Snow Foam vs Citrus Prewash | Do You Need Both?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2021
- In this video I'll be comparing two of my favourite snow foams and citrus prewashes. I couldn't pick loads of products for this as I thought it'd get a bit complicated and end up being way too long, so I just went for two of my current two favourites: Bilt Hamber Auto Foam (3% PIR) and Valet Pro Citrus Prewash (1:6 product to water ratio).
I have been wondering for a while if my citrus prewash routine added much to the process, or if using a snow foam alone would be enough, so I thought I'd put them both to the test and see if you really need a citrus prewash as well as a snow foam.
Like I mentioned in the video, this is just my thoughts and experience using these two products. So let me know what you use in the comments!
Bilt Hamber Auto Foam Review • Bilt Hamber Auto Foam ...
Follow me on Instagram! / autocarehq
Products used (links to In2Detailing):
Bilt Hamber Auto Foam www.in2detailing.co.uk/produc...
Valet Pro Citrus www.in2detailing.co.uk/produc...
Check out my recommended detailing supplies
autocarehq.com/recommended-pr...
Thanks for watching!
Regarding applying product on dry vs wet panel that I saw on another channel. If you spray dirty panels with pressure washer with water only, you are pushing the dirt into the paint and possibly into crevices. Whereas if you apply foam first, then most of the dirt will become dislodged and washed away gently, before applying the strong pressure washer spray
Really helpful, Heather. I listened to your appearance on the Specky podcast from a couple of years ago and absolutely agree that replacing background music during voiceovers with the detailing sounds works way better.
I use a citrus pre wash on a dry vehicle, let it dwell for a couple of minutes then pressure wash off. The prewash cleaned alot better than pressure washer alone.
Then I apply my snow foam. This gives an adequate clean on a cold winters day and a decent clean in the warmer months.
I don't always do a contact wash.
My current products are autobrite direct citrus pre wash at 30:1 followed my autobrite direct superfoam pH neutral at roughly 200ml topped up with 800ml water but I can get up to 4 washes from a full mix depending on how windy it is.
Hi Heather, yet another informative video, well done I've been wondering about this topic for a while thanks to you a little bit more light at the end of tunnel now. many thanks
Thank you! Thought it’d be a good one to test out and see how much difference these products were making in comparison. Think it’d be good to try it with some more products in the future 😊
A question I’ve always thought about too.. I think a citrus pre wash for lightly soiled cars… heavily contaminated cars Bilt Hamber Touchless… great video… 😊
Great video Heather. I have been trying this myself recently and had pretty good results with Koch Chemie Green Star at 1:8 and put AM Details foam on top. Teh AM foam clings for ages, giving time to get round the window rubbers, badges etc with a detailing brush. Green Start is very versatile, and a 10 litre is very cost effective.
Really interesting video thanks so much. Would love to see more videos like this with your thoughts / ideas on washing/detailing process. It's interesting as well about whether to foam a wet or dry car. I've heard fair arguments on either side. Like you I tend to pressure wash with water first to knock some of the loosest dirt off before using foam.. I find with citrus pre wash I need to use it at quite strong ratios for it to really work more like 1:4 or more. Thing is BH foam is just very good. Thanks again for this video you're always honest and genuine which is great.
Thanks very much! Yeah auto foam is a great product so it was definitely a hard test for the pre wash. I reckon if I’d have used something pH neutral the results would’ve probably been the other way around!
Great topic. I stumbled across your videos the other day and you've got some great content. New subscriber. I tend to mix some Surfex HD in with Autofoam to give a stronger snow foam in the winter. If the car is really dirty I put the surfex straight onto the lower panels and then foam over the top.
Thanks for watching! Surfex HD definitely seems to be a popular option especially in winter, I’ll definitely be giving it a go!
