New idea, once a day, every day

[danielsan]

I always thought it would be great to have a pad with two separate densities, for a few reasons. There are some obvious technical limitations, however.

Basically, when working on fairly flat surfaces, there is uniform pressure on the pad, but not uniform speed. This causes different parts of the pad to work at different rates. If there were non-uniform densities in the pad, I believe that it would potentially even these differences out with some benefits. I think a cross-section would look something like this:

(the crudeness of this drawing from MS paint is laughable, considering my engineering CAD background)

This way, as downward pressure is applied, the middle, slowest-spinning area receives increased pressure for increased working power. The middle, medium-density foam will be more compressed.

There could be other advantages as well. If the upper, higher density portion could be designed to be less absorbent (perhaps made out of something like TPU?), it would reduce the rate at which the pad loads up, as product would be forced more outwardly than upwardly. When the product gets to the velcro, the pad's basically useless.

Additionally, there would be more give when working in non-flat areas. Since the edges of the pad are softer than the flat center, there would be more forgiveness in them. This would probably be a negative for those needing hyper-consistency, or would at least take some getting used to. Or, perhaps, they could be designed to be firmer, giving the ability to work in tighter spots with more flexibility.

The very soft portion is somewhat of an afterthought. It certainly wouldn't work on a rotary, as it would probably spin off, but perhaps on a G100 it would be feasable. The basic idea is to make the pad be able to kiss a surface it hits laterally without marring it.

Revision: This is kind of more what I was thinking of, but I put the first one in because it has my labels in it...



Now, the final and probably biggest challenge would be to effectively and permanently bond the foam together in a way that it would not separate, under speed, vibration, product moisture, etc. That's probably what would kill this idea. Just thinking out loud, anyway....

[danielsan]

Day 2

To quench my extreme boredome, here is another potential idea I came up with today. I think until I am forced to stop due to extreme lack of ideas, I am going to try to come up with a new suggestion every day. When I suggest 1.5" pads for poliishing laptop screens using a high speed rotary buffer with a diminishing abrasive, tell me to stop!


Todays future megs product will be not a cleaner, or a modified current product, but something new that Meguiars has never done before. One of the hardest parts about doing a job well is the tape-up and removal, or worse, splatter clean up. One material that I have seen come a long way in the past few years is silicone (ha ha snicker snicker get it out of your system now). I think someone enterprising could come up with pre-cut pieces of lightweight cloth, completely bordered by flat, gummy, cleanable, reusable silicone. These pieces would be designed to completely cover the areas that frequently require splatter control, such as windows & their borders, front grills, air dams, etc.

If the silicone worked right, the process would simply be a stick on, work, peel off, and store. A lot of the products I've seen like this lately simply require a damp cloth to restore all stickiness, and are washable. Obviously this would be more useful for people who do the same types of cars, or their own car very frequently. I think that for those who do, it could be quite useful.

Rough sketch (yes, I will stop using paint as soon as I get my mac back)


Another use would be to create long strips of silicone, shaped like masking tape except thicker. These could be sold in various thicknesses. The use would be to either push into the various linear crevaces around the car (the gap around the hood, decklid), or to stick to the door jam and shut the door. This creates an inpenetrable, reusable, safe way of protecting the edges and prevents product from entering the gaps. Since it would be raised 0.5 cm or so above the surface, it would protect any edges associated with unevenly lined-up edges.

Here is somewhat how I envision it, crudely:


Today's idea is kinda lame, but tomorrow's gonna be a doozy, let me tell you right now......

[Setec Astronomy]

Hey, those drawings are great, CAD system or not. I can appreciate your self-denigrating humor, but you don't have to be embarrassed about having ideas and sharing them. If more people were like you, using their "boredom" to think about new product ideas, instead of thinking about if their kitchen floor is newer than the neighbor's, if their SUV is taller, or about their golden parachute, maybe everything I see wouldn't have a "Made in China" label on it.

Sorry if I'm a bit bitter today...was reading Ken Lay's (Enron) testimony...and it relit my anger over why a guy who made tens of millions of dollars a year needed a line of credit from his company so he could borrow tens of millions of dollars from them with no one knowing about it...and then pay it back not in cash, but in (worthless) stock. I'm sorry, but that's just a fancy embezzlement scheme, and if CEO's (and the Boards that monitor them) would think about how to cultivate, hire, and stimulate people like yourself, rather than how to push numbers around to justify their huge salaries, we'd all be a lot better off.

