Snow Foam

Snow foam is the first stage of a safe wash: it clings to the panels and softens the dirt, so much of the grit rinses off before a mitt touches the paint. The range runs from pH-neutral foams such as Stjarnagloss SNÖ and DoDo Juice Apple iFoam to stronger ones such as DoDo Juice iFoam Max, plus coloured Duel Snow Lux and CarPro IronX Snow Soap, which also removes iron fallout.

How to choose

• pH-neutral or stronger: neutral foams suit regular washes on waxed, sealed or coated cars. Stronger alkaline and TFR foams shift heavy grime but wear protection down faster, so keep them for winter or for stripping before a polish.
• Lance or pump foamer: Snow Foam Lances on a pressure washer give the thickest foam; Pump Foamers need no pressure washer but give a wetter foam. Dilution differs between the two, so follow the maker's ratio for your kit.

Good to know

Foam a cool car out of strong sun, give it a few minutes and rinse top down before it dries. Foam alone will not lift bonded road film, so follow it with a Car Shampoo and a mitt.

Do you wet the car before snow foam?

Follow the label, because makers differ. Duel, for example, tells you to always pre-rinse before its Snow Lux foams so they are not sprayed onto a warm panel and left to dry. Whichever foam you use, work on a cool car out of strong sun and rinse it off before it dries.

Is snow foam better than car shampoo?

They do different jobs, so a safe wash uses both. Snow foam is the pre-wash: it softens loose dirt so much of it rinses away before anything touches the paint. Car shampoo is for the contact wash that follows, with a mitt, and lifts the road film that foam alone cannot shift.

Related: Wash & Pre-Wash, Citrus Pre-Wash, Pressure Washers. Popular brands here: Duel Autocare, Dunking Biscuit, Linntec, Koch-Chemie.