Don't need clear bra! (or even paint...)
04-01-2003, 10:39 AM
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Don't need clear bra! (or even paint...)
A new, revolutionary polymer from GE could soon be replacing the paint in today's automobiles. With better color and better scratch and chemical resistance this 'dyed plastic' could be just we need keep our Zs scratch and chip free! 
Business 2.0
GE info
What do you think?
Business 2.0
GE info
What do you think?
04-01-2003, 11:00 AM
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No Paint
I remember reading about this a few months ago on slashdot.org.
It looks like something that the auto industry will slowly adopt, but only when the price starts to drop.
I would expect to see it on some high dollar sports cars before anything else.
However, it will probably debut on a Neon.
It looks like something that the auto industry will slowly adopt, but only when the price starts to drop.
I would expect to see it on some high dollar sports cars before anything else.
However, it will probably debut on a Neon.
04-01-2003, 11:02 AM
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Brilliant!
If they can eventually get the costs down this could revolutionize car building and ultimately decrease the cost of vehicles. There are tons of possibilities:
1. Rather than getting a new paint job you could just swap body panels.
2. Ask any Saturn owner how much it cost them to fix collision damage. The don't have to bend anything, just replace. If this were possible for more cars it would eventually bring down the price of insurance.
3. Body kits could come pre-matched to the exact color and have the same dent resistance as all other parts on the car.
pretty good stuff. Great Find!
P.S. I'm a newbie but I really like this board.
If they can eventually get the costs down this could revolutionize car building and ultimately decrease the cost of vehicles. There are tons of possibilities:
1. Rather than getting a new paint job you could just swap body panels.
2. Ask any Saturn owner how much it cost them to fix collision damage. The don't have to bend anything, just replace. If this were possible for more cars it would eventually bring down the price of insurance.
3. Body kits could come pre-matched to the exact color and have the same dent resistance as all other parts on the car.
pretty good stuff. Great Find!
P.S. I'm a newbie but I really like this board.
04-01-2003, 11:58 AM
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Originally posted by djkern
now that would be cool. ya think it would raise the price of the plastic they use on your car...in turn raising the price of the car??
now that would be cool. ya think it would raise the price of the plastic they use on your car...in turn raising the price of the car??
I definitely see this being used more and more, especially on high-end sports cars that already use plastics for the majority of their body panels.
04-01-2003, 01:03 PM
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WOW - Chameleon Zs
Guess they really do bring good things to life. There are apparently some R&D benefits from being the largest company in the whole damn world.
Your exterior could change colors with temperature and we'd be able to elliminate the temp gage too. My z's red it must be 85 or my z's black it must be 35. Would make it tough to report a stolen car.
Your exterior could change colors with temperature and we'd be able to elliminate the temp gage too. My z's red it must be 85 or my z's black it must be 35. Would make it tough to report a stolen car.
04-01-2003, 06:24 PM
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i really doubt that they could get the shine of paint into a piece of color coded plastic. look at a boat with its gel coat, doesnt shine like a nice paint job with some good wax on it.
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04-01-2003, 08:38 PM
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GE Plastics is so bullish on its potential, though, that the company is already devising ways to make Sollx mimic the odd imperfections of paint, so that a Sollx-coated fender will look indistinguishable from the painted metal body panel next to it. As Margaret Blohm, a research scientist at GE who headed Sollx's development, explains, "We could look better than paint. But right now, we have to look like paint."
04-02-2003, 07:32 AM
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GE Plastics claims that the material is also theoretically capable of "thermochromic" effects that change the color with the temperature -- imagine your Lexus molting from red to black as you head from the desert to the mountains. (Note to brand builders: It's even possible to chemically print colored insignias and logos on the film.) The cost is roughly the same as that of painted plastic.
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