STAGE 01 · WHEELS
Cleanse – Professional Non-Acid Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
Wheels are the dirtiest part of the car. Do them first, with tools that never touch paint.
£29.95
PRE-WASH · THE GUIDE
How to use snow foam properly
Snow foam is a pre-wash: it is sprayed onto the car, left to dwell for a few minutes, then rinsed off before any contact washing begins. Its job is to lift loose grit so your wash mitt never drags it across the paint. It is not a substitute for shampoo.
It is a pre-wash, not a wash
Foam lifts what is loose. You still need shampoo and a mitt afterwards.
Dwell time beats foam thickness
Give it the time on the label. A thick foam that dries on hot paint cleans less than a thinner one kept wet.
pH neutral will not strip your protection
Safe on wax, sealant and ceramic coatings, so you can use it every week.
Never foam in direct sun
Hot panels dry the foam before it works. Shade, or early and late in the day.
CHOOSE YOUR PRE-WASH
Which A-Kem pre-wash do you need?
Use UltraFoam for regular maintenance washes on protected paint, PreClean when the car is carrying heavy winter grime, and CitraClean when you want a pre-cleaner that is safe on a ceramic coating.
These three look like they overlap. They do not. Each one is aimed at a different level of dirt, and picking the right one saves you both time and product.
MOST POPULAR
UltraFoam - pH neutral Snow Foam
Weekly maintenance washes
Our pH neutral snow foam. Deliberately gentle, so it will not strip a wax, sealant or ceramic coating. The one for a car that is already looked after.
£15.95
£34.95
Full details and dilution
FOR WINTER GRIME
PreClean - Traffic Film Remover (non caustic)
Salt, road film and heavy soiling
Our traffic film remover, and it is non-caustic. Cleaning strength without the aggression of the caustic products sold into commercial wash bays.
£15.95
£34.95
Full details and dilution
COATING SAFE
CitraClean - Ceramic Friendly pre cleaner
Ceramic coated paint
Our ceramic friendly pre-cleaner. If you have paid for a coating and you want it to last its full life, this is the pre-wash that respects it.
£16.95
Full details and dilution
What is snow foam and what does it actually do?
Snow foam is a thick, clinging pre-wash detergent that loosens road film and grit before you touch the paint with a wash mitt.
The point of snow foam is not the foam. The point is contact avoidance. Most swirl marks in a car's paint are put there by the owner, dragging trapped grit across the clear coat with a mitt or a sponge. Anything you can rinse away before that first contact is damage you never have to polish out later.
Snow foam clings to vertical panels long enough to soften and lift that loose contamination, then carries it off with the rinse. What is left behind is a car that is far safer to wash by hand.
It is a pre-wash, not a wash. Foam alone will not remove bonded contamination, tar, iron fallout or a season of traffic film, and it is not designed to. It is the first move in a sequence, and it makes every step after it work better.
How long should snow foam dwell on the paint?
Most snow foams work best with a dwell time of several minutes, and none of them should ever be allowed to dry on the paint.
Dwell time is where the cleaning happens. Spraying foam on and rinsing it straight back off achieves very little beyond a good photograph. Give it time and the chemistry actually gets to work on the film holding grit to the panel.
The other extreme is worse. Foam that dries on paint leaves a residue harder to remove than the dirt you started with, and on a hot panel in direct sun it can dry in under a minute. Work in the shade, keep the panels cool, and if the foam starts to look patchy and thin, rinse it now rather than waiting.
Always follow the dilution and dwell time on the label. Those figures are set for that formulation and they beat any rule of thumb from a forum.
Do you need a pressure washer to use snow foam?
A pressure washer with a foam cannon produces the thickest, longest-clinging foam, but a pump sprayer will apply snow foam perfectly well for anyone without one.
A foam cannon draws detergent into a high pressure water stream and forces it through a mesh, which is what creates the dense shaving-foam texture. That density is what makes it cling to a door or a bumper long enough to do its job.
A pump sprayer produces a wetter, thinner foam that runs off vertical panels faster. It still lifts loose dirt, it just gives you less working time. On flat surfaces like a bonnet or a roof the difference is small.
We stock the AVA range and the AVA Premium Foam Cannon Kit, which is the setup most of our customers end up on. But the pressure washer is a convenience and a time saver, not a requirement.
THE FULL ROUTINE
Everything the job actually takes
A proper safe wash runs in five stages: wheels first, then pre-wash, then a contact wash with a pH neutral shampoo, then drying, then protection.
STAGE 02 · PRE-WASH
UltraFoam - pH neutral Snow Foam
Foam on, dwell, rinse off. Lifts the loose grit before anything touches the paint.
£15.95
STAGE 03 · WASH
Puro – pH Neutral Car Shampoo
pH neutral shampoo and the two bucket method. This is where the car actually gets clean.
