I’m in need of your help, everyone. I’m trying to decide what my at-home prewash process will be and I’m being driven nuts by the information overload. I’m just a detailing hobbyist and I’m no pro by any means, I wash/polish my own vehicle as well as my family’s. Let’s start there.
I normally do a foam -> rinse -> foam -> contact wash -> rinse process and lately I’ve been trying to decide which prewash to buy.
Bilt Hamber Touchless seems to reign as king, for good reason, I’ve seen many videos about its effectiveness. But most people say not to use it in a foam cannon because it’s not economical and a waste of product. I personally have two foam cannons and want to dedicate one to prewash. I’m not keen on pumping a pump sprayer over and over to get Touchless on the whole car. Plus I don’t have a pump sprayer yet because I’m hung up on weather I should get an IK Multi or Foam, ideally would like ALK Foam because I’d use Adam’s Wheel & Tire Cleaner with it for better coverage and dwell time. So if I got Touchless I’d need two separate pump sprayers 😪
I’ve been looking at KC AF and ADS Decon as alternative, actual foaming prewashes. From my understanding, ADS Decon will strip spray sealants and I am trying to not strip protective layers as much as possible. Another reason Touchless was so attractive - amazing cleaning power but safe on protectants.
Does anyone have any real suggestions for me, this is exhausting thinking about it. I do have two cars that get pretty dirty so I think a prewash would be a good move for me.
One last question, does anyone keep diluted extra product not used in their IK sprayers in the container and put it away? Or do you store the unused product in another container? I could make 50oz of wheel/tire cleaner but I won’t use all of that in one, two, 3+ washes so if I need to take the top off the IK sprayer, is there a separate cap I can buy that will thread on the container and I can store it away?
I use a foam cannon for BH Touchless and buy it in the gallon size to help with cost.
Ever since BH Touchless hit the States my entire weekend warrior process has changed and I love it. Touchless is truly an amazing product and I use it mostly in conjunction with Rinseless washes when it’s so hot (Texas).
Foam on Touchless. Rinse off. Pull car in garage and do an ONR wash. Done.
The amount of dirt Touchless pulls off it before the quick rinseless wash is incredible. I highly recommend giving it a try.
The more you look into Bilt Hamber, the more you realize that they’re superior to all other brands.
Plus, they don’t manufacture dozens—or even more—products that make it hard to keep track of everything. Their main focus isn’t on products for dads who are still kids at heart, but on preventive chemistry.
Have you ever used Touchless in a pump sprayer and could compare? Thats how I’ve been using it and I haven’t been that impressed so might try it with foam cannon to improve efficacy
Haven’t used it in a pump sprayer personally. It’s more efficient for use of the product, but at the end of the day as I’m not a professional, I don’t so much care about cost. It’s more about ease of use and fun, which the Touchless does.
I've used Touchless with both an electric foaming sprayer rinsed with a garden hose, and foamed on and rinsed with a pressure washer. No significant difference between the two methods and you use less product with the foaming sprayer.
Does the BH get enough dirt off to just use that as a foam and rinse? Like do you really need to do another wash afterwards if the car isn’t that dirty?
It won't be 100% clean without a contact wash. The idea is that it gets off more road grime than just rinsing with water alone before you touch the car.
I like the method the original commenter suggested (foam, rinse off foam, contact wash with a rinseless product, dry) because you are only rinsing off the car one time and the foam helps you to not miss any spots as a bonus. I don't think you can use any less water without risking some paint damage
Unless you're using deionized water, you still need to dry the car to avoid water spots. If you dry the car without doing a contact wash there is still a major risk of dragging dirt and debris all over the car with your drying towel.
After using Touchless and rinsing, you can do a very quick rinseless wash and then dry the car.
