Koch-Chemie Ultra Foam "UF" 1000ml

Snow Foam with pH 8.5 as the Sweet Spot between Protection and Cleaning Power

What is Koch-Chemie Ultra Foam? A slightly alkaline snow foam concentrate (pH 8.5) for touchless pre-washing, which sits precisely between pH-neutral Gentle Snow Foam (pH 7.5) and alkaline Active Foam (pH 9.5). NTA- and phosphate-free, 3 to 8 ml per vehicle, dense foam carpet with long dwell time on vertical surfaces. Not suitable for pure decontamination washes before machine polishing.

Koch-Chemie Ultra Foam "Uf" is a highly concentrated snow foam pre-cleaner concentrate from Unna for the touchless pre-wash phase. With a slightly alkaline pH value of 8.5, the product bridges the gap between gentle, pH-neutral cleaning foams and harsh pre-cleaners that strip natural wax in one wash. The formula is NTA-, phosphate-, and EDTA-free.

It is based on a high proportion of anionic surfactants, which form stable micelles within the foam structure—spherical surfactant arrangements that encapsulate greasy dirt inside and transport it away with the foam on the water-soluble exterior. This means for you: road film adheres to the foam carpet instead of the paint, and the car visibly brightens when rinsed off.

• pH 8.5 as the sweet spot in the Koch-Chemie foam family. Gentle Snow Foam is at pH 7.5 (protects but removes little road dirt), Active Foam at pH 9.5 (removes everything but attacks carnauba), Super Foam is extremely high at pH 12.0. Ultra Foam provides the cleaning power against road film without prematurely degrading intact polymer sealants or ceramic coatings. Practical: your sealant lasts visibly longer than with pH 9.5.
• 3 to 8 ml per vehicle, 1:300 in hand wash. The concentrate is calibrated for dosing pumps of gantry car washes. In the 20-liter container, the pure chemical costs per wash are in the single-cent range—the economic leverage that makes a throughput of 10 to 20 vehicles per day profitable. The 1L variant targets hobby detailers with foam lances, the 5L container targets self-service car wash operators.
• Dense foam carpet with high dwell time. Professional reviews confirm a luxurious, dense foam that adheres to vertical surfaces for a long time. This is not just visual—the foam holds surfactants and carrier water on the bodywork instead of immediately running down the sills. This means for you: longer chemical contact within the same 5-minute window and thus more dissolved road film per wash.

Practical tip from Detailing1: We often see detailers switching who previously used Active Foam pH 9.5 and suddenly have problems with undermined sealants on regular premium vehicles. The diagnosis is usually the same: pH 9.5 cleans reliably, but degrades polymer sealants over weeks. Switching to pH 8.5 reduces the alkaline load by a factor of 10 and cleans almost identically in daily operations. Those who perform decontamination washes before machine polishing stick with Active Foam—those who maintain sealants are right with Ultra Foam.

Applying Ultra Foam: cold bodywork, thin film, five minutes

Spraying Ultra Foam neat onto the paint risks caustic stains on anodized trim—dilute to a maximum of one percent application concentration in the foam lance and never use undiluted.

This concentration is also the threshold at which the mild-alkaline cleaning effect visibly begins. In the consumption channel of gantry car washes, the dosage is typically 3 to 8 ml per vehicle. For hand washing, dilutions of up to 1:300 are sufficient for a pure maintenance wash. Practically, this means: a 1L bottle is sufficient for about 200 vehicle pre-washes in hand washing, and the 5L container for about 1,000 applications.

The bodywork must be cold and in the shade. At air temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius or in direct sun, the carrier water dries faster than the mild caustic can act—the local concentration increases, and you get water spots on the paint or milky streaks on anodized aluminum trim. From our experience: always check the paint temperature with the palm of your hand; if the paint feels warm, apply a deluge of water until it is below skin temperature.

Apply in a crosshatch pattern from bottom to top to prevent run marks from drying. Allow a maximum of five minutes dwell time, then rinse thoroughly with high pressure. For heavily soiled vehicles, a second pass is always more effective than leaving it longer—the snow foam pre-wash is a touchless introductory step, not a soaking bath.

In winter, the concentrate becomes viscous. In unheated self-service bays, the viscosity loses its fluidity, and the dosing pump draws unevenly. The professional solution: pre-dilute the concentrate in the reservoir with warm water to 1:5 to 1:10 before it goes into the lance's Venturi valve. This simultaneously solves two problems—pump cavitation with cold concentrate and uneven foam formation with simple foam cannons. A foam cannon with at least 100 bar high pressure provides the mechanical reserve that compensates for fluctuating concentrate viscosity.

Substrates, Sealants, Limits: where the Sweet Spot ends

Ultra Foam is safe on intact clear coats, unpainted polypropylene bumpers (the thermoplastic polymer from which modern bumpers and trim are made), glass, and rubber seals. When used correctly, it leaves no streaks or water spots—provided the five-minute rule is observed and the bodywork is in the shade.

