Blog - NDG PRODUCTS

August 28, 2018September 17, 2018

Ms Renault Megane from top of a hill

We read the Facebook trash and treasure ad with interest as it has all the elements of what we want for a Nano/Mechanical blog project. So for this blog this is where the adventure starts.

The Megane was described as having a mechanical failure but well looked after in it’s life. It was about 200kms from our place which is a further away then we would like but we decided to reach out and see what this car held for us. After many months for what started out to be a reasonably straight forward Nano/Mechanical restoration ended up dishing out lots of surprises as you will read below, but we did get it finished.

We arranged to go and see the car to determine if it was a feasible project and if so buy the car, then go back and get the car on a car trailer using one of our other DIY project cars as the tow vehicle.

We left to go see the car and hit road works all the way delaying us about an hour but on getting there we were greeted by a massive great dane closely followed by 2 chihuahuas and 2 Shetland ponies who looked on with slight interest.

The Megane was sitting on a hill on it’s own. We took a look at the car and saw that the car had been licked clean in some places by a big tongue, possibly from a cow or that great dane. The body was in good condition with some battle scares in the usual spots but for our purposes these are acceptable.

We could not see the mechanical fault that was described so we spent about an hour looking at the basics. There were no faults in the OBC so we determined that the problem was more than likely the cam belt was broken. Super hard to see the condition of the belt on these engines without some effort. So we decided to buy the car anyway.

A few days later we leave pre-dawn and drive the 200kms with a car trailer using our Mazda Tribute to do the heavy hauling. Surprisingly the Tribute did the towing of the trailer very easily.

We get to the Megane, load up and head back to base. On the way we stop to check the tie-down tensions out font of a second hand wares shop that had a lychee covered VW beetle for sale out front. The owner came out to find out more about Ms Megane’s issues and fate. During the conversation he made an offer that was well above what we paid for but we gracefully declined his offer and got on our way.

The following day we decided to have a look at the cam belt and got to work. As suspected the cam belt idler pulley bearing had failed and the belt had broken as a result. We needed to remove the head anyway to see what level of damage had been caused as this is like almost all engines of this era are interference engines so the pistons and valves occupy the same space, meaning there would be some internal engine damage.

Engine damage

A few hours later we had our answers. very minimal damage had occured to the internal engine. Very, very lucky. We sent the Head off to one of the finest Automotive engineers we know in Mr. Phil Baker to recondition the head. While that is being done we will get to work on the rest of the car.

What we need to do:

Wash and claybar the car with NDG Mega Gloss wash
Cut and polish the paintwork and carry out paint correction
Replace the passenger door regulator
Remove buckle from front rim
Find radio code
Hyperseal the body and all other plastic parts
Order trim clips
Refit plastic trims that are missing screws
Replace the water pump and other seals
Service the injectors
Order colour coded touch-up paint

Mid way phase

We get to work on locating and ordering the parts we need.
We start on the bodywork NDG DIY bodywork coating process.
Wash and claybar the car
Carry out paint correction on several areas of the car.
Re-secure any body plastic parts
Clean engine bay and apply NDG Instant engine gloss
Recharge battery
Check and change all fuses

Some weeks later,

We assembled the engine replacing the waterpump, idler, Timing belt and tension and various bolts and this got the Megane back on the road.

We took it for it’s first road test. 1 and 2nd gear it all sounded good then as we grab 3rd we hear a bearing growl start-up in the gearbox and this only got worse in 4th and 5th. Dam, this is not something we needed to have happen!

Out comes the gearbox and stripped down. Noisy bearing found and the search started for the bearing kit. No kits in Australia so a kit was ordered from the UK which arrived a week later.

With the Gearbox rebuilt and installed into the car we get to detailing the car and Hyperseal the body and plastics and fitting the new passenger front window regulator.

All done.

Plan is to drive the car for a couple of weeks and then put it onto the open market to sell. But, it turned out so dam nice ans so much fun to drive it is tempting to keep it!!!.

