Like many other industries, car care market is always on the lookout for breakthrough technology and products that promises a better vehicle in every aspect be it a shiny body, effective scratch removal, beading and so on. The adoption of “Nano technology” seems to be the ride almost every other vehicle manufacture and service provider wants to hop on and it’s widely accepted as well.
What is nanotech?
There’re many car care products and services available in the market today already harnessing the nanotechnology. They claim that results are far better and long lasting but the real question is what is nano-technology and what role does it play!
Wikipedia defines the technology as; “Study of controlling matter on molecular and anatomic scale”. On the contrary, development of such materials having a structure made of particles that measure between 1 and 100 billionth metre from at-least one dimension.
In other words, manipulation of matter on subatomic level is defined as nanotechnology. Materials structured on nano-scale have properties quite diverse from their similar counterparts but rather in a bigger form. This is due to the surface area ration of a material relevant to its volume playing a critical role in its performance.
Nano-scale materials are known to have greater proportion of their atoms on the surface than the bulk materials which affects various properties including, strength, hardness and melting point (resistance to heat). In addition, compounds when condensed to nano state become optically clear (non-dispersion of visible light), thus retaining the UV absorption properties. All of these are ideal sealants for automotive surface protection.
Then there’re “smart” materials having the ability to interact with their environment. For instance, “smart” battery chargers trigger when battery level drops to a certain scale. Smart coatings are based on nano-scale test for prevention of water and dirt ingress.
How it works?
Working and effectiveness depends on the type of product be it scratch remover, a car wax or any other. The universal fact for sealants, polishes and car wax is of nano particles being much smaller than average products with the tendency to penetrate deeper into the paintwork surface, providing a more event and smoother protection against harmful elements that may ruin the paint or counter its optimistic effect.
Benefits of products based on smaller (nano) particles are numerous such as;
- Smooth surface reflects light more evenly and thus, removes visible swirl marks
- Better protective layer against anything penetrable so that vehicle’s surface always shines
- Nanoparticles are strong adhesives therefore they stay on the surface longer with lasting results
- Reduces white residues and smears
- Scratch removers for cars have these smaller particles that work more effectively that also reduce chances of finer scratches produced during polish
- The particles in rain repellents bond deeper into the glass providing a resilient protective layer
So what’s the future of nanotechnology in marine and automotive care industry? It’s very much expected that many more products would show up especially for car leather care and protection, fine metallic polish, the wheel shield and developments in paint-based protective.
Hydrophobic, hydrophilic or super-hydrophobic: What’s it going to be?
Metals carry an inherent negative charge which makes them hydrophilic (water loving). It means the water droplets alongside the contaminants within that falls on the unprotected surface of the vehicle forms low contact angles, scatter around and wet the surface; leaving contents behind.
Hydrophobicity is quite a significant factor in any automotive sealant whether it’s synthetic or natural carnauba wax. Rain carries with it the chemical, environmental and industrial contaminants which are pretty much unavoidable and can quickly adhere to the vehicle’s surface.
A hydrophobic barrier therefore cleanses the water and removes all these pollutants rather than settling them further into the underlying surface. The process is often referred to as self-cleaning which turn washing easier while giving a less contaminated surface.
It’s widely accepted that super-hydrophobic surfaces can be achieved by further increasing roughness factor of a hydrophobic substrate thus maintaining the highest water contact angle.
Conclusion
The automotive surface nanotechnology has seen major leaps with the arrival of many new sealants as the science behind the revolution progresses. Nanotech-based car detailing in Dubai is known best offering maximum protection to the vehicle being exposed to the desert climate.