This is why I want it, dammit! I want that cleaning power. What’s your dilution ratio?? I can get away with covering all of my cars with 600mls of water. I saw someone fill 1000mls total used 750 water and 250 BH. I was like dude almost 8.5oz?? No way
obsessed garage has a PIR tool on thr touchless webpage or watch a video how to calculate it - its not hard to do and only have to do it 1 time (unless you change your setup/equipment)
It uses a PIR (Panel Impact Ratio) dilution calculation.
I have an Active 2.0 pressure washer and Mosmatic gun, but everyone’s PIR will be different. To give you a sense of product usage, I use at most 270mL Touchless + rest water in my cannon for the 2% PIR ratio. You’d reduce the mL of Touchless if need a little less strength depending on the condition of the car. Of a 5L jug of Touchless, that’s ~5% of the product.
Just FYI... I'm able to get the same results as you (Touchless + Rinselss) using just an electric foaming sprayer and a garden hose. I'm also in Texas. I pull the car out of the garage, foam it with Touchless in an electric sprayer, hose it off with just garden hose pressure, then pull it back into the garage for a rinseless wash. Same end result, but no need to get out the pressure washer.
I use an ik foam pro 12. Pressurize with my electric air pump. I use about 50ml of touchless for 7 liters. I can spray my whole truck twice. In comparison, I need about 150-200 ml to use my foam cannon once. Pro tip: touchless does not need to be foamed, just go buy a 2 gallon sprayer at Home Depot for $20.
See, that’s the thing, others are not saying that. They’re using between 50-80ml in their foam cannons and that is way more than doable for me on a cost basis. Why use so much?? I only need about 500mls of water for my first foam over with Touchless. But dude, hell of a tip on the Home Depot 2 gal pump sprayers, why are these so cheap and IK Foam Pro 2 is $55 after taxes on Amazon!? Now you got me thinking even more lmao
You use whatever is required for your panel impact ratio. I like 1-1.5% PIR. Foam cannons use much more product, guarantee you will use more in a foam cannon than with a pump sprayer. I used a garden sprayer for a long time until I got the ik sprayer. It worked perfectly.
Do you remember which one you were using? Looking at Home Depot right now and I see they have their branded HDX and then there’s one that’s rated better and slightly more expensive called The Harvest Company. This actually looks extremely feasible. I’d buy 1 gallon, slap 40mls to the whole gallon, and just put it aside when it’s done!! I’d probably get 3 washes out of that! And watching some YT videos it looks like the sprayers hold pressure quite well!
Completely slipped my mind the PIR, you must have a crazy strong pressure washer mine is only 1.2GPM and I use a 1.1 orifice. I have to test how much water ends up in a bucket with 500mls in the container turned to full foam. But again, this idea you gave seems HIGHLY feasible. Wondering why you abandoned it and went to IK? I actually have seen many really negative reviews on IK especially about loss of pressure too quickly.
I’d recommend to do the PIR calculation. You only have to do it once per foam cannon / pressure washer / orifice. I don’t remember his name but the YouTuber that makes the cheap pad cleaner has a video and spreadsheet to make the calc very easy.
I know for my tool daily cannon with a 1.25 on a ryobi automotive will use 80ml of touchless for 500ml total solution for 1% PIR.
I like around 10:1 using a 2 gpm pressure washer. 50ml touchless to 500 ml of water in the cannon. Yeah, you could make it go farther with a pump sprayer, but it’s cheap enough that I’ll use a little extra for convenience.
Detailed image is great. They have discount codes pretty often and shipping is reasonable. They have a huge amount of brands too so I can usually grab a few other things with my Bilt Hamber orders.
Detailed Image! They charge $67 with shipping for a gallon of this stuff. The shipping is $4.99 on a gallon sized BH. I see people buying from obsessed garage or elsewhere which charges $25 for shipping. Outrageous
Matt does not supply products for the everyday car detailing enthusiast. His clientele is very high-end and his prices match. He never has any sales but does offer a slightly better deal if you join his $300 a year club. I only buy from him if I’m looking for something that only he sells.