£16.95
STAGE 04 · DECONTAMINATE
Purge - Reactive Wheel Cleaner & Iron Fallout remover
A few times a year, lift the embedded iron and brake dust a wash will never move.
£17.95
STAGE 05 · PROTECT
CeramiShield– Soft Ceramic Spray Sealant (6 Month Protection)
Lay down protection so the next foam has something to sit on rather than bare clear coat.
£19.95
STEP BY STEP
Snow foaming a car, start to finish
Snow foam a car by rinsing it down, cleaning the wheels first, applying foam from the bottom up, letting it dwell for a few minutes, rinsing from the top down, then washing with a pH neutral shampoo.
01
Rinse the car down first
Start with a rinse from the top down to knock off the loose surface dirt. This gives the foam a cleaner surface to work on, so it spends its dwell time on the film that is actually stuck.
02
Clean the wheels before the paint
Wheels are the dirtiest part of the car, and brake dust splashed onto clean paint means starting again. Cleanse is our non-acid wheel and tyre cleaner and dilutes down for regular use. For heavier brake dust and embedded iron, reach for Purge. Use dedicated wheel brushes that never touch the bodywork.
Shop wheel cleaners
03
Mix the foam to the stated dilution
Fill the cannon bottle or pump sprayer to the ratio printed on the label. UltraFoam for a maintenance wash, PreClean if the car is carrying winter grime, CitraClean if the paint is ceramic coated. Guessing costs you either cleaning power or product.
04
Apply from the bottom up
Work upwards so the foam runs down over surfaces you have already covered, which prevents the clean streaks you get when foam runs down dry panels. Cover the sills and lower bumpers, where the worst of the film sits.
05
Let it dwell, and keep it wet
Give it the dwell time on the label. Keep the car out of direct sun and never let the foam dry. If it starts thinning and going patchy, rinse now rather than waiting for the clock.
06
Rinse thoroughly from the top down
Rinse from the roof down so the runoff carries the lifted dirt away rather than back over clean panels. Take your time in the shuts, grilles and around badges where foam collects.
07
Wash, dry, then protect
With the loose grit gone, move to Puro and the two bucket method, dry with a plush microfibre towel, then lay down CeramiShield, HydraCoat or UltraGloss. Protection makes the next foam far more effective.
Shop the protect range
Will a foam cannon fit my pressure washer?
Our AVA Premium Foam Cannon Kit fits the AVA range directly, and most other pressure washers need a brand-specific adaptor.
Connections differ between models even within the same brand. Check yours before ordering, or send us a photo of the connection and we will confirm it for you.
| Machine | Connection | Adaptor needed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVA | AVA quick connect | None, direct fit | The AVA Premium Foam Cannon Kit fits the AVA range out of the box. |
| Karcher K series | Bayonet | Karcher bayonet adaptor | Confirm your exact model before ordering, connections differ across the range. |
| Nilfisk | Click fit | Nilfisk adaptor | Confirm your exact model before ordering. |
| Bosch | Model dependent | Bosch adaptor | Connections vary by generation. Send us a photo and we will tell you. |
| No pressure washer | Pump sprayer or hose-end gun | None | Thinner foam and less dwell time, but it still works. |
Snow foam questions, answered
Can you use snow foam without a pressure washer?
Yes. A pump sprayer or a hose-end foam gun will apply snow foam without a pressure washer. The foam will be thinner and will run off vertical panels sooner, so it gets less dwell time, but it still lifts loose grit before the contact wash.
Does snow foam remove wax or a ceramic coating?
A pH neutral snow foam such as UltraFoam will not strip wax, sealant or a ceramic coating, which is why it suits regular maintenance washing. A traffic film remover is stronger and will shorten the life of a wax, so it is best kept for heavy winter grime rather than weekly use.
What is the difference between UltraFoam and PreClean?
UltraFoam is a pH neutral snow foam for regular maintenance washing on protected paint. PreClean is a non-caustic traffic film remover, a stronger degreasing pre-wash built for heavy road grime and winter salt. Most people use PreClean through the winter and UltraFoam the rest of the year.
How long should you leave snow foam on a car?
Follow the dwell time printed on the product label, and never let the foam dry on the paint. Dried foam residue is harder to remove than the dirt underneath it, so work in the shade on cool panels and rinse early if the foam starts thinning and going patchy.
Do you still need to wash the car after snow foaming it?
Yes. Snow foam is a pre-wash that removes loose contamination, not a replacement for washing. After rinsing the foam off you still need a contact wash with a pH neutral shampoo such as Puro and the two bucket method to remove the film bonded to the paint.
Which pre-wash is safe on a ceramic coated car?
CitraClean is our ceramic friendly pre-cleaner and is the right choice on coated paint. UltraFoam is pH neutral and also safe for regular use on a coating. A traffic film remover is stronger and is better kept for uncoated or heavily soiled vehicles.
Published Last reviewed Written by Ross