Monza Foam Lance

[Stutopia]

For the last 3 and a half years the Polished Bliss PA Foam Lance ( http://www.polishedb...lance-cat2.html ) has been my weapon of choice when it comes to covering my car, backyard, neighbours and local kids in snow foam. The last couple of washes though it stopped picking up the concentrate from the magazine and I ended up with crappy, runny foam and, after 10 minutes, only half my foam used. I did service the lance but it simply refused to draw snow through like it used to. It's had a good run, been used a lot and fairly abused through it's life.

 

Step in Monza Foam Lance ( https://www.monzacar...w-foam-lance/0/ ) whilst I was looking for some replacement MF towels I noticed they had a deal on the lance, and a tenner less than PB.

 

As you can see, they're more or less than same thing. Both vary the jet width and the mix of foam to water with a couple of simple twists.

 

 

There's a bit more heft to the Monza one and they've also opted for a vertical jet instead of a horizontal one. I'm not sure about this yet, ended up with a bit more on the deck than usual.

 

 

They also slap on some instructions...

 

 

but who reads those.

 

 

What I do like is that it sits perpendicular to the ground when locked and loaded, my old PA lance was a good 30 degrees off perpendicular, so I always ended up holding the lance at an angle, like I was an extra from Menace II Society - this sits better and therefore the scavenge tube has a better chance of getting every last drop of foam.

 

 

 

On to the important bit, the foam. I was using the BH high activity (which means thin and runny, not thick and creamy) foam. The cleaning power of this stuff is second to none, I probably could have skipped the TBW if I'd been in a hurry today.

 

Foam is decent and dwelled just as long as I would have expected from the PA lance when it was new. After enough time to fully rinse the lance through and get my phone out, it looked like this on the bonnet.

 

 

And this on the floor

 

 

Decent foaminess in my experience of this foam. Thick enough for you to do a Z without touching the paint

 

 

All in all a decent lance, nothing major to separate it from the PA lance, in summary:

 

- it was three quarters of the price

- the Monza lance sits better on my karcher gun than the PA

- the Monza goes through the foam quicker than the PA (even when it was new) which can be a good or bad thing, depending on if you like to save a few minutes covering the car or do multiple foam layers.

 

Like it. Would recommend it on this usage. Obviously no idea yet if it will have a longer lifespan than the PA Lance (which was a very good lance BTW). If it goes as long, I'll be content with it. Worth trying if you're in the market and fancy having a tenner off.

 

 

Here's an unnecessary photo of my Z badge

 

[ilogikal1]

A couple of things, mostly just informational;

 

Almost all snow foam lances will be the same basic design by their nature - some are cheaper that others, but they all work in the same way. Whilst I usually advocate utilising PB, for snow foam lances there are much cheaper options available and those £20 lances are the same thing as those £40-50 lances! Always buy the cheapest one you can find (cheapest of the cheap eBay knock offs aside).

 

Regarding how it sits in the lance, this can be adjusted via the angle that the connector rests at. Or get a Nilfisk, the gun itself spins so it always right.

 

Similarly the fan angle can be adjusted when you dismantle it. One of my lances started off horizontal but I changed it to vertical, just to try it out. I actually prefer it vertical, personally.

 

And finally, don't read Monza's instructions... or if you do, don't pay any attention to them, they're utter rubbish!

1 inch of product means absolutely nothing, it'd be better off saying "just whack some stuff in there", it'd be as accurate.

As fro filling it to the top, why would you do that? Unless you're foaming an articulated lorry, a coach or a fleet of cars you shouldn't be using anywhere near a litre of mixture on one car. Not to mention that's just a ridiculous dilution rate.

Also it makes f**k all difference whether you use warm, hot, cold, tepid, mildly chilly, or any other temperature water! So long as it's liquid, it's going to be mixed in large multiples with cold water, a shot of "warm" water in a pint of cold aint gonna make any bloody difference.

[Stutopia]

I'm gonna keep going with the vertical fan angle, might come round to it.

 

As for following the instructions... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[GMballistic]

Similarly the fan angle can be adjusted when you dismantle it. One of my lances started off horizontal but I changed it to vertical, just to try it out. I actually prefer it vertical, personally.

 

My eBay lance has a vertical fan spread too which I definitely prefer as you can just sweep it left to right which covers the car top to bottom in one sweep.

[ioneabee]

so, what is the dilution / mix recommendation ?

[Stutopia]

Depends on the brand of foam (I think BH auto foam is 4% panel impact ratio) and ultimately the throughtput of your lance.

 

Fill your lance with say 100ml of water

Strap it on your pressure washer gun

Spray into a bucket until the 100ml in the lance is done

Measure how much is in the bucket

Do the math to work out the total flow for 100ml of "product" from your lance

(E.g if there is 1 litre in the bucket, then you know 100ml of product = 1000ml when it comes out)

 

Now you know how much water it takes to empty 100ml of "product" from the lance. Then you just need to follow dilution based on the suggested panel impact ratio of your particular brand of snow foam, et voila.