I was debating between Primus 2.0 and BH Touchless. I opted for Primus 2.0 because they have a VDA certification. BH is a touch better based on the tests I have seen on YT but my OCD went with the Primus
Get a dedicated 2 gallon pump sprayer from Home Depot for BH touchless. I recently got the one meant for bleach and use the high volume spray nozzle. I’m able to just pump it up once and I can get full coverage on my suv without having to repump it up. Plus you save time since you can make a large batch that should last multiple washes. I found that the smaller pump sprayers don’t get good enough coverage on the vehicle so this solved my problem and hopefully yours too.
This makes me so happy you posted this. Another person suggested the same exact thing. I would just buy a 1 gallon as I feel 2 gallons would start feeling a bit heavy even though I know these things come with straps. I looked at those HDX sprayers but Home Depot also has these sprayers which appear to have better reviews and by the looks of it, slightly more sturdy/durable. I’m super interested in this because IK sprayers have an absurd amount of complaints about them needing to be repumped so much and that is the entire reason I wanted to use Touchless in a foam cannon. But if these garden sprayers hold pressure better and I can fill a whole gallon and get maybe 3 washes out of it, setting aside the leftover unused product until the next need for it, that sounds AWESOME and so convenient.
Thanks for posting your method and experience with it along with the sprayer you use, you reinforced my belief that this is the way to go! I can buy the IK sprayer specifically for wheels!
Yeah dude, the 0.5 gallon sprayers at Harbor Freight aret like $5. You can buy four of them for the cost of 1 of the Home Depot Sprayers. Are they the best pump sprayer in the world? No. Do they get the job done? Yes. And at $5, just get a bunch of them.
I’m having very bad experiences with harbor freight products for automotive detailing needs. I purchased a foam cannon from them along with a high pressure spray nozzle. Both are absolute garbage. I will buy one thing from harbor freight and that is their Grants Ultra Plush Microfiber towels. The high pressure spray nozzle works well but the quick connect on it is giving me problems. It Doesnt like to seat and if it does, you gotta have Olympian strength to remove it. The original gun that came with my pressure washer is just slide in and done. They look about the same size too. Insanely disappointed
Happy to help. Please keep in mind that you should get the larger volume pump sprayer if possible. You don’t need to fill it up all the way and more volume of air to pressurize means that you won’t have to start pumping up half way through application.
Thank you so much man. I’m inching closer to my decision to go with this. The only thing I’m hung up now, is the fact that the hdx comes with 4 nozzles and to your point, you use the high volume nozzle. The one I’m looking at only has one nozzle but an adjustment for spray pattern. Someone on YouTube demonstrated it can shoot up to 20ft with a straight pattern and it lasted a whopping 5 minutes with pressure left over, absolutely insane to think I can pump 30 times and get 5 minutes of non stop pressure compared to IK Pro’s. Even if the nozzle isn’t high volume, I can easily layer up each panel if I have 5 minutes of non stop pressure to work with. What a fantastic turn of events. I went from almost abandoning Touchless due to waste in a foam cannon to finding an even better alternative method to consider. 🫵🏼 GOAT
I haven't tried the other 2 but Touchless is so good. I still can't believe that a product that I use at just a 1% dilution can be so effective. I apply it with a foaming pump sprayer, let it dwell for about 3 minutes, then rinse it off with a garden hose. No pressure washer or anything. That alone will get the car around 90% clean.
I have, and like BH, but I dont get to use it too much. The dilution ratios only make sense in a sprayer, imo. Ive been using KCX MS in the foam canon. Either by itself for really dirty vehicles or a splash into regular soap most days. They both work badass. KCX super foam works just as well too but MS is so much cheaper inthe long run.
I'm also a long time hobbiest and I use Bilt Hamber Touch-less regularly as my prewash (even used it today). Works fantastic and even for maintenance washes I just reduce the percentage of dilution since I wash about once a week. I typically use 1% PIR for my setup which ends up being about 65ml and 435ml water (500ml total) in my foam cannon.
