Car Wash "Cannon"
Rennlist Member
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 6,970
Likes: 1,326
From: L.I. NY
The only thing that matters in washing a car is to prevent tiny undissolved dirt particles from being on the paint when you wash it with a mitt because those particles act like singular bits of sandpaper when you move them over the paint with a mitt. Any method that avoids dirt particles being rubbed against the paint is worth it's weight in gold for preventing swirl marks and tiny scratches.
If foam cannons can wash a car without having to touch the paint (and without needing very high pressure wash on the paint surface), then it's well worth it. My experience with a hose-based foam "gun" is that it will not wash the car, it is just a precleaning step. If pressure washer-based foam "cannons" allow a touchless wash -- seems well worth it. I haven't tried a foam cannon, so I can't comment, but some in this thread seem to be saying that it is possible to do a touchless wash with a foam cannon.
If foam cannons can wash a car without having to touch the paint (and without needing very high pressure wash on the paint surface), then it's well worth it. My experience with a hose-based foam "gun" is that it will not wash the car, it is just a precleaning step. If pressure washer-based foam "cannons" allow a touchless wash -- seems well worth it. I haven't tried a foam cannon, so I can't comment, but some in this thread seem to be saying that it is possible to do a touchless wash with a foam cannon.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,792
Likes: 972
From: San Antonio, Texas
Foam cannons are still a "pre-wash step"( but better than the foam gun - they make a denser foam that stays on the car longer, and cover the entire car in about 30 seconds). but, they make this step both quick and effective. You still have to "wash" the car with a mitt. The key is to remove or loosen as much of that grit as possible before using the mitt.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,391
Likes: 964
From: NJ/NY area
Inspired by this thread, I pulled out my old foam gun (not canon) on a wash this weekend. Used Chemical Guys snowflakes foam -- between the dilution instructions on the bottle and the five different dilution settings on the foam gun, I couldn't do the math, so I just put in what I thought was a reasonable amount and set the gun to the highest foam setting. I foamed it, let it sit, then rinsed, then foamed again. Running my fingers over the paint it did seem to remove most of the surface grit (though the car was not super dirty). Then I washed as normal with two bucket method. My foam gun has been sitting idle for many years, but I'm now convinced it is a good pre-wash step.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 1,968
Likes: 228
The only thing that matters in washing a car is to prevent tiny undissolved dirt particles from being on the paint when you wash it with a mitt because those particles act like singular bits of sandpaper when you move them over the paint with a mitt. Any method that avoids dirt particles being rubbed against the paint is worth it's weight in gold for preventing swirl marks and tiny scratches.
If foam cannons can wash a car without having to touch the paint (and without needing very high pressure wash on the paint surface), then it's well worth it. My experience with a hose-based foam "gun" is that it will not wash the car, it is just a precleaning step. If pressure washer-based foam "cannons" allow a touchless wash -- seems well worth it. I haven't tried a foam cannon, so I can't comment, but some in this thread seem to be saying that it is possible to do a touchless wash with a foam cannon.
If foam cannons can wash a car without having to touch the paint (and without needing very high pressure wash on the paint surface), then it's well worth it. My experience with a hose-based foam "gun" is that it will not wash the car, it is just a precleaning step. If pressure washer-based foam "cannons" allow a touchless wash -- seems well worth it. I haven't tried a foam cannon, so I can't comment, but some in this thread seem to be saying that it is possible to do a touchless wash with a foam cannon.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,391
Likes: 964
From: NJ/NY area
I was skeptical also, that's why my foam gun has been gathering dust for several years, but if you set your expectations appropriately, my experience yesterday is that it's worth using a foam gun as a pre-wash.
1. Is a foam gun useful for touchless washing? In my experience, no.
2. Is a foam gun useful for a PRE-wash step to minimize scratches when you subsequently use a 2-bucket mitt wash? In my experience, yes, if you foam first and then rinse before starting the 2-bucket mitt wash (see my last post). Rinsing is key after foam and before the wash so that the foam-lifted dirt is actually removed from the surface, floating dirt isn't much better than attached dirt when you put a mitt on it.
3. Is a foam gun worth it? In my opinion, yes, because it literally takes about 1 minute to foam the car and I think that pre-wash step reduces scratching with the subsequent mitt wash (and foam guns are crazy cheap now, especially on eBay)
4. Is a foam cannon (not gun) worth it? A cannon probably works better than a gun, but a cannon is not worth it for me time-wise. The "gun" is good enough and I don't have time or the desire to pull out the pressure washer for every wash (I never use the pressure washer for cleaning cars). If you have the pressure washer already out, then the cannon is probably better than a gun.
