Who uses a “Foam Cannon” for pressure washers?

[notfast]

Is the 2 bucket method recommended to use?

Recommended but not required. We rinseless-washed vehicles with both the single-bucket and two-bucket methods. We mostly used the single-bucket. The important part is to keep enough water in the bucket so that the the dirt on the bottom has enough distance from the clean water at the top.

We'd fill a 5-gallon bucket with 4 gallons of water and use that for most small cars and SUVs. We'd (carefully, so as not to stir up the dirt) top off the water once we lost about two gallons. Small cars and SUVs didn't require a refill. We didn't use grit guards and just used regular 1sf 600gsm microfiber towels because specialty sponges for rinseless washing weren't common.

We seldom used the 2-bucket method unless the car was really dirty. For large vehicles, for the sake of time, two or three of us would use a bucket each and knock out a wash in 20 minutes. For a maintenance wash, the single bucket method was fine, and some customers liked the fact that we could wash their car with 4 gallons of water.

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[Deleted member 5597]

Same. Unless your vehicle is really dirty, like caked in mud and tar to the point that it's hard to tell what the original color is, anything more than hose pressure (about 40-60 PSI) isn't needed on a car.



For home use, I suggest you look into rinseless car washing. We actually did that at the shop when we had no water for a week while the city got their stuff together. Rather than close and have no revenue at the shop, we filled buckets with spotless water and offered rinseless car washes. We got the spotless water from the tank in the mobile truck. That tank gets filled at a detail supply shop.

It worked out so well that we offered rinsless car washes as a "greener" alternative to regular car washes at both the shop and for the mobile truck. Like if a customer was conscious about wanting to save water, well, we could wash their entire SUV with 4 gallons or less.

We didn't even use any special sponges like what is available now from places like The Rag Company. We just used microfiber towels dipped in Optimum No Rinse.



They have their uses, such as it's a lot less work to soap up a large vehicle like an enclosed trailer or an RV. Also, for a professional, time is money, so if it saves time and can let you squeeze in one more job for the day, that's extra revenue that would be otherwise forfeited.



No. You just use whatever soap you'd like, so it's no different than soapy water in a bucket.



I hope you mean Simple Green's car wash soap. If you use traditional Simple Green, that'll strip off everything (dirt, wax, sealant, etc) better than Dawn dish soap.

To me and without seeing photos, that "oily residue" sounds like either the wax wasn't buffed off entirely or the soap wasn't rinsed off entirely.



Synthetic clay mitts work 80% as good and about double the speed. We used natural clay for stubborn spots or if the customer requested it, but natural clay takes a lot longer, so we definitely charged extra for it. Very few hesitant customers opted for it after we demonstrated the minimal difference in appearance.



Car washing requires flow more than pressure. The pumps in our pressure washers were rated for about 350 PSI max, but we rarely set them to more than 100 PSI. But they also did 2.5GPM, whereas most electric pressure washers are around 1.5GPM.

Side note on pressure washers...basically all 120V electric machines will have marginal differences in performance. At least for me, it mostly comes down to the attachment compatibility and the form factor.

This is because, as you pointed out, there is only so much performance you can get from 120V/15A single- or split-phase electric motors. If a company claims their 120V electric machine can do 2500 PSI, it's either an unfounded claim or has really low flow.

If you need more performance than 1500ish PSI at 1.5ish gallons per minute, you'll need something powered by a 230V, 3-phase motor (pressure washers with this capability are uncommon), or gas-powered pressure washers (which are cheaper and much more common).

A 120V, 15A motor tops out at around 2HP. A 230V, 30A, 3-phase motor tops out at over 14HP. Your typical 200cc gas lawnmower engine is around 5HP, very few residences have 3-phase power, and commercial buildings with 3-phase power don't tend to have 230V, 30A outlets at convenient locations, so it's easy to see why 3-phase pressure washers aren't common.



I'm not, and I used to detail cars for a living. I used to keep my vehicles absolutely swirl and scratch free, but that was a lot of work for not a whole lot of return. Now I just pay $6 and let the machine do the work.

Being machine-washable was one of my stipulations for a new vehicle. At the time, I drove a crew cab long bed F-250, which was too tall and too long to fit in a standard gas station car wash. Those machines generally can't fit a vehicle longer than 19' (about the size of a full-size, crew cab, short bed pickup).



It depends on the quality of the material as well as the design. If it's standard outdoor 3M or Avery vinyl and there are a lot of sharp edges or corners in the design, then you stand a higher chance of the graphics lifting off with the high pressure water in a car wash tunnel.

OEM-grade graphics are typically printed on multilayer clear vinyl that is foil-backed (for the opaque portions) and they deliberately have rounded corners and large clear borders, such as the "4x4" stickers seen on pickup trucks. Those tend to fare better than the paint itself.

