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-   -   A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/102011-superb-car-cleaning-polishing-detailing-guide-271.html)

^Amazing and eye popping as usual!! :D

Great work

I too feel that with IPA when we have to wipe the surface, there might be a chance of marring!!

Next time, I'll wash the whole car with a pressure washer after polishing(will be more fun + foam gun is just plain amazing!)

Btw nice work again!

just a doubt, can we use a paint safe degreaser or APC in place of iron cut?

Sohail,
You can use a degreaser. Not an APC. But remember to neutralize the degreaser as it is alkaline in nature. Iron cut removes rust and opens the pores. We used to use a degreaser but found that the iron cut brightened the color (could be the pores opened up).

Your idea of foam gun is very good. I would suggest you use a mf cloth like a bonnet on a DA polisher (lambswool or foam pad as the base) for drying the car. This will prevent any marring during the wipe down. This is especially important in dark colors.

Thanks for the compliments.:thumbs up

Sohail,which foam gun are you using?Details and pics will be appreciated.

Thanks a lot ThinkBig

btw I use a blower to dry the car(as its the method which involves no touching of the body)

its really great for large panels as due to the sealant and wax coats, the water just slides right off with a blower. Afterwards I follow up with a waffle weave towel and blot dry and finally a QD or spray wax.

@Sagar -

Here's the attachment I use to generate foam - (pic property of original owner! I just borrowed it from the web as I'm currently not at home so couldn't click the pic of my unit)



It works great with any car shampoo, but it really produces some serious foam when a car shampoo that is formulated to produce excessive foam is used(available especially for foam cannons!!!)

But its still a bit behind what foam cannons can achieve

Take a look at what a foam cannon can do!!!(not my pic, credits to the original owner of the pic)



For that kind of stable foam, you need an air compressor(60-90psi) to make the foam fluffier and big + very less water is required, as a result, its good for mobile detailers.

But I still like Bosch's foam gun. Its great fun using it!:D

Sohail,
Can you explain, how do you use this blower. I tried, but could not get the foam.

Also which blower do you use ?

You have to try different soap:water ratios and make sure you use soft water/drinking water to dilute the shampoo in the foam gun bottle.

I use like 1.5Oz of GC car shampoo and take a little water (approx. the same qty as the soap or a lil more, mix it up and attach.)

What happens is, when you're using the foam gun, the mixture is pulled up, mixed with the water at pressure coming from the pressure washer unit and then aerated with the help of vents around the opening for the foam. The amount of foam can depend of various factors(hardness of water being most important, ratio of shampoo/water mixture etc.)

I always use soft water in my aquatak unit as it produces more foam + possibility of water spotting is reduced quite a lot.

Generally, if the paint is sealed, you can use a free flow water source to remove all the water drops/beads.

after-wards, I use a blower on crevices and places where a towel cant reach.

finally dry with a towel(blotting)

Here's the blower I got - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ml#post2050977

If you have a big vacum cleaner unit, you can use its blower attachment too!!

Nice one.Are you able to achieve that level of foaming with your foam gun?I too have a bosch aquatec with a foam gun and use sonax gloss shampoo but not able to produce that much foam.its not even 30% of what is shon in pic

Also should we wash the car before using foam gun to spread foam over the car?

QUOTE]I too have a bosch aquatec with a foam gun and use sonax gloss shampoo but not able to produce that much foam.[/quote]

The case is same with me too. But i think the idea here is to use the proper Car washing foam to get the desired foaming (As in the picture by Sohail)

We cant get the desired foaming with Sonax. Other thing is to get the right level of mixing. I see that more water gets mixed to the shampoo, further diluting the shampoo. We have no control on the amount of water getting mixed.

However a proper foaming agent is always desired.

That pic of the foam is of what you can achieve with a foam cannon!

Foam cannon and foam gun are different. foam canon uses much less water, less soap but requires an additional air compressor to make the foam thicker and more fluffy)

The one run solely with a pressure washer like aquatak is a foam gun.

Less foam is normal for a foam gun. But you should try tweaking the shampoo/water ratios in the bottle and stick to the ratio that gives you max foam.

On a dirty car, I'd firstly rinse the car with the pressure washer, concentrating on the lower part of the panels and tires + wheel wells a few times to loosen the loose dirt.

Then foam the whole car, let it sit for a few mins (5-10 mins depending on weather conditions! if its cold and the water wont evaporate, I'll leave it for ~10 mins. If the temperature is higher and there's a chance that the water will evaporate, then I'll leave it for a shorter period)

and then rinse again with the pressure washer. Repeat the foaming and rinsing again if necessary!

after rinsing, follow up with a 2 bucket method (if you're washing after a really long time)

How much did you get the Aquatak for? Did you use it?

Sohail,
My two bits to using only a blow drier is you have two purposes, one is to dry the car and the other to pick up polish, degreaser foam(your process), residue. The mf on the DA polisher will dry and remove any residue remaining.

Are you saying MF on DA polisher can be used for drying? How do you attach MF to DA?

One basic question - after all this careful drying, quick detailing wax, etc. the car gets super dusty just within 5 minutes of driving. So don't you guys feel "oh, what is the point?"

thanks sohail for the explaination. As others mentioned, even i use Sonax and unable to get the foam out the attachment.
How much did you pay for the blower ?

@androdev,
You are right, it gets dusty. And that's when the dusters come to use. You will be able to use the duster effectively because you had already taken care of drying and waxing the car in detail.
After I return from the drive. I use the duster and then cover the car. Its 2 mins job now.

Androdev,
There are 2 options. You could make a bonnet out of the mf cloth, or buy a ready made one. For drying it should be the plush type. Not the buffing type, which is a tightly woven mf cloth.

Initially we even tied a mf cloth over the foam pad, it was not too clever but we got an idea that it did not mar the freshly prepared surface.

@ThinkBig, thats a wonderful looking HondaCity, just cannot believe its 6 year old clap: