imported_admin
09-06-2009, 09:20 AM
The development of HD PROTECT (vinyl, leather, rubber and plastic conditioner) was a fun time on this project. It was the first of the chemicals that I asked to go back to the drawing board and start with a clean test tube.
Until we made HD PROTECT, 3D had a couple of nice "bulk detailer" dressing products, but nothing close to top shelf. Previously, 3D was driven by their detailing client`s desire to cut cost. The HD line is not bound my the same cost restrictions, but we learned something about cost along the way.
The day we started over, I brought in 6-7 of my favorite leather and interior care products. We tried, sniffed, felt and analyzed all of the products until we came up with a list of essential qualities that we thought were important:
1. Look - How the leather/vinyl looks after the product is applied (should look natural, not greasy and the finish must be even, not blotchy)
2. Feel - How the leather/vinyl feels after the product is applied. (the best products give the leather a sensual, supple feel)
3. Smell - The product must smell good on its own and make the leather/vinyl smell good, without smelling artificial)
4. Long Lasting - The product must keep both its appearance and its protective qualities for a long time, even in the hot sun.
5. Easy to Apply - The product must be effortless to apply.
6. Non-toxic & Biodegradable - The product must not contain any chemicals or compounds that harm the car owner or our planet.
The first issue we attacked was the look. We knew that finding the right silicone or creating the right silicone emulsion was important. Unfortunately, nothing we tried was satisfying me. Looking at the products I brought with me to test against, I noted that one of them claimed to contain carnauba wax. We wondered why, until we tried it. Wow, what a difference that made. Now we were starting to get somewhere.
What the carnauba wax did for the "look" it took away from "easy-to-apply", so it was back to the think tank again. This time, we wondered how it was that ladies cosmetics can be easy to apply evenly, when they contain a carnauba base. We discovered the answer by turning to the ingredients used to make a cosmetic cream. All of a sudden, we had a product that was easy to apply, and had an amazing, luxurious feel. We were making progress, but there was a problem... the conditioner had no staying power.
We had the look, the feel, the ease of application, but longevity was killing us. We were in uncharted water. How do you bind a water-based silicone and carnauba wax together so they won`t simply evaporate away? Nothing logical that we thought of did anything more than make the product greasy, so we turned to the illogical. It turned out that the same ingredient put in HD POXY to bind its three natural waxes worked in HD PROTECT. But wouldn`t you know it, that wasn`t the end of the problems.
We had a formula that works, but it wouldn`t stay together unless we made it a heavy cream. This went against our "Easy to Apply" requirement, because all of the creams we tried were more difficult to apply than the sprays. We decided on a happy medium by running the formula through the ````genizer until it was the consistency of a thin lotion. WOW, what a difference that made. The feel, look, ease of application and staying power were all present and locked together. All that was left was the fragrance.
Fragrance is a bit like sex appeal. It`s either there, or it isn`t. We probably went through a dozen iterations of fragrances for this product before everyone on the team said "YES!". With fragrance, you never know what`s going to work, so we tried adding some interesting smells with it, like tobacco and musk. We finally found the secret fragrance ingredient and decided to call the concoction "Italian Leather," because it smells like a Gucci hand bag. OMG, it is so delicious!
Originally we were going to put this product in a 24 oz. spray bottle, but after treating about a dozen cars in the company parking lot, we realized we were using less than half an ounce per car (way less). So, we started our search for a smaller bottle. Wouldn`t you know it that the first bottle we came across was a beautiful crimson red that turned almost "Ferrari red" when filled with the product. Perfect!
Creating the perfect applicator to go with this product is another story, and I will tell it later.
I hope you will try this amazing new interior conditioner. Your purchase is 100% guaranteed.
HD PROTECT Bundle (http://hdcarcare.com/hd-protect-interior-leather-vinyl-conditioner-bundle.html)
P.S., HD PROTECT is designed to be an interior conditioner. It does work on exterior plastic and rubber, except tires.
Until we made HD PROTECT, 3D had a couple of nice "bulk detailer" dressing products, but nothing close to top shelf. Previously, 3D was driven by their detailing client`s desire to cut cost. The HD line is not bound my the same cost restrictions, but we learned something about cost along the way.
The day we started over, I brought in 6-7 of my favorite leather and interior care products. We tried, sniffed, felt and analyzed all of the products until we came up with a list of essential qualities that we thought were important:
1. Look - How the leather/vinyl looks after the product is applied (should look natural, not greasy and the finish must be even, not blotchy)
2. Feel - How the leather/vinyl feels after the product is applied. (the best products give the leather a sensual, supple feel)
3. Smell - The product must smell good on its own and make the leather/vinyl smell good, without smelling artificial)
4. Long Lasting - The product must keep both its appearance and its protective qualities for a long time, even in the hot sun.
5. Easy to Apply - The product must be effortless to apply.
6. Non-toxic & Biodegradable - The product must not contain any chemicals or compounds that harm the car owner or our planet.
The first issue we attacked was the look. We knew that finding the right silicone or creating the right silicone emulsion was important. Unfortunately, nothing we tried was satisfying me. Looking at the products I brought with me to test against, I noted that one of them claimed to contain carnauba wax. We wondered why, until we tried it. Wow, what a difference that made. Now we were starting to get somewhere.
What the carnauba wax did for the "look" it took away from "easy-to-apply", so it was back to the think tank again. This time, we wondered how it was that ladies cosmetics can be easy to apply evenly, when they contain a carnauba base. We discovered the answer by turning to the ingredients used to make a cosmetic cream. All of a sudden, we had a product that was easy to apply, and had an amazing, luxurious feel. We were making progress, but there was a problem... the conditioner had no staying power.
We had the look, the feel, the ease of application, but longevity was killing us. We were in uncharted water. How do you bind a water-based silicone and carnauba wax together so they won`t simply evaporate away? Nothing logical that we thought of did anything more than make the product greasy, so we turned to the illogical. It turned out that the same ingredient put in HD POXY to bind its three natural waxes worked in HD PROTECT. But wouldn`t you know it, that wasn`t the end of the problems.
We had a formula that works, but it wouldn`t stay together unless we made it a heavy cream. This went against our "Easy to Apply" requirement, because all of the creams we tried were more difficult to apply than the sprays. We decided on a happy medium by running the formula through the ````genizer until it was the consistency of a thin lotion. WOW, what a difference that made. The feel, look, ease of application and staying power were all present and locked together. All that was left was the fragrance.
Fragrance is a bit like sex appeal. It`s either there, or it isn`t. We probably went through a dozen iterations of fragrances for this product before everyone on the team said "YES!". With fragrance, you never know what`s going to work, so we tried adding some interesting smells with it, like tobacco and musk. We finally found the secret fragrance ingredient and decided to call the concoction "Italian Leather," because it smells like a Gucci hand bag. OMG, it is so delicious!
Originally we were going to put this product in a 24 oz. spray bottle, but after treating about a dozen cars in the company parking lot, we realized we were using less than half an ounce per car (way less). So, we started our search for a smaller bottle. Wouldn`t you know it that the first bottle we came across was a beautiful crimson red that turned almost "Ferrari red" when filled with the product. Perfect!
Creating the perfect applicator to go with this product is another story, and I will tell it later.
I hope you will try this amazing new interior conditioner. Your purchase is 100% guaranteed.
HD PROTECT Bundle (http://hdcarcare.com/hd-protect-interior-leather-vinyl-conditioner-bundle.html)
P.S., HD PROTECT is designed to be an interior conditioner. It does work on exterior plastic and rubber, except tires.