Snow Foam vs APC - Which Is Best?
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- Snow Foam vs APC - Which Is Best?
After seeing the neighbour's white TT looking a bit grim, I decided to have some Saturday morning fun, and compare Snow Foam against All Purpose Cleaner / Citrus Pre-Wash.
Which do you think will win?
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#snowfoam #allpurposecleaner #stjarnagloss #detailingworld #prewash 
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Snow Foam or APC?
Which do you prefer and which do you think will do the best?
Bilt Hamber sufex had as pre soak then bilt hammer snow foam every time 👍
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Autosmart ultra mousse is great snowfoam. Little goes a long way and has great "bite".
Just got some Power Maxed Traffic Film Remover concentrate, apparently LSP safe at 9:1 dilution. Having tried it at 10:1 I’m not convinced, although it did obliterate the 3 months worth of winter grime on my car. Could be worth a video Matt. £15 for litres on Amazon.
Love Ultra Mousse, used it for last 8 or so years!
Good informative video yet again Matt. Like others have said I also love the BH snow foam, plus if there is a lot of road film/dirt I add a capful of KC greenstar for a little extra kick.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you 👍
Great product Review !!!! And the way you presented the cleaning really showed the outcome !!
Do you know what is the ph on that apc ?
Thank you
Would have been good to see a panel swipe test to see the in depth cleaning of each product so see what was still left on the surface
Hi Mat, great demo video,I would have said APC,as a wild guess,but it shifted the dirt off.white cars are a pain dirty LOL.i used some Demon shine dirt rapid shifter, part of the dirt came off.
Thanks 👍
Got some garage therapy decon wash coming soon as I want to start again with new protection but prior to that I've found a dash of surfex hd in with the foam works pretty well
The GT Decon will be great as a snow foam to help strip any layers and take the paint back to bare again.
@@TheDetailingSpace yes, hope so. Looking to put a player of old school fusso coat on but want to get the other stuff off first. Mixture of wetcoat and megs hcw
Exactly what I do surfex HD in the snow foam works well 👍
can I sit on the fence Mat?....APC first, Snow Foam on top...best of both worlds!...real world for me, when I was mobile valeting, snow foam created the WOW factor, now I'm unit based, its APC/Citrus pre-wash for me...less mess! Great vid, Sir
Foam is great for attention, however, I wonder what effect APC has on waxes
Mixture of both for me on anything that dirty. I have been useing a car gods pre wash only on my white van and was really surprised how well it came up.
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I'm pretty new to all this (been learning a lot from channels such as yours!) and I've been experimenting with AF Avalanche and Citrus Power. The combination of both seems very effective, but Citrus Power appears the more effective of the two. However, it takes a lot of Citrus Power to cover a car making it pretty expensive in comparison to Avalanche! For that reason I typically just use Citrus Power on the lower panels when the car is really ditry with a layer of Avalanche over the top.
Yeah, tbh, it's usually just the lowers and rear end that need a bit of extra bit 👍
Well, they say in their website that Avalanche is infused with Citrus Power. I like to use Avalanche in summer, and Citrus Power exactly like you said. Bilt Hamber Auto Foam in the winter.
My personal experience would be TFR is better than snow foam by far used separately. But i always use the two together TFR followed by the snow foam.
Omg the music is just 🤤🤤
I get that APC is the more potent of the two, but won't the trade-off be that it strips LSP as opposed to snow foam which is more LSP safe?
I think it all depends on what snow foam/apc you're using, some are better than others, I use the bilt hamber range and they are absolutely amazing, I used both the snow foam and surfex hd together and didn't really see much effect on my protection.
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So you can use APC and then a 2 bucket wash?
Hi Matt, Don't think you can say one or the other is better, depend on the level of grim, a damp muddy car cleans up easier that a car that has dried on traffic film for a week. I use both but tend to adjust to foam and APC as the dirt requires, dried on heavy road film I will use APC/Citrus as a base and foam over the top, as you say Citrus and APC can be harsher on the LSP but you would have to test 2 cars or panels over a period of time, 1 with snow foam only and 1 with APC or Citrus only. An interesting and thought provoking video, nice one
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also the impact (apc) on a ceramic coating...by the way, who uses wax?..my dad did, years ago..lol
Can I use this APC in sunlight.?