/rant

I'll be looking forward to your "invention of the day", and save some of that innovation for work, too!

[danielsan]

Originally posted by Setec Astronomy
....
Sorry if I'm a bit bitter today...was reading Ken Lay's (Enron) testimony...and it relit my anger over why a guy who made tens of millions of dollars a year needed a line of credit from his company so he could borrow tens of millions of dollars from them with no one knowing about it...and then pay it back not in cash, but in (worthless) stock. I'm sorry, but that's just a fancy embezzlement scheme, and if CEO's (and the Boards that monitor them) would think about how to cultivate, hire, and stimulate people like yourself, rather than how to push numbers around to justify their huge salaries, we'd all be a lot better off.

/rant

Thank you for your very nice comments. As a Houstonian, I get frustrated with those kinds of things too. However, I have come to believe that the only difference between the Fastows, Skillings, and Lays among us is opportunity. There, I said it. I think that most people, given the abilities, resources, and circumstances presented to those people would do the exact same thing. The only difference is, they aren't given the chance.

I know that before I realized how messed up I was, and turned my life around, I would have done the same thing all those people did, except perhaps several times over. It's a good thing I wasn't in their shoes. It's likely I would've wrecked more than a huge corporation and thousands of peoples' lives. I could also tell you that I realized I was a sinner and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at that time, but that would be a HUGE digression Anyway, I find it difficult to be mad at someone for something I know I would've done in their position at some point in my life.

Let me pose a question to you that I ponder frequently. If you could steal exactly one penny from every man, woman, and child in America, all at once, immediately, and not be caught, you would in an instant have roughly 3 million dollars in your bank account. Would you? I think a lot of people would say yes, thinking that it wouldn't do anyone any harm. But what about if you could steal exactly one dollar from everyone? You would have 300 million dollars, and the difference would be quite indistinuishable to everyone else. What about $10 from every person? Where do you draw the line? Do you see my point? When people look at things from a "shades of gray" perspective, they will never be fully capable of making a completely informed, moral decision. Everything is black and white, and I firmly believe that. And this comes from someone who works in a law firm! I do want to throw in that if I could make something that everyone in America would willingly buy for $10, at $1 per unit for me, that's not a moral dilemma, that's a dream!

Originally posted by Setec Astronomy

I'll be looking forward to your "invention of the day", and save some of that innovation for work, too!

At this point, it's mostly saving some of my life for outside of work, so don't worry about that!

And now, for the slightly anticipated, somewhat late, so it's a double, idea of the day! However, no illustrations today! Oh well!

1) I frequently see the bright xenon and halogen lights discussed as a good way to spot swirls. I too, have a surefire flashlight. It is a remarkable tool and a fun toy. The only trouble is, it's never quite convenient to use them, as they tend to never be in a spot you could use them. If Meguiars were to either sell:

a) an attachment that clipped or bolted on the standard DeWalt, Makita, and Porter Cable rotaries that provided a bright point source of light to spot swirls on the fly, without setting your tool aside, I think that would be remarkable. In this instance, it would have to be battery powered, somewhat of a downer.

b) a complete case replacement for the aforementioned tools that would include a build in light, either that comes from the front, top, side handle, or something like that. Heck, a side handle that was a removable xenon light would be a pretty sweet accessory by itself, anyway. But I think if they sold something that was able to get its power from the AC cable that had a simple switch on the side that could give a readily available point source of light, it would be a real winner. The key to spotting swirls is not diffuse light, but a point source. This is why the xenons work so much better than flourescents, because they show where light is refracting and reflecting where it shouldn't. These replacement covers could also have spiffy, glossy (polishable? ) megs logos all over them. I'm considering sketching how I envision them, but I probably won't this instant. Also, they could have sweet grippy rubber inserts on the handle, at the top where everyone grabs the rotaries, etc. A lot of them are just plastic all over.

2) The next idea is a minor one. A glove-compartment touch up kit. I picture a box no bigger than 4 x 3 x 1 which contains a little pump bottle of QD or #34, and 5-6 mini, single-sided microfibers meant to be used once or twice then tossed (originally, I abbreviated microfibers, but something inside of me told me that it just wasn't right ). These could easily fit in a glove compartment or a door panel, and could serve as a good backup for the occasion bird dropping or other minor calamity. I find it's somewhat difficult to maintain a pristine interior, yet still carry a bottle of #34 and a microfiber around. I hate clutter.

