what are some of the pros and cons of one?
which are some good median ones? (ie not the best but not the most crappy)

 

I use a Gilmore myself. I believe most all of them are made by Gilmore just with different branding on them.

The only con I can really think of is you'll tend to go through more wash soap with one.

The pros, for starters, you're able to provide a layer of lubricity on the paint before even touching it with a wash mitt. You can also use it as a presoak to remove some dirt/grime before the actual wash. It also allows you to rid yourself of the soap bucket from the two-bucket method. Instead of a soap bucket and a rinse bucket, you just have a rinse bucket because the soap is applied directly to the vehicle. The trick is getting the right mix of soap in the canister and using the right setting on the gun. Also, some soaps will react differently, ie foam more or less than others. For instance, Optimum Car Wash foams like crazy. The foam gun has different ratio settings on it. If you wanted to, you can fill the canister with straight soap and set to the proper dilution ratio on the gun however, most car washes are too thick to go through the hole for that setting. So if a soap calls for 1oz/gallon, instead of using that setting, I'll dilute the soap in the canister 3:1 and use the appropriate setting, in this case 4oz/gallon. Washing your vehicle correctly is really important to a nice finish. Too strong a mix will actually degrade your wax or sealant. The foam gun helps to insure a proper mix.

 

X2 as esf says. Check out ADS

 

X2 on the Gilmore. They're cheaper on Amazon.

This is for the multiratio one
http://www.autodetailingsolutions.net/75qgfmr.html

 

I bought mine from Autogeek.net. I was torn b/t three different Megs soaps. Hyper Wash Shampoo plus and one other one but I forgot the name of it. i took Esf recommendation and purchased the Shampoo plus and I love it so much that I'm going to order another gallon.

This is all you need

Foam gun (I bought the Autogeek one but like Esf said I think its made by Gilmore.
Meguiars Shampoo Plus

 

How much does the Meg's shampoo foam up?

We use Duragloss 901 with it, and it foams up pretty good.

 

thanks for the replies. i looked around on MOL alot last night and i'm going to get one. the snow foam ones looks better (the ones used with a pressure washer) but i don't wanna drag out my pressure washer everytime to use it. i have a lil below 5gallons of megs super soap that needs to be used up anyways as i'm not a fan of it at all. i'm going to hit up amazon!!! thanks guys

 

The foam cannon? I wanna try one of those