How to Clean Your Car with Foam Cleaner
Aside from maintaining and fixing their cars, enthusiasts enjoy cleaning cars and keeping them as clean as possible. A snow foam car wash is a popular choice for fast results; however, no car wash spray foam can replace the feeling of using a car cleaning foam in the comfort of your driveway.
Using a foam cleaner might sound simple, but a specific process will provide you with the best cleaning results. There are specific products and equipment you’ll need, and there’s a specific process for using foam cleaner for the best possible results. We’ll cover all the products you need, and provide you with a step-by-step guide on correctly using car cleaning foam.
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How to Clean Your Car with Foam Cleaner
1. Getting Started
Before using the foam car wash soap, you should do a couple of things. Being the enthusiast you probably are, you won’t just wash the exterior of the car, but you’ll probably work on the interior as well.
The first thing you should do is create a proper environment for washing your car thoroughly. You can do it on your driveway, however, to get the best possible results, and help yourself along the way, you’ll need shade. It would be best if you have natural shade, but if you don’t, it would be a good idea to create some for this purpose.
Next, you’ll need to have enough space to walk around the car and clean it thoroughly. Keep in mind that you’ll be using a lot of water and chemicals, so if you have sensitive plants around the driveway, it won’t be one of the best ideas to do a detailed car wash there.
2. What Products You’ll Need
Before starting anything, you should have all the tools, equipment, and products ready for use. Aside from buckets, sponges, drying towels, and other foam cleaner equipment such as a foam cannon, there are a couple of products you’ll also need.
3. Spray Foam
The first, and most important product for making car cleaning foam is the foam car wash soap. Under no circumstances should you use regular dish soap because it will easily remove the wax from your car’s paint.
Several manufacturers offer high-quality spray foam, that not only creates a thick foam but also includes chemicals that will agitate all the dirt and debris from the exterior of your car. At AutoZone, you can find spray foam from manufacturers such as Turtle Wax, Meguiars, Chemical Guys, and many more.
The spray foam is added to the foam cannon and is applied evenly to the car. For best results, the foam should do its work for a couple of minutes before using the mitt on the car.
4. Scrub
The foam cleaner will agitate the dirt and debris from your car, but before you rinse it, you should use a soft sponge, and a variety of brushes to detach the dirt from the car. Regular sponges will leave scratch marks on your car, so when it comes to the bodywork, it’s best to use a soft microfiber wash mitt.
When it comes to wheels and tires, you’ll need a series of harder brushes, due to their frequent exposure to heat, dirt, brake dust, water, and other pollutants. Depending on how often you wash your car, giving a little special attention to the wheels and tires might do the trick, but to get the best results possible, it’s recommended to use chemicals made for cleaning alloy rims and tires. These are much more aggressive than regular foam car wash soap and could harm the paint if not used properly.
5. Rinse
Many consider rinsing one of the last steps to washing a car, but rinsing the car with water before applying car cleaning foam can be very beneficial. This is because water from a pressure washer will remove a large portion of dirt and debris from the car, allowing the foam cleaner to focus on problematic areas.
Any pressure washer can be used for rinsing. Once you’ve let the car cleaning foam sit for a few minutes, and after you’ve used the soft microfiber mitt to remove any remaining dirt and debris from the car, start rinsing it from top to bottom. This means removing the foam from the roof, windows, hood, trunk, and lastly, the sides and wheels. This way, you won’t use as much water, and you won’t be spraying contaminants from one part of the car to another.
6. Wax
Wax is applied as the last step of washing a car. This product comes in various shapes and sizes, and they pretty much do the same thing, no matter which forms you choose. There are several manufacturers of high-quality wax, which are all available at AutoZone. Most of these products come with a manual, so before applying the wax to your car, make sure you read and understand the proper way of applying it.
Buy Foam Spray and Hose attachment at AutoZone, where you’ll find everything you need to repair, maintain, and even detail your car. Need help finding something? Ask an AutoZone associate for assistance.
FAQ/People Also Ask
Using a foam cleaner is a great way to preserve your paintwork for as long as possible. By removing dirt, grime, dust, and other particles from the surface of your car regularly, you’ll reduce the chances of having to deal with scratches.
Although it isn’t necessary, rinsing the car before using car cleaning foam will give you better cleaning results. By rinsing the car before using a washing mitt, you’ll remove a lot of dirt and debris from the surface of the car, thus creating fewer scratches along the way.
How often should you snow foam your car depends on how often you drive your car, and how often you feel you need to deep clean it. Once every month is ideal, but if needed, you can do it every two weeks. The foam cleaner itself won’t harm your car, but it’s a lengthy process, especially if you want to do it correctly every time.