So there you have it. More tomorrow, folks. Feel free to expound on anything you see, I take no ownership in anything, and I love constructive, critical ideas.

Setec, if you're into astronomy, I've got a 12" Meade LX200 that I enjoy quite a bit. Any other astronomical people out there?

[danielsan]

Oh boy, oh boy, it's that time again!

Today's product idea is probably not one Meguiars would make, but still one I find interesting all the same. They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and in this case, it is true. How many times has anyone here encountered the situation where you are using your rotary or PC on an area such as the middle of your hood or roof, and been unable to easily apply the proper pressure and maintain control? I know there are cars out there such as the Acura NSX made out of aluminum where even touching them is the kiss of death, much less leaning on them.

The dilemma is this. You don't want to lean on the car, and even with the proper ergonomical technique (and for those of you who don't know it, get Mike's DVD over @ SCG!!!), it can be a big pain in the back to clean these areas. What if there were a device that enabled you to:

1) lean over the hard-to-reach parts of your vehicle safely, without ever contacting it
2) give a good position to clean the side and lower portions of the vehicle
3) Make cleaning the roofs and tops of SUV's easier

And all of this in one compact piece of equipment? I believe it can be done!!!

It starts with something that looks like your basic mechanics creeper- a low-slung bed on wheels. However, this is no ordinary creeper. First of all, it is on wheels, but all of the wheels can be raised, leaving it resting on firmly planted rubber legs.

The main portion is divided into three sections, as shown below.



The first section is able to be raised and lowered up to 2 feet. It can function as a seat or stool.

The second portion is used as a general creeper. You can lie on it to clean the power portions of the car, or sit on it as well.

The true beauty in its use lies in the third section. This portion is attached not to the main frame, but a secondary one, that can pivot to raise the 3rd pad vertically to approximately waist level. This gives the user something to lean on other than the car. The majority of the length of the creeper is actually under the car providing leverage for the user to lean on. There is obviously no room for failure on something like this. Also, if the lean bar is used in conjunction with the step stool, it could give good positioning for cleaning the tops and roofs of SUV's, a difficult area.

I don't think I explained it too terribly well, but perhaps someone will understand. As soon as I can find my student copy of Autocad, I'll have some better illustrations for you all. In the meantime, here's a rough, poorly-scaled version of what it would look like with the lean-bar raised:

Didn't think coming up with something new every day that's not laughably ridiculously bad would be quite this challenging....

[Desertdawg]

I'm just waiting for you to invent a money tree, produce one and I will invest in it...

[Setec Astronomy]

Originally posted by danielsan
I have come to believe that the only difference between the Fastows, Skillings, and Lays among us is opportunity. There, I said it. I think that most people, given the abilities, resources, and circumstances presented to those people would do the exact same thing. The only difference is, they aren't given the chance.

Let me pose a question to you that I ponder frequently. If you could steal exactly one penny...and not be caught...Would you? Where do you draw the line? Do you see my point? When people look at things from a "shades of gray" perspective, they will never be fully capable of making a completely informed, moral decision. Everything is black and white, and I firmly believe that. And this comes from someone who works in a law firm!

Well, those are interesting questions, and human nature is difficult, but here's a couple more questions to think about:

If you are walking down the street and see a penny, do you not pick it up because it belongs to someone else, and they may come back for it? Would it make a difference if it was a $50 bill? I don't know the answer to this one, BTW. On the one hand, I would probably pass by the penny, since it wouldn't make much difference to me, more likely to pick up the $50, but I would be concerned that it made a lot of difference to someone else, so I might think about trying to get it back to the person that dropped it...but how, if it's on the street? Knowing that the next person who walks by may pick it up if I just leave it there.

On the other hand, if I'm driving down the road, and the speed limit is 35, and I want to go a little faster, so I go 40, or 45, and I don't get "caught", do I just keep going faster and faster? No, I don't, I stop at the speed that I think is safe and reasonable...so there is so limit to human nature. However, if there is a cop on the road...I would slow down...so there is the role of government in your postulates...which has been a bit lacking perhaps in tackling the "corporate governance" issues.

Originally posted by danielsan

Setec, if you're into astronomy, I've got a 12" Meade LX200 that I enjoy quite a bit. Any other astronomical people out there?

