SUPER-hydrophobic coatings

[uumode]

the water hardly touches the coating surface, and 'bounces' off

super-hydrophobic as mentioned in this article
Superhydrophobic material repels water so strongly it causes liquid droplets to BOUNCE off | Daily Mail Online

Possibly as used by Soft99 for their wing mirror product (video 2.45mins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYP60otuo0c

Awesome!

And their alloy wheel protector?
The demo shows mud just bouncing off (video 47 secs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8ZV4bCfUoU

 

[Belcher]

Looks good. Amazon have it, but I can't make head nor tail of the poorly translated write up:

Quote - Glaco "W" Jet Strong is the fast and effective if the aid "Roof is on Fire: D arose from the need for a sudden and high visibility rain cover free to hold! Ideal for Strong rain or" downpour "you can simply Galco Jet to the windscreen, at least spray the visibility and improved to 50% Glaco Jet Adheres instantly! Thanks to the windscreen and its waterproof properties for a better vision! by its 2 Nozzles can The product is great on large windscreen, it" s for use in the rain with: Glaco Jet directly to the windscreen for about 3 seconds spray, the product," directly on the windscreen! the beautiful weather on the surface and spray cleaned with a wet cloth is not easy to wipe clean direct sunlight or use on hot surfaces

 

[nullogik]

There is a UK stockist for these items:

http://www.nipponshine.com/

Would be interesting to hear experiences of using these products. The videos certainly look amazing. How long does the coating last under real world usage before needing to be reapplied?

 

[uumode]

There is a UK stockist for these items:

Nippon Shine, ,

Would be interesting to hear experiences of using these products. The videos certainly look amazing. How long does the coating last under real world usage before needing to be reapplied?

Nippon Shine's video
http://youtu.be/D0U_uLPWSiQ

I ordered from eBay to try as they seemed out of stock.

Also investigating the alloy wheel version, again they are out of stock

 

[uumode]

Well I applied the Soft99 product to my wing mirrors, waiting for rain.

Also applied Carpro Hydro2 to the glass and bodywork except the bonnet as a control, I have Soft99 Authentic wax underneath.

The Hydro2 does not work that well with hard water and tends to spot if left to dry on its own accord, so need to be either dried or applied by applicator/towel/sponge rather than spray on in my opinion. With soft water/filtered hose water you will probably be fine.
The spotting with hard water, appears to dry on cake hard and is a pig to get off.

 

[lordlee]

I love the Sonax brillaint shine detailer - not sure if its super anything but it definitely has hydrophobic properties. Add to that that it's a cracking quick detailer leaving the car looking wet and glossy.

 

[nullogik]

Well I applied the Soft99 product to my wing mirrors, waiting for rain.

How is the Soft99 holding up on your mirrors?

 

[uumode]

The soft 99 isn't great. Wouldn't buy it again, it's still on there.
Basically the drops still form and bead like any other hydrophobic coating, but it tends to water spot as the beads stay there longer.
The only benefit I see is it appears to make the mirrors seem extra crystal clear on first application since it dries on as an extra gloss layer.

You get the same effect from using Carpro Hydro2 type products, and will now use this on the mirrors instead.

I bought 3x Sonax brilliant shine detailer for about £6 a bottle from Europarts with discount to see if that has less side effects of water spotting after washing with hard water.

Also have got the AutoGlym's hydrophobic alloy wheel protectir to see how that fares.
Haven't had chance to apply it yet though.

 

[st13phil]

I bought 3x Sonax brilliant shine detailer for about £6 a bottle from Europarts with discount to see if that has less side effects of water spotting after washing with hard water.

The answer to that problem (as you may already know) is one of these: DI Vessels. No amount of "after" treatment is as effective - or as easy - as prevention.

 

[lordlee]

I've ordered some of this stuff so will report back when it finally arrives as its on backorder.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D9CmD-uIrKY

 

[uumode]

I've ordered some of this stuff so will report back when it finally arrives as its on backorder.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D9CmD-uIrKY

Interesting, saves time too.

 

[uumode]

I love the Sonax brillaint shine detailer - not sure if its super anything but it definitely has hydrophobic properties. Add to that that it's a cracking quick detailer leaving the car looking wet and glossy.

I accidently got Sonax BSD on the windscreen, so continued to wipe it off and surprisingly it evaporated quite quick with smear free finish. So continued to give it a try.

I subsequently found it smears from the wipers in the rain (like Rain X), so will be removing it from the windscreen with pure Alcohol.

I didn't notice any real difference in appearance from my front door with Sonax BSD and Carpro Hydro2 on the rear door. I think Sonax beads tighter and is easier to apply, but takes longer than Hydro2 (no water spotting).

The spray on my version is very directional, and not very diffuse so I can't spray on panels and wipe off. I have to spray on and wipe on, then wipe off.

 

[uumode]

Here is the car last week when it picked up a lot of road gunk

the Sonax BSD appears to wrap the dirt up into the water beads, which then just washs off naturally in the rain so the car is completely clean again!

Today I decided to wash the car after about 300 miles, and the alloys were looking good still with Autoglym wheel protector (shiny even)

There is some brake dust in the corners, you can see it if you view the image full size.

for context here is the bodywork condition before the wash as well

The alloy wheel dust just rinsed off with medium setting pressure washing. However the dirt on the bodywork required manual mitt intervention. But the body would have been a lot dirtier if you reference the first photo had it not been for Sonax BSD. The Autoglym product seems to be high performing but remains to see how long it lasts.