I use Autoglym snow foam and then Meguiars Gold class car shampoo, works a treat every time. But when i can't be arsed there is a brilliant hand car wash guy near me.

Son went to a Polish run car wash, they did a great job leaving the whole car in mirror shine finish, he then decided to hand polish his entire car and it was then he noticed strange wide patterns in the lacquer and on his alloy wheels, the penny dropped and he said to me the car wash place must be using something really strong on the paintwork, so he went back to complain and they showed him what they use which was 'Eagle Industrial Chemical Bio Traffic Wash'....the 5 gallon drum even had the corrosive warning label on it, son demanded his money back plus some kind of compensation.

Becareful guys if you use these types are gang car wash places, only use a known product and do the washing yourself.

3 hours ago, Ian Lanc said:

Son went to a Polish run car wash, they did a great job leaving the whole car in mirror shine finish, he then decided to hand polish his entire car and it was then he noticed strange wide patterns in the lacquer and on his alloy wheels, the penny dropped and he said to me the car wash place must be using something really strong on the paintwork, so he went back to complain and they showed him what they use which was 'Eagle Industrial Chemical Bio Traffic Wash'....the 5 gallon drum even had the corrosive warning label on it, son demanded his money back plus some kind of compensation.

Becareful guys if you use these types are gang car wash places, only use a known product and do the washing yourself.

Sorry to hear that about your son 😢. With my first car I used to take it to the local hand car wash once a month. After 2 years I noticed the paint was covered in heavy swirl marks. I now clean my car myself. Gave my current car a machine polish a year ago and with careful washing it's still looking like new. 

18 hours ago, Zico said:

I went over the car with the jet wash a few minutes each side even before using the snow foam. Foam was ok though didn't cling to the car very long (as far as I can remember).

Snow foam should be applied to a dry car, it'll slide off if you wet the car first.

The lance settings (or lance itself) can also affect how well the foam covers and clings to the car.

2 hours ago, TimST2 said:

Snow foam should be applied to a dry car, it'll slide off if you wet the car first.

The lance settings (or lance itself) can also affect how well the foam covers and clings to the car.

I would have normally applied the foam to the car dry but the sides were quite mucky that I blasted the majority off first.

I've got an Autobrite snow foam and Nilfisk jet wash and they have done me well over the last few years.

I've not got into the whole foam cleaning lark (yet),
I start with running my hand over car while spraying a garden hose on it, this removes most of the dust and loose dirt with no risk of scratching,
you can feel the dirt getting thicker towards the bottom, I can usually wipe it pretty smooth before getting out the mitt and two buckets,
I feel this works well because I'm now confident the mitt won't pick up any hard dirt and swirl it around the bodywork.

Been thinking of getting the Karcher K2 Car Kit from Halfords for years as I'm happy to spend a day cleaning the car and fancied trying the foam,
But with new Ceramic Spray Coatings that are coming out it makes me wonder if doing a proper job once in a while (clay, polish, ceramic spray every 6 months)
this will void the need for deep foam cleaning and a pressure washer on a more regular (monthly?) basis, for me anyway.
If it's nicely prepped and has a half decent Ceramic Spray I'd assume a gentle rinse and the usual soapy wash will leave it sparkling (in much less time).

Once Spring comes around I'm planning on doing my first proper job on this car with a DA Polisher and new Turtle Wax Ceramic products.
https://ukstore.turtlewax.com/products/hybrid-solutions-ceramic-spray-coating-500ml
I'll just have to see if it's any easier to wash, I can always get a Karcher K2 with foam later lol.

Ok had it come so now waiting for the new 1 litre Lance.

The thing i want to ask and might be a bit thick on this but it says PIR (Panel Impact Ratio) what does this mean. 4%

I have a 1 litre lance so if i put say 50ml of this in and 950ml water would this do it as the car is never that dirty.

Did think it meant 4% of the bottle you're using say 1 litre =1000 so 4% would mean 40ml.

Raider 32...........i have the K2 with the full kit on offer from Argos a good 2 years ago to mainly do slabs,a nice little jet wash with a good 110bar which is good enough to get moss off slabs and gives the car a good going, there very cheap now like £60 area for the kit and even had the 2-year warranty but up now.

Not heard of PIR, but for the foams I've used you add about an inch of solution and the rest water to the bottle on the lance.

I haven't heard of it until this listing,off Ebay for £22 for 5 litre tub but it normaly tells you what amount to put in to the water ratio.
Never used snow foam so this is my kit I want to sort out as lance arrived a 1 litre one with brass ends which I was advised to get.
I will try the 1 inch amount then top the rest with water.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Sounds similar to mine, which is one of these: https://www.autofinesse.com/en/foam-lance

The valve on the top controls the hose-to-bottle mix, and turning the nozzle moves 2 plates together inside to control how wide the spray is.

 

12 hours ago, TimST2 said:

Sounds similar to mine, which is one of these: https://www.autofinesse.com/en/foam-lance

The valve on the top controls the hose-to-bottle mix, and turning the nozzle moves 2 plates together inside to control how wide the spray is.

 

That's the same thing as this one,2 brass plates at the end to control how wide the foam you want but same brass control just mine is red plastic.

When the weather is a bit better i will have to try the mix but will start off with about 1 inch first and rest water because this snow foam is all new to me and now all set up all the while its going to not take long at all,blast with cold water/foam and leave and go over if needed dirty parts like sills and bottom of doors then blast off and dry,well dry as much as i can before the rain comes again which then its pointless just windows mainly first.

Sounds like you got a good quality lance 👍. I heard the ones made in Italy are the best built ones. I believe I have the K2 also and it is decent on cleaning. It's not too strong however to blast off dirt on the car which you can take off just by running your finger over it which is good and bad. 

@RAIDER32 with me I like to snow foam first to clear any loose stones etc then I like to spray it on one panel then hand wash that area with a soapy mitt. I find it adds a lot of lubrisity which hopefully prevents scratching on the paintwork. Do this then jet wash off then move to next area. 

Set up all ready to go now, snow foamed the slabs to see the amount and width and only takes a small amount to get a good foam,its close to 1 inch in a 1 litre Lance.