Setec Astronomy is a movie reference. Although I'm not disinterested in the subject, I don't have a telescope or anything. BTW, you really seem to have a talent for design, too bad you apparently work at a law firm (unless it's a patent firm).

[danielsan]

I'm not late for today by central standard time, at least.....

So, today we will start off with another mediocre brainstorm of an idea that will certainly never see the light of day.

I frequently see people using all kinds of lights in order to work to spot swirls. Flourescent, halogen, xenon, the sun, etc. Every single time, it is the point source that does the best job. I began thinking about the best way to distribute point sources of light across the working surface of the car, and here's what I came up with.....

[submitted, but I am going to come back in a few minutes to finish it]

[PaintPolisher]

danielsan – its been hours
Ok, I am anxious for your new thoughts and you have tweaked my interest as I like crazy ideas and the crazier or far out from the norm the better because it makes me think way out of the box. I love taking complicated brain storms and attempt to make them as simple as possible. I use your basic KISS system.

[danielsan]

First, to finish my thought from the other day:

I was saying that a distribution of point sources would greatly benefit the detailer in spotting swirls, applied, product, etc.

I think the best way to do this would be to erect some kind of miniature structure that would contain housings for halogen or xenon bulbs. I picture something like the rods inside of collapsable tents, with some kind of easy way to attach the bulbs. Current could flow through the connections inbetween. Obviously in a tent these rods lack any kind of orientation, so to ensure the bulbs would face the car, some kind of notches or recessed indentations would be used to make sure the places to put the bulb housings would face the car. I picture a detailer setting up this aparratus in his garage (or driveway at night), so that there is a big "X" of light arches, connected by two straps on the ground also in an x pattern, that he can then drive his car into to work.

There are a few drawbacks. Bulbs are fragile, and there would have to be steps to make sure they could be shock resistant. No product could touch the bulbs either, since a fingerprint on some bulbs can cause them to explode. Also, electric shock is always a hazard to avoid. Lawyers, lawyers, lawyers.

Among the many benefits are being able to customize the locations of your light, depending on your car's size and shape. Also, having bright light all over you car opens up 12 more hours a day for all you car crazies. An illustration:

The whole thing would be quite lightweight and easily moved and transported.

Oh yeah, and if someone made a kit for easy-up tents that did the same thing, or sold EZ-up tents with this built in, that'd be pretty phenomenal too.

[PaintPolisher]

Something like a string of the extra large Christmas tree lights but with the halogen or xenon bulbs installed? I wonder if the large multicolor Christmas tree bulb sockets/holders would take the current of these bulbs. Somebody that understands electrics will need to help out here any EE [electrical engineers] reading these. Cheap, portable and simple if the bulbs would fit and be able to handle the current without burning the place down.

[danielsan]

Originally posted by IBstoney1
danielsan – its been hours
Ok, I am anxious for your new thoughts and you have tweaked my interest as I like crazy ideas and the crazier or far out from the norm the better because it makes me think way out of the box. I love taking complicated brain storms and attempt to make them as simple as possible. I use your basic KISS system.

In response to this nice guy's post, I'm really going sci-fi with this one.

One major advantage of Megs products over others are their diminishing abrasives. Be it scratch-x, or Heavy-cut cleaner with a wool pad, all applications from hand to rotary benefit from these tiny wonders.

My understanding is that it works like this: Heavy (relatively speaking) abrasiveness at first, then as you keep working, they break down smaller and smaller until the finish is buffed smooth.

There are some obvious advantages and disadvantages to this. Obviously when its done correctly, it will perform far better than other products whose abrasives don't dimish. However, if you stop too early, you will only have marred the finish, leaving marks to be removed in the next step. What is really needed is a system to help the user in determining when the product is fully broken down.

I have a radical solution. It has two possible avenues, but both use obscenely long words: chemiluminescence or optical isomers. The basic idea is this: provide indicators that are either temporary or invisible to the naked eye that will show when these dimishing abrasives have been activated, and when they are fully broken down.

I'm sure we've all seen CSI episodes where they spray the magic substance, put on the magic glasses, and the whole crime scene lights up with evidence like Christmas. Well, it's not exactly magic, but it's a lot like it. I think with the correct chemical structuring and sweet Meguiars tinted (polarized) lenses, such a thing could be feasable.