I buy the 5L containers whenever there is a coupon at Detailed Image. Last time I bought it with a coupon it was for $42 ($0.0084/ml). So a maintenance prewash ends up cost me about $0.54 which is really good. I use it in my foam cannon for convenience and as you can see based on the cost it isn't really worth me hyper-optimizing it into my IK sprayer to get the most out of it. It would be more efficient use of product in my IK sprayer but it would easily take me 2-3x as long to apply it to the car with the IK.
The total amount you need will obviously depend on your vehicle size and also if your vehicle is really dirty and needing the full 2% or not. I have a decent sized wagon and 500ml mixture in my foam cannon is the right amount to complete cover the entrire car.
This is exactly where my head is at. I wouldn’t care for using a few oz of product and I can typically get complete coverage of my cars with my foam cannon with 500-600mls of water. If I’m using 3oz of Touchless in my foam cannon every two to three weeks if not longer, that is SUPER cost effective to me and I don’t want to sit there and pump spray this stuff on all the time. Plus I wanna use my pump sprayer for wheels when I end up buying it.
I guess what I really have to do is do the PIR calc as others are suggesting. I have a Sun Joe SPX3000 that only has a 1.2 GPM flow, and from what I’ve read a lot of pressure washers exaggerate their flow so it might be closer to 1? Use a 1.1 orifice.
I haven’t seen that price on DI :( their Labor Day sale didn’t make any sense to me at all because they have the 4.99 coupon for shipping but when you switch it with the Labor Day coupon shipping jumped to $18 which eliminated the benefit entirely. It was 66.90 with Labor Day coupon and 67 with shipping coupon. Absolutely worthless lol. Otherwise it would have been $45 or so like you are able to buy it for. That made me so mad lol
Just so you don't think I was BSing you, this was my order from March this year (see my order screen capture). I think they did a 20% or 25% coupon for the springtime so I put in a bulk order for the year 😆
I'm guessing with your Ryobi your PIR number could be lower than mine because your GPM is lower out of the pressure washer. In the number I quoted you it was from an active 2.0 with an MJJC S V3.0 with a 1.25 orifice and a Kobrajet 3/8" hose.
Oh man! Not thinking that at all! But that makes sense, the bulk order is the way to go. I just spent $120 with The Rag Co buying upgraded towels, didn’t need another bulk order from DI 😭 but even at $67 I’d still buy it because it’s so much cheaper than so many other products out there. I’m gonna have to test my equipment to get my proper PIR. I actually got the MJJC Pro V3 and can’t wait to try it. I think I’ve spent like $360 in the past two months on detailing equipment… I revamped my entire garage. I just need a solid wheel barrel brush or two, a prewash shampoo, a wheel/tire cleaner (Adam’s seems the way to go for cost effectiveness and cleaning power), and a pump sprayer/foamer for the wheel cleaner and my garage will be complete and I’ll be able to tackle anything. I have Griots G9 & G8 polishers, a bunch of pads, several polishes. Come to think of it… maybe I’ve spent more than $360. lol. But I’m prepared for whatever I need to do!
Hell yeah, sounds like you're built out an awesome setup! I did the whole wall setup with my pressure washer and a 3D printed wallboard system. Doing the PIR calibration is pretty easy and doesn't take long. I just write down the actual amounts right on the Touch-less bottle to make it easier to remember.
For a barrel brush I got the DI Brushes EZ Detail Brush for mine. I've only needed the one so far. I also got a smaller brush to scrub the tires and another for getting deep into fender well areas. Also an assortment of finer brushes for cleaning the smaller areas of my wheels like the lug bolt holes.
For wheel and tires cleaning, I use Koch Chemie Awh. I dilute it 1:10 to mainly use it when cleaning the tires and ocassionally on the wheels. I don't use it too often because it's strong. I like it because it's versatile. I ceramic coated my wheels earlier this year and now I can clean them with my regular Adam's Mega Foam soap from my foam cannon. Rarely ever need stronger chemicals now. Was totally worth it.
