Automotive

Nissan uses Ultra-Ever Dry for "first self-cleaning car"

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Nissan tests its "self-cleaning" Note
The Nissan Note is serving as the test vehicle for the Ultra-Ever Dry "self-cleaning" treatment
Nissan is considering offering an Ultra-Ever Dry-based aftermarket coating option
Nissan has driven the Note through puddles, rain, sleet and other dirtying conditions
Nissan plans to continue testing for the next few months
One side is coated in Ultra-Ever Dry; one side is not
The right side has the Ultra-Ever Dry coating, the left side does not
Nissan tests its "self-cleaning" Note
The Ultra-Ever Dry on the right repels liquid, so that it doesn't stick around to dirty the car
Two sides of the coin
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Nissan is currently testing out a prototype that it says could make car washes a relic of the past. The test car benefits from a new nano-paint treatment that repels dirt and grime. The automaker is putting the car through the dirty wringer to see how well it holds up in the real world.

Not only can car washes be time-consuming and/or expensive, they are a short-term solution. How many times do you roll that dripping, glistening car out of the car wash parking lot only to hit a muddy puddle or rainstorm within the first day or two?

Nissan says it is the first automaker to apply a super-hydrophobic, oleophobic industrial treatment called Ultra-Ever Dry to a vehicle body. The treatment is designed to repel all water-based and some oil-based liquids using a protective top layer of air. When a car runs through a muddy puddle, the treatment will purportedly prevent that mud and road grit from sticking to the body, keeping it car wash-fresh.

The right side has the Ultra-Ever Dry coating, the left side does not

Nissan Europe has applied the Ultra-Ever Dry to a test Note and says that it's performed well in rain, spray, frost, sleet and standing water. It plans to continue testing the car in a variety of conditions over the next few months.

Ultra-Ever Dry launched in 2012 and is sold and marketed by Florida-based Ultratech International. The company staged a "phase II" launch earlier this year and says that it's improved the formula, pricing and distribution. It demonstrates the treatment being used for all kinds of applications, from clothing and footwear to building materials. In addition to repelling liquid itself, it can be used for related purposes such as anti-icing and anti-bacterial treatments.

Nissan is not currently considering introducing the treatment as a standard in its line-up. Instead, it sees the opportunity to offer the coating as an aftermarket option.

The first video below shows the Ultra-Ever Dry treatment being put to the test on the Nissan Note. The second video is one of the latest from Ultratech, showing it in a variety of other applications.

Source: Nissan

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8 comments
P17
Nothing new here, the Germans were the first to produce this hydrophobic coating after studying the lotus plant. It's an example of biomimetics: using nature's solutions to man's problems. This application has been commercially available for nearly 20 years. Nissan are just considering making it available as an option.
Viator
The best way to test this is bring it to Anchorage AK in the springtime. The silt and road grime that gets pasted to a car is nearly impossible to remove. Oh, the car may look shiny but run your hand down the side and it feels like fine grit sandpaper. If this stuff can repel this grime it will be a truly amazing product. I've lived all over the US and nothing compares to this concoction of road filth.
The best tool is a clearcoat safe bug and tar remover sponge for $2.95. Otherwise, detail shops use all sorts of cleaners that go down the drain and into the wastewater treatment system adding additional cost to the citizens.
Fábio Borges
There is just one problem this doesn't last forever , so thats just a marketing propaganda that will make some people mad
Milton
mud isn't the reason I wash my car every 2 weeks. Dust is. If they can prevent dust from settling onto the car (IE: it gets blown off as soon as you hit X MPH), then I can see this being a BIG perk, and something I would gladly pay an extra 500 - 1000 bucks for.
If I lived somewhere where I was constantly driving through puddles, then I imagine it would constantly be raining and the mud would naturally get washed off my car. It would be awesome to see a bird-turd slide right off the car though.
:)
christopher
You can buy shirts treated with that stuff from a Kickstarter web site - they called theirs "Silic" - A shirt that cleans itself.
The Skud
Good idea if it lasts longer than a couple of seasons. I wonder just how well, though, it would shed those big cr*p filled butterflies or grasshopper bugs you run into at certain times? Besides, if they do not coat the entire car, do you still get filthy wheels, windscreens, windows etc? And naturally they probably take nearly as long as washing the rest of the car's duco!
JPAR
erm, bit obvious, but only a % of the car is painted - what about the wheel hubs, the lights, the windscreen, grill, number plates etc. So it'll still be easier to wash the whole car in one go!
flylowguy
I use a nanowax product on my cars and carbon fiber airplane. It's a huge improvement over standard wax products. You still have to wash it though. Your car still sheds brake dust on the garage floor, and the wheels are mostly dirty enough that it shows. So the marketing claim that this is going to be a car you 'never need to wash' is a little absurd.