thoughts on electric pressure washing / foam cannons

The pictures you see where after the foam was applied and had set a bit. The Xterra in the background had been sitting for a while longer than the WRX. I have since started doing only one car at a time and upped the ratio of Honeydew to warm water. It suds pretty thick. There is a spec on min pressure and gpm for your washer:

• Requires Pressure Washer to Have 2.0GPM & Over 1000 PSI Pressure for use - (taken right from Amazon description for cannon I linked earlier)

Lower Pressure and Lower GPM will reduce the suds. I run my cannon at max foam which I think is all the way on the (-) setting which is the water ratio. I also don't fan my spray much, just cracked back from full concentrated blast. This seems to provide the thickest foam without splattering it everywhere. I would say its spraying a 6-8" swath at my regular holding distance - not a solid concentrated jet stream.

I may try some other soaps, but I am skeptical that there is a soap safe enough for wax that will also remove all the nasty road grime without engaging the paint with a wash mitt.

 

Good info thanks !
Maybe it's the GPM being well below the 2.0, but I'm welll over the psi, so I thought I could get away with it. I figured it was the cannon, I did the same, thinking it was the soap and upped the ratio/used hotter water, adjusted the setting on the cannon, and still got similar results.
I get about the consistency of what the wex looks like and after a min or 2 it's looking like the xterra.
Not bad by any means, just not the mountain of foam

 

@JS760 when I was looking at pressure washers I had a hard time finding an electric that had decent GPM for a fair price. I love that I can take my gas unit anywhere that the hose can reach and not mixing water with electricity. What I don't like is another tank to keep fueled up and all the racket the gas washer makes, but there is a give and take.

 

Anything from Chemical Guys is amazing. You won't be disappointed!

 

$169 Sun Joe Electric Pressure Power Washer, 2030 PSI (PWMA Certified), 1.2 GPM, Dual Soap Tanks, (35-FT GFCI Water-Safe, Power Cord), SPX3000

https://www.amazon.com/Joe-SPX3000-...44818&sr=8-2&keywords=sun+joe+pressure+washer

Count me in as another satisfied user of the Sun Joe pressure washer. I used to have a Karcher, and the problem with it was being locked into the Karcher proprietary wands, hoses and connectors. With the Sun Joe, I went to Lowe's and bought a bunch of different universal connectors, wands and an extension hose. I also have the Chemical Guys foam cannon and soap, and if I don't handwash the truck after foaming, there is still a perceptible film of dirt. My truck lives outside year round in Seattle, so I don't worry much about having a showroom paint finish.

 

In my opinion, a pressure washer is worth having, but a foam cannon isn't. The pressure washer is definitely the most useful when it comes to degreasing wheel wells and wheels. I find that there is no added benefit to using soap, especially considering how much soap is used in the process.

The pressure washer gets caked on stuff and gross contaminants off the vehicle just from the pressure and water itself. Water going under the dirt and letting it fall of the paint might not be equally as effective as using foam, but the addition of foam is not worth using good technique and being disciplined in the two bucket method.

There are high volume detailers that swear by the stuff, and I get that. But i'm an average Joe who does some detailing on the side, and it hasn't gotten to the point where it's useful for me.

 

Great information!

From what I understand, it's all about dialing it in to get the perfect amount of foam / wash