Learning how to use snow foam is easily the most fun part of any detailer’s journey. Seeing your car covered in thick snow is a great sight and it’s certainly fun to play around with the lance - but snow foaming serves a very real purpose too, namely as a pre-wash.
What Is Snow Foam?
Snow foam is a thick coating of detergent that sits on your car, softening and loosening the dirt attached to its bodywork. This makes for an easier wash that requires less scrubbing, meaning your car is less likely to get scratches or swirl marks and won’t need polishing afterwards.
How Does Snow Foam Work?
Snow foam’s unique characteristic is its thickness which allows it to stay in contact with the car for longer than standard fluid car shampoo. This maximises the time it has to soften the dirt on your vehicle.
How to Snow Foam a Car: A Step-by-Step Guide
Wondering how to use snow foam? We’ve got you covered...
Step 1: Use a pressure washer to give your car a thorough rinse.
Step 2: Fill the snow foam cannon 100ml of the way up with our Arctic storm snow foam and top up the rest of the cannon with clean water. Yep, that’s how to make snow foam fluid!
Step 3: Attach the snow foam lance to the cannon. Then, attach the other end of the lance to the pressure washer.
Wondering how to get thick snow foam? It’s all about the water pressure, so make sure the water is flowing and the electricity is turned on (we’ve honestly made this mistake before).
Step 4: Evenly spray the snow foam all over the car’s bodywork. Our pH neutral formula means that it can be used on any part of the vehicle without reacting or causing damage. We recommend working from bottom to top to allow the foam have more contact time with the lower parts of your car where they are typically the dirtiest.
Step 5: After 5-10 minutes, rinse the foam off thoroughly, ideally using your pressure washer (though a regular hose pipe will do too). Rinse from top to bottom to ensure you do not splash any of the released dirt back onto your car.
That’s it! You should now be ready for a thorough contact wash. At a pinch, you can just use snow foam with no contact wash, but we’d only recommend this if your car has paint protection (like wax or ceramic coating) and is washed frequently.
What is the best snow foam?
The best snow foam should be versatile, and our Arctic Storm Snow Foam is certainly that. Working just as well with hard water as soft water and available in different sizes (including: 500ml, 2.5L and 5L), this PH neutral snow foam lifts soil and dirt deposits from your car’s paintwork for a beautiful finish. Its aromatic orange scent doesn’t hurt either.
Snow Foam FAQs
How Long Should You Leave Snow Foam on For?
If you’re wondering how long to leave snow foam on for, we’d usually recommend allowing it to sit for about 5-10 minutes. Just make sure that the foam doesn’t dry on the surface (a common problem on a hot day).
Why Does It Matter If a Snow Foam is PH Neutral?
Snow foams used to contain acids that helped to break down dirt from the bodywork. The problem was that the acid also broke down layers of wax and damaged your car’s paint. That’s why we ensure our foam is pH neutral.
Is Snow Foam Worth It?
If you have the equipment and know how to use snow foam with a pressure washer, then it’s worth it! It’s one of the steps that sets detailing apart. It’ll leave your car cleaner and free of swirls and scratches.
Can You Use Snow Foam as a Shampoo?
You can! While we recommend using a dedicated shampoo designed with contact washing in mind, if you want to know how to use snow foam as an alternative to car shampoo, simply dilute it with water.