Good video Heather they are very different products I personally always double up with prewash products and lately found different results on different cars with VP citrus I tend to find it great for tight areas and interiors and as you say tyres at the end of day it’s down to personal preference good video also depends on your protection levels on your clear coat 🙌🏻
Cheers Paul! VP Citrus is really versatile, and it’s so cheap as well it’s definitely worth having a bottle mixed up. I’ll try it on some cars with no protection and see how it performs then too at some point 😊
best video yet nobody is talkinmg about this
Other than the ph anglewax fastfoam snowfoam, I use carpro lift. Its a strong citrus pre wash. 1: 9 ratio..Great video 👍👍
Great video Heather. Like your new titles and you’ve got a hoody too, turning into a real RUclips pro! I first started using a snow foam pre rinse about 15 years ago and made Auto Foam my choice of product pretty quickly. With Auto Foam being so effective, I’ve never used a citrus prewash a I’ve never found it necessary. I think people use a citrus and then a foam because the foam they use has little cleaning power but use Auto Foam and a citrus is never necessary. One thing to bear in mind is there’s a balance between cleaning ability and degrading the LSP. A strong TRF will shift loads of dirt but will strip your sealant too. Auto Foam is alkaline but as Jon on the Forensic Detailing Chanel tested, this had little to no effect on various LSP’s. I never worry about that anyway as I always top up the protection regularly which is half the enjoyment!
Thanks very much!! Auto foam is such a great product, every time I use it I always impressed with how much traffic film it can remove. Yeah I can definitely see citrus pre washes being more useful if using a ph neutral snow foam but I guess at that stage the snow foam would become obsolete tbh. Very true as well, never noticed auto foam have a negative effect on LSP, even if it did have an impact, I’d rather that prewash was effect than inflicting swirls and the protection can always be topped up!
Great video and review stay safe looking forward to next video's 🇬🇧👍
Cheers Richard!
Really super video. I tend to use citrus pre wash but at a low dilution and for me that gets rid of traffic film and grime off my car, however also appreciate snow foam is really useful. If I have the time I will use both but only when time allows. As you say for a cleaning snow foam you cant beat BH and since my foam cannon has packed up having to rely on citrus pre wash till I can get a new one lol. Either way a questioon Imm sure has been well answered and great video. Look forward to more
Thanks very much Phil 😊 which citrus pre wash are you using at the moment?
Good review, thank you!😁👍
You can use bilt hamber auto foam in a pump sprayer to. Saves on buying two products.
Great video heather and very ‘en vogue’ given the time of year we are in. I have recently moved onto a TFR at 1:30 as my pre wash just on the bad lower sections, I then rinse of the TFR after 2-3 min dwell time and then apply snow foam to the whole car (currently using KKD blizzard). I use the same valet pro citrus as you but I use it wheel arches/tyres ( if I’m not using YumCars undress) /badge and front grill area. I can do 800 miles a week in my car so the TFR comes into it’s own at this time of the year on the worse areas. Keep the videos coming 👍
Cheers Peter 😊 Wow 800 miles is a lot, no wonder you need a TFR! Which one are you using at the moment?
@@AutoCareHQ I’m using a carplan trade valet one from Halfords (only about £10 for 5litres) and even if it strips some protection I put fresh on every time I wash it anyway. Unfortunately with managing scaffolders across east anglia I travel.......a lot!
Interesting video. I use Swissvax products on my car and pleased with the results. I add BH Touch-Less snow foam as part of the cleaning process and this works well. Never used a citrus pre wash as I don’t see the need. I power hose the car to remove any dirt, with my MJJC Snow Lance I spray on Touch-Less and leave for 8 minutes. Power wash off the snow foam and then wash the car with Swissvax Car Shampoo.
Don't know about everyone else.. but I mix both these products in the lance. Seems to work pretty well!
Another great video cheers
Hi heather another information video again wondering is bilt hamber safe on waxes and sealants
Very good video!
Very
interesting Heather , from my point of view I prefer using a snow foam on a very dirty vehicle but I spray it on dry!!if I rinse with water ...
I’ve noticed that there is a “film” of water between the dirt and snow foam .
So the snow foam doesn’t clean as well!
Obviously without a prewash product!
Depends obviously on the level of dirt!
Obviously you know your dilutions measurements on snow foam and prewash products.. but I think it is better direct on dry specially in winter months because you can leave them to dwell more..
👍💪👏👏👏
👍💪👏👏
Thanks Alan! Applying products on dry panels always feels weird to me haha but I’ll definitely try it! I know quite a few people prefer that method so it’d be interesting to do another comparison and see how it goes 😊
Fantastic video. It's about time this was covered.