An Update to the Megane.

It is certainly a head turner and people want to know what it is, Sounds strange as they are common but not so in rural Australia, they are around but tend to blend in as most are standard looking commuters.

The car was delivered to it’s new owner Narelle in Sept 18 and, she loved the car the moment she laid eyes on it.

August 7, 2018

Taking it to the skies

I will be taking it to the skies was the comment made by a well known Gyrocopter owner & pilot.

Gyrocopters are not your everyday flying machine but they have a strong international sub culture who have ozone for blood. It was August 2017 and this fellow had heard about our Products from word of mouth recommendation so he came looking for us at our secret test hideout. we of course asked him how he managed to find us. He said we were not so hard to find.

He wanted to protect his recently completed canopy version gyro which was fitted with a LS1 chevy engine and carbon fibre propulsion blade. This is the Hypercar of the Gyrocopter world with a big investment so it needed to be kept in perfect condition

So we of course said yes we will do it and planned a time to meet at the airstrip, which was a good hour drive away. On getting there we found all sorts of flying machines which was fascinating to walk around and check them out.

This blog will run for 12 months as we track the quality of the work carried out and the how the owner felt NDG coatings performed over the 12 months.

Right, what are we there for: To look at what products we would apply to this machine.

The windscreen we decided on shield 120

The Blades we would use our champion product that is our special tool Hyperseal.

We set up and got started. The paintwork had recently been applied so no significant paint corrections were needed.

Just as we finished the wind started to pickup so the owner quickly got into his flying machine and took to the skies.

On returning he commented on the clarity of the visuals of the windscreen and the smooth feel to the canopy and was very happy with the whole process. So we shook hands and scheduled to return in August 2018.

August 2018

12 months have passed since we had seen the Gyrocopter and we headed out to the Airstrip to take a look and have a chat to the owner.

On arriving we found that there was a new, larger hanger to house the Gyro so he still had it and not felt compelled to sell it during this time

The gyro looked the same as when we had coated it.

The owner said he was very pleased with NDG products and he recommends it to anyone he meets as to him we had ticked all his wants and needs boxes and his expectations were met.

He says that the bug/insects are much easier to clean off the windshields and that all he needs to do is wipe the whole machine with a clean cloth and it looks good as new.

August 5, 2018

Hands-on experiment DIY Style

During our product development process we use focus groups and live off the street people to test our processes so we grab a young couple who were in the street and in exchange for their services gave them a bag of NDG car care goodies.

We we wanted them to do was read some very basic instructions on applying Hyperseal to their car and then go for it with him working on one side and her on the other. Our objective was to backup our claim that NDG Hyperseal is truely a DIY (Do it yourself).

It was an interesting exercise as what we were looking for was can you get the same result using your own style?

So how did they go?

Besides the very difference of opinion as to the right technique and the wrong it was all pretty straight forward. We were asked to give an opinion as to who did the best work? It could have been a diplomatic answer but we hands down said that her work was the best.

Bottom line in this experiment was that it really doesn’t matter what technique you use you will still get a great result with our Hyperseal.

NDG HYPERSEAL IS A TRUE DIY NANO COATING

You can by Hyperseal here

NDG Hyperseal

July 29, 2018

NDG’s 2014 Summary

2014 has been our biggest growth period with most of that being through the launch of our NDG Self Healing coatings. Our testing and product development is going leaps and bounds and we have many new and innovative products being readied to launch in the coming 24months.

The market acceptance of our brand and products has been excellent.

Below are just some images of some of the projects we have done this year.

July 29, 2018July 29, 2018

First cross country test USA

2013 was our first fore-ray into the Nanoscopic world and what we found was very intriguing and we wanted to know more but in order to understand what it was we needed to live with for some time and this is what we did.

One of the very early products for cars was a ceramic coating which we were unsure how to take it to market and fully explain what it did so we do what all car guys do and go on a road trip.

