Wet Foamed or Dry Foamed?

[kilobravo]

As long as I have had a pw and foam cannon, I have been rinsing first (with the thought of getting the heavier grime off,) and then I foam, dwell, rinse. Odds are I am in the minority here though based on what I saw in multiple places this morning while doing some searching.

After watching a review vid on the IK Foam Pro 12, I checked out the channel. Hadn't seen this fella previously but he does a good job filming and narrating so I sub'd. Perused his vids and saw one on the topic at hand. Watched that clip, thought his testing protocol was solid and perhaps for a bit of showmanship, <grin> he wound up with a weird result.

The dry foamed paint was noticeably cleaner than the wet side but, the glass was just the opposite. Probably splitting hairs with the glass which is NBD to me but if his results are accurate, it seems that the "encapsulating" feature of foam works better on a dry surface.

I know and I can hear y'all saying, "DUH, KB," where you been?" <laughing>

The plan is to try this out the next time a vehicle needs a bath but in the meantime, do any of you also rinse first?

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[Vertex]

I did at first because I thought the same thing in a sense that getting any loose dirt off the car would help the soap break down/break free any other debris that was more engrained or saturated onto the car.

After swapping and foaming the car straight away on the first try and changing up how I did it it definitely seemed to work as good or better than a pre soak.

Honestly one of the biggest things after taking a step back and thinking about it as well was this, when you're spraying the car with water to try and knock some of the dirt before soaping you're also (for all intents and purposes) damaging part of the clearcoat or causing light abrasions to it that you may/may not see with your naked eye whereas soaping it first it is just flat out breaking it loose right away and also since some water is mixed in a lot of the really loose or broken loose dirt will kind of run off the car while you go around to it with with whatever sponge/rag you use for hand washing the car.

Overall for me I just do a good foam up on the entire car including wheels and wheel liners and then I typically start going around the car after that and cleaning everything up. Rinse after hitting everything and then go over any additional spots with a soapy/wet sponge or cloth if there was something I couldn't see when I went over the car the first time.

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

I also used to rinse. Then somebody told me it was a waste of time. I experimented and So now I try kind of a double/triple foam approach. I live in a condo so whatever mixture I make in the canon I use it all. I also don't have the best pressure washer (battery)

I foam it once. Let it dwell and then kind of foam it again and again till I'm done with my mixture. I feel this has gotten solid results albeit probably using more mixture than some folks.

 

[2021 Mach 1]

Here's how top dealer Tino does it...

 

[Evolvd]

I always dry foam. The soap helps release the dirt and grime vs pushing it across the paint with just water pressure.

 

[MAGS1]

I’m a dry foamer as well. Still blows my mind how much dirt the foam pulls off the car, especially Carpro Lift.

 

[skinnyb]

Foam rinse foam for me. Always foam on dry first.

 

[Bulutt]

Foam, rinse, foam, contact wash with soapy water over foam, rinse, wheels, blow dry, mop up.

 

[kilobravo]

it definitely seemed to work as good or better than a pre soak.

I foam it once. Let it dwell and then kind of foam it again and again till I'm done with my mixture.

Thanks for those replies y'all, obviously I'm out of sync. I was treating a vehicle like washing dishes which I always rinse first. So much for my thinking. <grin>

Here's how top dealer Tino does it

Thanks for that as well M1, but I didn't get much info from him although I dig the pink foam. <smile>

Foam rinse foam for me.

And then you do the contact wash Alex with the entire car foamed? Probably fine up North but down here it's just too damn hot to leave the foam on the entire vehicle.

But I'm trainable <laughing> and will now foam first..thanks for the education. ;=)

 

[WD Pro]

No need for the first rinse. If you’re using quality wash soap you can foam the car dry. The water and soap will encapsulate the surface dirt and pull it from the surface. This creates lubrication for the dirt to slide off the paint. Spraying water on a dirty surface can cause the dirt to be dragged across the paint causing surface marring.

I’m with you - I actually prefer to foam the car dry.

I think it sticks better / longer giving it more time to work.

I fully rinse before I start with the mitt

WD

From another thread

Side note : The misses has an alternative view on the wet / dry debate …

WD

 

[dirtwarrior]

Rather than start a new thread for this question. How good are the hand pump cannons?

 

[Vertex]

Thanks for those replies y'all, obviously I'm out of sync. I was treating a vehicle like washing dishes which I always rinse first. So much for my thinking. <grin>


Thanks for that as well M1, but I didn't get much info from him although I dig the pink foam. <smile>


And then you do the contact wash Alex with the entire car foamed? Probably fine up North but down here it's just too damn hot to leave the foam on the entire vehicle.

But I'm trainable <laughing> and will now foam first..thanks for the education. ;=)

Actually, funny or not, I just recently found out you're NOT supposed to rinse your dishes before you put them into the dishwasher and run it unless you know dishes are going to sit in there for a while before you run it. There is apparently a sensor that detects how dirty the dishes are and then adjusts the cycle based off that (unless your dishwasher is old and doesn't do a great job in the first place).

I recently just learned this lol

 

[skinnyb]

Thanks for those replies y'all, obviously I'm out of sync. I was treating a vehicle like washing dishes which I always rinse first. So much for my thinking. <grin>


Thanks for that as well M1, but I didn't get much info from him although I dig the pink foam. <smile>


And then you do the contact wash Alex with the entire car foamed? Probably fine up North but down here it's just too damn hot to leave the foam on the entire vehicle.

But I'm trainable <laughing> and will now foam first..thanks for the education. ;=)

Yes. Foam rinse. Then foam again and wash top down at butt crack dark thirty in the morning. I was out before dawn last weekend setting up my stuff. You could do the second foam sections at a time but I work fast. I use 4-5 mitts so no dunking and rinsing the mitts for me.

 

[Evolvd]

Yes. Foam rinse. Then foam again and wash top down at butt crack dark thirty in the morning. I was out before dawn last weekend setting up my stuff. You could do the second foam sections at a time but I work fast. I use 4-5 mitts so no dunking and rinsing the mitts for me.

Yeah it sucks but I also have to wash early in the morning or just before sunset. It’s too damn hot in Florida during the daytime in summer months lol. Thankfully I have a tall tree to the east of my driveway which gives me plenty of shade to wash up until about 9 AM.

 

[13GetThere]

What is everyone's favorite foam?
Griot's is about all I can find off the shelf.
I've been doing it wrong too. After thinking about it, foaming first gives the soap time to soak in and loosen the grip of the dirt before rinsing it off.

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