For me, I use Autobrite Magifoam. I haven't found ANYTHING that gives the same level of cleaning and a thick, workable foam that can dwell for so long.
The car is literally 95% clean after a good 15 to 20 minute dwell (although I've had longer in cold westher) with Magifoam. And I can tell this based on the colour of the water in my rinse bucket after the contact wash.
If you haven't tried it yet, I'd definitely recommend it.
Thanks very much! Cheers for the recommendation. I've been thinking about picking that one up actually, it seems to get good reviews. I'll definitely get some at some point and maybe do a snow foam comparison video with the others I've got as well I think
@@AutoCareHQ no worries at all. It's good stuff.
It isn't the cheapest to be fair, unless you go for the 5 litre option of course, but it does do a great job of cleaning and I do love a nice thick, creamy foam! Lol.
Great video 🙂
I love both of these products. I tend to use BH more throughout winter - I travel 1,000 miles per week between Yorkshire and Cumbria and the winter road grime is insane! BH at 5% PIR or Surfex HD a 5-10% are the only chemicals that significantly impact the road film (amazingly so) allowing 90%+ to be removed with a pressure washer.
The Valet Pro, even at 20%, cannot match this, and the dwell time to achieve decent results is a factor.
That being said, I use Valet Pro citrus throughout summer, as it's actually better at removing the bugs!
It's also far better than 95% of the Ph neutral snowfoams out there.
Both are valuable additions to any enthusiast, or professionals kit.
Also, just to add - I find Angelwax Cleanliness citrus pre-wash to be more potent than the Valet Pro. It also foams up more and has a more premium 'feel' to it. Comparable in price too! So worth a try 😉👍
Regards,
Jason
Thanks for watching! Wow that's a lot of mileage! The surfex and auto foam combo seems to be a popular option, I'll definitely give it a try next time my car is really filthy. I'll add that one to the list, I've not tried any Angelwax products yet so it'd be a good one to start with :)
When you spray the surfex. Do you dilute it with water?
@@j.f.4765 Use at 4% Surfex.
i am also a Bilt Hamber super fan
Great video keep it up 👍
Thank you!
I use the BH auto foam as well. Very good and looking forward to trying out the new BH touch-less and the touch-on sachets. Could be better and faster in colder weather 👍
The two new BH products look very interesting. I’m thinking about picking the touch-less one up soon and seeing how it compares to auto foam
@@AutoCareHQ not quite as good the touchless snow foam. Auto foam all the way I do use the surfex hd as a tfr first before foaming straight over it. Then gyeon wet coat after for protection. Winter washing is so much quicker and easier for me in this way
Going to try citrus pre wash...
Another good video. You seem to think of things I think about but I can't be bothered to test them.😄 I would normally use surfex hd at 5% then auto foam or 8 below on top. Maybe thinking now to just use snowfoam if the cars not to dirty. Also what pressure washer do you use?.
I have also started to put shampoo on through a snowfoam bottle and use the multi mitt method. Alot quicker as long as the shampoo doesn't dry. (In the summer)
Thanks for watching! All good products there. I’ve just got an older generation Karcher K4 😊
I use the snowfoam more than the pre wash but I have started using prewash on the tyre's with the tyre brush and they come up very well
That’s a great way of using the pre wash, they’re a lot more versatile than snow foams but I just prefer the overall experience of using a snow foam a bit more
I use both after a rinse pre wash and then snow foam but only if the cars fairly dirty, if it's a weekly wash I only use snow foam
I’m probably going to get hated for this but I agree that if your layer it the snow foam isn’t touching the panel , so I tend to make my snow foam up and put around 10-15ml of concentrate into the foam cannon aswell seems to work well as a mixture rather than layered
I think they both have a place. I have both products and I find for how many different things the citrus pre wash can be used for and how cheap it is it’s definitely worth having. Apc is very good for tyres and door shuts and place you don’t get with a snow foam.
Yeah definitely a dilutable citrus pre wash is super cheap and it’s a really versatile product so it’s good to have in the collection I reckon even if I don’t use it on every wash
Another great video, I only tend to use a citrus prewash when I'm using a lesser performing PH neutral snow foam. I've tried it layered with EZ Car Care's Artic Meltdown to help it perform better. It's a great 'show foam' as I call it but not the greatest performer, It's not a patch on Bilt Hamber. Any way did you catch my unboxing video?