The graphics I had put on my Mav is the same material they use to wrap vehicles with, not vinyl. The sign shop that put the graphics on told me specifically not to go through a car wash.

 

[Deleted member 5597]

Thanks everyone for replying. Since my initial post, I did a lot of research and watched a ton of YouTube videos on foam cannons and foaming soap. I couldn’t see spending $50-$100 for a foam cannon. I ended up buying the Tool Daily Foam Cannon. It was reviewed by at least 3 or 4 YouTube influencers, some of which have their own detailing business. I did end up buying the 1.1 orifice as recommended by a few influencers to get more foam. I didn’t order the one with the stubby wand. I’m going to try it with my Ryobi 1800 psi pressure washer later today. I bought a small bottle of Chemical Brothers foam cannon soap. I have a bottle of Jay Leon’s Garage soap and wax, but that’s way too thick, even when diluted, to use in a foam cannon.
I now understand how to wash a vehicle with a foam cannon. It’s more than foam and rinse.

 

[jimbabwe]

I’m thinking of buying this foam cannon. It looks simple enough to use. Spray foam on, let it do its job, then rinse off. No more washing by hand. What do you think?

Water Cannon

I also went with the Harbor Freight Premium Wide-Mouth Pressure Washer Foam Cannon, an extendable mop scrubber liike the one another user showed below, but bought mine from Temu for cheap and it works fine. I also bought the smaller "orifice nozzle" to replace the standard one in the HF cannon (recommended by someone online in a video). The smaller nozzle is about $7 for a pair on Amazon: RIDGE WASHER 1.1 mm Foam Cannon Orifice Nozzle, Universal Thread Tips for Snow Foam Lance, 2 Pack.

 

[Hoagus]

‘Cannon’… lol

 

[Deleted member 5597]

Thanks for all of the replies. I did buy one off of Amazon and used it on my Mav maybe five times. I decided it was too much trouble taking out the electric pressure washer, so I went back to using a bucket.

 

[Dave O]

I purchased a foam cannon from “The Chemical Guys” for my MotorCoach and use it on all my vehicles I use the “303 RV Wash” outstanding results

 

[sg777]

Exact foam cannon I have. I have enjoyed using mine on my truck

 

[dn325ci]

Thanks for all of the replies. I did buy one off of Amazon and used it on my Mav maybe five times. I decided it was too much trouble taking out the electric pressure washer, so I went back to using a bucket.

I just leave it all connected. I put a 50ft high pressure hose reel on the wall near the electric PW. Whenever I want it (typically a couple times a week), I keep a short 6ft garden hose with quick connect on the inlet and just connect it to the outside faucet. It's ready. No real setup or teardown.

 

[Deleted member 5597]

I just leave it all connected. I put a 50ft high pressure hose reel on the wall near the electric PW. Whenever I want it (typically a couple times a week), I keep a short 6ft garden hose with quick connect on the inlet and just connect it to the outside faucet. It's ready. No real setup or teardown.

Good idea if you have a nearby outlet and nearby water outlet.

 

[Darthie]

I’m thinking of buying this foam cannon. It looks simple enough to use. Spray foam on, let it do its job, then rinse off. No more washing by hand. What do you think?

Water Cannon

Just bought the 2025 ryobi car pressure washer the thing is amazing comes with cannon.

 

[Sig-vicious]

I just leave it all connected. I put a 50ft high pressure hose reel on the wall near the electric PW. Whenever I want it (typically a couple times a week), I keep a short 6ft garden hose with quick connect on the inlet and just connect it to the outside faucet. It's ready. No real setup or teardown.

Yeah I think this is what I'd have to do to get back into using a foam canon....electric on the wall with a hose reel.

The foam canon definitely saves time for the actual washing part, but dragging a big gas washer back and forth from the shed each time, plus the setup, brings the time back to even.

 

[Vafordman]

Just bought the 2025 ryobi car pressure washer the thing is amazing comes with cannon.

I just bought the same foam cannon. Going to try and use this weekend. It will the first time using a foam cannon

 

[Toddman45]

No foam cannon or pressure washer for me, only thing I've ever used the pressure washer for on my vehicles is the undercarriage with a undercarriage sprayer adapter.

I just use two buckets one for wheels and tires and lower plastics and another bucket for the painted surfaces, with a great garden both buckets I purchased from harbor freight for $7 for both of them that fit in the bottom of the bucket with indentations in them with holes so the grit falls through to the bottom of the bucket.

 

[REMUB40]

I use the chemical guys bucket that has a perforated raised insert that let's the dirt settle. I wash the wheels last with designated brush.

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