The car we used was and Oxford green 1998 BMW 740IL, perfect for what we wanted to do as that colour shows any marks, blemishes, and any soiling so we starting in Florida we coated the car with the Nano ceramic coating, nano tire shine and windscreen coating, packed up, and headed on a 3,200 mile drive west toward Los Angeles.

We took our time doing the crossing taking 7 days to step foot on Santa Monica pier via Las Vegas. This was the BMW’s 10th transcontinental USA crossing so we had a good feel for any changes in the way the car performed.

Here is what we found

Fuel economy had improved. The car always got 26 MPG but we noticed that we got a solid 28MPG with the coating on the car
The claim of not needing to wash your car again was not accurate. The car still got dirty as it normally would but it was far easier to clean
The ceramic coating did give the paintwork depth and made the metalic flakes shine more
The windscreen coating didn’t work as we were told, that it repelled rain but we did find that it was much easier to clean off bug splatter and that rain drop dispelled very well and the windshield wipers were much quieter
The tire shine didn’t last 2 days so we count that as a non-starter.

After this trip we saw that the products although good they were not great. we believed that they could be made great so we formed Nano Development Group and from that the Brand NDG.

We employed a chemical engineer who specialised in Nano technologies and started on the long expensive road to product development.

We plan to expand our testing to other parts of the world and develop products that are DIY in their application rather than products that need to have specialist applicators.

Stay tuned for further blogs.

July 28, 2018

NDG Self Healing explained

Dubai UAE 2014 launch

We launched NDG products into Dubai in 2014 leading with our Self Healing coating for cars. What we didn’t expect was the resounding success that was ahead of us. The market responded and we were inundated with cars waiting for some NDG Self Healing.

The idea and function of the Self Healing coating is that once it is applied, not only is is super glossy it has the ability to heal itself when heat is applied to it.

Since this time we have applied the coating to many hundreds of cars and boat hulls (above the waterline).

This video shows how it works

Here are some FAQ’s

The coating is not a DIY product. Applicators can only apply it once they are properly trained and certified by NDG training staff.
NDG Self Healing is not available in all countries
NDG Self Healing coating will heal itself when heat is applied. It will not heal the painted surface itself
NDG Self Healing abilities are for light scratches and swirls that are commonly found on paintwork
NDG Self Healing is suitable for high end Luxury, Super and Hyper and Classic show type cars
Can it replace standard clear coat? It is not recommended (we do produce a clear coat alternative self healing coating but it takes particular training to apply it correctly)
How long does the Self Healing last? It is an intrinsic chemical formula which means that the very composition of the chemistry means that the healing ability is built into it. There is no set timeframe as to the life span of it’s ability. It is therefore important to have the coating checked annually for performance quality
What happens when an accident repair is required? The coating does not hinder the repair process like glass or ceramic coatings do. simply have the repair carried out and then the NDG Self Healing can be reapplied to that panel
Will the self healing affect a vehicles warranty? It is important to check this out in your country and vehicle importer as they have variations in rules for this in each country and this is one of the reasons we do not sell to some countries is because of this issue. It does not just affect NDG Self Healing it is all permanent coatings of any type. We produced NDG Hyperseal for this reason as it is a polish rather than a coating. NDG Hyperseal
Will Self Healing change the colour and definition of my car’s paintwork? No the colour will not change, the definition may, meaning that on darker coloured cars more depth to the surface may be apparent
How do I become a qualified applicator? We host training courses annually. send us a request for information via our contact page for further information

July 28, 2018

Keep an eye out for Mad Max

Our long term test car is still at it, driving around the vast Australian landscape but not without it’s challenges.

Just last week we had the turbo Ford in the workshop to do our annual inspection after it had rear suspension failure somewhere out on a country road. It had to be recovered and brought in. The car is now at 230,000kms on the odometer which is far beyond our original 60,000km test and now well beyond the 2nd 60,000km testing and into the 3rd 60,000 test cycle.