Since most people probably prefer not to buff in the dark (but probably do prefer to be in the buff in the dark lol) I think the optical isomerism is probably the best approach. It would work like this: Put on the glasses, apply the product, and start buffing. As the buffing heats up and activates the enzymes, the isomeric polymers can form, making the area appear darker (or, on dark finishes, it will look purplish/reflective, either way, different) as an effect of the cross-polarization. As they break down, it could perhaps be formulated so that the darkness goes away. Basically, the user will look for the darkness to tell they have used the correct speed, pressure, pad, and product amount to activate it, but once it starts going away, they know they have reached the limit of usability. This could also be used as an early burn warning.

While it sounds fantastic, I don't think it's impossible, and it would be a giant innovation for the meguiars engineers. Certainly nothing like it has been done in car detailing before this, AFAIK. Also, the entire thing would be completely invisible to the naked eye and would never cause any discoloration or damage to the paint.

For an interesting read on optical isomers and polarized light, go here. I don't think you'll be disappointed, and you can kinds of see how the process works.

If you are interested in chemiluminescence at all (it's pretty neat stuff, and I think it could also have applications in detailing as well), go here for a *very* detailed explanation. One possible use? Drive your car into your dark garage, and if there are sections that glow, there is unremoved product. Useful for spotting it in cracks, missed spots, or people with white cars.

I guess that concept works with the polarization idea as well. Oh well.

[danielsan]

Finally getting caught up lol....

I had a case where the mediation broke down and so things got really busy for a few days. But in the interim time, I got to jot down some interesting ideas, like yesterday's. Points to you if you even fully comprehended the idea.

Today's idea isn't so much a product, but really a promotional/marketing idea that I think would be just plain awesome.

One area in which I have admired Meguiar's greatly is its ability to market itself, not through fantastic claims (though the way some of them perform, you would initially think them fantastic) or expensive advertising, but the adament loyalty and fanticism of its customers. I know I have personally converted half a dozen people to pure Meguiars product users. I'm a little obsessive. The products really do speak for themselves with the proper technique. Otherwise, it would pure snake oil, and no one would believe in it.

One way to boost this extremely effective method is to reward those who successfully recommend Meguiars to others. It would work like this. A registered user buys a product from the Meguiar's online store. When their product arrives, included are some coupons for free shipping on any Meguiar's product.

But these aren't any normal coupons. They have a verification code on them. They are not designed for the first customer to redeem, but to give out as he (or she ) reccommends Meguiars to others. Along with the coupons is instructions that state when you recommend Meguiar's products to others, and they use the coupon you give them, the verification code is used to give you points towards awesome Meguiars stuff, like banners, hats, stickers, you name it. There could even be competitions to rack up points.

Alternatively, if that is untenable, simply 1-3% of their purchases could go back to you for use on your next purchase. The few percent can be spared, since it's probably business that Megs wouldn't have had otherwise. It breaks down somewhat if people redeem their own coupons, but not much. Most people would rather get 1-3% of someone else's money than just get 3% off.

I've never been a marketing guy, but anything that plays towards people's pocketbooks is always a winner. I know if I had a stack of these coupons to hand out, I would have some serious points right now.

[danielsan]

And finally, today's:

Once again, not really a car care product, but still something that would be cool nonetheless.

Meguiar's could create (or outsource) the writing of a simple computer program that would simply make it easy for the typical home user to keep track of all detailing performed on the car.

Picture this: after washing, claying, one-step speed glazing with the G100, and putting on a coat of M21, you go to your PC, click a button, click wash, click smooth surface clay, click G100, sub-option speed glaze option W8006, and M21.

Then, each time you do something like that, you can have a history of everything you've ever done for the life of a car. I know if I was considering buying a car from someone who had such a record, it would greatly impress me. I think that's one of the few circumstances in which buying a used car would be recommended. From a car crazy.

Short and sweet today, tomorrow will be more out-of-the-box, I promise. But software isnt' really something Meguiar's has gotten into either, I suppose.

I don't think the program would help you keep track of your non-Meguiar's product use, either

Edit: right after creating this post, I go to "view new posts" and what do I see? Someone asking about detailing logs! Irony.....

[danielsan]

I just saw a posting very similar to one of the ones I just made, so no one will suspect me of anything, here it is as well....I guess I wasn't as out-of-the-box as I thought.....

here