Thanks very much! I’ve not tried any EZ products yet but see them a lot on Instagram so I’m quite tempted to put an order in at some point. Just watching it now 😊
Interesting topic.
Been wondering about this for ages
Apc definitely seems to have more effect than snowfoam.
Iam mostly just using an apc only now and not bothering with snowfoams
Hi Heather, I used Auto Glanz citrus prewash for the first time using an power sprayer I then rinsed it off followed by BH auto foam on my car that hadn’t been washed for about a month. I had great results when I did my contact wash as my wash bucket water was relatively clean.
That sounds like a great combination. I'm still yet to try more auto-glanz products, but I've got them on the list. I've spent too much on the car chem boxes to justify getting anything else for a while haha!
@@AutoCareHQ saw Jon from Forensics use spear and Jackson pump sprayer to apply a pre wash so much easier than using a trigger spray.
I normally use valet pro citrus let it sit for a few minutes then use griots garage foaming surface wash which does the trick.
Interesting video. I have always had similar thoughts as you with regards swipe test... same category as waterless wash products. Not my bag at all, doesn't sit right in my head.
Interesting to see the test repeated but on dirtier vehicle.
Yeah definitely will be good to try this one a really filthy car with no protection (preferably white) at some point so I can test out the combos a bit more
Nice informative content.
Thanks for watching 😊
Just off the top of my head would the acidity in a citrus prewash be more effective against sticky dirt?I'm thinking mainly tree sap or finger marks. Another good video - keep them coming.
Cheers Peter :) The prewash is still alkaline, the pH of this one is 9.5, very confusing to call it "citrus" now you've mentioned it!
@@AutoCareHQ indeed. I've learnt something though - thanks.
Great video thanks much
Thanks for watching!
I think Bilt Hamber suggest 4% PIR.
Hi regarding the discussions on wether to jet wash before using an APC / snow foam etc. I use BH products and have been immensely impressed so each time i have a question i just ring them for an opinion, in this instance their recommendation was in general to apply the BH Surfex HD and BH Auto Foam directly to the vehicle with the theory being that they will cling (and work) better to a rough surface than a freshly jet washed slippery surface. I believe there is a caveat to this, say on a vehicle that is absolutely caked in grime (subjective this one), this scenario though probably would not apply to many people who like this hobby as they would have probably cleaned the vehicle before this stage unless your into 4WD off road fun? Anyway for me living in a rural / muddy area my winter process so far is Surfex HD at approx 5% through a pump sprayer on the worst areas topped up with the Auto Foam at around 3% PIR, leaving it for up to 10 mins. Great video and hope you get the new BH Touch-Less product as I'm keen to see how it performs.
Thanks very much for the comment. That's really interesting, I'll definitely give it a go on a dry car and maybe do a comparison video on a few vehicles with different levels of grime and protection at some point. I'm very tempted to pick up touch-less soon, I'm still a bit confused why they've brought out another snow foam considering auto foam is so popular so I think it'll be really good to do a comparison of the two
I’m learning through watching. I have similar results. The ph neutral snow foam is okay but very wet and does dwell. Did wonder about not pre rinsing before citrus? But would just dry out. Still do in two parts. Citrus does dry out quickly though so can’t leave for too long.
For my cars because I keep on top of them they never really get too dirty I don't find citrus wash necessary on the cars unless I've lots of fly spatter . But for the motorbike it's amazing to get flys off 👌
Good experiment. Have you tried putting the citrus pre wash into the snow foam as well ? I'm sure I've seen that used. So you've got the two in the snow foam bottle ready to go.
Thanks for watching :) I've only ever tried mixing surfex HD and auto foam once before to be honest just to help remove a wax. It's a good idea though to give the snow foam an extra kick, would definitely save time as well.
Hi heather
Try BH auto foam and mix it in your Lance bottle with BH Surfex HD
Nice video! Personally, I am a strong believer of an APC application followed-up with snow.foam. Then, rinse and 1 bucket contact wash. BUT, your logic does makes sense! SMACKDOWN! LOL
BH is amazing, little bit more costly but worth it .
