Foam wash is too runny

B

bofh

New member
I love the YouTube videos from PtO and OG where they foam their cars and get this nice shaving cream-like foam that supposedly lifts dirt off the vehicle.

So I got out my Dewalt GX270 3800psi / 3.5gpm pressure washer and attached it to a MTM PF-22, mixed in some Adams Car Shampoo and got... something that looks more like thick water rather than foam. "Fine," I thought, I need some proper foaming soap. So I bought Chemical Guys honeydew and gave it another try. Same thing, different smell. Adjusting the wheel on the foam gun changed the pattern but did not get me anything with a dwell time more than 10 seconds. Now I have hard water here so I reconnected everything up to my CR Spotless DIC-20 and... got the same thing. I have tried mixing the shampoo 1:10 all the way to 1:4 in the foam gun with the same results.

At this point, I assumed that the pressure washer is too much for the PF-22. I wanted a smaller electric anyway so I picked up a Stanley SHP2150 which includes it`s own foam gun. I loaded it up with some Griot`s Foaming Surface Wash (about 180ml per liter of water) and... same thing, different smell. Fussing with the adjustment on the foam gun again changes the pattern but does not cause it to provide that meringue consistency I see all over YouTube.

So what am I doing wrong?
 
Yeah, with the gas unit, you will need a high foaming soap at a pretty low dilution ratio. At work we have a unit that moves 1700psi @ 5GPM, it is hard to create foam at 5GPM even with a PF-22 and 1.1mm orifice. For the PF-22, look for a 1.1mm orifice, it should help you out greatly and it will also keep the FP-22 working well at 3500psi and 3.5GPM. Also, that Adams isn`t known to be much of a foamer relative to dedicated snow foams like CG Honey Dew or the Griot`s products. Stick with the Griot`s Foaming Surface Wash, get a 1.1mm orifice for the PF-22, and then report back. (You should easily find the orifices on Amazon, literally search for 1.1mm foam cannon orifice) There is a reason that the PF-22 is the best foam cannon on the market, the orifice unleashes its true potential.
 
I mostly use the foaming product in concentrate in the foamcannon. Then set the chemical mix setting to get a nice foam. Try CG Honeydew in concentrate and then use the chemical mix setting in both max setting and the lowest chemical mix setting and see what you get. And if you have the option to get the CR Spotless system attached to the water inlett of PW. You would get a nice thick foam.

I don`t like a to of a thick foam. Cause when it gets too thick it don`t run off or if you get to much of the foam on the paint it`s gets so heavy so it runs off to fast. So just above the watery consistency and under the shaving cream thick foam is what I found to be most effective and the longest dwell time.

I have a PW with 2600psi and 2.6gpm and the standard orifice of 1.25mm is almost too small. So got the 1.30mm orifice and it`s almost too big LOL. With the electric PW you have and the hard water I would test with the 1.1mm orifice as noted above. For the gas PW I think it`s way too small. Think you would need a 1.30mm orifice or even a 1.4mm orifice to get the right mixing of water and air. I think it`s your hard water that messes with your results. So try to get the CR Spotless system to feed the water to your PW. And try to use it concentrated in the foamcannon bottle to see if the chemical mix setting in both max setting and the lowest chemical mix setting changes the foam thickness. Don`t have the lance with the foamcannon to close to the car. So you don`t push around the applyied foam. Maybe 3-5 feet away of the car with the foamcannon nozzle.

/Tony
 
If you`re using 2 or 3 oz of shampoo in your bottle and it results in runny foam and everything results in runny foam, maybe there`s a problem with the PF-22 adjustment wheel at the top. That`s the smaller of the two valves on your foamgun. The one at the very top. If adjusting it completely clockwise and completely counterclockwise results in no change, you might want to take it apart and check to see if the internal adjusting parts are jammed with a bit of debris or crud. Clean everything and lube the beejeebers out of those internal top bits.
 
Foam is pretty but it’s not all that important. A light foam is preferable to a heavy shaving cream type foam. With a heavy foam still only a small portion is actually touching the paint the rest is for looks and will be washed away. Black Fire sells a Foam Booster that is supposed to create more foam. I’m not convinced it’s necessary, but it is available.
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
Foam is pretty but it’s not all that important. A light foam is preferable to a heavy shaving cream type foam. With a heavy foam still only a small portion is actually touching the paint the rest is for looks and will be washed away. Black Fire sells a Foam Booster that is supposed to create more foam. I’m not convinced it’s necessary, but it is available.
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I agree with the foam thickness. When you mentioned the BF Foam Booster. It could be an option if you have a very hard water? Just to get that sweet spot of the foam thickness.

And also what was mentioned above with the chemical mix setting can be jammed. Have had that happened on the regualar foamcannon. So if you don`t get any difference in thickness of the foam with concentrate car soap. You could take it apart and see if you can get it to work again. And you could test with an APC and spray it in where their is some small holes. Have the chemical mix setting in the middle when you don`t that. And turn the mix setting up and down max and spray some of the APC there too. Then rinse it off and test it out again. If not working this way take it apart. Just be carefull with useing any lube. As I think it`s where it takes the air that you mix in to get the foam. And lube is not something you want to get on your car even a very little amount. This is on the top of the foamcannon where you have the adjusting wheel for chemical mix setting.
 
TheMeanGreen said:
Yeah, with the gas unit, you will need a high foaming soap at a pretty low dilution ratio. At work we have a unit that moves 1700psi @ 5GPM, it is hard to create foam at 5GPM even with a PF-22 and 1.1mm orifice. For the PF-22, look for a 1.1mm orifice, it should help you out greatly and it will also keep the FP-22 working well at 3500psi and 3.5GPM. Also, that Adams isn`t known to be much of a foamer relative to dedicated snow foams like CG Honey Dew or the Griot`s products. Stick with the Griot`s Foaming Surface Wash, get a 1.1mm orifice for the PF-22, and then report back. (You should easily find the orifices on Amazon, literally search for 1.1mm foam cannon orifice) There is a reason that the PF-22 is the best foam cannon on the market, the orifice unleashes its true potential.
Click to expand...

Thank you! This was the correct answer to my question. I bought and installed a 1.1mm orifice for the PF-22 and now it performs exactly as expected.
 
bofh said:
Thank you! This was the correct answer to my question. I bought and installed a 1.1mm orifice for the PF-22 and now it performs exactly as expected.
Click to expand...

Awesome that it perform as it should now with the new smaller orifice!

/Tony
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
Foam is pretty but it’s not all that important. A light foam is preferable to a heavy shaving cream type foam. With a heavy foam still only a small portion is actually touching the paint the rest is for looks and will be washed away. Black Fire sells a Foam Booster that is supposed to create more foam. I’m not convinced it’s necessary, but it is available.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Foam is mostly air and air really doesn`t do anything to prevent marring. Lubricity is the key to reducing marring. The more lubricity the better the result.
 
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