Quote:
Originally Posted by feddup
I was wrong. I guess there was no patent in the 1930s. Sorry my memory is imperfect. The source of my "folklore" was an article from Autopia on detaing clay. Here's a passage:
An easy way to think about detailing clay is simply this: detailing clay is a “selective polish” with a built-in applicator. Its job is to “polish away” dirt and surface contamination from paint, glass, chrome and plastic without polishing the surface itself. A pretty simple concept, isn’t it? Detailing clay technology has been around for many years, with roots dating back to the 1930’s. That’s when the idea of combining polybutene (a soft plastic resin material) with abrasives was first put to paper.
A link to the entire article.
Detailing Clay & Pre-wax Cleaning - Autopia.org
The fact that it's in this article doesn't make it a fact. I'm sometimes skeptical of Autopia's information but I fail to see the incentive for lying about this. It could still be folklore. I did my detailing research about a year ago and if I had a photographic memory I'd work for the CIA. Needless to say I don't! |
I'm not saying you're wrong, just that the current patents don't appear to trace back to the 30's. It's possible the idea was generated in the 30's but not patented. Since it appears to have reached current popularity through Japanese paint shops, maybe it was patented there. 30's or 80's, it still makes one wonder why a 1998 US patent was allowed to create a monopoly in the US.
FWIW, I won't tell anyone to take me as an authority nor would I suggest things like this on the internet are the absolute truth and I think autopia is a great source for detailing advice.