With sealants, the real strength of pH 8.5 becomes apparent: modern ceramic coatings made of cross-linked silicon oxides—the covalent Si-O-Si matrix, a three-dimensional glass network on the paint—are insensitive to the mild-alkaline surfactant solution because these bonds are chemically orders of magnitude more stable than the ester film of a wax. This means for you: your coating's durability is maintained. Polymer sealants also last significantly longer than with pH 9.5—the factor of 10 in caustic concentration directly translates into measurably longer protective layer durability.

The honest limitation: thinly applied carnauba waxes can still be undermined by weekly high concentrations (1:10 instead of 1:100). Carnauba is a plant ester wax that is gradually broken down by repeated caustic contact. If you maintain a hand wax as value-preserving protection, you do not use Ultra Foam at full concentration as a weekly maintenance foam—for this niche, the pH-neutral Gentle Snow Foam "Gsf" is the better choice, same manufacturer, different application.

On glass and unpainted polypropylene, the product is uncritical as long as it doesn't dry. On glass, burnt-in caustic leaves mineral streaks that can only be removed with acidic glass cleaner. Rubber seals withstand short exposures perfectly; with continuous use or concentrations above one percent, the caustic extracts plasticizers and the lip becomes brittle—the same mechanism as with stronger sister products, only significantly slower.

Taboo are hot brake discs after highway driving, black hoods in the midday sun, sun-exposed dark rims—everywhere the water evaporates too quickly, and the surfactants burn into the clear coat as light streaks.

The concentrate is classified as irritating to skin and eyes. When handling, chemical-resistant protective gloves and tightly fitting safety glasses are essential. The diluted product in the foam lance is no longer irritating to this extent, but splashes in the eye should still be rinsed immediately.

1L Hobby, 5L Professional, 20L Bulk for three user groups

Those who buy the wrong container pay double or store concentrate that loses its fluidity over time—Ultra Foam is available in three clearly separated sizes.

The 1-liter bottle is intended for hobby detailers and testers who want to get to know the product before investing in larger quantities. The 5-liter container addresses self-service car wash operators and smaller detailing businesses that refill weekly. The 20-liter canister targets gantry car washes, commercial detailers with high throughput, and freight forwarders with their own washing facilities—with a consumption of 5 ml per car, the canister is sufficient for around 4,000 vehicles and correspondingly long order cycles.

The special niche where Ultra Foam economically competes against its own sister products is the premium detailer. Those who prepare lease returns with subsequent spray sealing want a foam that gets the paint uncompromisingly clean in under five minutes—without prematurely degrading the sealant of the next car.

Active Foam pH 9.5 cleans a tad faster but degrades polymer sealants over weeks. Gentle Snow Foam pH 7.5 perfectly preserves the sealant but leaves insect residues and summer tree sap on the front apron. Ultra Foam sits exactly in between.

What manufacturers rarely prominently communicate: Ultra Foam replaces the DIY cocktails with which professional detailers previously mixed pH-neutral foam with some all-purpose cleaner to temporarily increase cleaning power. These mixtures are chemically unstable, and the cleaning effect fluctuates from batch to batch.

Ultra Foam delivers the mild-alkaline premix as a reproducible, stable formula directly from the canister—the decisive time advantage for businesses with repeatable workflows. Those who use a commercial Koch-Chemie range as standard equipment and have no time for their own chemical cocktails will find the finished sweet spot in the foam family here.

Application of Koch-Chemie Ultra Foam

Dispense in the foam arch, cold bodywork, five minutes

Ultra Foam is drawn into the foam lance at a maximum application concentration of one percent. In the consumption channel of gantry car washes, the dosage is 3 to 8 ml per vehicle, while for hand washing, dilutions of up to 1:300 are sufficient for a maintenance wash. The car body must be cold and in the shade – at air temperatures above 25 degrees or direct sunlight, the carrier water dries faster than the mild lye can act.

Apply in a crosshatch pattern from bottom to top to prevent runoff marks from drying. Leave on for a maximum of five minutes, then rinse thoroughly with high pressure. For heavily soiled vehicles, a second pass is more effective than leaving it on longer. In winter, the concentrate becomes viscous – the professional solution is to pre-dilute it in the reservoir with warm water to 1:5 to 1:10 before the concentrate goes into the lance's Venturi valve.

Safe on clear coat, glass, polypropylene bumpers, and rubber seals. Modern ceramic coatings made of cross-linked silicon oxides are insensitive to pH 8.5, and polymer sealants last significantly longer than below pH 9.5. Be careful with thin carnauba waxes in high concentrations – for pure natural wax care, the pH-neutral Gentle Snow Foam is the better choice.

Notes: The concentrate is classified as irritating to skin and eyes. When handling the concentrate, chemical-resistant protective gloves and tightly fitting safety goggles are mandatory – the coding of the hazard statements and the safety data sheet are available separately as metafields with the product. Do not apply to hot brake discs after highway driving, black hoods in the midday sun, or dark rims exposed to the sun – in all these cases, the water evaporates too quickly and the surfactants burn into the clear coat as light streaks. Store frost-free between 5 and 30 degrees, in the closed original container, it can be stored for several years.