Nano Coatings.. harmful to paint/trim?

**op1001** · 03-20-2013, 05:29 PM

Has it been studied at all?

Are nano coatings harmful to paint or trim?

I've given it thought and keep wondering these chemicals bond to the paint or trim some long lasting or permanent and some fade after 1 - 2 years .

These things are using chemical reactions to bond to paint and surfaces, has it been studied of what harm or what they actually do to the paint surface?

**Hoytman** · 03-20-2013, 05:42 PM

I would be more worried about, the lack of studies at least that I'm aware of, all these nano-"stuff" going through rubber gloves and into the skin, or worse yet breathing it into the lungs.

As far as to your immediate concern, I haven't heard anything there either.

**CEE DOG** · 03-20-2013, 06:05 PM

As I understand it the nano particles are immersed in solution which stops them from becoming airborne for you to inhale. Now at the point you aerosolize a product you would be wise to use protection. As far as skin I personally wear gloves with almost any chemical nano or not.

**Hoytman** · 03-20-2013, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by CEE DOG

As I understand it the nano particles are immersed in solution which stops them from becoming airborne for you to inhale. Now at the point you aerosolize a product you would be wise to use protection. As far as skin I personally wear gloves with almost any chemical nano or not.

Atomizing a nano product, through a spray bottle, was what I was thinking about when I wrote that, and in my mind is a real concern, as is breathing any atomized chemical. As Corey stated, protection would be wise.

The concern for a nano solution soaking through rubber gloves is an "unknown" for me, and it would be nice to see some solid scientific research via lengthy studies, that would indicate whether it's safe or not, even with rubber gloves. Having seen no solid evidence through viable research/studies is why I have concerns there as well.

I realize that that many of the products we use in the detailing industry...there's really no reason to be concerned of soak-through with regard to rubber gloves. However...

...having used just a few industrial degreasers in my time that was once considered safe, did in fact eat through rubber gloves...no matter what brands we tried or how thick they were. They eventually all failed. No nano-particles in these chemicals, just cancer causing agents...which was later discovered...after we had used them both with and without rubber gloves.

(The part about not using rubber gloves didn't seem to matter since the chemicals ate through the materials "all of a sudden". Granted the amount of exposure, via time using a nano-coating or other automotive nano product, is minimal compared to what we were exposed to.)

A couple of those industrial degreasers that we were exposed to was Trichlorothane, and Trichlorethylene if I remember the names correctly. One replaced the other, regardless of the order mentioned, because one was found to cause cancer and later on the other chemical was found to cause the same. Too bad so many of us were at times exposed elbow deep numerous times a day, every day to these chemicals. We were first told they were safe to use. Of course, employers always tell their employees a product is safe.

My point is that this nano technology is relatively new. To my knowledge no known long term studies have been published.

Realize I am not saying, "yay," nor, "nay," condoning using these products, rather, be careful and as Corey said, "wear gloves with almost any chemical nano or not."

**slimnib** · 03-20-2013, 06:32 PM

Nano Nano Nano-- Same as Snake oil.

**Andr3wilson** · 03-20-2013, 07:23 PM

what ever happened to good old wax??

**op1001** · 03-20-2013, 10:48 PM

So reality no answers if it is bad or harmful..

I mean in reality if you think about it.. it is bonding to something.. the nano particles are cross joining and dancing .. they join forces and make this bond together..

what gets me thinking is.. they bond together but how do they put to the paint? notice how they tell you the paint has to be clean clean clean so the nano particles can bond..

I guess something like opti-coat is similar to a clear coat

Ugh this nano technology or whatever it is!

**silverfox** · 03-21-2013, 05:07 AM

For those that feel they would rather do something other than maintaining their cars, coatings are great.

Not so for those who live for their cars and actually enjoy the weekend ritual.

**Setec Astronomy** · 03-21-2013, 06:22 AM

Originally Posted by Hoytman

A couple of those industrial degreasers that we were exposed to was Trichlorothane, and Trichlorethylene if I remember the names correctly. One replaced the other, regardless of the order mentioned, because one was found to cause cancer and later on the other chemical was found to cause the same.

Trichloroethylene became a known carcinogen, and was frequently replaced with 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which was not, but 1,1,1 was later phased out due to ozone-depletion concerns, and in some cases was replaced by perchloroethylene ("dry cleaning fluid"). Perc is a suspected carcinogen.

How was the ventilation during your degreasing operations? I'm not sure if occasional glove breakage is worse than constant vapor exposure.

**PiPUK** · 03-21-2013, 07:40 AM

The first thing to realise is that the sales term nano sealant does not actually guarantee that there is anything genuinely nano about the product. There are a number of products out there, claiming to be nano, which are nothing of the sort.

Atomisation is a big mistake. The risk is that these products moisture cure (that is how they work, irrelevant of what the marketing guys tell you!) and contact with mucous membranes will result in them doing just that. If it occurs in your lungs, there is no telling what could happen. In general use (not atomising!), this presents no issue - what you smell is the carrier solvent, there will be no risk beyond that presented by the solvent (which is often harmful enough in isolation). Wearing gloves should be protection enough - many of the characteristics that make the products adhere to paint/plastics will also apply to the gloves. It is extremely unlikely that you will get dangerous penetration.

Also you should keep in mind that, inspite of all this nano talk, we actually use much much smaller 'particles' all the time. We call them molecules and are roughly 1000 times smaller (or more) than your nano particles. If those molecules are not penetrating your gloves, there isn't a big chance that the much bigger, nano structures, are going to do it.

A final note is that whilst some products may have nano-particles suspended into a solution, the risk is more from products which do not so much contain nano particles, rather they contain precursors which will become nano particles during the curing process.