Foam Cannon

[BiGMaC]

I recently bought my first foam cannon.  MTM Hydro (who I think makes them all)... a 1st generation adjustable.  They are available at WayFair.com for $59, best price I could find... yea, I'm cheap sometimes. I use it with a Homelite 3100psi / 2.5gpm gas pressure washerI have tried it with several soaps, but I am amazed at what 3-4 oz of CG Honeydew does diluted in about 30-32 oz water. Shaving-cream-like foam and it is the slickest I have felt.  After the CQuart is done in about 2 weeks I'll only touch my SHO with a MF waffle drying towel.  If you haven't used a foam cannon, like I used to be, you'll love it.  Exterior is as clean as it gets, no streaking, no touch while washing (including wheels), and I can get maximum results in 60 to 90 min... I am a bit obsessive and also use my compressor to blow trapped water out of nooks and crannies. and I do a final rinse with plain hose using the sheeting characteristics of the water to do most of the drying.  I have Mequiar's Ultimate on i the car and after 3 uses it still beads like crazy and has deep reflectivity. Even with a flashlight I cannot discern any spiderweb scratches or swirling after 3 uses.

I know this seems basic, but I'd be interested in car washing recs of any of you folks.

[jomc111]

I use  soap water and a sponge lol. I have never been to big on keeping the car super  shiny.  But would love to know some of your guys methods of keeping the shine on the car. Maybe I will be inspired to put more of an effort in washing the car

[vernonator]

You want shine? Ditch the Meguirs and move up to Adam's Polishes. Get their spay on Paint Sealant - yes its in a spray can. See my post re: winter prep....after a good wash I put on the Paint Sealant and a coat of Americana paste wax and it looks like my Tuxedo Black SHO was dipped in glass....

Seriously, meguires is okay....Adam's is the real deal.....

[BiGMaC]

I am moving away from the big "M" rapidly..... the description below is with CG Honeydew soap.  Truly the ultimate "wax" isn't really and it has a learning curve also.. it looks fine, but is a PIA to apply. For impact protection I think I'm still going with the CQuart coating and had planned on using their Reload product every 6-10 weeks..... BUT, your description and pics are spot on as far as appearance (pardon the choice of words :0)).  I'm going to try to contact the Adams guys to see if they have any experience using that sealer as an LSP over the CQuart... or maybe they can suggest a better quick detailer.

[Lanson]

Yeah, CG products for me as well.

They seem to accentuate metal flake amazingly well, and the overall "slickness" with their continued use (citing the Jetseal 109, and V7 products the most here) keeps the car from being hard to clean when it finally does get dirty.

I haven't jumped into the foam cannon/lance arena yet, but that one you found sounds like a great deal.  Thanks for the heads up! 

For now I just use CG Pink quite a bit, which with some soft water and some pressure from the standard hose, makes for a ton of suds.  Good until I pony up for a pressure washer and lance.

[BiGMaC]

Lanson, have you used Hybrid V7?  It looks pretty sweet.  I am getting CQuart on the car and despite an email no reply yet from CG support.  I want to get info about the pro's or cons of using Hybrid V7 on the CQuart.... Any ideas?

[Lanson]

Lanson, have you used Hybrid V7?  It looks pretty sweet.  I am getting CQuart on the car and despite an email no reply yet from CG support.  I want to get info about the pro's or cons of using Hybrid V7 on the CQuart.... Any ideas?

I buy V7 by the gallon, and use it a LOT.  It is extremely versatile, and quite frankly the more I use, the more I like it.  The smell is intoxicating like most CG products.  I can't tell you what it does with CQuart, but I can tell you that on JetSeal109 it is fantastic.  Also good in between product coatings, to help pull residue off the paint. 

I've used V7 as:

- A waterless car wash, along with a bunch of microfiber towels.  I just spray liberally on the towel and the paint, let it sit a moment and then wipe off carefully, and follow up with a dry microfiber towel.  A quick buff, and the panel is as clean as a fresh wash.

- A quick spritz to freshen the shine and pull the minor dust and debris off.

- In between polishing, Blacklight applications, and JS109 applications to aid in removal of the previous product.

- As a drying aid, which works better than I thought it would.  A quick spray on my drying towel, and wipe.  For some reason, it works!

- Water spot removal.

- Impromptu glass cleaner (still streaks a bit, but it does work OK for quick cleans.)  Also has sheeting action like RainX, as does JS109 which has replaced my RainX regiment on windows.


So I go through it pretty quick.  Only disadvantage I can think of, is it gets a little "grabby"

[BiGMaC]

Interesting that it works as a drying aid.  I'm gonna try that. Does it give the same shine / depth quality?  How wett do you get the MF drying towel?

[mjhpadi]

I always use Adam's Quick Detailer to aid when drying, it's amazing how much it helps, sure makes the panel shine and seems to make the water roll off easier.

[Lanson]

Interesting that it works as a drying aid.  I'm gonna try that. Does it give the same shine / depth quality?  How wett do you get the MF drying towel?

Sorry I missed this post, I would just hit the towel with one good spray shot, just enough to barely feel it on the towel when it comes being a drying aid.

