Thought this was cool, but what will it mean for detailing?

The Fuzz said:
It is probably just like PermaPlate. How many thousands and thousands of people were sold on that crap believing that they would never have to wax their car again? The only thing dealers want as much as to sell you a car is to sell you another car. Sell you a car with paint that will look good no matter what and get you in the habit of not properly caring for it and then BAM!! Instacrap car. You'll come back to the dealership for a new one that did what the old one did. What do you want to bet that in 3 years they will be offering 'rejuvination' or something for cars with this product on it? I'll bet dealerships will be waxing your car for $500 bucks and telling you it is restoring the paint correction properties of the car.

Very True. Infact Once people get that hang of SWIRL WASHING their cars after the 1-2 years the paint can only do so much, Once it is gone they are back again. Also i bet dealers will charge EXTRA $ 1000's to say your paint will look new every week. :gun_banda
 
This paint, from what I understand, is called a live polymer. The strings just keep growing for an extended amount of time because there are no "end cap" molecules to stop the polymerization. So when there is a scratch the paint essentially "grows" into it. The hotter it is outside, the faster the paint should heal itself.
 
Structural polymers are susceptible to damage in the form of cracks, which form deep within the structure where detection is difficult and repair is almost impossible. Cracking leads to mechanical degradation of fiber-reinforced polymer composites; in microelectronic polymeric components it can also lead to electrical failure. Microcracking induced by thermal and mechanical fatigue is also a long-standing problem in polymer adhesives. Regardless of the application, once cracks have formed within polymeric materials, the integrity of the structure is significantly compromised. We have developed a structural polymeric material with the ability to autonomically heal cracks.

Engineering this self-healing composite involves the challenge of combining polymer science, experimental and analytical mechanics, and composites processing principles. Autonomic healing is accomplished by incorporating a microencapsulated healing agent and a catalytic chemical trigger within an epoxy matrix. An approaching crack ruptures embedded microcapsules, releasing healing agent into the crack plane through capillary action.

Polymerization of the healing agent is triggered by contact with the embedded catalyst, bonding the crack faces. The damage-induced triggering mechanism provides site-specific autonomic control of repair. An additional unique feature of our healing concept is the utilization of living polymerization (that is, having unterminated chain-ends) catalysts, thus enabling multiple healing events. Our fracture experiments yield more than 90% recovery in toughness, and we expect that our approach will be applicable to other brittle materials systems (including ceramics and glasses).
 
One other thing the article mentioned that the repairing time was dependent on the tempeture. I wonder how well (it at all) it would work in the colder parts of the country.

"J"
 
It probably has to "cure" kind of. I've seen renewed clear cure in 45 minutes, and I've seen it soft the next day. Temperature is everything.
What I can figure out is that if it is malable enough to repair itself, would it take scratches like crazy?
 
Nissan car paint that fixes scratches


December 6 2005


TOKYO, Mon: Nissan’s new car paint repairs its own scratches and scrapes.

Minor scruffs disappear like magic in about a week if your car has Scratch Guard Coat, a clear paint that the carmaker developed with Nippon Paint, spokesman Kiyoshi Ariga said.

The coating, which Tokyo-based Nissan Motor Co says is the first of its kind in the world, contains elastic resin, similar to a rubbery surface, and can repair itself of slight scratches caused by car-washing, off-road driving and fingernails.

Car-washing machines account for most car surface scratches, according to Nissan, which showed before and after photos of a car with scratches on the hood and one with no scratches a week later. The coat lasts about three years, Nissan said.

The scratch-proof paint job will be offered only in some Japan models of the X-Trail sport-utility vehicle, planned for sale soon, and overseas plans are still undecided, Ariga said.

It may be offered in other models, but no decision has been made, he said. In terms of costs, Nissan would only say Scratch Guard Coat costs “a few tens of thousands of yen”
 
Back
Top