A car cover for smartphones has been developed by scientists at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT). The film is restored so that it’s as good as new when it’s brought back into the oven.
In South Korea, scientists developed a car coating that can be restored in 30 minutes.
If you’re not putting your car in the garage, it’s susceptible to damage, which could happen quickly and on any surface. New protective coatings are replacing paint in many vehicles, but they leave traces that must be removed by a professional.
Self-healing coatings are coatings that repair themselves after the initial application, without requiring additional expense or effort.
There are some limitations in regard to how durable or effective the coatings are. Harder coatings don’t damage the materials as much, but good ol’ silicone is really not doing its job.
The people of KRICT have combined these two techniques. They added an acrylic polyol-based polymer mesh material and photothermal paint to a highly elastic rubber coating.
One of the exciting aspects of paint technology is that it uses infrared light in a unique way—the clearing lasts for days, longer than many other coatings. The polymer bonds react to heat by breaking down and re-bonding – and this can occur on the scale of seconds instead of hours when compared to another coating. It rebuilds like an organic process over time, without harming the site of the scratch.
For light-reflecting dents or flat areas, you can speed the process up by using a light source, such as a laser or magnifying glass. In most cases, it’s enough to spend about 20 minutes in the brightest part of the day.
Researchers say that if the recoverable coating were applied to a certain type of materials, such as those found in cars and smartphones, the speed and efficiency of recovery will increase. Near-perfect repairs can be achieved, even if the device falls on the asphalt.
