Snow Foam product test

[Autovisiondetailing]

Thanks. I do have a pressure washer so the one from autobright direct is now on my shopping list.

Thanks again.

No problem, very good product. Had mine now which replaced two more expensive lances 15months ago and still going strong.

 

[Autovisiondetailing]

Snow foam product test continues tomorrow on this which was just dropped off for a tidy up before the customer hands the car back.





This will provide a good indicator on how a product works as the customer ensures me it's never seen any protection before....

 

[Ant]

I used to use Magifoam, but a local chemical company has started doing it's own stuff and it's fantastic, getting good reviews locally and on detailingworld, guy happens to be a big petrol head as well so uses our local car forums.

The glass cleaner is brilliant
[youtube]xsMIIpda-Ms[/youtube]

i've pretty much switched to all Anachem stuff now, use clearview , ultragloss, ultrafoam, gleam, and articulate (which is fantastic)
use the foam gun to apply everything but gleam(shampoo into a bucket) and clearview(aerosol)

My regieme
Articulate all over, Foam, rinse, re-foam, gleam into a bucket, wheels, mitt+gleam rest of car, rinse, ultragloss, light rinse with the foam gun no bottle, dry

lad from forums did his own quick wash vid for his stuff
[youtube]fNeYBE8ktIY[/youtube]

Owners thread
http://reallymeansounds.com/forum/threads/introducing-anachem.161160/

 

[Autovisiondetailing]

Up today was the product test of Inspired Automotive Snow Foam.

The car was absolutely caked in salt, grime and general motorway dirt.

I added the entire sample to 3/4 water within the lance. On turning the gauge to completely Postive it should have produced a nice thick foam however it didn't. It was produced a rather thin foam (if you can call it that) which didn't dwell for long at all.

The first photo was taken straight away....

The second 10seconds later....


You can get better results using substandard foam lances so very disappointed in its dwell time of 2-3minutes.

It did however loosen and remove some dirt when pressure rinsed off but I have a feeling the washer had more to do.

I feel if the product dwelled longer than it'd have better cleaning properties.

Based on the ratio that wash cost 41p, so far this is the most cost effective but not the strongest of cleaning. So quite a mixed review I'd say, if I was new to foams and this being the first I'd probably not use again and think that possibly they were just a gimmick.

 

[Autovisiondetailing]

Next up was AM Details Snow foam. With the evenings getting longer it gave me chance to sort the A1 out again.

And what a difference a day makes.




I put 100ml per 900ml of water into the bottle. It didn't produce an overly thick foam however it clinged to the paintwork for over 10minutes which allowed it to clean for longer and time to agitate all the relevant panel gaps etc







The car was then pressure washed off, the main difference between this and previous foams is clear to see. In the fallen foam you could see how much of the dirt was pulled off the car which left the car around 90-95% clean.


Next up was cleaning the car in the usual 2BM method, the rinse bucket water was still clear after cleaning the whole vehicle, fantastic, safe wash!!

As I only used around 500ml of the foam (2liberal coats) it works out as 60p per wash. The product is available in 5L bottles bringing the cost down to 27p per wash so an EXCELLENT cost effective pre wash product.





Next up Autobrite Magifoam....

 

[AlfaScozzesi]

Next up was AM Details Snow foam. With the evenings getting longer it gave me chance to sort the A1 out again.

And what a difference a day makes.




I put 100ml per 900ml of water into the bottle. It didn't produce an overly thick foam however it clinged to the paintwork for over 10minutes which allowed it to clean for longer and time to agitate all the relevant panel gaps etc







The car was then pressure washed off, the main difference between this and previous foams is clear to see. In the fallen foam you could see how much of the dirt was pulled off the car which left the car around 90-95% clean.


Next up was cleaning the car in the usual 2BM method, the rinse bucket water was still clear after cleaning the whole vehicle, fantastic, safe wash!!

As I only used around 500ml of the foam (2liberal coats) it works out as 60p per wash. The product is available in 5L bottles bringing the cost down to 27p per wash so an EXCELLENT cost effective pre wash product.





Next up Autobrite Magifoam....

Well this is the foam I use Autovision so am pleased my thoughts on it being good were borne out and a bit disappointed that I can't get a better one!

Yet.......

 

[Autovisiondetailing]

Next up was AM Details Snow foam. With the evenings getting longer it gave me chance to sort the A1 out again.

And what a difference a day makes.




I put 100ml per 900ml of water into the bottle. It didn't produce an overly thick foam however it clinged to the paintwork for over 10minutes which allowed it to clean for longer and time to agitate all the relevant panel gaps etc







The car was then pressure washed off, the main difference between this and previous foams is clear to see. In the fallen foam you could see how much of the dirt was pulled off the car which left the car around 90-95% clean.


