Foam cannons: who has them, what do you think?

[BMWCurves]

Hello all,

It's come to my attention that I'm meticulous in some things, and exceptionally lazy in others. Washing my car falls under the latter because, well, I'm lazy AF (also doesn't help that it rains somewhere in the realm of 95% of the time where I live). I'm looking for ways to make the car washing process easier so that I'm more likely to do it more often and keep my car looking decent. With that in mind, I've been thinking about purchasing a foam/snow/white bubbly thing cannon and wanted y'all's input. Who has them? Do you like them? Have they made washing a car quicker with similar results to a two bucket wash? Or is it all a racket?

Cheers!

P.S. I already have a powah washah so that's not an expense I have to worry about.

P.P.S. People are pretty comfortable using a powah washah to rinse a car as long as they're a good distance away, yeah? I don't need to introduce more scratches into the paint than I already have.

[Rovert]

Stop being lazy and have a triple espresso before you get your rubber jumpers and boots on. LOL

But on a more serious note I feel like it’s just a waste of resources. The amount of soap you purchase to make a fancy foam party for your car, time to setup/maintain that hardware just takes time away. Adding more stuff to do than a bucket of soap and water. It’s not like you’re helping stuck on dirt come off anymore than the pressure of your hose. You’d need some strong chemicals for that and then the cost would go up even more.

My professional detailer buddy used it a foam cannon few times but deemed it a waste of time. His clients level of trust is 100% when he works on their Ferraris, McLarens, Lambo’s, G(angsta)-Wagons, and ummm ahhhemmm...M3s. LOL

Your fastest way is just nice warm water, soap and a mitt! I don’t double bucket because your dirty mitt is now starting to get “cleaned” by dirtier and dirtier water every time you do it. Once I start at a panel I have the hose in the other hand sending a steam of water onto the mitt and then my mitt just constantly turns as I clean the car. That way the mitt is constantly being cleansed of fine dirt and the surface is now glossy and happy! It takes me 15-20 minutes to clean the car and a few minute to dry. Then drag the hose away to the side of the house and turn off the water. No needing to deal with fancy machines to unplug and store.

If you can get it properly clearcoat corrected and then follow DIY on YouTube for your preference of ceramic coating, then you’ll add a layer of “time” in which scratches will start to occur.

KISS. Keep it simple.....stupi.....Silly!!

[az3579]

I don't agree with your recommendation to skip the second bucket, Trev...

The foam does actually loosen dirt on the surface. Then, after rinising off, you have a cleaner car to begin washing with the two bucket method.

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[JETSET303]

I use a foam cannon, pressure washer and a microfiber mit. Works well. Got a cheap cannon off Amazon. It does the trick. Is it better that dual buckets or other methods? Debatably. My ZHP rarely gets dirty enough to require scrubbing though.


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[ryankokesh]

I wouldn't get one because they save time. They don't.

I'd get one to lay down consistent layer of suds so you don't go scratchin yer clear. Just get a cheap one on Amazon (using the mafia link, of course).

[Vas]

I have an mtm hydro foam Canon and love the thing. Foam the car, let it soak,rinse and then do a 2 bucket wash.

Really like the Adams car shampoo as well.



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[Rovert]

First time to do this. This is how I clean my car. I cleaned my black car the same way for 8 years. Never had issues with scratches. I took my time with a 20 minute wash. The a ten minute dry including a coat of Carpro Reload (done once every month or two) to make the clear and/or ceramic and/or wrap, hydrophobic.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UxpKIUmg9yXjCj773

[joeybananaz18]

I use my old griots garage one and it seams to work well. I feel like I have to use a bit more soap to get it to foam the way i want but other than that its pretty good. What I like about it is that its a hose nozzle that attaches to the hose and the foam cannon attaches to the nozzle. So after i lay down my foam and scrub, i can just detach the cannon and rinse. not sure if they're all like that.

On a side note, your comment about the constant raining reminded me of what id like to do at the end of the summer. In an effort to make my life a little easier, I'm thinking of doing a ceramic coating to my car. I figure rain will bead off easier and leave less dirt behind. and any dirt that does get let behind come off much easier.

[orange260z]

I have a (couple of) foam cannon, and a foam gun. "Cannon" generally refers to one you attach to a PW, "Gun" is one that you attach to a hose. I find they both have their pluses and minuses.

The cannon makes lots of thick, clingy soap and is more effective as a pre-wash, while the gun is much more "maneuverable" and can be used instead of the soap bucket.

If my car has a light coating of dust and hasn't gotten wet, then I find that soaping with the cannon and simply rinsing with the PW is the fastest, easiest way to keep the car shiny and clean. The key is this - unless a mitt has been used (and in this case I wouldn't), I don't touch the car to dry it - I dry with air. This method works well because my car has been CQuartzed - not sure that it would be as effective without it.

If the car is particularly dirty, I pressure rinse, soap with the cannon, pressure rinse, do a two-bucket wash, and then dry with a MF towel and some spray detailer. If you want to be really careful, the foam gun is great to lay down some soap right ahead of your mitt as you wipe. With this, you can take one of the two buckets out of the picture, and simply use a rinse bucket (with grit guards, of course).

I bought my first cannon from Aliexpress, and the next ones from Amazon.ca (I bought the second one because I caught a deal for $10 and thought it was worth it just for the spare parts, and the third I bought recently because I wanted a "shorty" PW wand and got the whole set for only $5 more). The first gun (which I sold because it sucked) was a Chemical Guys from Amazon, and I've replaced it with the no-name version of the Gilmour Foamaster also from Amazon. The second one is much better.