We are super pleased with the results we are getting from our products and this car has helped us understand how far we can predict that our product will last for and how robust they really are.

We prep the car with some new experimental products and some of our existing products while the suspension is being repaired.

We wash & claybar the body with Mega Gloss Wash to have a look at the condition of the paintwork and Hyperseal. We find that the Leading edges of the car are holding up well and the Bugs are still easy to remove but the water beading has dropped off. The horizontal surfaces that are most exposed to the sun and acid rain are doing well and no halo’s or swirl marks are appearing and the acid rain fallout is easily removed without any ingress into the clearcoat.
We re-coat the car with Hyperseal. We found the application to be easier than the first time we did it so reapplication after extended periods is no problem.
We take a good look at the Shield 120 that was applied to the windscreen and see that there is very little pitting on the glass and no cracks or impacts to be found. This is 2 years of service for 130,000kms.
We then applied Screen Shield which is a stronger product for impacts and is a permanent solution for the windscreen.
We apply our Long Lasting Tyre shine to all tyres
We apply some experimental products to various components

After replacing the lower coil over suspension bolt (one of the problems with coil overs is that any failure will cause the car to bottom out with no spring support).

Keep and eye out for Mad max — Recovery truck loaded

On the road again

No sooner had we photographed the car and it was on the road again going west into the Australian interior desert for a very long, hard drive to Adelaide via White Cliffs and Broken Hill, MAD MAX territory.

The end of the trip findings

This trip the ford travelled over 5000kms on a variety of terrains in borderline extreme conditions. We check the condition of the coatings after the trip and we are very pleased with the results.

We will take our findings to develop some of the still secret experimental products further and finalise some of the others.

We will keep updating blogs on the test car over the next 12 months when the car will be at the end of it’s service life.

Typical outback test road — Keep an eye out for Mad Max

Mid 2018

It was decided to retrofit the original coil and shock suspension system after several more suspension bolt failures that when happens the car is immobilised. Along with this we started looking around for a replacement car as the reliability of the ford was starting to become an issue.

Some time later we found a 2006 BMW 740Li with 100,000kms and matte grey vinyl wrap. See blog

On driving back from picking up the BMW and a final drive around Mount Panorama endurance circuit a kangaroo jumped out in front of the car and caused big damage to the car..

This spells the end of the road for our long term test car.

Kangaroo Impact

July 28, 2018

Where is the Gotcha?

There is one way that makes us very edgy about sketchy owners selling cars. In this Blog we do just that. We buy a slightly beaten 99 model CRV from a sketchy owner with a massive dog that was lurking in their front yard, a yard we had to walk through alone to get to the front door.

We find the dog asleep on the front veranda and with just one step onto the veranda it opens it’s eyes. Gulp!

We survive that and get on with looking over the car that was out of fuel and nosed into the kerb. We tested for worn wheel bearings which are pretty common at this age and found the RH front was badly worn and the brake disc was hitting the brake calliper, a liveable problem.

We got it to start and moved in slightly in reverse and the engine cut out, no fuel. So we give it a look over for the NDG DIY renovation process and whether this car fitted the bill, but, we could not get the feeling of there being a GOTCHA problem in this deal somewhere. We agree the price and go get some fuel. We fill the tank with enough fuel to get moving and go for a drive.

Yep, as we found the front bearing was undriveable but we drove it anyway. The car seemed fine, at first. The bearing noise was spin chilling but we only had a few kms to drive so we soldered on.

In the workshop for a first look.

We did the before photos
We did notice that the car didn’t engage the park paw or detent which was a big worry and the cause needed to be found.
We removed the front wheels and found that the car was infact a constant AWD and the front drive shafts were missing on the passenger side and half there on the drivers side. We jacked up the car so all 4 wheels were off the ground and ran it in drive. Both front output shafts were turning and no abnormal noises were heard the park engage so, the GOTCHA was found, or so we thought.
The headlights were not working on low beam.
An after market stereo was fitted or badly fitted
Interior fan not working
A number of fused missing from the interior fuse box
The body and interior were a little rough but we feel it will look great when we are done.

