

Waterproof anything with a spray - jwdunne
http://designtaxi.com/news/351023/Waterproof-Your-iPhone-Everything-Else-With-This-Spray/

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thaumaturgy
Not to "rain" on their parade (heh), but the ability to pass water vapor
effectively while also remaining hydrophobic for water droplets, _and_ doing
that for a long time on surfaces that are exposed to constant wear, is sort of
the holy grail of the outdoor gear industry.

The company's page for their product (<http://www.neverwet.com/product-
characteristics.php>) doesn't mention breathability. Considering that
breathability would be a feature that would make them the next Gore-Tex, I'd
expect them to trumpet it pretty loudly.

There are already pretty decent spray-on coatings for outerwear, they just
don't last very long in the fabric and have to be re-applied after a few uses.

I used to work for Northern Mountain Supply back when they were a sort-of big
deal.

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mattdeboard
I love the graph on that page, where 160-175 "degrees of hydrophobicity" are
illustrated as a huge, exponential increase over 110 degrees. To me, more than
the breathability or durability or whatever other technical issues, that graph
is a huge red flag that this is 90% marketing, 10% engineering.

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networkjester
The scaling, though not noted seems to be about 10 degrees per line. Which
means the 160-175 is actually shy of where it should be (about 5 lines up from
the 110). That bar actually shows it's at 150 degrees, which must mean their
marketing is actually very conservative if we are to make grand judgement
calls from one graph on a company's page. ;)

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inconditus
The parent was referring to how they didn't start from 0, so it seems 160
degrees is 5-6 times larger than 90 degrees.

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jarin
Wow, this is incredible. Assuming it isn't crazy expensive, I'd put this on
everything from my car to my walls.

I do kind of wonder how you'd wash clothes coated in this, though. It would be
kind of tricky if dirt can get into the fibers but water can't.

Edit: Also, I would love to prank a bartender at my local watering hole by
spraying this on his bar rag when he's not looking :)

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Newgy
This stuff may not be safe for humans, especially as it degrades and flakes
off. I don't really want my kids breathing it in.

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starpilot
It's silicone (not silicon, as the article misstates) so it's probably safe.
Silicone is used in breast implants, home window sealants, cookware (look up
silpat) and yes, fabric, as silnylon (the ultralight backpacker's waterproof
friend). With the last case, it is _not_ breathable, which is why it's not
used for jackets.

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artmageddon
I thought silicone in breast implants was discontinued in favor of saline due
to the dangers of toxicity with implant leaks.

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bennylope
I am not a breast implant expert, but if I recall, silicone fell out of favor
due to fears connecting the implants to mysterious immune-related diseases.
However no connection between silicone breast implants and these diseases was
ever borne out.

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TeMPOraL
I remember reading about similar technology before at least twice here on HN;
it was 'glass in spray' then[1]. It was supposed to be here soon and
revolutionize everything. I hope that this time it will actually become
available to buy.

[1] I think this one: [http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-
takes/-8216liquid-glas...](http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-
takes/-8216liquid-glass-spray-can-protect-any-surface-from-water-dirt-
bacteria-heat-uv/3833)

~~~
Lost_BiomedE
This can be bought in Europe for furniture. It is a family business, so I
think they are building it up slow. They have had some good studies on their
product, and I still hope we will see it in the next few years. I think it is
legit.

~~~
inconditus
That's cool! Is there anything stopping it from being used for anything else
besides furniture?

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FrojoS
For one, this could reduce maintenance costs for solar panels substantiality.

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kokoloko
I would like to see what happens to a swimmer with a suit coated with this
thing. Would it go faster or slower?

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eisbaw
Faster: Friction is reduced.

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kokoloko
Or slower, since you cannot "push" so much water with hands and feet as it
"slips" through. Who wins: lower friction or lower viscosity?

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kemiller
Typical swimsuit doesn't cover the arms or legs, does it?

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sycren
They describe 'wet' as having a liquid on the object its used on. I wonder how
the object feels with this applied.. ie. does a glossy object feel rougher

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gggritso
Not necessarily. Surface roughness that creates the most hydrophobic surfaces
is around 0.1-1 microns which is much less than the width of a human hair.

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ednc
Anyone else notice the air bubble coming out of the iPhone speaker hole at ~
1:38 in the second video?

A neat demo, but I suspect that phone is no longer working.

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leertaylor
I saw a live demo of this stuff at a trade show two weeks ago, and it was
truly amazing. It put any other coating I've ever seen to shame (such as
RainX).

While they had a shirt and a shoe on display, the demo was mainly focused
around commercially licensing it as a coating for stuff that you don't really
want to clean, such as bedpans and toilet plungers.

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mbell
Link below to their white paper, it has some more data on durability.

Sounds pretty impressive and apparently it is already in use by some
refrigerator companies (spillproof shelves).

[0] [http://www3.neverwet.com/l/4762/hite-Paper---
Marine-111810-p...](http://www3.neverwet.com/l/4762/hite-Paper---
Marine-111810-pdf/2DPNU)

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brador
Any health issues studies on this? Can't imagine it being good to get a
coating on your internals.

~~~
mrleinad
Forget about coating your internals. What about this: You spray it on your
clothes, put them on, this thing gets on your skin, and blocks all of your
pores. Isn't that kind of a healthy hazard?

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freehunter
Sounds more like it would be an unhealthy hazard.

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frogly
Wonder what this does to your lungs when you inevitably breathe it in?

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galaktor
I was thinking the same. This stuff must be incredibly dangerous from a
medical point of view.

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JonnieCache
How much to simply coat all my clothes with it?

Even better, can I put it on my hair and go out in the rain without a hat?

I suppose washing it might be a problem...

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mattmanser
I saw on reddit someone pointing out the big question there, does this leave
fabrics breathable?

If it doesn't it's useless for clothes and shoes.

I just can't find anywhere on their site where they say one way or the other.

TBH, their site is pretty light on details.

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aok
Depending on how this effects breathability (as mentioned by @mattmanser) this
has the potential to change the fashion industry.

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andrewingram
If you could coat sports equipment (including gloves), it would make a world
of difference to playing sport in rainy conditions.

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jonnycowboy
What's the difference between this and RainX? (silicon coating used on car and
airplane windshields)..

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inconditus
The chart on their website: <http://www.neverwet.com/product-
characteristics.php> shows 50 degrees more hydrophobicity.

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joshu
blog spam.

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katesmith098
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cantwaitman
can't wait to put this on my penis!

