car....

There are loads of posts on how best to wash a car (that has/hasn't been detailed) but if you watch the YouYube video of White Details wash of the Z4MC you'll get a good view on how to properly clean a Z. You don't really need to go into as much detail, but it'll give you a good idea on how to do it properly.

Most snow foams hang around on the drive and in the gutter for ages which i do not like. The Bilt Hamber stuff is the only one ive used that breaks down quickly, it also runs of the car quickly as well but seems to do an OK job. Im not convinced foaming a car does much over and above just hitting the dirt with the jet wash.
But its fun to apply and gets the neighbours wondering what is going on.