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yet another snow-foam/lance question!

13K views 25 replies 8 participants last post by  Visorfett 
#1 ·
Sorry, I know there are LOADS of questions about these products on here, but
I recently bought some Bilt Hamber auto foam. It says NOT to use it with lances such as those by Gilmour, & is only to be used with a pressure washer.
OK, I've got a Karcher, with a built in detergent bottle, a standard variable nozzle karcher lance & a Karcher foaming lance type attachment with a small (.5ltr?) bottle.
So, how best to use the Bilt-Hamber foam? Putting it in the Karcher bottle, it seems to rattle through it in no time, which I would have thought means its far too concentrated & pretty expensive as well!
Do I have to pre-mix it, as I have seen other brands recommend?
It didn't come with any instructions, & I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to all this detailing malarky!!
Cheers,
Matt.
 
#2 ·
Nope, should use it in a Foam Lance.
 
#3 ·
Hi Rob, whilst I see that most of the other snow foams are used with a gilmour or similar, the direct quote from "ultimate finish" web site is-

"NOTE: Auto-Foam is only recommended for use with pressure washers and is not suitable for use with foam guns such as the Gilmour. "
You may well be right, but with the above advice, I'm a tad confused!
Their advice line isn't open on the weekends, but I'll try to get hold of them next week, unless anyone else here has used the stuff before & can give an opinion.
Cheers
Matt.
 
#5 ·
NEW - The Latest Addition To The Bilt-Hamber Car Detailing Range.

Bilt-Hamber Auto-Foam is a premium quality, foaming pre-wash treatment, designed to soak and saturate soiled vehicle paintwork prior to the application of vehicle shampoo. Auto-foam is gentle and designed to be used with all pressure washer foam lances.

Auto-Foam will "panel dwell" for approx 5 - 8 minutes
Auto-Foam is formulated specifically to offer maximum wetting
Easy to rinse off the vehicle
Tough on soil & grime - harmless to paint & wax
Non-caustic & biodegradable formulation
Auto-Foam’s bubbles will systematically burst and move around, encouraging the soaking and cleansing agents to start working. Road grime is lifted from painted surfaces and physically removed thereby minimising harm caused by swirling and marking during subsequent washing. Auto-Foam is washed off in the conventional manner, leaving the vehicle ready for the next process.

NOTE: Auto-Foam is only recommended for use with pressure washers and is not suitable for use with foam guns such as the Gilmour.

gilmour is a hose pipe foam lance, so wont have enough pressure to work correctly,

you will need a foam lance, to get the most out of the auto foam. is it the pre wash u have bought?
 
#6 ·
ChemGuy,
Thanks for replying.
OK, so I think I'm getting confused between a "foam gun such as the Gilmour" &
A "Foam Lance" (such as the Autobrite?).
So call me stupid, but hopefully you can see where the confusion lies, especially as the Karcher thing is called a "foam lance"!!
So now I've bought the bloomin' stuff (yes its the B.H. Auto Foam, not the pre-wash), I'm now going to have to go & hide a £50 :wow: purchase from the Mrs! Have you MET her???
Matt.
 
#7 ·
Where are you in Essex?

Could always come over to me in Chadwell Heath and try mine before you buy one. Just bring your Snow Foam and Shampoo.
 
#9 ·
Chemguy,
OK, you've cleared that one up for me nicely. Those 2 youtube clips easily show the difference. NOW I understand!
I've ordered a foam lance to play with.
Thanks for that.
Rob3rto
Hi there, I'm up in North Essex, near Stansted airport. That's a kind invite to come down to yours & try the lance out, but hey, as I said above, I've bought a lance now, after seeing the video clips that Chemguy linked, so hopefully I'm sorted now.
Now I'm just going to trawl through some of the older posts to find out how best to mix the auto foam solution up!
Thanks for the offer!
Cheers guys
Matt.
 
#11 ·
Now I'm just going to trawl through some of the older posts to find out how best to mix the auto foam solution up! Matt.
Karcher (is there a minimum size/spec etc?)
Foam lance - which model did you buy? There seem to be so many different ones listed on the website. What do you get with it?
Do you get different size bottles?
Do you get different nozzles?
Matt,
if you have bought yourself the 1ltr lance you will need about 1inch of solution and top the rest up with warm water, that should be enough for two coverings, of foam,

0.5lts lance bottle will need about 0.5inch of solution and top up with warm water.