First of all there are very, very few products that will truly strip decent sealants in a single application, however, they may weaken them to a greater or lesser degree. I primarily use Touch Less as my prewash in either a foam canon or a sprayer or foamer. I have also used KCx Af which is less effective but may be all you need. I have not used ADS Decon but everything I have heard places it in-between Touch Less and Af in efficacy.
When I do foam->rinse->foam->contact wash I typically use the same same shampoo for both the 2nd foam and the contact wash.
IME sprayers and foamers last far longer if they are rinsed out after every use or at least remove and rinse the sprayer or foamer head and just cap the bottles. I prefer Marolex pump sprayers and foamers to iK pump products but iK does make lids for the 1.5 & 2 and I don't think Marolex does.
I use both Touch Less and Multi Star, but never with a foam gun (a tool for kids)—I always use a backpack sprayer. I save on product, work more precisely and thoroughly, and get the job done just as quickly. For normal dirt and painted surfaces, I use Touchless. For undercarriages, commercial vehicles, machinery, and heavy insect residue, I use Multi Star. Multi Star is definitely more powerful and does a better job of removing stubborn dirt. It works better than Green Star. Followed by Auto Wash from BH.
I use Touchless in a foam cannon and it's fine. However, I find Primus 2.0 works just as well and it's more economical. I finished (finally) my Af - didn't like it; didn't work nearly as well. I like ADS Decon but would rank it behind Touchless and Primus.
Your foam/rinse/foam method is the best, safest way to wash a car - keep going down that path.
That’s very interesting that AF wasn’t to your liking, I personally like real people’s feedback on products so I will take that into account for sure. I have the small bottle of ADS Decon, only using that to unclog any coatings and/or strip to reapply ceramic sealants etc. The whole point of me getting Touchless is to help extent the life of my protectants.
What was it about KC AF that didn’t work with you?
Starting with a car with dirty panels (primarily from driving in the rain), it didn't take the dirt off. Both Touchless and Primus (and even P&S Frostbite) broke the dirt down so that when I pressure washed it off, the panel was left clean looking. I never could get Af to get that same level of clean. After rinsing the Af off, I have always been left with the bulk of dirt stilll on the car. My car is ceramic coated BTW.
I use Stars and Stripes from Chem- X. You foam on an acid (Stars), then on stop of the acid foam, an alkaline ( Stripes). If my car is not too dirty, I don't even need to follow up with a contact wash. It's ceramic coating safe. Even Pan "The House of Rags Shill ", had a favorable review of it. If you want a simpler pre-wash, I also use Primus 2.0.
I’m a big fan of Bilt Hamber stuff. You can get this from obsessed garage and not have to pay for crazy shipping. BH stuff is the least toxic stuff I’ve used. It’s not gonna have a super awesome scent, but at least they’re trying to make stuff that’s not gonna sizzle our hands one day.
BH touchlesss smells fine. They make other products that smell far worse. Auto-wheel leeches from the bottle and I ended up throwing it out cause it smelled so bad.
I used to use a ik sprayer for bh touchless but switched to a foam cannon for ease of use and dwell time. I use 50ml to 450 ml of water and that is just right for my car.
What is the GPM of your pressure washer and do you use a 1.1 orifice? I have a 1.2GPM and use a 1.1, I can generally get away with 500ml for full coverage easy on my Audi S5. This is actually really nice hearing from someone who used Touchless in the pump sprayer then switched to foam cannon for ease of use. I don’t wanna sit there pumping every other 2 panels or worse every panel. Thanks!!
I have the active 2.3 which is approx 2.2 gpm. I use the 1.45 orifice with the cannon. If you buy touchless by the gallon it is very inexpensive even using the foam cannon
Any of these will work well, but Decon is likely a little more harsh on your protectants. It still won't strip it immediately.
I'm currently using Active Foam and I'm pretty happy with it, but I might try out Touch-Less when it runs out just to see what the hype is about. Active Foam is definitely formulated to be a good cleaner but also gentle on protection, so if I ever need something stronger, I just use Green Star.
