NightHawkInLight Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Somebody's going to get very rich off of this stuff: I've seen plenty of hydrophobic stuff before, but none that could be coated onto things with any sort of durability. I think I'm gonna to dip my truck in it.
MrB Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I've been using hydrophobic stuff on the windscreen for years, and regardless of brand it has the same drawback. Works great when it's fresh. Not so great after a while. I'm going to assume this is the same way. But it's really really neat, and for surfaces where the stuff can be cleaned of, and reapplied, it's possibly worth it.B!
flying fish Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 B, perhaps you are thinking of Rain-x? That's the most popular brand, anyway. I like to use the washer fluid stuff rather than the stuff that you wax on; it only creates a very temporary hydrophobic surface but it helps you see if you get caught in a heavy downpour. I used to use rain-x at work to protect the non-bonded surfaces of a device from contamination with adhesive. It was a pain to remove after the bonding process was complete, though. Bleach kind of worked. I doubt rain-x would work on a porous surface like brick, though I've never tried it. The video is pretty impressive. I couldn't seem to find a patent relating to this product specifically, perhaps it is pending. I did see a handful of patents and papers from other sources on nano-structured hydrophobic surfaces though.
MrB Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Nah, it was "W5 Nano Solutions" or something this last time. They all require "polishing" when it's getting put on, so porous surfaces is a no go i guess. Easily the biggest advantage to a semi-permanent treatment, over a temporary solution, during the winter, frost doesn't stick to the windshield. Start the car, push the button for the defogger thingy in the rear window, scrape the side windows, and get in the car, ready to drive. Limits the amounts of scratches one can produce on the windscreen. (If the car has been seriously iced over, or snowed on, you still need to brush the windscreen clean, having the car heat up a little helps to make the ice-sheet break up in smaller pieces, but big or large, they don't stick well to the windscreen) I've used like 15 different brands over the years. They all work pretty much the same, and last about 3 months. A good waxing does the same job, but lasts a day. I've used the washer fluid additives from turtle (i think?) when the coating has been wearing out, but i'ts been to cold to add a new coating.B!
flying fish Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 That's a fantastic idea...I have to scrape ice from my car on a regular basis so it would certainly make life easier. On the other hand I do enjoy the morning exercise, haha. I wouldn't have thought that a plastic scraper could damage the windshield, unless there was contamination such as dirt or sand.
NightHawkInLight Posted February 10, 2013 Author Posted February 10, 2013 The supposed breakthrough for this product in particular is it's adhesion and durability. It's painted on in two parts like an epoxy.
Bobosan Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 The obvious use in pyro would be coating tooling ie. spindles, etc.. Has anyone experimented with this?
TheEskimo Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 It's also terribly expensive. About 150 dollars for a quart each of the base and top coat.
MrB Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I wouldn't have thought that a plastic scraper could damage the windshield, unless there was contamination such as dirt or sand.Around here they sand & salt the roads, there isn't a car that is parked outside over night that ain't got the parallel scratches over the windscreen to accompany those after the windscreen-wiper. For me, using the different hydrophobic solutions has been a nice way to save both on effort, and scratches.B!
flying fish Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Ah, OK. I live in Michigan where salt is predominantly used, since we're pretty much sitting on a salt mine and the temperature range is usually appropriate for its use.
NightHawkInLight Posted February 10, 2013 Author Posted February 10, 2013 It's also terribly expensive. About 150 dollars for a quart each of the base and top coat.I don't find that to be especially bad if those are the prices (I don't see any prices listed). $300 for half a gallon, which the site states coats 80 square feet. When you start talking about specialty epoxy's and resistant coatings (especially for autobody application) that price range is pretty typical.
mikeee Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Maybe they can spray New Orleans with this stuff and the next time a hurricane hits the water will slide right off.
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