Just add a little citrus pre wash into the foam cannon, works great 👌🏼
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How much - ounces/30ml ?
The best pre wash is by Bilt Hamber Auto Foam followed closely by an APC, Koch Chemie Greenstar. Snow foams have harsh chemicals in them that strip LSP’s.
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Just washed the mrs car, i used both.. Soaked with detailed online citrus cleaner at a 10/1 dilution then snow foamed over that... Dirt flew off the motor before a contact wash
Nice 👍
Are the age old question I’ve always seen Snowfoam as a something that should be used with APCs prewashes Citrus 🍊 or even TFRs it acts as a blanket over the stronger products to remove the grime cracking video Matt 👍🏻
Cheers fella 👍
i use apc more than foam.Great video.Take care.
Thank you 👍
Having used a number of snow foams over the years I’ve generally found these don’t strip the dirt as much as a TFR OR Citrus Pre Wash/APC would - the argument being snow foam is about softening and lifting dirt in prep’ for the contact wash rather than as a stripper. However that all changed when I switched to Bilt Hamber Snow Foam - it’s effectively all 3 products in one. Sooo clean you could really leave it at the snow foam wash if you had a dryer or a filtered water rinse and didn’t have to contact dry with a towel. Whatever they use it’s powerful stuff.
Still not tried BH Auto Foam
I use both APC & Snow foam from BH. APC for the lower parts of the car.
Also, I use it on windows & wipe down with mf towel on the wiper blades.
If the car is super dirty, as per the video. APC all over rinse, then snow foam 👍👍
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BH Auto foam has a ph value of 12.5 so its basically like an apc. It'll be rougher on your protection but has more cleaning power.
It contains - caustic soda - it is used, among other things, for the saponification of fats, for cleaning and unblocking. It is also a widely used means of adjusting the pH.
Preparing caustic soda of known concentration requires that the solution be set to a standard. Solid sodium hydroxide can be used, but because this substance is highly hygroscopic, it is not possible to determine the concentration of a solution gravimetrically in advance. A weighed amount of solid sodium hydroxide will always contain an unknown amount of moisture. Therefore, a 50% aqueous solution is more often used. Dilutions thereof must also be made, because such solutions also attract moisture - albeit to a lesser extent. In addition, carbon dioxide from the air also easily dissolves in sodium hydroxide solution. A solution of sodium carbonate is then formed.
The setting is often done by titration against potassium hydrogen phthalate, because this is a solid acid whose mass can be determined well gravimetrically. Oxalic acid is also used as such as an original titre substance.
I reckon the Citrus pre wash will work better. I rarely use a citrus pre wash as have used Bilt a Hamber Auto Foam for 10+ years. Has such excellent cleaning properties, I’ve not needed anything else.
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Surfex HD is by far the best I’ve tested . I gave up on snow foam years ago tbh.
Supposedly wax safe at anything less than 5% . Applied with hand sprayer or snow foam lance( work out the ratio of yours first though)
I use a big bio blower after for a touch less wash and dry, which is all that’s needed in the winter.
Tbh if you’re going to hand wash anyway then foaming is a waste of time. As the video shows it’s barely distinguishable from jet washing alone.
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What ratio do you mix surfex as I’m new to all this would like to try Indy’s of snow foam
I use surfex in a garden sprayer at 5% to 10% and out cleans auto foam
I only use on lower half and not on windows as can stain
works out much cheaper this way than foam in a cannon
think foams work for sure but a lot of product drips off on the ground
Citrus APC snowfoam.
Honestly if I'm cleaning a really dirty car then I might use APC first then cover with snowfoam to keep it from drying out. However I know some APCs work well in a foam lance so that might be my choice in some cases.
Yup, I've put APC through a lance before, or even added it to the snow foam mix, but then it becomes really diluted.
Alien Magic have a citrus snow foam which may be best of both?