Next up was cleaning the car in the usual 2BM method, the rinse bucket water was still clear after cleaning the whole vehicle, fantastic, safe wash!!

As I only used around 500ml of the foam (2liberal coats) it works out as 60p per wash. The product is available in 5L bottles bringing the cost down to 27p per wash so an EXCELLENT cost effective pre wash product.





Next up Autobrite Magifoam....

Well this is the foam I use Autovision so am pleased my thoughts on it being good were borne out and a bit disappointed that I can't get a better one!

Yet.......

Now I thought you used Autobrite purely based on how popular it is but going by your location AM DETAIL makes sense.

Now I wouldn't be disappointed, produces fantastic results and I reckon it'll be hard to beat it.

 

[Silva1]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but in real world testing this snowfoam test is misleading.

It's a great idea showing how cost effective one product to another is and its price per 1000ml diluted etc, however carrying out the test on multiple vehicles, of different size, cleanliness and overall usage and maintenance effects the overall results of the test. Personally I would conduct the test on a single vehicle, one which has not been well maintained/waxed/sealed etc and use multiple snowfoams then. Only then after using the products side by side you can come to the conclusion which has "better" cleaning abilities. Something as simple as swiping the area with a make up pad, or new microfibre cloths, will not only give yourself and the viewer a better insight but also conduct a final conclusion.

 

[AlfaScozzesi]

Okay Silva but in the absence of a fully controlled experiment with a control group etc it is very interesting to hear a professionals opinion and yes I am sure we are all aware there is a degree of subjectivity to this.

 

[Autovisiondetailing]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but in real world testing this snowfoam test is misleading.

It's a great idea showing how cost effective one product to another is and its price per 1000ml diluted etc, however carrying out the test on multiple vehicles, of different size, cleanliness and overall usage and maintenance effects the overall results of the test. Personally I would conduct the test on a single vehicle, one which has not been well maintained/waxed/sealed etc and use multiple snowfoams then. Only then after using the products side by side you can come to the conclusion which has "better" cleaning abilities. Something as simple as swiping the area with a make up pad, or new microfibre cloths, will not only give yourself and the viewer a better insight but also conduct a final conclusion.

It would be next to near impossible to test a snow foam per each panel. For starters you'd need multiple lances, you also wouldn't be able to do a cost ratio, then there'd be over lap and down time per each foam not forgetting how each panel would differ in dirt levels. The products were used on cars apart from one (my Z4) on unprotected and waxed to make this as fair as possible. As these were tested over the course of a week it was safe to say each car had experienced the same level of dirt. However a make up cotton pad would be a good idea going forward.

As I am not sponsored and was not paid by any of these companies I have been as honest as possible. I hope you found something of use though as this took as you can appreciate a fair amount of time.

 

[AlfaScozzesi]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but in real world testing this snowfoam test is misleading.

It's a great idea showing how cost effective one product to another is and its price per 1000ml diluted etc, however carrying out the test on multiple vehicles, of different size, cleanliness and overall usage and maintenance effects the overall results of the test. Personally I would conduct the test on a single vehicle, one which has not been well maintained/waxed/sealed etc and use multiple snowfoams then. Only then after using the products side by side you can come to the conclusion which has "better" cleaning abilities. Something as simple as swiping the area with a make up pad, or new microfibre cloths, will not only give yourself and the viewer a better insight but also conduct a final conclusion.

It would be next to near impossible to test a snow foam per each panel. For starters you'd need multiple lances, you also wouldn't be able to do a cost ratio, then there'd be over lap and down time per each foam not forgetting how each panel would differ in dirt levels. The products were used on cars apart from one (my Z4) on unprotected and waxed to make this as fair as possible. As these were tested over the course of a week it was safe to say each car had experienced the same level of dirt. However a make up cotton pad would be a good idea going forward.

As I am not sponsored and was not paid by any of these companies I have been as honest as possible. I hope you found something of use though as this took as you can appreciate a fair amount of time.

I am sure there are many people who appreciate the time you have put into this.

 

[Silva1]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but in real world testing this snowfoam test is misleading.

It's a great idea showing how cost effective one product to another is and its price per 1000ml diluted etc, however carrying out the test on multiple vehicles, of different size, cleanliness and overall usage and maintenance effects the overall results of the test. Personally I would conduct the test on a single vehicle, one which has not been well maintained/waxed/sealed etc and use multiple snowfoams then. Only then after using the products side by side you can come to the conclusion which has "better" cleaning abilities. Something as simple as swiping the area with a make up pad, or new microfibre cloths, will not only give yourself and the viewer a better insight but also conduct a final conclusion.

It would be next to near impossible to test a snow foam per each panel. For starters you'd need multiple lances, you also wouldn't be able to do a cost ratio, then there'd be over lap and down time per each foam not forgetting how each panel would differ in dirt levels. The products were used on cars apart from one (my Z4) on unprotected and waxed to make this as fair as possible. As these were tested over the course of a week it was safe to say each car had experienced the same level of dirt. However a make up cotton pad would be a good idea going forward.

