Snow Foam

[Dilkris]

Does this stuff really do anything? Does it really work?
For years I have cleaned anything and everything with a detergent (fairy liquid) or liquid car wax and a stiff/soft brush/sponge depending on the item followed by copious quantities of water..
Everything now appears snow foam this and that.... and then wash off. Seriously...?
My wife is convinced you can clean a whole bathroom with spray on cleaners (some of which smell dangerous and are super aggressive) - I maintain Cif Cream or similar please elbow grease.

 

[dave h 2]

Cif has gone back to the original Jif formulation of fine silver sand for abrasive content having removed the micro-plastics version.

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you wash the car once a week then snowfoam works fine. It's not particularly aggressive though so doesn't do much on anything other than light dirt.
Not sure it's any better than some tfr on a mixer pipe on the lowest setting.

If you don't have a sucker pipe or a foam gun I'd buy the sucker pipe first.

About the only time I use snow foam is cleaning the internal roof on horseboxes/trailers. It's not particularly effective just the easiest way of applying something to try and break the grease down without getting drenched.
Mind you, I'm not big on car cleaning..

 

[Blobber]

Ours only get washed maybe 1 or 2 times a year and last year I got hold of some TFR, really pleased with the results, mixed up in a spray bottle with a wand and soak the car, quick go over with a sponge and hose off, doesn't seem to leave water marks either so you can cut out the leather work if your pushed for time
There are different strengths of TFR so follow the instructions as it can be aggressive

 

[hotponyshoes]

I think most of the popularity of snow foam comes from the car detailers posting utube videos
It does make an impressive video but most of the cars they feature look far cleaner at the start than anything I would even think about waving a hose at..

 

[Haz87]

I use snowfoam because I've got a load of it and the lance. Do I notice a difference using this as a "pre-clean" - only on cars that are about 6 months past the point where the original colour had already been buried in dirt, and only in that it saves a small amount of elbow grease on the tougher areas where the foam has already started softening it up a bit.
Anything that gets regularly washed I don't see any difference

 

[brightspark]

Ours only get washed maybe 1 or 2 times a year and last year I got hold of some TFR, really pleased with the results, mixed up in a spray bottle with a wand and soak the car, quick go over with a sponge and hose off, doesn't seem to leave water marks either so you can cut out the leather work if your pushed for time
There are different strengths of TFR so follow the instructions as it can be aggressive

all well using tfr but it strips the polish off.i use wash and wax once a week and twice a year give it a hand coat of polish

 

[Dilkris]

all well using tfr but it strips the polish off.i use wash and wax once a week and twice a year give it a hand coat of polish

I think I'm on your team

 

[graffian]

I was given a can of snow foam, it seems to work as well as fairy liquid when you glug it in a bucket of water.

 

[brightspark]

I was given a can of snow foam, it seems to work as well as fairy liquid when you glug it in a bucket of water.

another wax remover

 

[daedalusminos]

Does this stuff really do anything? Does it really work?
For years I have cleaned anything and everything with a detergent (fairy liquid) or liquid car wax and a stiff/soft brush/sponge depending on the item followed by copious quantities of water..
Everything now appears snow foam this and that.... and then wash off. Seriously...?
My wife is convinced you can clean a whole bathroom with spray on cleaners (some of which smell dangerous and are super aggressive) - I maintain Cif Cream or similar please elbow grease.

Yes it does work but you need a snow foam lance for your pressure washer, and for best result the vehicle needs to have wax on it.

 

[qwakers]

snow foam is designed to lift the bulk of the dirt off, y'know the stuff that scratches the crap out of your paint when you wash it off with a bucket and sponge.

snow foam, leave sit, pressure wash off, soap, agitate, pressure wash off.

it is not meant to be a primary cleaner.

 

[marlinspike]

It works OK. As said, it's for lifting and loosening the dirt before you wash your car, preferably with the 2 bucket method to avoid scratching. I wouldn't say it's a magic product but it saves a bit of work.

A magic product would be a G3 clay mitt. That leaves your paint like glass if you use it properly.

 

[bricol]

I've used the bilt hamber stuff applied with a hand pump weed sprayer/fence painter thing from Aldi. Doesn't foam like some, but it really does shift the dirt. I hadn't washed my Alfa for 2 years - lots of dirt on it from winter commuting, then parked for summer, then more winter commuting. The door shut lines had disappeared on the passenger side (never used) under the layer of crap.

Apply this stuff, and you can see it coming off - leave it 5/10- mins then a quick hose down and its pretty clean, ready for a less abrasive hand wash. Car now parked again for summer, looking shiny and black.

 

[roofman]

Perfect for during the winter when the car or van gets that white salty look, foam it on and let it drag all the contaminates off before washing.

 

[AVI_8]

I use it, it’s no magic snake oil, it holds cleaning foam on the paintwork for a while before using the pressure washer to remove dirt easier with the pre wash.
Some people use it wrong, especially the Eastern European car washes, it’s not supposed to be used as a shampoo, it’s used before the high pressure pre wash to help remove the grit in the dirt before washing with conventional car shampoo, (not fairy liquid) and thus less chance of scratching the paintwork with the wash mitt or rag whatever is your go to thing.
It does do a better job than not to have it if you want to minimise the chances of scratching your prized paintwork, on an old beater though I wouldn’t bother.

 

[Ross365]

Isn't TFR quite strongly alkaline? I'm wary of it and never used it. I usually spray the car with detergent solution from a garden sprayer, leave for a few minutes and then go at it with my brush on the hose-pipe with the little stick of soap inside it. This no longer seems to be a widely used method, but I like it.

 

[AVI_8]

TFR will strip off any wax, I wouldn’t touch it, used in car dealerships as a strong first stage cleaner on a car with lots of **** on the paintwork, or for trucks

 

[dobbslc]

another wax remover

Isn't wax for making candles and Madame Tussaud dummies?
Next question, how do I remove the moss off my truck?

 

[KimB]

I have tried a lot of different snow foams and I go through a load of it washing my lorry at work. I would tend to avoid using tfr on a vehicles paint to much. The guy I work for always used to use it. Works okay a few times then starts damaging paint. It strips the oils out of the paint.

A good snow foam used regularly you won’t even need to touch the car with a sponge or anything after.

Kenotek is by far the best one I’ve ever used. You buy 5l (£24.50) and mix it with 20l of water into a 25l drum, It lasts a long time.

Kenotek Cargo 4100 – 5L – JBT

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