[ilogikal1]

Basically that ^^^.

 

 

Bilt Hamber AutoFoam should be used between 4-8% PIR, depending on how dirty the surface is. Anything over 8% you're wasting product and you're also risking letting something very alkali sit on every surface for a few minutes (I've never heard of anyone damaging paint with snow foam, but it'll strip wax, sealants and even coatings given enough of it).

 

Similarly Car Chem works best at around 5-7% PIR, whilst Magifoam works best at 100%... in the bin, where it belongs.

[veeg33]

Thanks for info Stu and ilogikal1!!

 

I've recently moved to new house and managed to convinced the missus to buy a pressure washer as both our cars are full of mud pretty much every day due to many houses are still being build. I'm doing some research to find out which foam lance to purchase and I've decided to go for a £17.00 foam lance from Ebay and also 5ltr of BH AutoFoam.

 

I don't even dare to use mitts (double bucket method) to clean my car when the weather is dry as dust will stick to my car pretty rapidly hence my plan is just to apply some snow foam, then jet wash. Not even going to dry it as I'm 100% sure the dust (micro sands) will stick to my car and act as micro sand paper when i dry it.

 

Will be living like this for next 2 years i reckon as they are still building plenty more.

[GMballistic]

Thanks for info Stu and ilogikal1!!

 

I've recently moved to new house and managed to convinced the missus to buy a pressure washer as both our cars are full of mud pretty much every day due to many houses are still being build. I'm doing some research to find out which foam lance to purchase and I've decided to go for a £17.00 foam lance from Ebay and also 5ltr of BH AutoFoam.

 

I don't even dare to use mitts (double bucket method) to clean my car when the weather is dry as dust will stick to my car pretty rapidly hence my plan is just to apply some snow foam, then jet wash. Not even going to dry it as I'm 100% sure the dust (micro sands) will stick to my car and act as micro sand paper when i dry it.

 

Will be living like this for next 2 years i reckon as they are still building plenty more.

My old man thought the same as you, ...you'll find that after snow foaming & jet washing it still won't be clean unfortunately. It will get off some of the road dirt/grime but ultimately I still think your car will look unclean once it drys.

 

Best thing (imo) is to; jet wash, snow foam, jet wash, two bucket clean/sheeps wool mitt, jet wash and then leave to air dry if you don't want to chamois/towel dry it (you will no doubt get water marks though still).

 

See what the others say too.

[veeg33]

Thanks for info Stu and ilogikal1!!

 

I've recently moved to new house and managed to convinced the missus to buy a pressure washer as both our cars are full of mud pretty much every day due to many houses are still being build. I'm doing some research to find out which foam lance to purchase and I've decided to go for a £17.00 foam lance from Ebay and also 5ltr of BH AutoFoam.

 

I don't even dare to use mitts (double bucket method) to clean my car when the weather is dry as dust will stick to my car pretty rapidly hence my plan is just to apply some snow foam, then jet wash. Not even going to dry it as I'm 100% sure the dust (micro sands) will stick to my car and act as micro sand paper when i dry it.

 

Will be living like this for next 2 years i reckon as they are still building plenty more.

My old man thought the same as you, ...you'll find that after snow foaming & jet washing it still won't be clean unfortunately. It will get off some of the road dirt/grime but ultimately I still think your car will look unclean once it drys.

 

Best thing (imo) is to; jet wash, snow foam, jet wash, two bucket clean/sheeps wool mitt, jet wash and then leave to air dry if you don't want to chamois/towel dry it (you will no doubt get water marks though still).

 

See what the others say too.

 

Should be OK if wash my car after rain using 2 bucket method as the dusty road will turn to muddy road (not helping either as i will need to drive on the road to work)!! I jet washed my car 2 days ago, just with Citrus pre-wash soaked for around 1-2minutes, then jet washed with Vax PowerWash 3- 2500W. The pressure did a pretty good job removing most of it but as you said, not 100%. I think i can live with that But when its dry and windy, it's like living in sahara hence my concern that when my car is wet (from jet wash), the grid/sand dust will stick to the car before i start the 2 bucket method.

 

At first, i decided not to wash the car regular and just go to my local Morrison for a quick jet wash once a month. But having a zed which looked like it had just been on a rally on a daily basis, I just can't stand it and something had to be done! As clean as possible with minimum damage to paint work is what I'm aiming for now =)

[veeg33]

Or use this to my advantage after 2 years time for a full re-spray

[Ricey]

Basically that ^^^.

 

 

Bilt Hamber AutoFoam should be used between 4-8% PIR, depending on how dirty the surface is. Anything over 8% you're wasting product and you're also risking letting something very alkali sit on every surface for a few minutes (I've never heard of anyone damaging paint with snow foam, but it'll strip wax, sealants and even coatings given enough of it).