As I am not sponsored and was not paid by any of these companies I have been as honest as possible. I hope you found something of use though as this took as you can appreciate a fair amount of time.

You wouldn't require multiple foam lances no, but you will require multiple containers or bottles, ready for quick change overs. A sufficient rinse thoroughly with clean water is more than enough to then be able to swap onto the next foam required. It's actually fairly easy controlling the foam spread and reducing any over lap onto adjacent panels once you adjust the lance settings and the distance you are from the vehicle itself. You can still do a cost ratio regardless, all you need is the cost of said product and its dilution ratio.
For future reference, since you are conducting a snow foam test, it's misleading to have after shots of "after hand washing" rather than after rinsing off the snow foam, where we can only take your word for it being better or not as great as another etc

 

[Autovisiondetailing]

Don't see how it's misleading as I clearly stated in the first test that the car was then washed using 2bm then all tests followed that method (showing off the vehicle).

Don't see how you can accuratly work out the cost ratio from one panel. You would not know how much you've used.

Appreciate your point of view, but not how your telling me how to do my job. Now instead of going off track on what is a review thread and not a handbag slanging match the final review of those will be up soon.

 

[Silva1]

Well giving that it is a snow foam test, you have only included pictures of the vehicles during foaming, then after they have been hand washed with 2bm and then dried. From there we can only go by what you have said about the product from your conclusion and findings, but you have no evidence to back your statement apart from personal experience. As for showing the public after shots (after 2bm) your giving them misleading info, where in fact the surface may of still been heavily soiled and the majority of the "clean" would have been carried out through the hand wash process.

It's easy to work out the cost per wash. Giving that all products are similar sized for a more accurate chart, lets take Valetpro ph snow foam 1litre for example, from the dilution ratio 25:1 you can work out the millilitres required to fill a 1L snow foam bottle (at the recommended dilution ratio) which is 38ml, then multiple that number by its price per ml which gives you a 23p wash, as you have shown in previous posts
But unsure as to why you wouldn't adhere to the manufactures recommended dilution ratio to give the public a better view of its "true" price per wash.

I don't see how I've went off track here, merely stating how this test can be constructed better and contain better structure. Anyone can foam a car and rinse it and say weather its good or not imo

 

[whenimeetgod]

Well that killed the thread. I was interested to see the results of all of the foams. The fact one was 47p a wash and another was 86p and someone isn't sure if it's right as it wasn't conducted in a laboratory, get over it. Autovisiondetailing, can you carry on with the rest of the test? I really couldn't give a monkeys if the tests are conducted while men in white coats & clipboards were watching. At least you are real world ones.

Also, I don't think that at £1/wash approximately, is a particularly expensive to spend once a week on your £5k, £10k, £20k, £30k toy
Tony

 

[DumfriesDik]

I purchased a small Karcher washer which came with a snow lance. I have not bought any snow foam yet and I think this is a great thread. I love having your opinions as it will at least give me a starting point.

I don't think cheapest is best either. I would be happy to pay for a quality product, assuming it works as hoped.

Do I need to buy a different lance?

And keep the reviews coming, they are most interesting.

 

[Nictrix]

I am a bit underwhelmed with the whole snow foam thing.
I can see after using it that some of the dirtier areas of the car is cleaner but would it look the same if I had just used the pressure washer alone?
There is no way that I could just use snow foam on its own without washing the car afterwards.
I have Meguiars snow foam and it does smell lovely and as I have 5 litres of it I put a dash of it in along with my shampoo while washing the car as well.

 

[AlfaScozzesi]

I am a bit underwhelmed with the whole snow foam thing.
I can see after using it that some of the dirtier areas of the car is cleaner but would it look the same if I had just used the pressure washer alone?
There is no way that I could just use snow foam on its own without washing the car afterwards.
I have Meguiars snow foam and it does smell lovely and as I have 5 litres of it I put a dash of it in along with my shampoo while washing the car as well.

I think if you have a good sealant or wax on then a quick rinse / snow foam / rinse works really well as opposed to just a rinse which leaves dirt behind. I think I can get a couple or three quick washes between having to do a full one with polish etc.

I have booked my car in for the full Gtechniq treatment in a month or so as well so hopefully a snow foam and rinse will be the norm !

 

[DumfriesDik]

I have booked my car in for the full Gtechniq treatment in a month or so as well so hopefully a snow foam and rinse will be the norm !

That sounds fab. Would you start a new thread with before and after photos?

 

[AlfaScozzesi]

Yeah I could do. Not going in until mid July and is getting a two stage correction first so I am looking forward to seeing how it comes back.