Coating makes scratches on cars disappear

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Source: Reuters

HICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists have developed a polyurethane coating that heals its own scratches when exposed to sunlight, offering the promise of scratch-free cars and other products, researchers said on Thursday.

"We developed a polymeric material that is able to repair itself by exposure to the sun," said Marek Urban of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, whose study appears in the journal Science.

"In essence, you create a scratch and that scratch will disappear upon exposure to the sun," Urban said in an interview on the Science website.

The self-healing coating uses chitosan, a substance found in the shells of crabs and shrimp. This is incorporated into traditional polymer materials, such as those used in coatings on cars to protect paint.

When a scratch damages the chemical structure, the chitosan responds to ultraviolet light by forming chemical chains that begin bonding with other materials in the substance, eventually smoothing the scratch. The process can take less than an hour.
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He said the polymer can only repair itself in the same spot once, and would not work after repeated scratches.

"Obviously, this is one of the drawbacks," he said, adding that the chances are low of having two scratches in exactly the same spot.

Read more: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090313/tc_nm/us_plastic_coating

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It'd be nice if you could use this on eyeglasses. But they have to get rid of this "one-time repair" problem first.

Be nice on certain kitchen appliances too.

Now if you could only apply it to children...

[ohio2007]

1. I second the eyeglasses repair

"scratch proof" lenses mearly "prove they can be scratched"

[MADem]

2. COOL!! Isn't chitosan the stuff they use in glucosamine/chondroitin?

I've seen the stuff at the health food store, can't remember what it's used for....but it was in pill form, IIRC!

[Emillereid]

4. It is supposed to somehow bind to dietary fat so it can't be absorbed.

[MADem]

6. Oh, joy!! Lean, mean, driving machines!!! nt

[BlooInBloo]

3. Heh. Sounds like seasoning a skillet.

[Jefferson23]

5. I thought Billy Mays was already selling this. :D

[givemebackmycountry]

7. Right about now...

Mr. Earl Scheib and Mr. Maaco are saying...

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

[JerseygirlCT]

8. Sounds like something Billy Mays has been hawking, doesn't it? nt

[Javaman]

9. Will this work on the US Constitution as well? nt