Gloss Plastic Could Eliminate Auto Painting

customs writes "There is a new plastic out from GE that covers plastic surfaces with a really good sheen. It's more resistant to scratches and random chemicals compared to conventional paint. It's actually a .5 mm polymer called Sollx; the Segway was the first semi-mass-produced product to use it, it has slender two tone fenders. Kinda cool. Auto painting is the industries largest manufacturing expense, and this could be what they're looking for...as soon as the price comes down."

WEE

[blindcoder]

Finally I'll be able to crash into my buddies without having to pay for repainting my car each time I do so! :D

Modding

[levik]

But the main question is, how soon can I get a souped up tower case "painted" with the stuff?

Would look cool with a window and neon lights.

computer cases!

[mikeee]

The real question, of course, is when this will be available for PC cases.

I thought it said GROSS plastic,

[Limburgher]

like some sort of combination fake-vomit/sex toy device. THAT would be gross plastic. Not much protection, though. :)

Re:Explained in the article

[the_2nd_coming]

with more film!!

Re:News for nerds..

[_mythdraug_]

Oh wait.. Nerds don't watch commecials. The just hit the skip button.

Transparent Aluminum

[MongooseCN]

I still want transparent aluminum for my truck. Then I could carry my pet whale around.

The most exciting part of this article...

[PepperedApple]

is knowing that I can get a segway in shiny bright purple.

Re:Explained in the article

[Codex The Sloth]

with more film!!

Ahhh, touché!

how insightful?

[mog]

So basically, it will be cheap enough to be wonderful as soon as it's not so expensive. Hrrmmm...

Molting?

[DaveOf9thKey]

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.

Uh, doesn't molting mean shedding skin or other outer coating? I can't think of one Lexus owner who wants to imagine their car molting. Giant strips of Lexus skin all over the road! Ewwwwwww!!!

Oh boy!

[Edball]

"The fenders are coated with a 0.5-millimeter polymer layer called Sollx, a new chemical "film" developed by General Electric (GE) that covers plastic surfaces like Saran Wrap."

Neat! Now i can complement my bad tint job with an equally bubbled paint job.. Yay!

Re:Molting?

[stratjakt]

Of course they meant morphing. Apparantly no "journalists" (read PR drones) proofread their copy these days. Here I thought it was just a slashdot phenomenon.

Re:Old News

[The Dobber]

On the subject of commercials, how will this effect that sales of "The Ding King"?

Will this be the end of Billy Mays?

5 finger discount?

[ryman]

reduced the cost of plastic below that of steal

Can you really reduce anything below the cost of steal? ;)

Great for Clear Plastic Fetish Wear

[mrs clear plastic]

This would be great for some of the clear plastic
fetish wear that I make.

Re:I was hoping they would wait.

[grub]

Corvettes have had fiberglass bodies since the early seventies.

That's why I hate being in Corvette accidents. I can handle the broken bones, blood loss and internal damage but the damn itching that the fiberglass gives you really sucks.

Re:You can try this experiment

[grub]

Grease it up with petroleum jelly. Now spray paint it. Do a good job, adding several coats

I did that with the goatse.cx guy [goatse.cx]. After I was done I had a really nice Klein Bottle [kleinbottle.com].

Re:The most exciting part of this article...

[zulux]

s knowing that I can get a segway in shiny bright purple. ...and but a warning-sticker on it: "Keep 10 Feet Away From Gay Little Scooter"

(opologies to The Onion)

Re:WEE

[Anonvmous Coward]

" Finally I'll be able to crash into my buddies without having to pay for repainting my car each time I do so! :D"

I don't think they make primer colored plastic.

Re:Explained in the article

[Anonvmous Coward]

"how do I touchup a film?"

Whatever you do, don't take advice from George Lucas on that. He has funny ideas about touching up film. Next thing you, you'll have a co-pilot intended as the plucky comic relief.

On the flip side, though, the lack of passenger side airbag on your car will heal your soul.

But what if I have to change color- in a hurry?

[tenzig_112]

The only issue with Sollx is that it seems to make cars hard to steal. While that would generally be a good thing, it will ruin future releases of Grand Theft Auto.

"Quick, take this car down to the, um, place and have it dipped in Sollx."

Re:Love My Saturn's Polycarbonate Site Panels!!!

[AndroidCat]

I just love running shopping carts into the side of the car

Don't do that! Due to natural selection, you're just breeding stronger shopping carts!