I realized today that the "grabby" effect actually has an advantage when pulling off product.  Today I was detailing my much-neglected other vehicle, a 2005 Avalanche that has all manner of scratches, dings, chipped paint, etc., yet still looks OK from 10 feet away or so.  Well, because the paint isn't really in fantastic condition like the Flex, I don't like using my top-shelf products on it.  I just like to use my leftover Zaino All in One, because it is relatively easy to apply and the durability is pretty good.  Well, either the product has aged to the point where it has lost the "easy off" effect, OR I'm just used to better products now...either way the stuff was proving to be quite difficult to remove after being applied.  V7 came to my rescue and that "grabby" effect helped yank the residue right off. 

Of course, now it is just going to be used that much quicker.  LOL.

[J-Will]

Aside from the countless off the shelf products I've tried, I was also big into Zaino Bros products for a while.  I still like them a lot.  They add a scientific level of complexity to their products that I still do like.  With that said, I've completely switched over to Adam's polishes as my personal preference.  Everything from their lineup has been top notch so far.

Watch the videos from Adam's polishes.  I did this about 4 years ago and found out just how wrong I've been doing something so simple... you also pick up tips like shining/ drying at the same time via using the detail spray to aide in drying.  Two bucket wash only makes sense now!!

Adam is a stickler for the Made in America (less their own clay).  That means everything they sell or re-sell are American.  They've even recently ditched some polishers in favor of American made ones.  This goes for their foam guns.  These are made in Japan (I think), so he no longer stocks or sells them.  I love the foam fun, fill it about half way up with car shampoo and have at it on the lowest setting.  If you need, add a very little bit of APC to help cut through the touch stuff.  I usually do not do this, instead I use the waterless wash on the bug guys and what not.  I feel that is safer then APC which comes with warnings for use on paint and plastic. 

A high quality clay bar is necessary.  Adam's does not make the only high quality bar.  But... I am brand loyal to them now, so I use theirs.

You can only do so much with hand polishing.  That is just a fact.  Your arm cannot put enough pressure and buffing speed to generate the required friction/ heat to get out most scratches.  Thats a bummer, but true with any product.  However, hand polishing is great for "maintenance" and  general purpose.  This is where I fall, I do not have a polisher yet.

VRT is one of the best products I have ever used.  One product that seems to go fairly unappreciated is their undercarriage spray... I highly recommend this product.

For the true shine, you'll need to experiment with products.  A reason I like Adam's is that he's tried to make his be as efficient as possible, but still work in series of each other complementing each pass of the car you do.

Black cars suck.  My Mustang and my fiancee's Escape are black.  They suck.  Dirt may not 'show', but every tiny hairline scratch sure does.   

[Kolk1]

I use Adams for everything. Adams Shampoo, then either Adams Buttery Wax, or Adams Quick Details spray. LOVE IT. And I need to buy more.

[BiGMaC]

For the foam cannon (pressure washer at 3100psi) I'm most happy so far with Chemical Guys Pink or Honeydew.  Both are 1400/1 dilution so I only use about 4 oz per wash.  I love the Adams waxes, but with the CQuart Finest on the car now I won't be waxing... just use some Reload 4x/year.  Car washed today after we had a 2 day consistent rain Fri and Sat (I live on an unpaved road...yuk) and the dirt just rolled off the car. 

I dry now with an electric lawn blower (learned from the detail folks who put on the CQuart Finest) which gets about95% of the water off and out of collection points like mirrors) then just barely touch the car with a plush MF for the rest.... looks like it did right after the coating.

[TouchOfEvil]

For the foam cannon (pressure washer at 3100psi) I'm most happy so far with Chemical Guys Pink or Honeydew.  Both are 1400/1 dilution so I only use about 4 oz per wash.  I love the Adams waxes, but with the CQuart Finest on the car now I won't be waxing... just use some Reload 4x/year.  Car washed today after we had a 2 day consistent rain Fri and Sat (I live on an unpaved road...yuk) and the dirt just rolled off the car. 

I dry now with an electric lawn blower (learned from the detail folks who put on the CQuart Finest) which gets about95% of the water off and out of collection points like mirrors) then just barely touch the car with a plush MF for the rest.... looks like it did right after the coating.

So does v7 and wax not work well with the CQuart or just not needed? What about a quick detailer without the extra sealer v7 has in it? I've been thinking about doing my sport so i'm curious if anything else is needed to help it last longer.

[BiGMaC]

Talked to my detailer / CQuart applier yesterday (Wills at Windows and Wheels-CarPro factory certified).  He said the v7 won't hurt, but will attract dust, which CQuart doesn't, and suggested it was a waste of money to seal CQuart.  He said a little quick detailer  without sealer won't hurt. The waxes that bond can't reach the paint and CQuart is VERY slick.. nothing sticks.  I grew up using carnuba and elbow grease... but it the summer in Phx car paint temps go over 200 degrees. Wax starts melting at 160degrees.  Wax will not hurt the coating which is also chemical resistant.  Again, the car looks wet just with the coating.

I have to tell you though, you won't believe how hydrophobic the CQuart is. Using his drying method the car looked like glass after being blown dry and they spent less than 5 min actually drying to catching runoff... like that coming from the trunk edge channel on to the the bumper (all Taurus' have this). 

Personally I am going to try blowing these out with compressor air and being completely "no touch"  I believe that every time you touch your paint you do some degree of damage.  Every small swirl/scratch decreases reflectivity and depth of gloss.