 

Similarly Car Chem works best at around 5-7% PIR, whilst Magifoam works best at 100%... in the bin, where it belongs.

PIR ive never heard that term before? Google reveals loads of posts but no explanations.

 

It is as simple as 'the amount of product that will hit the panel'?

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

 

[ilogikal1]

PIR ive never heard that term before? Google reveals loads of posts but no explanations.

 

It is as simple as 'the amount of product that will hit the panel'?

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

Aye. Panel Impact Ratio; exactly that, how much product actually hits the panel.

[Stutopia]

Basically that ^^^.

 

 

Bilt Hamber AutoFoam should be used between 4-8% PIR, depending on how dirty the surface is. Anything over 8% you're wasting product and you're also risking letting something very alkali sit on every surface for a few minutes (I've never heard of anyone damaging paint with snow foam, but it'll strip wax, sealants and even coatings given enough of it).

 

Similarly Car Chem works best at around 5-7% PIR, whilst Magifoam works best at 100%... in the bin, where it belongs.

PIR ive never heard that term before? Google reveals loads of posts but no explanations.

 

It is as simple as 'the amount of product that will hit the panel'?

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

I think Ilogikal invented it, just to make me obsess over snowfoam

[ilogikal1]

Yep

[Jay Kay]

I heard that after foam you shouldn't jet wash it off. What's better is an open hose with no nozzle at all and gently sheet it off and this will affect the next stage in the cleaning process. Think I heard that from the Meguiars team on our training day.

[ilogikal1]

That is absolute non-sense and I'd be surprised (and concerned) if it came from Megs.

 

Questionable as to whether you pre-rinse, the theory being that foam will cling better to a dry car versus removing the top, loose layer of dirt prior to the foam touching it.

 

But to remove foam requires and relies on the jet wash to lift the softened dirt. It's actually more to important to properly rinse than to allow to dwell as it's the rinse that removes dirt.

[Jay Kay]

It may have had something to do with how the car dries. By blasting a car with a jet of water it will dry covered in watermarks, by sheeting it off the paint should be left with less water dots over it. Or I may be remembering it wrong. Either way, most of us are unlikely not to dry our cars anyway.

[Stutopia]

Open hose is perfect for post mitt wash and minimising spotting (and drying!). Given the climate here, you'd be unlucky to get spots between foam rinse end and start of mitt wash. Maybe somewhere hot like California...

[Jay Kay]

So, in theory they were right then

[ilogikal1]

No, after foaming you NEED to jet wash.

 

After washing, which is a very different stage, you can sheet water off to reduce water spotting but even then you're best jet washing prior to sheeting.

[Ricey]

No, after foaming you NEED to jet wash.

 

After washing, which is a very different stage, you can sheet water off to reduce water spotting but even then you're best jet washing prior to sheeting.

However.....did you know Mike Phillips recommends handwashing with the snowfoam ON when the vehicle is in gor a correction as a time saver and the fact that the foam surfactants will help to debond the dirt and lubricate the washing process.

 

Stunned me at first but in theory on a lightly soiled car it does make some sense. The amount of marring you would introduce is minimal by comparison to the defects youll already be removing.

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

 

[Stutopia]

That makes sense if your gonna correct afterward.

 

I've toyed with a "foam" attachment to my hose and abandoning my wash bucket altogether, so after foam and a PW rinse, just switch to the hose foamer and spray it all over the mitt and then just in front of the mitt as you work the panel. Rinsing the mitt once a panel or twice for the bonnet.

 

[ilogikal1]

However.....did you know Mike Phillips recommends handwashing with the snowfoam ON when the vehicle is in gor a correction as a time saver and the fact that the foam surfactants will help to debond the dirt and lubricate the washing process.

 

Stunned me at first but in theory on a lightly soiled car it does make some sense. The amount of marring you would introduce is minimal by comparison to the defects youll already be removing.

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, I remember seeing that. I kinda get the theory behind it except for the whole "time saving" rationale... I'm pretty sure you're going to spend that time, if not more, correcting the damage caused by effectively just going to the wash stage.

 

I have experimented with a secondary foam to replace the wash bucket, as Stu mentions, but even then I always foam properly first. Even on a lightly soiled car, I'd always want to remove as much dirt as possible before touching the paint, especially on something with paint as soft as a Z.

 

Oh, and when I have used foam to wash, I've still always jet washed off afterwards.

[Stutopia]

For anyone who's in the lance market, the first post here claims a 3 and a half year lifespan for my Polished Bliss Lance and talks about it's replacement. Well today that replacement finally tested my patience to the limit. The sloppy excuse for foam it's been putting out for a month or so meant it had a trip to the vice for disassembly, ahead of a planned service, this didn't go well for the lance. It's obstinance was rewarded with being laid to rest in a ceremony involving excessive swearing.

 

I cannot recommend this lance. The PB lance last over 3 times the life and certainly wasn't 3 times the price.