Friday, 25 April 2014

No more car washing?

Engineers at Nissan’s Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK will be testing a new self-cleaning paint process applied to the Nissan Note.

The work follows tests by the company on innovative paint technology that repels mud, rain and everyday dirt.

The implication is that car owners may not have to clean their cars again. On the other hand, depending on tests and marketing appraisal, we may never hear of the technology again.

The specially engineered super-hydrophobic and oleophobic paint is claimed to repel water and oils and has been applied to the latest Note to create the world's “first self-cleaning car”.

To assess the real-world effectiveness of the super-hydrophobic as a potential aftermarket application, NTCE’s engineers will evaluate the self-cleaning Note over the coming months in a variety of conditions.

Nissan claims to be the first carmaker to apply the technology, called Ultra-Ever Dry, on automotive bodywork. By creating a protective layer of air between the paint and environment, it effectively stops standing water and road spray from creating dirty marks on the car's surface.

So far, the coating, which is being marketed and sold by UltraTech International Inc, has responded well to common use cases including rain, spray, frost, sleet and standing water.


Whilst there are currently no plans for the technology to be applied to the model as standard, Nissan will continue to consider the coating technology as a future aftermarket option.

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