Foam guns....educate me please.

Well, this is my 3rd post here and I have some questions about foam guns. Can I use a foam gun with just my hose? What are some sites and prices for me to get into one? I can't spend a lot of money, so the cheaper the better. I know you can use them with a power washer as well. I currently do not have a power washer so that's out of the questions for the time being.

Really anything to help educate me on why people use them, what exactly they do, and some examples of very reasonable ones and so on. Also what soaps or shampoos are you using with them and pricing, etc. would be outstanding.

 

Power washer = Foam Lance or Foam Cannon
Hose = Foam Gun
People use em to sud up their car faster with their mixture, and possibly reduce the amount of dirt you gotta drag with your sponge/pad/washing thing
Amazon.com sells the Gilmour one (gotta choose the right one, read the reviews, it'll indicate as amazon used the same pic for all)
You can get a kit from Phil @ DD as well when he gets em instock again ( i believe Jan)
Chemicalguys also sell their own rendition of the foam gun which imo not as good as the gilmour one cuz you cant control amount mixed (thus I wasnt in a hurry to get it either)
I'll be getting one when spring comes again in the distant future...

 

You can use foam guns with a garden hose. I think a good price can be had from amazon. The gilmour unit is one of the most popular ones, there are some other ones people use though.

Amazon.com: Gilmour 95QGFMR Foamaster II Cleaning: Home Improvement
Amazon.com: Gilmour 75QGFMR Foamaster Adjustable Multi Ratio Cleaning Gun: Home Improvement

The MR means multi ratio where you can adjust how much suds you want. There is also the first version in the 2nd link which is more brass. Can't go wrong with either, the Foammaster 2 is made of strong durable plastic. There are also two other variation which you can't adjust.

The ones that you use with pressure washers are known as foam cannons/lance. I think the two popular ones are the camspray unit and the other more brass one...

http://www.detailersdomain.com/camsprayfoamerattachmentfoamcanon.aspx

Foam Lance / Snow Foam - 1 Litre Bottle by Elite Detailer - Elite Detailer Ltd - Bilt Hamber,

Both produce a ton of foam, but you will need to do some research to make sure they attach to a pressure washer.

Basically you use a foam gun/cannon as a pre-clean to get rid of some of the dirt. To be honest foam guns don't have a long foam dwell time. I use it to prewash a panel at a time, and mostly like it for having the soap suspend the dirt first or have a slicker surface to work with for my wash media.

 

Hey man well first of all a foam gun is to be used with your regular garden hose. A foam lance aka foam cannon works with a pressure washer. The latter produces better results but as you stated before you need a PW to use it. I have seen many different foam guns on different sites some all plastic and other with brass fittings I prefer the latter. The main job of a foam gun or foam lance is to help break down the dirt and road grime on the vehicle prior to washing using the TBM. It helps remove this by using the preferred soap to break down the grime and letting it fall to the floor. You then rinse off the vehicle after about 1 or 2 mins since your using a foam gun, if it was a foam lance you would let it sit longer. Then you proceed to washing the vehicle. This helps prevent scratching the paint or marring it since you helped take off some road grime already prior to washing with a sponge or mitt. The one I have is a Pinnacle one I got from AG, it works good and to me its better than the Gilmore one since the Gilmore is mostly plastic and is see it breaking in the future. As for soaps I would get Raceglaze Ph Snow foam from Ken or the Majestic Solutions Super Foam, Chemical Guys Maxi Suds, there is also DP Xtreme foam, and several others just personal preference really and what your trying to use it for.

 

i bought my Wolfgang/Pinnacle foam gun as soon as i bought my solid black car

although i dont visibly see the dirt being removed or falling to the floor when using DP Xtreme, it must be working because 6 months after correcting, and washing right through winter, my car has very very minimal swirls

the gilmour 75QGF is identical to the WG/Pin gun

 

The new RG Snow Foam has very good dwell time, even when using a foam gun on vertical panels. Its the most economical of them as well.

 

I want this more and more every time you mention it; holidays please end!

 

And with me shipping out of the US as well shortly, shipping will be cheap. Resistance is futile.

 

Ken please let me know when you start to ship out of the US. I will be one of the first people to place an order

 

Nexus pass ready? lol

 

im thinking Ken's been listening to alex jones

 

Hmm, sounds like the foam gun will do me just fine for my and my fiancees rides. So the latter of the Gilmore ones in the first post, and for of that RG shampoo sounds awesome. Once again, cant get it atm, but will do immediately when getting me new home built! Anyone have some shots of the above or similar foam guns in action?

 

FOAM BLASTER FOAM GUN FOAMBLASTER FOAM CANNON

CG Foam blaster is on sale right now, along with three really good soaps and free shipping. I have this gun and absolutely love it.

 

I also would like to know when you start shipping to the US. I want to try the RG Snow Foam so badly.

 

That CG foam gun looks like a great deal. However, is lacks the brass fittings and such and does not look quite as strong as the Gilmour gun...thoughts on this and does anyone know how long this sale and price will be for this gun?

I am wanting to know hoe necessary this really is however for normal washes?

 

foam guns are a nice to have but are not a requirement
you'll still do fine with a nice mitt and a gritguard bucket (or 2)
the gun also doesnt need the brass fittings as its not multi ratio (thus one of the reasons why i didnt jump on it) it relies on 3 different filters for different pressure and the mix ratio is fixed. less moving parts => more durable overall in most cases. Brass fittings at the bottom... well the only worry about plastic is degradation over years, i think you would want an upgrade by then =p
if you have the extra cash, i'd jump on it, else i would just stick with teh good'ol sud up by hand.

 

I think I am going to get a blower first, some Uber pads, and save this for the final of my large purchases.

 

Do any of you guys wash your car with just the foam alone? Say every week so the car isnt that dirty.

 

Nope always follow up after with the regular TBM with GG wash.

 

Danny, you use Meg's Golf Glass? I find myself going back and fourth, and back and fourth, and back and fourth on products (especially car wash or shampoo) because it's all good stuff. CG, Megs, Obsessive Detail, it's all good...I have only tried a handful, but I like all of them.

Anyways, back to the foam gun topic....so probably just get the Gilmour (sp?) one when the time comes and call it good. Also, which shampoo should I run with one of these guns (once again, they all look/sound good)?