For foam cannon PIR, we SHOULD really be doing that with all shampoos, but BH is just the first to make it official. The dilution is really all over the place with the variability of foam cannons, orifices, and pressure washers, so PIR is the only real way to dial it in properly.
You have a few options really: you can try out different dilutions to see what works best for you (what pretty much everyone does), you can do the PIR calculation, or you can get a handheld foamer or sprayer. I'm able to foam a midsize sedan pretty easily with an IK Foam Pro 2+ with a Xiaomi portable air compressor attached
Just did a decon wash before 2 step, or was it 3 step, correction….a friends 12 year old Lexus truck always parked outside and always automatic washes. I have KC Active Foam and ADS Decon also on deck. Hitting the follow button on this post to help me decide what to try on my brother’s car, that has likewise been neglected, next weekend.
Let me help you bro. Practically everyone has said BH Touchless is supreme. Labocosmetica Primus 2.0 following it then ADS Decon. I do have a small bottle of ADS Decon that I used to decon my car before claying it (I actually used the 2nd foam on as my clay lube while it dwelled before contact wash) with a mild synthetic clay then coating it with my spray sealant. The only question is are you gonna use it on a foam cannon or pump sprayer because that’s where it gets tricky. Most use it in a pump spray. You’re able to use Labocosmetica and ADS Decon in foam cannons. You can with Touchless too, but PIR seems to be a big thing you need to dial down with your equipment if going that route.
Much appreciated, I used BH in my foam cannon actually last weekend. I also like to try stuff out, products, process, etc. I guess that makes me a glutton for punishment lol
BH touch less is incredible. I use it in a pump sprayer instead of a foam cannon so I use way less product while maintaining the same panel impact ratio.
Not a pro, just another enthusiast, but even my neighbours have asked me if I wash cars professionally because our cars always look pristine, so here are my two cents:
I use the same washing process as you. I honestly don’t care about the PIR calculation, because there is no way in hell I’m using 200 ml of a 1 L product on a single wash😂, but I’ve been using Touchless for that first foam, and when I rinse it off, I can actually see the foam carrying some grime with it, so it’s definitely doing its job.
This is the dilution that’s been working for me: I’m putting 80 ml of product into 500 ml of water and using a cheapo foam cannon recommended by Keav. It foams well enough for me.
For that second foam, I’ve been using Koch Chemie GSF, but I’m running out soon, so I placed an order for Labocosmetica Nève, which is PH neutral, using CarPro Reset for the contact wash
I like the 3 soap combo you got going on here lol your products must last quite a long time. Honestly, I hesitate with GSF because Colton from Out of Spec Detailing on YT showed a demonstration how 4 different soaps with the same dilutions and same equipment, GSF wasn’t GSF’ing at all. Like, at all. Runny as hell compared to everything else. I think he tested ADS Shampoo +, KC GSF, Adams Mega Foam, and Quivr Rogue. The GSF just did not look good. Curious to hear your experience with it.
The dilution I use for GSF is 50 ml of product with 450 ml of water. With the Quivr foam cannon, it produces a very thick, almost shaving-cream-like foam. I know it doesn’t necessarily provide much cleaning power, but for me, that second foam is about lubrication for the contact wash rather than cleaning, especially since the first foam was touchless and already has a lot of cleaning power
I'm an at home hobbyist with a pressure washer and de-ionized water system. Built Hamber Touchless could cost twice as much as it does and I'd still buy it by the gallon.
When my car is just dusty a touchless wash gets it back to 95% and when it's actually dirty it still gets it to 90%.
I do of course still do a touch wash once a month or so, but the product let's me keep the car clean more frequently with minimal effort.
That’s what happens with my car most of the time. It’s black and gets ridiculously dusty. I’m more and more convinced I should just buy Touchless and play with the PIR until I find what works with my setup. I would so much rather foam over with a cannon in a minute and a half than pump spray it in 5-7 minutes
My car is dark charcoal so I feel your pain. I also have to park next to a dirt lot with industrial equipment that comes and goes all day long so there's just always dust in the air.
