[Rockcrawlerdude]

I acquired a new addition to my car wash arsenal today. Thought I would share my thoughts. I'm no professional detailer, nor am I a perfectionist. But I hate bucket washing and the $10 drive thru car wash does a terrible job.

Mtm hydro professional foam cannon with mtm407 pistol grip sprayer. Part number 14.5005 (~$70) freakin love this thing. Tomorrow I'll be using it to clean the siding on the house.

Running this thing with a mi-t-m 4000 psi 3.4 gpm pressure washer with a Honda gx390 12hp engine.

Using mr pink car shampoo from chemical guys. Reason I use this stuff is because This stuff is ph balanced so you can wash in direct sunlight with no water spots. My driveway is direct afternoon sun and it was 87° No water spots !! 2oz of the shampoo in the bottle, rest filled with cold water. This made enough foam to foam both of our cars with thick thick foam. Yes, only 2oz.

The more psi your rig makes, the thicker foam you get from it. The thicker the foam, the longer it "hangs" on the car.

Washing procedure is similar to bucket washing, except you sling the foam on the car, and your bucket has clean cold water in it instead of dirty soapy water. Pre rinse with a 40° Nozzle, high pressure to get any grit off. then foam, then use your wash mitt to wash the car like normal, then rinse, then dry with a meguiars water magnet towel.

Foam cannon in action

After.

 

[AndyZ71]

where do you buy this? Does it have to be used with a power washer? Truck looks great

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Amazon, and yes it needs at least 1000 or so psi to work. The more, the merrier. Higher pressures make more foam. From what I've heard, there are garden hose foamers but they're not gonna have a little less oomph.

And thanks!

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Foam "gun" is for garden hose, foam "cannon" is for pressure washer I think!

 

[Fasted58]

I bought the foam cannon w/ wash soap, microfiber wash mitt and drying towel from Chemical Guys, yet to use them tho, waiting on better weather.

I'm not a detail snob by any means but the foam cannon just makes sense to me, just like pre-wash at the car wash. I brought the foam cannon topic up on a car forum and they thought it was gimmicky. I've become a believer in clay barring also, first time convinced me the amount of imbedded dirt in an otherwise clean looking surface, especially the hood, roof and tailgate. I'd especially want to clay bar a new vehicle after sitting at the assembly plant and dealer lot.

Buying an Onyx Black Canyon had a lot to do w/ my new 'Detailing Jones'.

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

I bought the foam cannon w/ wash soap, microfiber wash mitt and drying towel from Chemical Guys, yet to use them tho, waiting on better weather.

I'm not a detail snob by any means but the foam cannon just makes sense to me, just like pre-wash at the car wash. I brought the foam cannon topic up on a car forum and they thought it was gimmicky. I've become a believer in clay barring also, first time convinced me the amount of imbedded dirt in an otherwise clean looking surface, especially the hood, roof and tailgate. I'd especially want to clay bar a new vehicle after sitting at the assembly plant and dealer lot.

Buying an Onyx Black Canyon had a lot to do w/ my new 'Detailing Jones'.

Gimmick? Nah. It's not a miracle, but you'll enjoy the wash. My favorite part is having a bucket full of clean water instead of putting soap in a bucket. If you use a pressure washer to pre rinse the car, then it's a no brainer to foam it while you're at it.

 

[AndyZ71]

well thanks to this thread I finally broke down and bought a power washer today. I've been kicking it around for years and just never wanted to drop the money on one. I could use one for many different things around the house on a normal basis, but for some reason the foam canon was too cool to pass up.. Now just need to put in my order on Amazon. Damn you guys.....

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Should prove to be useful. Hell, I washed the siding on my house with the foam cannon last weekend. I sure did get some funny looks and laughs, but I didn't need to use a ladder so the jokes on them.

Oh, and the pistol grip is more enjoyable than the long lance for washing cars, imho.

Mtm snub gun and foam cannon are part number 14.5005

 

[AndyZ71]

I wound up with the MTM hydro PF22 because my hose end is a female thread and I didn't want to have to mess around with finding the correct adapter. My wand is a two piece so if I really hate it I can source some adapter parts to shorten it up, or I noticed they sell the pistol grip separately as well.

