Brief Review and Info Post:
Mongoose id MicroDots Marking System - 2in1 Home & Car Kit: $268.00
Available from Dick Smith (Online mainly), as well as many other retailers I would imagine. As well as from: http://www.idmicrodot.co.nz/
For the full description of the product/system and information on how it works, visit the website. I recently purchased the above item. I wanted an extra deterrent to slightly increase the chances of putting off any would be scumbuckets. The kit comes security sealed in a VHS tape like plastic box. There is foam moulding inside with two small compartments. There is also a manual, 2 snail-mail registration cards, 2 sheets of small warning/deterrent stickers (about 100 to 150) & 2 medium and 2 large window stickers (decal is on sticky side, to see from the outside) which I used in my car. In the foam mould, there are two "lipgloss tube" like cavities or compartments which hold the 2 microdot tubes. The silver cap tube is for Home/Office contents. Gold cap tube is for vehicly only. The lid unscrews to remove the attached applicator brush. After fair to vigorous shaking before and during, this brush is used to carefully apply the id MicroDots two either of the 2 scenarios mentioned above. The vehiclekit is for cars, boats and motorbikes (please refrain from thy mighty red fury, as you can see this relates to motorbikes too). If I had a bike, I'd definitely have this kit applied. Just the though of the hundreds of security dots around the bike/vehicle would hopefully put off at least some thieves. I know I wouldn't want to sell stolen goods which might have id dots on them!
The id MicroDots are just that, micro. The are the size of a pinhead, but have many rows (12 or more) of information printed on them. The info is repeated over and over on each line. The info consists of the item's name/website and serial number, which is unique to you (you and only you can have more kits sent to you with the same serial number to re-apply after many years or to add to new items, if you request online and wait 30 days). When holding an id dot on the end of your finger, even with a conventional magnifying glass you can't make out any writing, let alone read any. The stickers are the first line of deterrent, like home alarm signs. Then the fact that even if a thief spends 6 months trying to find and scrape off all the id MicroDots, he/she will never find all of them, and the police need only one out of the hundreds that can be/should be applied (in the recommended areas but ALSO in your own random and discreet areas) to identify the rightful owner of the property.
The application is like using nail pollish or white-out / tippex. You brush on the solution which is a mixture of lacquer (which dries to a clear, super hard finish), pink dots and id MicroDots. Both the lacquer and pink dots are luminous under ultraviolet / black light. When applied as per instructions, and with due care (took me 3 hours for all my home/office items' application and 2.5 hours for my vehicle application), the end result is not visible unless you either look closely or know where to look. It is then instructed that you call your insurance company and let them know that you have added this security system to your insured property.
The most important step is to register your kits. Online is the easiest and fastest, but as I mentioned there are cards in the kit to post. Once registered your details are stored on the the secure/private database and if your property is stolen, you notify the police that you have this security system in place and if/when police find your property and read the id dots (using a special magnifying reader), they can trace it to you, retrieve your details and return your property.
The following text in italics and smaller font, between the two markers, is a cut/paste of the e-mail I submitted to Mongoose tonight after I finished applying the last of the two kits:
*****E-Mail*****
I just wanted to take this opportunity to relate my experience with the 2in1 Home & Car id MicroDot marking system I recently purchased. I had a severe motor cycle accident just over a year ago, which left me with one paralysed arm.
With the obvious exception of it taking longer with one arm, I on average found the kits easy to use, and the finished result more than acceptable. I did find however, that on smooth surfaces (plastic or car paint, etc...) it took a little manipulation of the brush to get as many dots on the area that I wanted. When used on rougher surfaces (textured metal in the car engine compartment, textured plastic, etc...) it was extremely easy to apply.
Even with the vigorous shaking of the applicator tube before use for 4 or 5 minutes, as well as with a 10 or 15 second shake after every 2 or 3 dips of the brush, I found that the lacquer got used up first, leaving a small to small/medium cluster of id MicroDots at the bottom of the tube. The first kit I used was the Home/Office (silver cap) kit, and I was able to mark all the items I wanted to before that happened, so it wasn't really an issue.
The second Car (gold cap) kit also left a small/medium amount of id MicroDots at the bottom while there was only a tiny amount of lacquer left. Once again, by then I had marked everything recommended as well as numerous random locations of my own, so it also wasn't an issue. However from my previous home/officed kit experience the night before, I planned to use pliers to remove the black neck liner from the car kit to allow easier removal of the last cluster of id dots, once I had completely finished. This made an amazing difference, allowing me to remove the brush with about 2 to 5 times as many dots on it than with the black neck liner in place. This was very useful after I had completed the application, as it let me access and use up all the remaining id dots on 8 to 12 extra random locations, over and above my previous random/hidden locations. I definitely understand why the black neck liner is there, it facilitates metered/dosed and gradual distribution of the id dots, to ensure the applicator lasts long enough to complete the average application.
My only small criticisms would be the slight difficulty in applying ones preferred number of id dots to smooth surfaces with the brush, and not always being able to get the pink uv visible dots when you want them (even though I know the lacquer itself is luminous/visible under a black/uv light). In the future, I'm sure there could be new ways of applying the kit, possibly something like a micro version of a large syringe or polyfiller tube with a shaped/spatula like nozzle? With new technologies coming out, that might affect that too. As I said in the beginning, the brush was just about perfect, so if it stayed exactly like it is now, I'd buy it again, and again.
I especially like the stickers, there were just enough for each applications' sites. They are very visible and well laid out/designed. I was more than happy to use all 4 window stickers - 2 medium & 2 large outward facing (decal on sticky side) stickers on my brand new car, which I am very fussy/obsessive about in terms of looks.
In other words, I am pleased with the result of the two kits applications, and will happliy buy more kits in the future when I need to apply id dots to new items, or re-apply id dots to my current items. Thank you.
*****E-Mail*****
Ride safe.
Dave.
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Originally Posted by Jim2
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