Somewhere in the memory banks I recall a thread on this product several years ago, but I can't find it with a search.

http://www.gizmag.com/hydrophobic-coati ... ids/26286/



It's not transparent, but on the wings and prop for keeping ice from sticking...

Anyone here savvy on the stuff?

Gump

Do you remember if you have alzheimer's?

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8882&p=115840

Ultra Dry. Never Wet...

At least I was close!

Gump

Gump,

You's just a young pup and already losing it? Hitting the bottle 24/7 huh?

That stuff goes on in a two part process, pricey too. But the real problem from what I can tell is it doesn't do abrasion well and would wear off when removing the bugs. And while it doubtless would make removing bugs easier ('cept for our NV variety that have super glue for body fluids), one will still have to clean the leading edges.

Seems like there must be some good applications for this stuff though (permanent "personal lube"??) . . . Just can't figure out what, given the cost. Maybe that's why they, and some similar products, haven't really got going yet.

It looks like the Never Wet product hasn't made it to market yet.

Prices for Ultra Ever Dry are here:
http://www.ultraeverdrystore.com/

A quart of the bottom coating is $53, and and a quart of the top coating is $96, and it's marginally cheaper in greater quantities. Watching how thick they applied it in their video, I'd say you ought to get 2 or 3 applications to your leading edges for $150. Even if you have to reapply a couple of times to get you through icing season, this seems like a no-brainer for people who have a high probability of encountering icing conditions.

From their application guide:

Care and Repair:
Ultra-Ever Dry® is a durable coating that exhibit superhydro-
phobicity and superoloephobicity. After curing the coatings will
repel water mixtures and refined oil. Cleaning of the surface
should be performed using low pressure water spray. The sur-
face should demonstrate self cleaning properties under these
conditions. Dust and dirt should rinse off easily. The surface
will remain completely dry. The surface will lose it properties if
treated with detergents, soap, some solvents or high pressure
water. Due to the natural oils in the skin, excessive handling
with bare hands of treated materials can cause a reduction in
performance as can severe abrasion.

The big question: if you're flying in rain, is that low-pressure water, or high pressure water???

Somebody buy this and see how it holds up!

Fly through a heavy rain hoping to wash bugs or dust off the windscreen or leading edges, and you'll see just how little effect there is. If I was still up north I'd really be thinking hard about testing it out. For leading edge ice, and for frost formation overnight.

My chief concern is long term effect on the paint and aluminum from this stuff.

Gump

Gump, did you ever try rain X? Or even lemon pledge. Either one will make snow or frost just slide off. I won't last long but it don't cost much either. I don't know what it would do with rhyme ice or clear ice buildup.

Hey Shane.

I tried 'em all over the years, and really couldn't see any improvement in rain or icing with any of them. They all suck.

The stuff in the videos is a whole different deal though. If it works as advertised it should be worth the cost. I just didn't want to be a crash test dummy slathering this product all over my paint job, just to have it eat holes in the aluminum.

Gump

I remember seeing an adhesive tape that was made out of Teflon years ago. Anybody ever try that ?

In case anyone is wondering how they do that with "nanotechnology", it's probably something like this:

Pictures of the microstructure of a water repelling example from nature and a synthetic surface:

Notice the different scales (microns) and that the synthetic surface uses much smaller features - it's probably much more effective than the natural one.

The simplified principal is basically this:


So the spray leaves behind a surface resembling a bed of nails on a microscopic scale. This only works when the surface is clean. Once you lose the air pocket, and the water can "wet" the surface, it's going to be less effective.

In the same way rain can form droplets if there's condensation nuclei in the air, if there are condensation nuclei on your plane such as dust, dead bugs, dirt or mud, frost, engine oil, oils from your skin, etc then the water repellent properties of the surface coating wont work. Think "lubricant" in the third picture. As the "wetting angle" (angle at the edge of the droplet) gets larger, the more the water sticks to the surface.

I wouldn't care to guess whether such a surface would preclude frost or ice from forming, but it might hold back freezing rain for a while?

So in theory you should fly faster too ...right.... golf ball theory basically... I say give it to Bumper and see if it gives the Husky 5 more knots.