No sarcastic comment about the edit this week? 🤣
@@TheDetailingSpace I'm considering swapping snow foams with BH Surfex HD, 50ml in a litre lance and the stuff just destroys. Not so good for LSP but great for when I need to swap the products I'm testing.
@@TheDetailingSpace I'm tired, maybe next week 😄
@@SpeckyMcSporran have you done a test to see how bad for the lsp that combo is? I use that combo and I don't really see a difference
Currently using Forst this winter, I've been really impressed with it to be honest. Re the reducing durability point, I didnt notice any difference between normal winter road film LSP stripping and this. But yeah, this would need to be tested properly on a panel, not a daily. So far I am becoming Stjarna fan, I started on Dodo stuff and this is basically coming from that background. Solid solid products what I tried so far.
Yes, the Stjarnagloss range is very good. I'll have to look at doing a durability test soon
Hi I'm just wondering if you could just recommend a good snow foam lance I'm kind of new to car detailing. Thanks
Most out there are decent, just make sure it has an adjustable knob etc... For ease of use, I recommend the wide mouth lance from Detailed Online or the Polar Blaster from AutoGlym
I'd argue that whilst APCs/snow foam are both pre wash products, they don't necessarily replace eachother. I'd say you should snow foam pretty much any time you're going near the car with a mitt, depending on how dirty it is. If the car hasn't move in a fortnight and it's just dust on it, then you could probably safely forego the pre wash and just give it a good thorough rinse before washing (or even just a rinse might suffice).
Citrus or APC pre washes are a bit stronger. I apply these to a dry dirty car so they're more effective, but like any soapy product, they must not be left to dry. A citrus pre wash can be used on tougher dirt and then accompanied by snow foam afterwards, or directly on top of the citrus to give it more working time.
I like Auto Finesse Citrus power, as it's effective, can be diluted further, and is rated as wax safe. I'm currently using valet pro pH neutral snow foam, but when that runs out I'll be trying Bilt Hamber's Auto Foam.
That is true. They each have their own pros and cons
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Apc as a pre soak then rinse then foam as a lubricant while washing
Nice 👍
I probably find Bilt Hamber's Surfex HD best for overall price to result ratio. The snowfoam in general is an issue for me as a mobile detailer. People have this perception that it looks like its OTT when using it and get rather "over environmental" on you even if you show its biodegradable. I see alot of videos on detailing and it actually looks pretty bad when you see snow foaming onto driveways...
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Looks like a good apc but I wonder how much lap it's removing. I do like foam and find some better than others. Even if it only removes a little bit extra dirt I would still rather use it over not at all. Some stuff out there is purely for show but has no effect.
I know what you mean about show... And regarding APC, yeah, I reckon it may effect the wax. Then again, with the spray on rinse off products, it's just as easy to top it back up I guess 👍
@@TheDetailingSpace very true. Snow foams work best on protected cars. No protection and even the best snow foams dont work to well.
Thanks Matt. Snow in my opinion
Damn. I read it wrong and thought of traffic film remover haha
hahahaha 😂
Obviously the APC will remove more dirt because of the higher pH. It's gonna take your wax off too though
I always pop some APC/citrus in with my snowfoam!
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Can you mix in the APC with the snow foam in the foam cannon?
Yes, that should be possible
I use both
Nice 👍 definitely no right or wrong
Was this a ceramic coated vehicle? If not, what effect if any would APC have on a coating?
Been at least 6 months since any waxing
Detailing World thanks! Any ill effects of APC on a UK3.0 with Gliss coating?
Not sure. Try a small area first
First use Valet Pro Citrus, can dilute 1:8 in chemical resistant spray bottle so value for money. Then after rinsing off Citrus use snow foam Valet Pro formula 1, rince off. After contact wash with valet pro car shampoo I use wax rince, spray on and jet wash off.
Nice 👍
@@TheDetailingSpace Valet Pro Bilberry on wheels , 5 litres last quite a while if used in correct ratio.
Not used Bilberry for years... That brings back some memories
@@TheDetailingSpace What do you use instead of Bilberry?
