Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2013/09/20/howto-make-hydrophobic-rain-on.html
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I’m going to make a stencil for the sidewalk at the bus stop that says
“I’m only happy” and leave out “When it Rains” part. I want the viewer to be engaged.
Make a few political statements.
“Was this rainstorm brought to you by man made climate change?”
Of course the first thought of some ad guy will be, “Think of the marketing potential!”
“Get your umbrellas and rain gear at Walgreens at 3rd and Market!”
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We used to do something like this in NM with spray bottles and vegetable oil.
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I need to ask if that stuff will protect you from rabies. Thanks, I’ll be going now.
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It’s not slippery?
Thanks for the post about my rain drawings! I’m an artist in Atlanta and I submitted the video for a Home Depot contest, but I don’t work for them.
Also, it’s not slippery, it’s actually fairly rough.
Nice, I wonder how long it lasts before the never wet coat gets worn down? Does a jet wash remove it?
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Thanks!
this just made me think of covering a walkway with never wet…
if it rains the walkway will be dry.
it will never get ice because the water wont stay to freeze
if it gets snow you can literally spray it off with a garden hose and it won’t freeze (see above)
wonder how long it would hold up though to summer heat and winter cold…in indiana…
Was it wise to spray that stuff without some sort of respiratory protection?
I’ve heard that it wears away fairly quick. People have sprayed their shoes and stuff and it’s waterproof for a while but then it wears down and fails down the road. Considering how expensive it is to coat shoes and stuff with it, I’m not sure it’s a great long-term solution. But, the stuff is neat and really works if you spray a lot of it. YMMV, of course.
One of my main concerns with the stuff is (AFAIK) it hasn’t been tested by a third party for safety yet. If I used that stuff, I would wear protection for my lungs and perhaps skin as well. I doubt breathing it in would be fantastic for your lungs.
It doesn’t have a strong odor, but as with all chemical aerosols a paint-fume respirator would probably be a good idea.
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This is one area I’m curious to try as well. It holds up better on sidewalks than it does smooth surfaces (so far), but I wonder if it’ll really help for de-icing. Spraying with a hose would probably wear the coating down, but since it’s summer in Atlanta I haven’t been able to try it yet.
well not de-icing exactly, preventing the ice from forming…wouldn’t do anything if the ice was already there, but if it keeps the area dry it must also keep it from forming ice…
freezing rain might still freeze(because it freezes instantly on contact), but it would freeze into an ice ball that you could sweep off with a broom.
I did something like this about 15 years ago with some tire spray after I noticed that the spots around where the tires were repelled rain. I don’t know how long Neverwet lasts, but mine were there for years.
Be the first on your block to express your ego in public space by niftily repelling away the very compound that sustains the life of your planets many organic species. So symbolic it hurts. Its 1950’s redux. Neverwet is primarily acetone (http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Acetone ) formed into a super-hydrophobic nano-tech particulate then sprayed direct into the environment as an aerosol . The EPA says its safe. What I say, in reaction to “Neverwet” as a maker and as an environmentalist is that the burgeoning international Makerdom community desperately needs to adopt a shared Universal Hierarchy of Ethical Materialism outside the framework of profit motivated capitalist product creation. This would be in the form of a materials chart with properties that could be peer reviewed. It would include a ratings system for environmental impact and a system of workable substitutes for less toxic options that support ecological sound practices for seven generations into the future. There are many more details. This chart would follow as a central tenet the same as that which medical practitioners use. This is non-maleficence or Primum non nocere or , “given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good.” -from wikipedia. Being cool just is not enough!! Disposal routes, cumulative impact over multiple lifetimes. We all need to be looking at what we make not just on how it might surprise, engage or entertain our imaginations but also how it might impact our natural world. /rant
FWIW, here’s the MSDS for the base coat spray. Solvents and polypropylene. I you’re comfortable with the fact that we’re all made out of “chemicals” there’s not much to get too excited about.
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