You will never be able to notice any micro-level damage from dirt under a mitt in one wash. However, if you can remove some of the dirt off the surface before you ever put a mitt on it, you will see a difference over the lifetime of the car (20 or 50 washes later).
There's no such thing as a "scratch free" mitt. Well, technically, the mitts themselves are all scratch free, but the surface dirt on the paint that gets moved around with the mitt is not scratch free at all.
,
1. Is a foam gun useful for touchless washing? In my experience, no.
2. Is a foam gun useful for a PRE-wash step to minimize scratches when you subsequently use a 2-bucket mitt wash? In my experience, yes, if you foam first and then rinse before starting the 2-bucket mitt wash (see my last post). Rinsing is key after foam and before the wash so that the foam-lifted dirt is actually removed from the surface, floating dirt isn't much better than attached dirt when you put a mitt on it.
3. Is a foam gun worth it? In my opinion, yes, because it literally takes about 1 minute to foam the car and I think that pre-wash step reduces scratching with the subsequent mitt wash (and foam guns are crazy cheap now, especially on eBay)
4. Is a foam cannon (not gun) worth it? A cannon probably works better than a gun, but a cannon is not worth it for me time-wise. The "gun" is good enough and I don't have time or the desire to pull out the pressure washer for every wash (I never use the pressure washer for cleaning cars). If you have the pressure washer already out, then the cannon is probably better than a gun.
,
Last edited by peterp; Oct 7, 2019 at 03:11 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,391
Likes: 964
From: NJ/NY area
PS: How well a foam gun or cannon works probably depends a lot on what level of polish each car has on it. On a car with no wax or polish, a foam gun will probably not remove much. On a car with a ceramic treatment, or with a high-quality polish, the foam gun (followed by a rinse) will probably lift and remove quite a bit of dirt as a pre-wash step.
Rennlist Stories
The Best Porsche Posts for Porsche Enthusiasts
Porsche's Top 5 Most Questionable Naming Decisions
Verdad Gallardo
Pogea Racing's 964 Porsche 911 Reimagination Stands Out in a Crowded Field
Verdad Gallardo
6 Convertible Top MYTHS Most People Don't Understand!
Michael S. Palmer
2026 Porsche 911 Club Coupe is Spectacular, And Everything Wrong with the Porsche Market
Joe Kucinski
Talos Takes Your 991 Porsche 911 GT3 to the Next Level for a Cool $1.13 Million
Verdad Gallardo
9 Vehicles Porsche Helped Engineer that Aren't Porsches
Verdad Gallardo
9 Features and Characteristics That Only Porsche People Understand
Verdad Gallardo
I've Written 500 Rennlist Articles: Here's How Porsche Has Changed Along the Way
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Unnecessary Porsches Ever Built (And Why We Love Them)
Verdad Gallardo
Racer
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 398
Likes: 62
From: Northern CT
Chemical Guys EQP_312 TORQ cannon on a power washer. I used it for in between washes on my car and as a pre-cleaning step for the few times a year mitt and 2-bucket hand wash. I prefer to touch the car as little as possible since it is dark blue.... Really wishing I could have found a white one when I was looking, lol...not only do they hide dirt better, you don't really notice the swirls, lol.
Race Car
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,896
Likes: 162
From: Melbourne, Australia
I've got both a Hong Kong eBay special $25AUD cannon as well as a PA one (made in Italy) ~$100AUD
Not a whole lot of difference if you're only washing a few times a month. Build quality on the Italian one is way beyond the HK special but that one still works perfectly well.
Not a whole lot of difference if you're only washing a few times a month. Build quality on the Italian one is way beyond the HK special but that one still works perfectly well.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,219
Likes: 117
From: Toronto
Bought a cheap Simoniz cannon in the spring and I use it with my Sun Joe electric pressure washer using Optimum Car Wash. As others have said, it makes washing the cars very quick and efficient. My steps:
-Blast/rinse the car with water
-Foam the entire vehicle with the cannon
-Using a bucket of clean water and 3 wash mitts, I move the foam around the car.
-Rinse the car off with the pressure washer
-Dry
I can do the Porsche in 15 mins start to finish.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 86
Likes: 8
From: Greenville, SC