1-rinse, 2-foam, 3-rinse, 4-foam and agitate, 5-rinse, clay, rinse, dry,glaze, wax seal, etc etc
please don't feel you have to follow all these steps, other that the first 5.


Springbok,
Karcher (is there a minimum size/spec etc?) you need to be looking at around 110/120 bar of pressure, less will work but its not as good.
Karcher K2.14 Pressure Washer. from Agros, B&Q etc

Foam lance - which model did you buy? There seem to be so many different ones listed on the website. What do you get with it?
Karcher Heavy Duty Foam Lance +1LTR Snow Foam, they are all the same they just had different fittings, if you order one make sure it has the correct fitment.

Do you get different size bottles?
1ltr and 0.5 ltr

Do you get different nozzles?
Nope it has a flat spray patten that which is adjustable from narrow to wide, for the angle and another knob for the mix of water/solution to air, example a weak mix or a strong mix

:thumbs:
 
#10 ·
Manicatel, for the sake of us snow-foam virgins out here :lol: would you list the various components which comprise the kit you have bought:

Karcher (is there a minimum size/spec etc?)
Foam lance - which model did you buy? There seem to be so many different ones listed on the website. What do you get with it?
Do you get different size bottles?
Do you get different nozzles?

Many thanks for an interesting thread. :thumbs:
 
#13 ·
Chemgut, you obviously know your stuff! Thanks a bundle for the info!

Springbok,
I too am a snow-foam virgin!
I've got a Karcher K2.94, I've bought the Bilt-Hamber Auto-foam. I've tried the cheapo-Karcher foam gun as per the youtube vid posted by Chemguy, which was only partially successful & seemed to use a lot of product for not much success. I've now ordered an "Autobrite" foam lance, with 1 ltr bottle,which hopefully will click on to the Karcher & off I go!
Cheers,
Matt.
 
#15 ·
Hi again Springbok.
I'm away for business for a week or so ( in Mexico city :cry: ).
By the time I get back, the Lance should have arrived.
Assuming I don't get bloomin' swine flu (its all the rage over there at the moment, apparently), I'll have a couple of days to have a go at snow-foaming. Assuming the neighbours aren't watching, I'll try to take some stage-by-stage pics & post 'em up here.
Cheers
Matt.
 
#17 · (Edited)
A more sensible solution would be make sure you wash your hands with an Alchoholic based cleaner and wear a face mask ;)

Just like the brown anal discharge(cannot use the more polite word starting with sh;)) and urine that gets over everything due to people not washing their hands or wearing underwear (especially women), people sneezing puts contaminated mucus everwhere. So you get it on your hands and put it in your mouth when you eat ;)
 
#18 ·
I use "Russian Standard" vodka to disinfect my mouth, at least once an hour.. <hic!> :thumbs:

I've ordered a Gary-Gilmore foamaster foam-gun .. (can't be ardes to get the pressure washer out every time... and brother-in-law says I've borrowed it for long enough!)

Gilmore will plug onto my regular hosepipe. I'm going to put some Meguiars Hyperwash in it and it's supposed to be alright like that.. I'll stick some photos ... See if I can get the missus in there too, covered in foam! :D

Ralf S.
 
#21 ·
So it will be interesting to compare the "Gary-Gilmore" foam gun connected to a hosepipe with a genuine Foam Lance.

Look forward to the outcome.

Cannot comment on the other stuff "anal discharges" etc. :eek: :wow:
 
#24 ·
correct you can put most shampoo's through your foam lance but its ment for a snowfoam, when i just want a quick tart up i

1, rinse,
2, snow foam,
3, rinse
4, shampoo via the foam lance, with my washmit
5, rinse,
6, Dry
7, most important cuppa T, white, 1 suger.....:cheese:
 
#25 ·
I can't wait to purchase my own foam lance. But before I do that I will need to purchase a pressure washer. I came across this one for a really good price and I was wondering if I would be able to add a foam lance to this pressure washer. If the picture is not clear the pressure washer is made by "Command Pressure Washer"

Thanks
 

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