So, the car was looking absolutely filthy the other day. You know how it gets, covered in dust, bit of bird stuff, general road grime. Just couldn't stand it anymore, so I figured, right, today's the day for a proper wash, and I wanted to really use my foam cannon setup.

Getting Started

First thing, I dragged all my gear out of the garage. It’s a bit of a ritual, but a satisfying one. Here’s what I usually grab:

• My trusty pressure washer.
• The foam cannon attachment itself, of course.
• A decent bottle of car wash soap – none of that dish detergent nonsense.
• Two buckets, one for soapy water, one for rinsing the mitt.
• A soft wash mitt.
• A stack of clean microfiber towels for drying.

Got the pressure washer hooked up to the garden hose and found an extension cord to plug it in. Then, I prepped the foam cannon. I unscrewed the plastic bottle, poured in a good glug of the car soap – I usually just eyeball it, maybe an inch or two at the bottom – and then topped it off with warm water. Gave it a little swirl to mix, not shaking it like crazy, just enough to get it combined. Then screwed that bottle back onto the cannon head and clicked the whole assembly onto the end of my pressure washer lance.

The Foaming Process

Before I unleash the foam, I always give the car a good pre-rinse with just the pressure washer. This knocks off all the loose dirt and grit. You don’t want to be rubbing that into your paint. I worked from the top down, just blasting away the easy stuff.

Then, the fun part. I aimed the foam cannon, pulled the trigger, and WOOSH – the car was covered in a thick, white blanket of suds. It’s super satisfying to watch. I made sure to get a good even coat everywhere. I let that foam dwell for a good 5 to 10 minutes. The idea is that the foam clings and helps lift all the caked-on dirt, making it easier to wash off without scratching.

While the foam was doing its magic, I got my two buckets ready. One with more car soap and water, the other just plain clean water for rinsing my wash mitt. This is the two-bucket method. I dunked my wash mitt into the soapy water bucket and started washing the car, section by section, starting from the roof and working my way down. After each panel, or when the mitt looked a bit grimy, I’d swish it around in the plain water bucket to get the dirt off before putting it back into the soapy water. This really helps keep your wash water clean.

Rinsing and Drying

Once I'd hand-washed the entire car, it was time to rinse all that foam and loosened dirt away. I just detached the foam cannon from the pressure washer wand and used the regular spray nozzle. Again, I rinsed thoroughly from the top down, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies, until all the soap was gone. You don’t want any soap residue drying on there.

Finally, drying. This is super important if you want to avoid those annoying water spots. I grabbed my big, plush microfiber drying towels and started drying the car, again, usually from the top down. I try to blot more than wipe, especially on the first pass. Sometimes I use a smaller towel for the door jambs, mirrors, and wheels to get them nice and dry too. Some folks use a leaf blower for this step, which I can see being handy, especially for blasting water out of tight spots.

All Done

And that was pretty much it. Stood back and admired the shine. It’s a bit of effort, sure, but using the foam cannon definitely makes the wash more effective and, I gotta say, a lot more enjoyable. Cleaned up my gear, rinsed out the foam cannon bottle, coiled up the hoses, and put everything away for next time. The car looked great, and that's the main thing. Oh, and a quick tip: try to do this in the shade or on an overcast day if you can. Washing in direct hot sun can make the soap dry too quickly and leave streaks. Learned that the hard way a while back!