Recommended Hand pump for snow foam pre-wash?

[Metalogic]

Hi - I don't really want to splash out on a pressure washer, but would like to be able to apply a snow foam pre-wash to my car before hosing it off, can anyone recommend a decent hand pump for snow foam? Have been looking at this ones:

Goizper 81676 IK Foam PRO 2, Professional Foam Sprayer

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SLV7RXM

Venus Pro Snow Foam 2 Litre Foaming Pump

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0170M5PKA

Marolex axel 2000 Foamer

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marolex-Axel-Pressure-Foamer-2000/dp/B07RGK654D

GLORIA FoamMaster FM 10

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003Y7FYNY

Or it may even be worth going for something a bit more heavy duty (also can work with an air compressor):

IK FOAM Pro 12

IK FOAM Pro 12

The IK FOAM Pro 12 professional sprayer has been manufactured for the generation of dry and durable foam. Designed to be used with chemical agents with surfactant properties. IK Foam Pro 12 provides the user with a dense, permanent foam that is ideal for professional cleaning, sanitation and...

www.mycarcleaning.co.uk

 

[SRGTD]

I’ve used one of these in the past which looks similar to the products you’re considering and I found it quite poor compared to my pressure washer snow foam lance;

CleanYourCar - Foam Cannon

CleanYourCar - Foam Cannon The all new Foam Cannon Wash gun is a fantastic addition to anyone's detailing arsenal. Our Foam Gun is constructed with high quality brass fittings and tough plastic body connects directly to a standard hoselock hosepipe connector and precisely mixes a s

www.cleanyourcar.co.uk

Edit; Oops! ; I’ve just realised they’re not similar to the Foam Cannon at the link I’ve posted above, as the products you’re considering have a pump to pressurise the canister holding the snow foam.

My experience of the Foam Cannon was that it left a very thin, watery solution on the car even with a strong snow foam to water mix ratio, and I found the solution pretty much ran off the car as soon as it was applied (little to no ‘cling’ at all). By contrast, snow foam applied using my snow foam lance and pressure washer leaves a much thicker foam on the car, which clings, loosens the dirt and then slides off after dwelling for a few minutes as it’s intended to do.

If you were planning on getting a hand pump pressure sprayer, then a cheaper alternative to consider might be a hand pump garden sprayer like those at the links below (there are many other sizes / brands available); cheaper than the foam sprayers at the links you’ve posted and if the garden sprayers don’t work particularly well, you’ve not spent lots of ££££’s on something that doesn’t do what you want it to, as you can always use it in your garden to apply lawn treatments, moss killer and weed killer etc.. I used an 8 litre garden sprayer to pre-soak before washing my car and to rinse after washing it during a hosepipe ban a few years ago. It did a decent job, the only real downsides were 1) the small size of the nozzle on the spray wand meant it took a while to pre-soak and rinse and 2) having to keep re-pressurising the pump quite often to maintain the water flow.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/2L-Portable-Pressure-Bottle-Adjustable/dp/B09S17PN6L

Essentials White / Black Pressure Sprayer 5Ltr - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Pressure sprayer suitable for a variety of gardening applications. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

These days I don’t snow foam my car before every wash; only on the rare occasions it’s dirty enough to justify it, and I don’t really let it get very dirty. Normally it just gets a pre-rinse using hose on high pressure setting before doing using a ‘safe‘ 3 bucket method wash.

 

[Metalogic]

I actually bought an IK FOAM Pro 12 in the end, I haven't tried it yet with a compressor (it did come with fittings for one), but it actually seems to work pretty well with Carbon Collective's Ultimus Snow Foam, requires some re-pumping to do the whole car, but no great effort and the foam it produced was pretty decent with reasonable cling.