*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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rhysduck said:
The CleanYourCar lance is the one Ihave which is perfect.

Dont see how Ganesh finds it "more hassle than its worth". works great for me, and the smell is divine!
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Because snow foaming is a massively overhyped fad. The cleaning effect is fairly minimal and you still have to give it a proper wash afterwards if you want an actually clean car. I use Bilt Hamber snow foam at high concentrations and it cleans a little, but nowhere near enough. If you're doing it every week and you have a good layer of wax down then it'll help, but if your car is actually dirty then save the hassle of getting all the gear out and just get cracking with a two bucket wash. After I've run out of snow foam I'm probably going to sell my lance.
 
I think the idea is that the foaming will help remove as much dirt without having to touch the car. So although the cleaning effect is minimal, by the time you touch the car with a mitt/sponge then there will be less dirt on it. It's called detailing for a reason ;)


Besides, it looks cool.
 
Sounds like someone was expecting a touch less wash solution. Snow foam is a pre wash product and is effective at what it's for. I think one company advertises it as a touch less wash but its not the case.
 
ganesh said:
Because snow foaming is a massively overhyped fad. The cleaning effect is fairly minimal and you still have to give it a proper wash afterwards if you want an actually clean car. I use Bilt Hamber snow foam at high concentrations and it cleans a little, but nowhere near enough. If you're doing it every week and you have a good layer of wax down then it'll help, but if your car is actually dirty then save the hassle of getting all the gear out and just get cracking with a two bucket wash. After I've run out of snow foam I'm probably going to sell my lance.
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I've gone down the snow foaming route and tbh ganesh I have to agree with you 100%.
While initially I was really happy, it does look good and is a satisfying and impressive looking product to use, it soon became a chore as part of my routine. However I had to keep using it as I'd spent so much money getting it all.

I complete understand it's purpose but a proper two bucket method is absolutely fine, my lance stopped working a couple of months ago, I stripped it to fix but it still wouldn't work and I actually felt happy when I chucked the thing in the bin.

I've just got 7l of magifoam sitting on the garage shelf now.
 
Scottland said:
I think the idea is that the foaming will help remove as much dirt without having to touch the car. So although the cleaning effect is minimal, by the time you touch the car with a mitt/sponge then there will be less dirt on it. It's called detailing for a reason ;)


Besides, it looks cool.
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This.

It's not designed to give you a pristine-looking car after you rinse the foam off, but it is designed to shift a good bulk of the crap so the regular wash is easier. Plus it's fun.
 
I realise that it's considered a pre wash, hence why it's not worth the effort. You'll save time and money by just sticking to a proper wash, the snow foam lance is laughably overpriced, £45 for some plastic and some brass fittings is ridiculous. I do agree that it's good fun though, always very satisfying to cover the car in foam.
 
Snow foam to me does seem more hassle than it is worth, especially when it comes to washing it off as too many people comment about it stick to their drive. However I don't think a prewas is pointless so I use ValetPro Citrus Pre wash in a pressure sprayer, spray on and leave for 5-10 mins and pressure wash off. No foamy mess to clean up but a much cleaner car before I touch it.

While it isn't a touchless wash, over the winter with salt and too cold to wash it then I found spending 20 mins doing it got rid of all the dried on salt and most of the dirt too.

@ Chipperhead: I don't know what magifoam is like through a pump sprayer but I know other snow foams get recommended used in pump sprayers. Also i it works means it isn't a waste of all that snow foam.
 
I use a strong concentration of snow foam over the winter and without doing anything else it gets the car 80% clean... which is fine because after the first time I drive it to work down the country lanes it is 50% dirty again :p

Somehow it doesn't seem to strip the wax off and occasionally if I give it a was on a Saturday and don't drive it I'll give it a going over with a no water wash stuff that I got for Xmas from the in laws which has a high carnauba concentrate which seems to top up the wax. Or if it is a warm(er) day I'll give it a spritz of detailing spray straight after washing.

Not saying this is perfect but it keeps our run about looking good over the winter months.
 
I always said i'd buy myself a snow foam lance but never got round to doing it as money can be better spent elsewhere, by the time I've fiddled with the lance i could have a half way through cleaning the car, plus its yellow so doesn't show scratches badly.
 
So I take delivery of my m135i at the end of April and wanted to know what is the best wax to coat it in? It is Estoril blue

Cheers
 
Sam said:
So I take delivery of my m135i at the end of April and wanted to know what is the best wax to coat it in? It is Estoril blue

Cheers
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It depends if you're looking for a super-amazing finish or long lasting protection.

For long lasting protection I'd be inclined to use a sealant like Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection followed by as many layers of a decent wax as you can be bothered with.

I've found Collinite 476 to last quite a long time, especially with a few layers but it doesn't give a 'show-and-shine' finish…
 
Irish_Tom said:
It depends if you're looking for a super-amazing finish or long lasting protection.

For long lasting protection I'd be inclined to use a sealant like Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection followed by as many layers of a decent wax as you can be bothered with.

I've found Collinite 476 to last quite a long time, especially with a few layers but it doesn't give a 'show-and-shine' finish…
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Long lasting protection, i dont have as much time as i would like to clean the car so long lasting protection makes sense. I shall check out the Autoglym extra gloss :)

A good wax?
 
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