A new car paint being used by Nissan that repairs its own scratches and scrapes is not likely to be available outside Japan in the short-term.
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Japanese automakers traditionally try out new immovations in the home market before rolling them out to export vehicles and overseas manufacturing plants.
Minor scruffs disappear in about a week on cars that have Scratch Guard Coat, a clear paint that the Japanese automaker developed with Nippon Paint, company spokesman Kiyoshi Ariga told The Associated Press (AP) on Monday.
The coating, which Nissan Motor reportedly said is the first of its kind in the world, contains elastic resin, similar to a rubbery surface, and can repair itself of slight scratches caused by car-washing, off-road driving and fingernails.
Car-washing machines account for most car surface scratches said Nissan, which showed the news agency ‘before and after’ photos of a car with scratches on the bonnet and one with no scratches a week later. The coat lasts about three years, Nissan reportedly said.
The AP report said the scratch-proof paint job will be offered only on some Japan models of the X-Trail sport-utility vehicle, planned for sale soon, but overseas plans are still undecided. It may be offered in other models, but no decision has been made, Ariga told the news agency.
Nissan told AP that the Scratch Guard Coat costs a hundred dollars extra.
