If you are here, you are probably wondering how you can achieve that thick, shaving cream-like foam for washing a car. Here's how to do it.
What you need
1. Pressure Washer
You can't get foam without a pressure washer. Which pressure washer you have is one of the determining factors on how thick the foam will be. Ideally, you want to have a pressure washer that does close to 2 gallons per minute, like our Kranzle pressure washers.
2. Sprayer
Most sprayers that come with pressure washers are long, bulky, and do not have a swivel. You will want to upgrade to a short or stubby sprayer to use with the foam cannon. We recommend the OG Spec Mosmatic Swiveling Sprayer.
For more information on all of the sprayers we sell, check out this article:
Why Should I Upgrade My Sprayer and Which One Should I Get? - Upgrading Your Sprayer
3. Foam Cannon
You need a foam cannon to make the foam. The best foam cannon on the market is the MTM PF22.2. It is very high quality and is very adjustable. If you are using a mid-tier or high-end pressure washer, like the Comet Static 1700 Extra, AR Blue Clean AR630-TSS, or a Kranzle, you will need to use the 1.25 mm orifice that comes pre-installed in the PF22.2. If you have an entry-level pressure washer, like the Karcher Machines we sell, you will want to switch to the 1.1mm orifice. This is supplied with the PF22.2.
4. Soap
Soap is also a determining factor in how thick the foam is. We use Koch Chemie GSF (Gentle Snow Foam) in our foam cannons. Most other soaps will work great too, but Koch Chemie GSF is our favorite.
How to use it
After you have your pressure washer fully set up, it's time to foam!
Step 1:
Fill the bottle with about 750 to 800 ml of water. If it's available, use warm water. Warm water helps to produce more suds.
Step 2:
Pour in about 150 ml of soap. Keep in mind this is if you are using Adam's Car Shampoo. If you are using a different soap, the dilutions may be different. Dilutions are just something you are going to have to play around with. Most car soaps have recommendations on the label.
Step 3:
Before putting the foam cannon onto the bottle, mix the soap in the bottle gently, but thoroughly.
Step 4:
Screw the bottle into the foam cannon (i.e. keep the foam cannon still and twist the bottle in). This is important. If you screw the foam cannon onto the bottle there is a chance that you can strip the threads. You will need to buy a replacement bottle if the threads get stripped. If you don't want to worry about this, check out our PF22 Quick Disconnect Package.
Step 5:
Attach the foam cannon to the sprayer and turn the dial on the top to all the way +.
Step 6:
Squeeze the trigger on the sprayer and watch the foam party begin! You will want to adjust the fan to your desired spray pattern. Now that you are foaming, you may also need to adjust the dial on the top. Just keep playing with it until you get the desired foam. Kranzle and other higher output pressure washers don’t usually need as much fiddling around with and you can leave the dial on the top at full +.