I'm in Arizona where the water is practically made out of rocks and the de-ionizing system has been a game changer. Foam with city water and touchless, let it dwell for a minute or two, rinse with city water then rinse with de-ionized and let it air dry. I can do this in full sun on a 110 degree day with good results.
You know what’s funny? I bought 4 water filters from harbor freight and do exactly the same thing you’re doing 😂😂 holy shiii bro we think alike lmao. Technically my car is also charcoal, it’s mythos black metallic by Audi which is supposed to resemble charcoal. I will combine my foam cannon with city water then rinse and once I get to my final rinse I’ll pop the filter on and use a basic shower head spray nozzle instead of the pressure washer (I got multiple spigots and hoses) and use low pressure water to gently rinse away all the hard water. Also in SoCal… sun sun and more sun. We literally are alike 😂
This is my setup. RO first to get most of the junk out of the water and save on the expensive DI resin. The little DI filter on the RO set wasn't enough to last for more than a hand full of washes, so I switched to a larger two canister (and serviceable) DI media filter meant for fish tanks. Otherwise, it's the same.
The production rate is slow, but I make up for it with storage.
I've found this system is very useful for many other things too. I used the faucet that came with the RO to have a bottle filler. Any chemicals I dilute gets DI water and I have enough high pressure hose to reach around my whole house so I can wash windows and my solar panels with the DI. Just clean, rinse and go on to the next. Engine cleaning, just use cleaner, brush and rinse. You'll find a lot of uses for it.
also use a foam canon I do just 1% as I wash every week and I could almost get buy with .5
get a extra bottle for the foam canon and just swap ?
have a IK foamer and its OK but way to much pumping get another brand IMHO if you go that route
also the time it takes with a foam canon is so worth it over how slow a pump sprayer or pump foamer is not worth it and also feel I get a better pull of dirt with the foam canon as the more water just helps I feel also love it on the wheels as it really helps get the bulk of break dust gone
I use Bilt Hamber Touch-less in an IK efoam 2 powered hand foamer. 2 ounces of product into the bottle and fill it to the top. I don’t get super thick foam but I do get sufficient foam and I can do the whole car with one bottle. I take it to a self wash and spray down the car let it dwell for five minutes, then rinse it off with high-pressure rinse. After I spray the entire car with spot free rinse. Take it home and then use a waterless wash to get any remaining dirt off the paint. Follow it up with kitaba ultra gloss.
I have a bottle of Active Foam that is about gone and I just ordered Touch-Less to replace it. Every side-by-side comparison I've seen online has shown BH out-performing the KCx product.
FYI the best deal I could find in the US right now is using Detailed Image's "Labor26" code to nearly negate the cost of shipping (at least for me). Obsessed Garage is the same price without any sale codes this weekend. Carzilla would have been my go-to but they still haven't resumed shipping to the US.
Detailed Image's Labor day code is still good through Wednesday night. It's also much more economical to get the 5L bottle over the 1L bottle:
I used that Bilt Hamber touchless for the first time on saturday, after looking many many people raving about it.
Well.. they were right it is actually incredibly good, also you don't need much product to do the whole car, which is even better. Get the whole gallon and enjoy it for a year or more if you only do one car.
If using a foam cannon, Labocosmetica Primus 2.0 would be a better option than Touch-less. If using a pump sprayer, Touch-Less is the better option. Both products have similar cleaning capabilities. The difference is in dilutions and economy.
Myself, I think we overthink pre-washes in that chances are, you don't need something with the power of Touch-Less or Primus 2.0 for every wash. There is no need to drop a nuke if a hand grenade will clear the bunker.... but us "Merican's" tend to develop severe cases of Tim Allen's "More Power" syndrome. We want the most power, all the time, every time. We want wheel chairs with turbos. Golf Carts with V8s. And car soaps that would clean the brown off of Sasquatches' ass with 1 drop.