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Pretty much all Pressure washer fittings are the same and all the fittings are included with the kit I listed. The hose to gun quick connects are all universal and all the tips are universal. The tip quick connects are smaller than the hose connector so you can't interchange them. The foam cannon you got should connect right into your wand just like a tip, so you should be good to go.

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Andy, you use that thing yet?

 

[AndyZ71]

yeah I did use it. I think I might not have used enough soap as mine certainly didn't give me a nice thick foam like yours. On the videos they say the bottles are marked so you know how much to use, but my bottle does not have any indicators so I just guessed. The cannon came with a threaded insert that was the same as the thread where the wand screws into the handle so I used that. I'm wishing I wouldn't have because it's a pain in the ass to switch between using the foam cannon and the power spray wand. I think I'll change it to the quick connect so I can just swap out the tip. I also need to learn what some of the adjustment will do for me as maybe there is something I could have changed to help the situation.

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

I use 2oz of soap and fill the bottle the rest of the way with water. How much psi does your rig make? The more psi the better the foam. I'm running 4000psi. Also, the soap I use is "shampoo" it's meant to foam.

There are a couple adjustments on my nozzle as well. One for more soap/foam and one for wide/narrow spray.

My whole foam setup is on a quick connect, like a tip. I can easily swap from high pressure pre rinse to foam and back to a rinse tip

 

[AndyZ71]

I think mine is only 2800 psi or 3100 psi tops. I'm using the same mr.pink from the chemical guys, I doubt I had anywhere near 2oz in the bottle. I guess I'll have to get some sort of measuring cup so I know that I'm getting enough.

 

[Fasted58]

Finally did the first foam cannon wash last week. First hand wash since winter, before that is was only brushless car washes.

CG's Torq Foam Cannon w/ their shampoo and Craftsman gas 2700 psi pressure washer. Plenty enough suds but prolly need more than the recommended 2 oz./ bottle. Any dirt it lifted was less dirt that I had to wash off w/ the mitt. Cleaned the fenderwell liners like new, just a hose ain't gonna do that. CG microfiber wash mitt w/ a wash and a rinse bucket, both w/ grit guard in bottom.

After the wash mitt was done I sprayed again w/ some old Meguir's car wash soap in the bottle, it worked pretty good too. Final rinse and dried w/ a large CG microfiber drying towel. Nicely done.

Doubt I will pressure wash every time, maybe every other wash, rather have it than not though. One wash bucket could be enough too.

Pros: Foam helps lifts dirt in prewash that water alone won't. Always use a grit guard in bucket. Microfiber wash mitts are great, no more sponges. Microfiber drying towel was great, no more chamois. This could clean a drop in bed liner better than any scrub and hose.

Cons: Added set up time w/ the pressure washer. Pressure washer gets drained and put away before freezing weather, but so does the hose FTM. Uses more soap than a regular old school hand wash (not a big deal tho).

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. Weird that your setup uses more soap. I wonder if you can turn down the ratio. I use 2oz of mr pink shampoo and then the rest of the bottle with water and I can do both vehicles with that amount. If I turn the soap knob all the way up then i can empty the soap very quickly (which is how I empty out the leftover soap and rinse the foamer)

 

[smthng]

Mind... blown!

I gotta get me one of those! The worst part about washing the truck (or any vehicle) here in Florida is that I have to do it two or three body panels at a time. If I try to do the whole thing by soaping it manually, the first side would be dry before I got done. If I could soap the entire thing in two minutes with that critter, scrub it down in 5 and then rinse the whole thing again in another 5 minutes or so, I'd never put the pressure washer away.

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Much needed wash after being neglected for so long

 

[mstrat]

I muttered something like "I need a cannon like this" just now, my wife shot me a look that said "what the #=!! do you need a cannon for??"

Then showed the video and she's on board.

 

[Baggey22]

I got a foam cannon a few months ago and have been waiting for warmer weather to try it out!