Quote:
Originally Posted by tourer
Hi, please excuse my ignorance. Am I right in assuming snowfoam is used as a prewash, and it's not expected to clean the car on its own when blasted off with a pressure washer?
I buy Turtle Wax Pro extra concentrated Wash Wax from Costco. For the last few years the price has been around £15.80 for 25 litres. The last drum was on special offer at around £12.
As a prewash I apply it with a snowfoam gun, mixed 50/50 in the bottle with water. It foams quite well but not as thick as proper snowfoam. It certainly wets and softens any dirt on the car before a proper wash with bucket of hot water with shampoo applied with lambswool mitt.
The drum of Turtle Wax lasts at least a couple of years and my car always gleams when clean.
My question is, what benefits can I expect to see if I swap to a traditional quite expensive snow foam.
I really am not trying to be a know-it-all. I'm genuinely interested to know if there's a better and easier way to do different jobs without spending a fortune.
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I use Glimmerman Snow foam, (it is a sickly sweet bubblegum smell though) it clings to the bodywork when it foams, however is super slippy to the touch (which is what it is supposed to be like for its next stage). As you put it on, (snowfoam) it clings to the bodywork, and 'absorbs' or 'holds' the softened dirt in its foam (as a detergent is supposed to do), and falls to the ground. This is also why you hose it off, rather than wash with a sponge/mitt whilst the foam is still on the car. You only need to use 100ml per litre, which is enough to do a 75/ZT twice. 5litres of it is £15 (which actually makes it ultimately cheaper than the Turtle Wax).
I found it cleaned as well as the Bilt Hamber, however my car never really got that dirty. But it is slightly cheaper than the Bilt Hamber, and as it foamed a little more, it has a psychosomatic effect (on me) that it is working better (it really is no better, and I find no worse than the Bilt Hamber).
I also use a lot of Valet Pro products, and rate them highly (I love their Concentrated car wash, and Bilberry wheel cleaner), but was disappointed with the Advanced Neutral Snow foam. Their Snow Foam Combo, I have read is not as 'wax safe' as the Advanced Snow Foam though. Not having used that though, I cannot attest to it, but I can attest to the others I mentioned, including the Advanced as the paint work still beading afterwards.
On a similar note, I would strongly recommend the Valet Pro Snow Seal prior to drying off the car (follow the instructions). It is not cheap at £15 for 500ml, but you only use 50ml at a time. Spray it on (avoiding the windscreen), and it quickly clears. But when you hose it down, you can really see the water runs off it, making it easy to dry, and also giving a short lasting sealing effect. I experimented with it on my neighbours car, which I know had never been waxed in the 4 or 5 years she had it. I washed it regularly for her though. She only drove about 50 miles per month. Rain would bead on it after using the Snow Seal, and a combination of the Concentrated wash, and Glimmerman Snow foam, it shone continuously. (My own car did too, but then I would machine polish it annually and wax it a few times per year).