Hi Heather just a quick question I have 2024 Astra and it will having its first wash since the dealership pdi clean and after I've done the washing part obviously I'll be polishing it and will be using an Autoglym polish and also if I can need to use an Autoglym ceramic spray what is your advise? Gavin 😊
I use bilt hamber surfex hd at 4% as a tfr
Surfex at 4(ish)% on lower bits, wheels & arches. Pressure off, then BH foam at 4(ish)% PIR. No science behind it but the (unproven) theory is that the surfex helps soften the bugs & cow **** in the summer & general filth in the winter. - therefore less work for the foam to do. As you say, there's no right or wrong. I'm open minded & try different products & methods. That's part of the fun !
I’ve not used surfex as a pre wash yet but I probably should try it, the value for money is really great. Definitely! I can never just settle on a process because I always just like trying out different products and techniques too much!
@@AutoCareHQ have you tried Surfex as a prewash before Autofoam yet?
I just use surfex hd as a 'pre wash' and wheel cleaner. Spray on, foam ontop. I have some turtle wax max power if i need more 'power'. Only takes a squirt in a 2 litre mix.
Do you like autobrite direct citrus?
Looked forward to seeing this video but I’m left a bit confused, you’ve demonstrated BH autofoam being best all round but still say you still like using Citrus all round as a good routine, because it means you spend more time with the car. Your results all pointed to Autofoam being brilliant so why continue with using a citrus prewash? 🤔
Honestly it’s just because I enjoy the process. It could have some benefit in terms of softening the traffic film which would be really difficult to test and to be honest I don’t think would make a massive difference anyway. But really it’s just because I have too much time on my hands at the moment and the product is so cheap 😂
Hey Heather
It’s Sunday night so it’s time for Auto Care HQ video 🤗🤗
I’ve been using google Surfex HD and topping with Auto Foam.
Seems to give it a kick.
Maybe in the Summer will just use one or the other.
The question is whether to rinse before applying either products 🤔
I tend to rinse as much dirt off before using products.
Some may disagree 🤷♂️
Nice video though.
Did you receive your mystery Car Chem box yet ? 😳
That’s a good idea! I’ve only ever tried surfex with auto foam at a higher concentration to try and strip the protection down a bit but at a lower concentration I can see that being really effective. I always prefer rinsing first just to give the prewash the best chance possible at removing traffic film rather than layering it on dirt that can just be removed with a pressure washer. I’ve not got my boxes yet, starting to worry they’ve been lost! Have you got yours?
Yeah I like to give the chemicals the best chance so less dirt on the panel the better for me 🤗
Not got my box yet but had an email saying how overwhelmed they are at the amount of orders they received.
Could be a little while I’m thinking.
Saw one detailed post an unboxing of his products.
One was for cleaning bikes 😬
Not sure about that 😳😳
Will keep you posted if I receive anything 🙏🙏
@@mantaman7314 Fingers crossed it's not too long. Hope I don't get that one then, I don't even own a bike haha!
@@AutoCareHQ agreed i think pre wash is overated i started using surfex hd through a foam cannon on a work vehicle now use it alll the time on my bmw it does not strip light ceramic although others will tell you otherwise the most important thing is to get all of the looose stuff off before a contact wash and nothing works better than surfex hd
I use a waterless wash and wax on my car it says that it
will not scratch on the bottle
have you tried it on a car
ps just joined your channel
keep up the great work.
Thanks! I’ve not tried any yet I’m afraid, I know a lot of people swear by Optimum No Rinse though and the brand reckon it’s actually safer than regular washing
What angle is your nozzle on this I have 20• and doesn’t seem very fanned quite directional
It's the 40 degree one
Be interested to see this carried out on a proper filthy car, something that has no protection and hasn't been cleaned for a couple of months 🤣 but I could've predicted the 'winner' before you started... I use Autofoam on its own most of the time when I'm not filming and don't see what benefit I'd get from adding citrus... 👍🏼
Yeah I’ll definitely try it on something with no protection and really heavy grime at some point, preferably a white car so it’s a lot easier to see the difference! Yep Auto Foam was always going to be a very tough one to beat!
@@AutoCareHQ there's a white mini I'm my driveway that hasn't been washed since my last BH video 🤣 you're welcome to use it 😁😁
Hahaha go on then, might take me a while to get there!