I like HDD Road Rage 👍
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Does the car have any protective coating and did either the APC or snow foam give back any hydrophobic coating properties?
No and no.... Last time this was waxed or anything was about 6 months ago, so anything that was on was pretty much gone.
APC with snow foam on top is the way to go. 👍🏻👍🏻
Snow foam depends on the ph. I feel safe using an APC, that is my choice.
From my own experience 90% of Ph neutral snow foams lack the bite to do anything at all on heavily soiled vehicles, especially when it comes to winter road film. However, Bilt Hamber's rather potent 'Auto-Foam' is pretty much the king of snow foams when it comes to out-and-out cleaning power without effecting waxes or sealants, and it really does impact heavy winter road film like no other. For those who aren't as concerned with LSP protection then something like the APC Koch Chemie Greenstar at 10:1 is very effective indeed! and has the added bonus of corrosion inhibitors for those more delicate areas and stone chips etc.
Citrus pre washes such as Angelwax Cleanliness at 5:1 and Valet Pro Citrus pre-wash at 5:1 are also quite effective - far more so than the standard Ph neutral snow foams, which seem to be better suited to removing very light deposits in summer etc.
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Hi I use magi foam 100ml 400ml warm water does a awesome job leave on 10mins good as new awesome vid tho 👍.
That's a lot of product. Have you tried 50ml into 500ml of water? (10:1). Your ratio is 4:1 which seems rather high
Detailing World Hi thanks will try it out 👍
Bilt hamber surfex apc works well with power washer, removes most grime.
Foam is satisfying but grime stays on panel.
For me anyway.
Thanks 👍
Wouldn't apc hurt your base layer of protection?
Did you watch to the end? I thought the same, but not done a thorough test
What APC was used or can anyone recommend a good budget one?
Duel Nitty Gritty is a really good APC 👍
What a waste using a RTU APC. You know it's almost all water with only maybe 10% product. I never buy a ready to use APC. I buy Bilt-Hamber Surfex-HD in a 5l bidon. This is the best APC out there. At 20% it cleans tires better then Gyeon Tire Cleaner. You can even use it at a 1% dilution. But most of the time I use a bottle with 5%. Or I add 1 or 2% to Bilt-Hamber Autofoam or Touch-Less for extra cleaning power.
Poorboy's World APC+D is also great, but not as good as Surfex.
Stjarnagloss Gummi for tire dressing is great tho.👍
What do you use the wonder wipes spray for?
Cleaning bits and bobs in the garage etc. Nothing car related
Detailing World glad I asked! I keep it in my van for work won’t be using it on the car though
haha.... I did "test" them as a tar removal product last year mind 🤣
An APC will remove your wax/sealant. That’s actually one purpose of an APC. Another is to remove road film. If I have a baked on road film on the bottom third of the car I will use APC to get rid of it, then snow foam entire body, hand wash with several mitts, rinse, dry, and reapply the sealant. I don’t want to put sealant over road film.
I personally use snowfoam abit thicker than you did here, and it works fantastically but you go through bottles in about 5-6 washes haha
Thicker isn't always better 😉
I always mix it at 10:1, as that is what most companies suggest. Plus it also allows me to fairly compare different snow foams against each other.....
But regular cleaning, not comparing, yeah I may go thicker or thinner depending on the conditions. For example, the muddy Leon I did last summer was given a couple of applications, and I think one was a thick coat to help sit on the mud longer and soften it.
If the snow foam is too thick, it doesn't run off, to thin runs off to quick, middle of the road, takes 5 mins to run off taking the grime with it 👍🏻
Detailing World my misses would disagree! Yeah I noticed too thick and it doesn’t work at all 😂
indeed. Need to find the right balance
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I never expect foam to clean anything. If the car is dirty, then I will foam it, if it isnt, i dont use foam. I have been trying some of the more "famous" foams, and none of them will take road film or even mud film from driving in the rain off. I would foam a car as dirty as the one you presented here, but as we see, it really doesnt do much. I think Foaming is 30% effective, 70% getting the public to buy more products
TBH, I do like to foam, and do it every wash (as different levels of concentration).
