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The importance of pre-washing

Pre-washing is an incredibly significant stage of detailing that can be easily overlooked if people don’t understand the importance of it or how much it can effect the end result; pre-washing your vehicle relieves it of excess dirt and grime that would otherwise later be swirled across the paint-surface with a sponge or mitt and potentially scratch the paint work, which could in turn cause swirls or dullness.

Pre-washing is an incredibly significant stage of detailing that can be easily overlooked if  people don’t understand the importance of it or how much it can affect the end result; pre-washing your vehicle relieves it of excess dirt and grime that would otherwise later be swirled across the paint-surface with a sponge or mitt and potentially scratch the paint work, which could in turn cause swirls or dullness. Our pre-wash products were designed specifically to lift said contamination from the surface during a brief contactless wash to prepare the car for a deeper clean.

There are five main products in our pre wash range: Citrus Pre Wash , Bug Remover , pH Neutral Snow Foam , Advanced Neutral Snow Foam  and Snow Foam Combo 2 .

Our Citrus Pre Wash is an excellent choice for this essential stage in the process -and its so easy, too. Simply apply it to the lower half of the vehicle and allow it to dwell before rinsing it off. It’s an easy to use pre-wash that you can dilute into a trigger bottle (we suggest our Self-Dilute Bottle) at your desired dilution thus giving you complete control over the concentration and allowing you to modify it for the job at hand. Citrus Pre Wash is a mild alkaline product with a pH value of 9.5, providing you with a powerful cleaning power contained within a safe solution.

Another product within our Pre Wash range is Bug Remover; this is a fantastic product for targeting any fly splatter, especially on the front end and mirror covers where you’ll typically find them. Bug Remover will gently lift the splatter from the surface during the dwelling time and safely carry the contamination away with it when rinsed off.

Snow foams are typically a pH neutral or mild alkaline solution designed to gently loosen bonded contamination and safely transport it from the panels of the vehicles -this occurs when you generate a thick, clingy film during the application process, typically via a foam lance or foam blaster.

Whilst we always recommend following the advice given on the packaging, it’s good to know this general rule of thumb: 300ml of snow foam mixed with 700ml of warm water should give you a mixture strong enough to clean an entire car if applied via a foam lance. A full 1L bottle of snow foam solution should easily be enough to clean two average sized cars. It’s important to note that during this process we’re not looking to get the thickest foam possible but to aim for a good, even coverage to allow the product to lift the contamination from the surface and safely carry it away when rinsed off.

pH Neutral Snow Foam is one of our best selling products, and for good reason. It produces an exceptional foam that clings to the paint surface to enable the cleaner to penetrate grime for a deep clean. Because it’s pH neutral, this product is perfectly safe to use on waxed surfaces without fear of it stripping back those wax layers or causing corrosion -in fact, it’s safe to use on all surfaces which is why this product is aimed at everyone, from the novice to the professional.

Whilst Advanced Neutral Snow Foam is also pH neutral, it mimics an alkaline cleaner -this gives it a greater cleaning ability and is why it’s suited to tougher jobs than pH Neutral Snow Foam. To elaborate, pH Neutral Snow Foam is perfect for a maintenance wash between deeper cleans whilst Advanced Neutral Snow Foam is better suited for dirtier cars with the slightly more stubborn grime. This makes it a particularly popular product during winter months when the weather dictates how grubby cars become.

Snow Foam Combo 2 is our heavy-duty snow foam, designed to tackle the muckier end of the scale. It’s alkaline based which means it will strip wax layers and allow you to get right back to the basics and start fresh during a clean. This feature also means that it’s exceptionally effective at emulsifying oil, petrol and diesel stains. Snow Foam Combo 2 has respectable cleaning power and a wide dilution ratio of up to 1:15.

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