@@AutoCareHQ 🤣
I think you only really need a citrus pre wash. It's alot less hassle and less mess, I use it a lot more than snow foam. I keep a 5 litre pump sprayer full of it
Which citrus pre wash do you use?
Can anyone answer if its safe for the vehicle to mix the snow foam and the pre soak together in the Foam Cannon?
It should be fine if the products are used at the standard dilution ratios 😊
Personally I use valet pro citrus on the car from dry and then rinse, then autofoam and rinse before going to the contact wash. Great video. I'd still prefer to use both over one or the other just as to try and be abit safer in avoiding swirls during contact washing. Every little helps in prewash stages as you said
Thanks for watching 😊 both are great products, especially with how bad the weather is atm and how dirty the car ends up being I still like doing both stages to be on the safe side too!
@@AutoCareHQ its a must from me, never tried using valet pro citrus beyond 1:8 ratio though, is it noticeably different at 1:6?
I'd say it's a tiny bit more potent at 1:6 but not a massive difference to be honest
@@AutoCareHQ will give it a try next time at 1:6. Also, would you not prefer to use a pump sprayer than a spray trigger bottle?
It'd definitely make life a lot easier! I've only got a pump foamer atm and loads of these trigger bottles lying around but I'll probably upgrade at some point.
Can I use this on my black wheels.
I usually just mix warm water with my car shampoo In a spray bottle and use that. And the car i clean has got black wheels use It on them too. I was a mobile valeter. but im limited now with what i have. Does the job though. There lots of tricks in this game theres chemicals you can use for stuff its not actually for😉
Hi Heather,
I am a bit confused. Manufacturer recommended Dilution vs PIR.
Why not sticking with the dilution provided on the instructions e.g 1:10 or whatever provided by the manufacturer?
It’s a considerable difference between using a 100ml solution (+ 900 water if you’re using a 1l snow foam lance) and using approx. 350 ml solution to achieve 4% PIR.
Does it means that in order to achieve the right PIR with BH the snow foam usage is going to be higher ?
Yep that’s right, In order to get the recommended 4% PIR of auto foam you need a lot more snow foam than with most others. They don’t have a dilution ratio on the bottle like other snow foams where you’d typically see something like 1:10
@@AutoCareHQ Thanks a lot Heather, much appreciated! Keep up the good work! 😊
Put a citrus or tfr in snow foam, saves loads of time, especially important if running a business
With all the tests you carry out on your vehicle it must be the shiniest car this side of the moon. I heard a rumour that jeff bezos used the reflection as a mirror whilst shaving his head. Are these rumours true?? Anyway keep up the good work 👍👍
Hahaha that’s brilliant 😂 thanks very much for watching!
Off topic here, But how often do you clean your engine bay?
Do you have a clean car but dirty engine bay or clean car and clean engine bay? 👍
I last cleaned it Summer so it’ll definitely need sprucing up again reasonably soon!
@@AutoCareHQ 👍Nice
Not being funny, I am a detailer and that foam mix is very weak and thin and runny, try infinity wax power foam :) it makes much thicker foam that clings much better
I have always used both. They are different chemicals so remove different types of dirt.
Was the VP diluted?
3:55 a pump sprayer would be much easier right
Yeah it definitely would!
Music is too loud, can't hear what she says.
Your last couple of videos don't show up on your channel under new videos.
Ahh that’s strange, not sure why it’s not coming up
@@AutoCareHQ might just be me.
They come up on mine 👍🏼
imho citrus pre washes do noyning compared to snow foam
I’ve not tried a citrus pre wash that matches BH to be honest. Unless it was super concentrated maybe but then I’d get a bit nervous about the protection underneath
Snow foam is the unnecessary stage LOL
Get on with it. Too much talking
Pointless review once you rinsed with water. Not only is the water taking the dirt off, but the static water left on the surface redilutes the mixing ratios.
I always rinse before applying a prewash, it doesn’t take it all off otherwise I would never need to use anything else. The dilution afterwards due to the wet panels is pretty minimal and the products are still effective, I don’t feel any need to increase the concentration
you have clearly never used a proper pre wash its night and day between rinse and something like auto foam
Difficult to hear, average speakers, good hearing. Would be better with mic and/or without background music