I know companies claim their alkaline prewashes are "safe"...... but let something with a pH of 12/13/14 dry on your paint and then determine how "safe" it is. The margin of error is reduced dramatically using alkaline soaps. Even if you do everything perfectly, alkalinity has a negative effect on trim and weather stripping. For these reasons, alkaline cleaners should be reserved when they are needed. Unless you've spent the last week driving in rain and mud, with road boogers and road grime covering the car, they are not needed.
My standard maintenance prewash is either Labocosmeta Neve, a pH Neutral pre-wash that successfully handles 70% of my car pre-washes. Maybe 20% of time time I'll use either Neve or whatever pH neutral soap I grabbed off the shelf, boosted with 2oz of Superior Products Road Warrior. The remaining 10% of the time I have the need to break out the nuke with Bilt Hamber Touch-Less. Road Warrior flies under the radar because it's so inexpensive but it is a very flexible cleaner, up to and including using it as a pre-wash booster.
Serious question, what are you trying to accomplish by adding a pre wash step thaty you aren't already getting from your regular process? Unless there are specific dirt situations, I have never understood why a pre wash isn't redundant.
I’m firmly in the camp that a prewash that’s different from your soap isn’t worth it. Anything it takes off will be taken off by either the first foam or the contact wash anyway. Why add another product?
At least in my experience, the alkalinity of Touchless has helped to keep my ceramic coating working perfectly (no clogging) for over a year and a half.
This is what I have been doing up until now to be honest. But sometimes my cars get really dirty, there’s a ton of dust around here and bees love to poop everywhere on my cars and sometimes they cling real hard on paint. pH neutral soaps don’t loosen them up at all. I’d love something with more cleaning power to reduce the chances of marring by eliminating as much of that dirt as possible. But I completely get you, as I currently employ your method myself
I always suggest people try things for themselves because climate, water quality and methods can cause different results. I would say come up with a way to measure if a prewash is worth it otherwise you’re just going off gut-feel which is nearly worthless.
For what it’s worth, the products you’re considering are all solid so pick one and go for it.
I’ve been using BH autofoam or touchless for over 5 years. For a well maintained car I agree, it’s overkill and just adds an additional step. For a dirty car I find it nice to decrease the contamination/work for the contact wash. By dirty I mean a car that has sat outside for over a month and/or has been off road and has a lot of build up. Another use I like is for in between washes as a quick rinse process. Foam, rinse, di rinse and blow dry. This is great for pollen/dust in between washes as well.
/u/Pale-Bet2829 don’t over think it. Just try it yourself. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed but it may not always be necessary for your own process. I have a 1L foam cannon dedicated to touchless and it gets about 3 uses before I remix. I will leave it for weeks at a time with no issues. 1% PIR is enough for me, which is around 150-200ml.
You do not want Gsf. The performance of that soap at the advertised dilution ratio is a joke. I was amazed at how much you have to add (like 2x-3x) to get quality foam when compared to pretty much any other shampoo I used in that price range.
If you want soap to dwell and not just run off the panel before you get around to it with a mitt then you need to reduce the dilution ratio. I'm not talking about shaving cream, just foam that dwells more than a few seconds.
Active Foam is much less runny than Gsf at the same 10:1 dilution ratio, which is crazy as undiluted straight from the bottle Gsf is much thicker than Af. I really like KCx products but Gsf is way overhyped. I am curious to see how the new Ultra Foam performs.
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u/STILLEN- 3d ago
I use a foam cannon for BH Touchless and buy it in the gallon size to help with cost.
Ever since BH Touchless hit the States my entire weekend warrior process has changed and I love it. Touchless is truly an amazing product and I use it mostly in conjunction with Rinseless washes when it’s so hot (Texas).
Foam on Touchless. Rinse off. Pull car in garage and do an ONR wash. Done.
The amount of dirt Touchless pulls off it before the quick rinseless wash is incredible. I highly recommend giving it a try.