Vehicle detailing is neither fun nor exciting. You’ll be stretching and bending your back for hours on end just to reach all the dirt and gunk. Having a car wash mop or microfiber cloths makes the task just a tad easier, but why isn’t there a proper car wash tool to get it done in minutes instead of hours? As it turns out, there is.

Using a foam cannon with a special cleaning solution and a pressure washer lets you encase your vehicle in a sudsy, soapy layer. The gentle bubble action dislodges the grime and primes it for washing off. Turn the foam cannon off and now you can blast the dirt and gunk away with water within minutes, leaving your vehicle spotless and shining, like it came out of a dealership. What if you don’t have a pressure washer?

Well, then it’s time for a foam gun, which only needs a garden hose. Foam guns have all sorts of price points and features, so let’s check out Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 and see if it can make car detailing both fun and exciting.

Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 review – first impressions

Chemical Guys offers a whole host of car detailing solutions, advertising itself as being “for beginners and professionals alike”. Chemicals Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 definitely looks and feels like it belongs to the former category, meant for a casual weekend wash. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does put the considerably hefty price under a spotlight. How much of the price is paying for the brand and is this foam gun worth it?

The package comes with the detachable handle, the canister and the spray tip but some extra items are also included with the box. Red Waffle Weave towels are meant for wiping down the windows and Blue Workhorse Towels for general purpose body wiping and drying. There’s the Glass Cleaner solution as well and a package of Silk Shine, a polishing solution for tires, vinyl, plastic and rubber interior and exterior parts of the vehicle. If you haven’t gotten your Silk Shine, contact the seller though it hasn’t impressed us with its performance or the supplied applicator. However, there is no car wash soap; it is bought separately.

This same foam gun is available in several styles, with the one we tested being the cheapest one. The most expensive version is triple the price, costing nearly $180, and is a legitimate foam cannon. A 4.5-gallon detailing bucket is included with the kit but there’s no lid for it. Finally, the kit includes a dirt trap insert for the bucket.

Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 specifications

The good news is that Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 doesn’t require a pressure washer or any additional accessories or gadgets to do the job. It connects to any garden hose and is immediately ready to go. The connecting components are made out of brass and aluminum, which resist corrosion pretty well but the bad news is that the rest does not seem up to par, especially the plastic.

The canister holds up to 32 fluid ounces (0.9 liters) and connects to the hose using a spring locking mechanism that is liable to break. You have to gently set down the hose every time and avoid kicking or whipping it around or the spring will break, causing a leak. The handle part that attaches to the hose is the weak spot, since it doesn’t screw on but pops on. It’s possible to remove the quick connector part and attach it to the hose directly.

Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 first use

Going at dirt and gunk with handwashing pushes the grit into the paintwork and can cause tiny scratches. The ideal car detailing would be contactless, with water and suds alone, and this foam gun tries to make it happen but doesn’t quite manage to cross the finish line.

The two black lines on the canister specify how much soap and water should go in, which makes filling and refilling a no-brainer. We found ourselves having leftover soap, which was used on the lawn mower. You’ll likely experience the same issue, so try scheduling your car wash alongside some other suitable cleaning tasks to use up all the soap.

Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 didn’t produce as much suds as we’d hoped for, but that also meant it spared the soap. The suds were definitely a bit more runny than we’d like them to be and we still had to lean in to make the car clean but the result was beyond our expectations. Even 24 hours later, the vehicle had the same gloss and we didn’t even feel like driving it. However, we felt that was thanks to the Chemical Guys Mr. Pink car shampoo we used, which we bought separately, rather than the foam gun itself.

When it comes time to switch off the foam flow, there’s a dial above the canister to turn the water on and start rinsing. On the flow control dial, 0 is max foam and letters A-E control the foam flow, with A producing the most foam and E the least. The dial didn’t inspire confidence and felt finicky at best. We recommend taking the whole assembly off the hose and rinsing it with just the hose, which does make extra work.

Chemical Guys recommend doing a pass with a wash mitt after the car has been soaped. One is provided with the kit and it does the job but doesn’t feel durable enough for more than a couple uses. Chemical Guys have all sorts of car wash shampoos on offer you can play with, with their recommendation being to use 2 ounces of Honeydew Snow Foam per wash, though any car wash product will do.

The canister jittered a bit during use but everything worked as expected, spraying about 6 feet away. However, the canister didn’t look very durable and we suspect any time it pops off and makes contact with the ground, it’s going to shatter to smithereens. To make matters worse, the assembly threading seemed to be mediocre at best, making it so there was a constant danger of losing pressure at juncture points if we hadn’t tightened it like Hercules.

The provided nozzle allowed us to change between vertical and horizontal sprays but since the pressure wasn’t that strong, both sprays seemed pretty much the same.

Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 maintenance

If you lose or break any of the foam gun’s connecting parts, try finding a replacement at a Home Depot or a general purpose hardware store. You can also try contacting Chemical Guys directly through their website. Failing that, you’ll have to buy the entire kit again if something from your foam gun breaks off or there are missing parts, which appears likely for those who purchased the kit through Amazon.

If the handle part leaks, it’s most likely due to the large O-ring not having a snug fit. You can take a wrench and tighten the brass fitting to stem the leak. Don’t leave any cleaning solution inside the canister once you’re done; rinse it all with water. No special washing is needed for the canister or the assembly, just regular rinsing in tap water.

Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 conclusion

We can’t shake off the feeling that this foam gun is meant for quick touch-ups and not proper car detailing. The results are good but it’s hard to justify the purchase for car detailing alone and trying to use it on a larger project, like a motorhome, is a futile affair. If you happen to enjoy cleaning the home exterior with a garden hose, you might get some extra utility out of this foam gun with the leftover soap but that’s about it.

As far as foam guns go, Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6 is a nice starter pack but the price is way above the feature set and the foam gun is the least impressive item in the kit. It seems branding played a big role in setting the price, which will likely dissuade car detailing beginners and those who just want some quick soap and rinse action.

The entire assembly felt janky and brittle, with one sudden movement seeming enough to send foam gun pieces flying down the driveway. Our foam gun did end up working as advertised but it definitely felt like we were paying for the brand promise of quality rather than actual quality.

If you’re a big fan of Chemical Guys and think they’re the only ones that can provide you with the car detailing prowess without having a pressure washer, then go for Chemical Guys TORQ Foam Blaster 6. Otherwise, there are cheaper foam guns out there that will give you more blast for your buck or you can go whole hog and get a proper foam cannon with a pressure washer.