I was snow foaming but in the last few months switched to spraying down with a mist of surfex hd at 10:1 before rinsing. It seems to remove as much if not more than any snow foam without all the mess. I'll use up what's left but I wont be buying any in the future.
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I think both do a great job! I too was considering, but like how you can let snowfoam dwell while you use a soft detailing brush on badges etc..
@@simonbaker5984 I'll be honest mine rarely gets grubby enough to worry too much around the badges. I use an incredimit which seems to get to everything pretty damb well. I'll foam and brush the window rubbers, badges etc every 3rd wash on a weekly wash cycle.
I always use a soft brush around badges, or if like me, just remove the badges - makes polishing and waxing easier 🤣
Has this channel changed its name ? Wasn't it called detailing world???
Correct 👍
I've been using cheap apc rather than snowfoam on my van
So, why not rinse the car first knocking 80% of the dirt off, then follow up with either the sf of preclnr? Just the pressure washer alone did alright; sure not perfect. Yes this involves going over the car twice with water or 3x if use the foam.
I didn't feel it needed a pre rinse. Maybe next time as I'll be doing some more testing
Just what I was going to say but you beat me to it! I dont detail cars but i do pressure wash paving for a living. When cleaning anything the idea is to cget off as much as crap as you can before moving to the chemical stage. The chemical will not have to work as hard making it easier to get the rest of the grime off the surface also saving money on chems.m
Just put apc on the snow foam mate
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The snow foam looked like it didn't do anything at all, it looked practically the same as the part with nothing on at all. Yes you may have used less foam but for the results it's not worth it.
Maybe an excuse to do a video comparing several snow foams 😉
@@TheDetailingSpace that's the perfect excuse 👍🏻😄
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I use apc and snow foam 🙌
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Does the apc effect you existing wax protection? Also which apc do you use
NOE King as far as I’m aware no it doesn’t. It’s bilt hammer I use
Civicky surfex hd? I have that too , do you mix the both? If yes how much of each in a bottle
Snow foam is more fun and more suited to a well looked after car. If cleaning someone else's car that is absolute minging, something stronger in a pump sprayer would be more suitable.
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Apc
Personally I prefer a citrus pre was over a snow foam
Both have their uses 👍
Use them together
I pressure rinse, apc, rinse, snowfoam then rinse again. Done.
Snow foam for me.
Nice 👍
Get your self a Kranzle pressure washer . You won’t look back. 👍
I know.... Bloody expensive though
Yes but worth it ! In the long run it will be cost effective and you’ll have a much better user experience. 👍
Best thing I ever did
Cheers guys, will keep an eye out 😉👍
Bilt hamber products and Koch chemie Greenstar. Forget other brands. You don't need them.
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tfr then a blanket off snowfoam over the top dwell longer
Whats the pH of both?
I think the APC is 13 and Snow Foam is neutral (7)
@@TheDetailingSpace Could you ask for the pH of the snow foam? It's never a surprise when a caustic product does well a removing dirt, but having a caustic product "dwell" for a time on trim etc is never a good idea. For future tests/product reviews, could you add the pH, thanks.
I've asked them to confirm 👍
Stjarnagloss have conformed. APC is PH13 and Snow Foam is PH7
I prefer apc personally
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Snow foam
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Apc works
It does indeed 👍
So 500ml to 100ml ?
10:1
apc
Snow
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Mix one with the other and boom.
Snow Foam
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definitely apc is stronger i have noticed
APC on grime
proved snowfoam is a con
Check the next video out though - ruclips.net/video/Ln1kj2dnMmI/видео.html
See how each effects durability.
Ph neutral snow foam = waste of time & money.
Not always, but each to their own 👍
@@TheDetailingSpace I've yet to find one that offers enough cleaning power to make the contact wash safe. Makes much more sense to grab an alkaline/citrus based one that offers little effect to LSPs but far better cleaning power. That's my own opinion of course & I appreciate yours is different 👍
Snow foam
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