soap recommendations for foam canon
 

noob to detailing so learning a LOT from these threads :thanks:
I have a foam canon / lance / gun on the way for my pressure washer. Don't know what soap I should buy for it but from what I've read the foamier the better. What would be some that would really work well?

IMHO any soap will do, but remember:
Soap is a cleaner, and the longer you let it dwell on the surface, the quicker it will degrade the wax/sealant you have on it. If you properly wash a vehicle, a foam gun canon/gun will offer you no rewards other then making your neighbors think you have a bad case of OCD.

Meguiar's hyper wash. Cheaper compare to other products, I use 2oz mixed with 24oz of water

hmm, my thoughts were to the foam canon only on my vehicles on those occasions when one got really really dirty. For example, I have one now that was left parked under a tree for 3 weeks. Filthy. A foam and rinse (or two) sounds like a good first step.

Interested to hear other approaches. What would be your suggestion?

I like the thought of a foam cannon because I can let the foam sit on my car for a little while, then rinse it off with a hose, and now I've greatly decreased the chance of me running the paint by causing swirls from debris stuck on the car.

After this though I would hit it with foam again and use a nice mitt to scrub 'er down good. I'm a big fan of meguiar's gold class soap with my pressure washer.

DP extreme Foam Formula, AutoGlym Bodywork Shampoo, Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Gloss. 3 excellent choices.

Where do you get your products? Realize you are in Montreal and I am in GTA, but all I know is that Crappy Tire doesn't really carry some of these recommended brands...advice on other chains?

CT has the autoglym stuff. To be honest, you're probably better of going online. eshine.ca/autoobsessed.com are both great Canadian vendors who carry a pretty large variety of stuff.

Ah yes, now that I look online I see they have the AutoGlym stuff. When I was at my local things were...disorganized, to say the least. I'll go to the bigger/nicer one!

As regards to buying online, seems like shipping would be prohibitive if one were buy a gallon of car wash concentrate...or any quantity of a liquid, due to weight alone?

Dude i use this it creates an enormous amount of foam!! Meguires soap also creates a lot of foam for some strange reason lol.

http://www.autogeek.net/foam-gun-soap.html

Ya that is probably true. I think they may both do free shipping over "x" but getting to "x" can be a problem if all you're after is soap. :) If you're anywhere near Mississauga and ever want anything from eshine let me know and I will just order it and you can pick up. I order from them weekly.

I'd invest in a good powerwasher. It will remove much more surface dirt and grime from the finish then foaming. The key to marr free washing with a powerwasher is producing the very cleanest surface possible prior to hand washing. After a good power washing, the surface will mostly just have a film of road oil, which doesn't take much effort to remove.

Plus, a powerwasher will not remove your protection like a soap presoak will.

Dude, Kev. Can I get that offer too. I usually order every 4 months but I ALWAYS end up forgetting stuff.

Ya sure. I don't want to go too overboard because odds are I'll end up forgetting who wanted what; but if you guys just need soap/etc...like a few items and don't want to pay shipping just let me know and I'll include in my weekly orders.

FWIW, I agree with David re: foaming. It was a big fad a few years ago but generally speaking it doesn't provide much of a tangible benefit and can strip LSPs. With a coating like opti coat you'll get just as much debir removal with a good PW. I used a foam lance for awhile, mostly found it was a lot of soap for a little cool factor. I def. find PW'ing with RO'd water is the best bet for a "touchless" was if that's the route you're going to go.