Gaining the Competitive Edge with Diamond Products

Products that are based on microscopic and even nanoscopic diamond particles can easily give you a very strong edge over your competition!  The real key to accomplishing this is twofold.  First you must know precisely what diamond products to use for what purpose.  Second you must find a way to use this technology in your marketing.  The first is quite obvious.  Diamond can create serious problems if not used correctly, or simply be ineffective.  As for using this technology in your marketing efforts you will have to focus on the real benefits to your potential customers.  Also your existing customers because they will help you with publicity.  

Diamond particles have been used in colloidal suspensions, compounds, coated films, and loaded metals and ceramics.  Probably the most common type of product available that window cleaners are familiar with is the colloidal suspension.  There is a product out now called Diamond Magic which uses a liquid suspension of diamond particles.  If you look at the SDS for this product you might notice that the amount of diamond by weight compared to the total volume is rather small.  This is likely for two reasons.  First diamond powders are not inexpensive.  I remember twenty years ago paying fifty United States Dollars (USD) for about a tablespoonful!  Surprisingly the price is approximately the same today.  I know this blog goes into many countries worldwide so your supplier might charge different.  The bottom line here is if you are going to develop a glass restoration product based on a diamond powder you will have to multiply your total cost by a factor of 4.5 to 6 to get the end retail price in order to make a profit.  Second it is not necessary most times to use very much diamond to get a certain desired result.  In fact along this line of thinking water is one of the best ways to lubricate diamond products. So at times less is more.  I always say check your surface.  Checking in the direct sun is always best.  There are always variables involved here.  One of the most notable is that we are not working in a facility, nor are we working in a lab.  We are working with surfaces that are completely unknown.  When polishing a glass surface that has been covered with hard water spots or mineral deposits, you really have no clue exactly what they are made of.  You don't know what the size of the mineral crystal structure is either.  Also you don't know how the polishing product you are using is going to react with the deposits you are attempting to remove.  This is a great deal of unknown factors here.  So as my friend and glass restoration guru Marc Tanner puts it, every job is different!  We cannot take much advice from the lab techs because they do NOT work in the field with us.  We are the scientists.  We are the field techs.

Another type of diamond product are the compounds.  Now compounds are very thick blends of diamond powders and suspending agents.  These products use way more diamond powder.  Even as much as sixty percent.  They are very effective at cutting glass when using the correct technique.  Even polishing compounds will cut through glass very effectively.  Although it is rather easy to leave swirl marks that are visible only in the direct sun.  For some of the different reasons mentioned above.  I remember one time tackling a restoration job that had about 1,974 very small windows that were badly stained from a cleaning product based on sodium metasilicate and sodium carbonate.  I tried a small rotary machine with a hard felt pad and a great diamond compound;...but it left visible scratching.  It was very effective at clearing the stain, which no other polishing product would.  I even tried some of the very bad acid based products out there that I would never do a job with;...just as a test.  They also would not touch the stain.  The only way I could remove the stain and leave no scratches from the diamond compound, was to rub it out by hand using Bounty paper towels.  

Here is the most efficient way to use diamond compounds on large area glass plates.  You will need a rotary machine that remains flat on the glass at all times.  I have included a picture here of a wheel that I had built special.  You will notice the 3/8 shaft is tilted slightly to the left.  That is because there is a universal joint added to the inside which the shaft is connected to.  The holes in the wheel gives it lightweight.  It is made from mag/aluminum.  And the center cylinder allows for safety.  There is only a 12 degree variation in movement of the shaft.  Any hard felt pad can be glued to the bottom.



The easiest way to use such a tool is with a rotary drill motor.  First clean the window.  Then apply some clean soapy water to the window.  Next apply just three or four drops of diamond compound to the hard felt pad.  Now apply the pad to the window and pull the trigger.  It is always best to start out slow and gain speed.  I would first try removing the spots as slow as possible.  You can get a zero to three thousand rpm drill motor.  Or if you decide to get a much more powerful grinder which is much heavier you can also get a variable.  But will have to adapt the shaft to the grinder.  Whatever wheel you have built or purchase.

Here is an old video I made about five years ago showing how this concept actually works.  I made up what I call a slow release felt disk based on a cerium oxide.  Currently I am still working the bugs out of a microcrystalline silica slow release pad.  Such a pad would eliminate the need for continually applying drops.  But you would need a trigger to apply soapy water.  No matter whether you use compound drops or a slow release pad, there is the definite advantage of not needing to clean up a huge mess.  You will be able to minimize the amount of product you use.  And squeegee from time to time to check your work.  Here is the video.

Now this is just the very beginning of this technology.  Check out this picture.  
This pad/wheel is used with pure water for polishing granite counter tops to a high shine.  It is essentially a plastic medium loaded with diamond or silicon carbide particles.  Over time it is worn down and is thrown away.  But is capable of doing many square feet.  One time I had a bank of windows that were seriously stained by hard water spots.  It was dark glass and so was the most difficult surface to restore.  None of the compounds I had would work.  Again not even the acids would work.  So I picked up a fifty dollar diamond disk and spun it with nothing but pure water.  In a single minute it knocked off the stains perfectly!  The only problem was it left very fine scratches all over the window.  These could have been removed with a cerium polishing compound.  But I was looking for a simple single step answer.  It is likely that any scratches of this type left on a granite top would not be easy to see.  But when working on glass anything jumps right out at you.  Especially in the direct sunlight.

Now there are thousands of different products out there.  If you look at the left column of this blog you will be able to pick out at least three or four companies that sell diamond products.  A couple specialize in just diamond products.  But how do you know which ones to buy, and how to use them?  That is what I have decided to focus on in my very latest newsletter called the Glass Smart Insider.  Still focused on the most innovative technology for the window cleaning industry.  There is so much out there.  So much to learn.  And so much to apply.  I am seriously looking for sponsors to help me with the time and expense of furthering this technology.  I am asking only ten USDollars per week for this very simple grassroots electronic newsletter.  It is a very pain letter I am sending out by email. Available as a subscription only.  But you can pay as we go.  No need to pay in advance.  You can pay once a week if you want.  I have set up a Pay Pal account if this is easier for you.  And will be exploring other means for those living in other Countries. But if you just want to send a check that is another way.  I just have not set up with credit/debit cards yet.

I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know those who have been reading this blog for the last several years.  I am almost at 100,000 views.  And am hoping it has already made a difference in your business.