Parts to order

Front Drive shafts and seals (We feel this is concealing a much bigger problem)
RH Front wheel bearing
Headlight bulbs
Mini Blade fuses

While we are waiting on the parts we get to it and start the transformation process with NDG

Let’s get started on the DIY job!

Mega Gloss wash
NDG Claybar and lubricant process with some paint correction
Cut and polish the paint work
Hyperseal coating
Long life Tyre shine
NDG’s 3 minute headlight restoration
Odour eleminator ( we will use “New Car” fragrance)
NDG 600C Matte Black engine paint
Long life Engine Lacquer

Before and after shots

Where is the Gotcha? — NDG Engine Lacquer & 600C Engine paint in action

Mechanicals

We got stuck into this as we were burning time

Installed new front wheel bearings
Installed the new front drive shafts
Removed the blower fan regulator and replaced the main capacitor
Replaced several damaged fuses
We noticed the valve cover was leaking oil so removed, cleaned and resealed

Now we find the real GOTCHA!

After installing the new drive shafts we decided to test the drivetrain and prepared the car for a test drive. On selecting reverse we hear a massive banging coming out of the transmission and the same for selecting drive. This sound is terminal.

The Sketchy owner got us good!

After searching around we locate a low milage transmission and get it on transport while we remove the transmission from the car.

We really didn’t want to go this deep in repairs in this car but we had accounted for some catastrophic issue into our buying price, luckily!

Post transmission

On receiving the replacement transmission we decided to clean it with our NDG Acidic Degreaser which restores Aluminium to look like new. (on Writing this blog we had not launched NDG Degreaser. Launch date January 2019)

After the transplant we get to go for a decent drive. Wow this is a good car and could be our company run around car.

We advertise the car with half a mind that if it doesn’t sell we will in fact keep the car. A week into advertising it we receive a message from a Swedish fellow who wants to see the car. He buys it on the spot and loads up his traveling companion and heads to the middle of Australia for an around Australia working holiday which in a one shot drive is 16,500kms.

Bon Voyage guys!

Some months later we receive an image of their trip.

July 28, 2018July 28, 2018

Ex-Rental Motorhome makeover

Many rental motorhomes make it to private owners once they have been sold off by the rental companies.

These ex-rental units make great value buys for their new owners and one of the reasons they are sold off cheap is that even though they have had their corporate branding removed it is still clearly visible. The oxidisation of the body paintwork makes this branding indelible and close to impossible to get rid of.

The owner of this campervan had heard of our successes with restoration of very bad paintwork. This to us is great as word of mouth references are the best for of reference.

So what did this owner want?

He ad owned it for several years and he wanted all the shadow branding removed from all sides of the van as he looks at it ever time he looks at the van and on top of that people comment everwhere he goes and that really annoyed him.

Ex-Rental Motorhome makeover — Overlap of new and old lettering and Branding

Very obvious shaddow branding in big letters

OK, we get to work

We carefully remove the non essential lettering from the body
claybar and wash the body with NDG Mega Gloss wash and NDG Aggressive claybar
We then bring out the big guns and rotary cut the body with NDG Nano Diamond compound
Mega Gloss wash the residue off the surface
Wet the surfaces and applied NDG Hyperseal
After 60 minutes we rotary buff the body on medium speed using a waffle pad

The challenges we faced

were that the stripes on the side were running the opposite direction to the original branding stripes and intersected in several places this took extra skills to get this right without damaging the new stripes
Very difficult to navigate around all the compartment doors, windows and conduit where most of the oxidisation had occurred.
Owners arrived to find the results far better than they expected

The end result

The campervan was restored to it’s off the showroom condition which is something we wanted to achieve.

