Karcher Foam Gun

[MB]

Bought one of these a while ago at Halfords & tried it out today. The gun seems to flow at a ratio of 30:1 so I mixed up 1 litre of Megs shampoo at 4:1 to roughly equate to the 128:1 suggested ratio. Results were a bit disappointing if had been expecting snow foam but a good covering of foam (the 1 litre allowed me to make 3 passes of the car & put lots on the wheels so probably 1/2 would do). The car was absolutley filthly as last washed mid-December & done a fair bit of m-way driving in between in snow etc. Left to soak while I had a cup of coffee then jetwashed off.

Results were not great - had to jetwash very thoroughly but as said car was in a real state & now looks OK - better than garage jetwash + used my own chemicals but took about 1/2 hour. Will try again when car is less disgusting to see how it goes or may try some proper snowfoam (anyone know if Halfords sell this ?) I would say for 15 if you have a Karcher it is probably worth buying as could be a good time saver with a better tecnhique/less dirty car/in a hurry/don't want to get dirty/wet washing the car etc.

[dan@biali]

I've got a 'proper' snowfoam Karcher attachment and its very good.  I've also got 'proper' snowfoam which is good at lifting some soiling but not as great as I would have been led to believe.  It also can strip off layers of wax and sealants if used in a strong dilution but you can mix it with some regular car shampoo to still have the cling from the snowfoam but not such a strong degreasing action.  The shampoo you used won't have much of a snowfoam effect and the only stuff I've seen is online (there's a thread on here where Roy and I mention the online suppliers).

[MB]

Thanks Dan, here is the gun http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_217894_langId_-1_categoryId_165569 is that the same as yours ? So do you think some snowfoam would be worth buying for winter cleaning or stick with the shampoo ? Not trying to become a detailer just a quick clean in the winter but without stripping all the wax off ? What ratio would you mix the snow/shampoo/water at do you think ?

[dan@biali]

No, this is mine http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/foam-lance-various-fittings/prod_371.html.  I got that Karcher one with my pressure washer.  It doesn't make the same kind of snow!  You can dilute the snowfoam to whatever you require.  Think normally its 1:25 which means it lasts for ages.  Might be worth asking on one of the detailing forums as I have no idea the correct ratio to maintain wax. 

[MB]

Well used the foam gun again to clean a car & had more success this time. Mixed up 1 container of Megs shampoo & water & then jet-washed the car, then used the foam gun with the power off to shampoo the car which "dwelled" better this time, the jet-washed it off, then a quick bucket wash. Will still stick to bucket & hose for the RS4 where possible as I think the jet wash must be tougher on the wax but as this one had no wax seemed a good way to get all the dirt off quickly + waxed after anyway but definitely good for a quick wash maybe even without the jet washing