Hi guys
A few products launching next week (Friday to be precise).
They are:
BLUE VELVET PRO wax, 200ml,
The sister product to Purple Haze Pro. We don’t plan on doing a full range of ‘Pro’ waxes, but for the two best sellers, PH and BV, it made sense to have an interim wax leading up to Supernatural. I won’t go into too much detail re the product, but it’s basically a fortified Blue Velvet formula. Better durability due to more carnauba and some sealant ingredients.
MELLOW YELLOW wheel cleaner, 500ml spray at 12.95 GBP RRP and 500ml concentrate at 15.95 GBP RRP
This is an advanced wheel cleaner we have been working on for a while. Ironically, the amount of time committed to this product and the sophistication of the ingredients should have commanded a higher RRP but we have kept it as low as possible to keep it competitive, due to the popularity of good value, but very effective, trade products like Bilberry. Basically, it is strong on performance but gentle on wheels – which tends to be what they all say on the label these days!
However, we’re not going to be playing the ‘non-acidic’ marketing game with this product. The non-acidic products can be HUGELY alkaline (one popular non-acidic wheel cleaner has a pH of over 13 - out of 14 - when diluted, which is essentially the same as caustic soda). Strong alkalis can be just as destructive as strong acids. We looked at both routes and chose to go down a ‘controlled effect’ acid route. Why acids? Well, brake debris is typically a ferrous dust created by wear to brake pads and brake discs. We felt that the best products to attack ferrous deposits are acids, not alkalis. Our formulation is designed to target these ferrous iron-derived contaminants, not attack paint, clearcoat, powdercoats or alloy finishes. Clearcoat is basically a plastic coating and as most people know, acids don’t attack plastic.
It is also worth noting that wheel cleaners are often an area where manufacturers play the 'dilution game'… it is easy to dilute the products down and sell them cheaply. They often work the same when diluted... you just use more of the product or let it dwell for longer... so the results can look impressive even if the product is quite weak. We have gone in with a concentrate and a ‘ready to go’ spray, in strong and medium concentrations. If someone wants to make a weak concentration, they can simply dilute our regular product with water at 1:1. We could therefore have sold the ready to go spray at half price or maybe even less, but we don’t like over-diluting the products. We’d rather they worked properly and were 'dumbed down' later by the user if required.
Besides, we don't see this product as being used every wash. The idea would be to thoroughly clean your wheels with this product, seal them, then use a shampoo solution on them only if washed regularly, or a very weak wheel cleaner solution on them if cleaned monthly. We'd anticipate a 500ml dilute spray bottle lasting about a year, and the concentrate double that (the concentrate makes a litre or more of spray).
Spray:
Refill:
TRIBBLE MITT WASH GLOVE wash mitt,
This is a standard thumbed sheepskin wash mitt. We have been looking at what’s available in the market ever since the Wookie came out... just a regular washmitt for the main range... and this (non-exclusive) mitt fitted the bill nicely. Very soft and nicely made for the money. As for the name, non-trekkies may have to google it
CAPTAIN CREVICE WHEEL MITT,
When researching wheel brushes, sponges etc. we came across this thin wall mitt as being perfect for the job of cleaning wheels. It allows the user to get into the spokes, folds and crevices of wheels effectively as it isn’t too bulky, yet it’s extremely soft. With clearcoat finishes on many wheels, we were amazed how people were using much harsher and relatively abrasive tools on them – tools they wouldn’t use on the bodywork... This mitt is soft plush microfibre, with minimal padding. It carries wheel cleaning solutions and wash solutions, without splattering and is softer than many brushes. Whilst some of the wheel brushes are soft bristled and designed like basting brushes (so no wire stem to scratch the wheel) we think the mitt offers better control, but it will probably augment a wheel cleaning system rather than replace it. We may do brushes ourselves at some point, but this wheel mitt works a treat and we’re very happy to have sourced it. If you’ve never used a wheel mitt, maybe give it a go at some point.
DODO LOGO T-SHIRT,
A front and back screenprinted T-shirt, with ‘Dodo’ on the front and ‘Juice’ on the back. A classic tee and a very good looking one. Pj hasn’t stopped wearing his since we made a few for our authorised detailers back in 2007/8. This has a little embroidery on it as well ('Dodo to a tee' beneath the rear neckline). Available in S, M, L, XL, 2XL.
Front:
Back:
Detail:
PURPLE HAZE T-SHIRT,
This is a fashion tee, retro styled with exposed stitching. The design is a unique image created for us by T-bone, a surf artist from America. You’ll notice our Dodo carnauba leaf in the design… subtle, yet pretty funky and very much ‘us’. Available in chocolate brown only (with purple printed Purple Haze design) in S, M, L and XL (they don’t do larger sizes in the funkier clothing, which is a bit size-ist but there you go... sorry, bigger people).
Detail:
As ever, any questions, comments etc. get posting below and I'll do my best to answer them.
All the above are available from resellers who have taken stock from next Friday 23rd October in the UK, and soon after in Europe and Internationally.