The owner said, “Sensational result. It will put my mind at rest not to turn and look at the van hoping not to see the shaddow branding. THANK YOU!

End

July 27, 2018July 29, 2018

Hyundai Tucson makes a solid come back

There is always a danger of buying cars on auction as you really don’t get a sense of what the car has been through in it’s life and, in this case the heading “Hyundai Tucson makes a solid come back” is an understatement as this car has been beaten on. A 2005 model city car which somehow ended up at the car auctions and then to us to see what we could do with it.

We will do all this work using DIY techniques and NDG Products. There will be a significant amount of mechanical work to do carried out and to keep the cost realistic as will look for a low millage donor car to source the parts. But our mission is to get this car looking and smelling as close to showroom condition as possible. We have given ourselves a week to complete this project. Is it even possible?

At first look we see

That it was a smokers car so heavy smoking smell and it has been beaten on for some years, very run down with layers and layers of problems
Light beige interior with significant black marks all over the seats and nicotine smells and discolouration from smoking
Cracked centre armrest and heavily soiled
Steering wheel airbag damaged and worn trim
Driver’s seat torn
Worn gear leaver trim
Fuse panel exposed (not a good sign)
Lettering missing off rear hatch door
ABS light on
Radiator leaking and coolant all over the ABS pump and underside of the car (has been leaking for some time)
Valve lifters ticking
Idler pulley noisy causing drive belt system squeal
Power steering pump reservoir hoses swollen and rubbing on serpentine belt
Belt tensioner noisy
Engine bay layered in typical city driving soiling
Paintwork dull and covered in light scratches
Headlights crazed and have been restored some time in the distant past
Rubbish quality window tint causing poor vision clarity
Some sort of oxidisation in spare wheel well ( needs more investigating)
Auto transmission fluid brownish colour
Tyres worn and spare tyre bald
Car drives straight and no wheel bearing or unusual driveline noises and surprisingly no evidence of accident damage or repairs

Plan of attack

Find a donor car
Diagnose ABS fault
Find source of coolant leak
Clean engine bay and solve engine ticking and belt system squeal
Change engine and transmission fluids and filters
Claybar body to see how much paint correction is required
Cut and polish body
NDG Hyperseal treatment
Clean and restore the interior neutralising the smokers smell
Restore the headlights

Work process

Donor car found (in local wrecking yard)
Removed parts from donor car. Radiator, thermostate, ABS pump, serpentine belt, idler pulley, belt tensioner, abs switch, drivers seat, steering wheel and airbag, luggage security panel, spare wheel, rear hatch lettering, center console and arm rest, body clips and other small trim pieces
Clay bar body
Cut & polish
Mega Gloss Wash
NDG Hyperseal treatment
NDG Acidic engine bay degreaser and pressure clean
Replaced radiator and thermostate
Replaced idler pulley, tensioner and belt (inspected timing belt)
Replaced ABS pump and switch
Cleaned spare wheel well and installed new spare wheel
Carried out NDG Headlight restoration process
Changed engine & transmission oil and filters
Removed all seats, cleaned with NDG Bio Crystal Magic and removed stains from carpet
Replaced Drivers seat, centre console and armrest and steering wheel
Finished off engine bay with NDG Engine lacquer

The results 4 days later

According to the owner: “Simply amazing, the car looks new, cannot believe it, you sure it is the same car?”

In summary

The car is a new as it will ever look and considering that everything done to the car was all done as DIY techniques just as it would in any driveway anywhere. We have worked hard to ensure that NDG products are truely DIY and that you can tackle projects as deep as this and get a great result.

This Hyundai was a great project. It was in a very bad way when we received it and there were doubts as to whether it could be restored, but 4 part days later we got not just a great result we got a perfect result. The car looks close to new condition, and smells just like a new car would with our soon to be released odour neutraliser which installs that showroom new car smell. Keep and eye out for that one as we will be launching it in November 2018.