How a Miniature Car Wash Makes for Better Paint [News]

In today’s program, a miniature Nissan goes through a miniature car wash…for science!

[Photos and video credit: Nissan North America]

Okay, it may not actually for science, per se,  but it serves a practical purpose. For your hump day delectation, here’s a shot of a toy Nissan 370Z going through the world’s tiniest car wash.

It’s definitely fun to watch, and is used for paint durability testing. Nissan engineers employ a popcorn machine-sized car wash to test samples of Nissan’s exterior paints. In doing so, they can ensure the paint holds up to the rigors of everyday driving and automatic car washes.

Dubbed “Arizona test dirt”, testers apply a special kind of dirt to rectangular plates (like the yellow one in the video above). Unfortunately, they don’t paint real toy cars – that’s just for illustrative purposes. to simulate real-world girt. So before their actual cars end up on dealer lots, engineers have a chance to test how the paint holds up at the Nissan Technical Center North America in Michigan.

Under normal circumstances, engineers regularly use the rectangular plates coated with real paint to ensure a high-quality finish for their cars. Check out the video above for a practical demonstration of the world’s smallest car wash. Check back to TFLcar.com for more news, views, and reviews! And, occasionally, paint tests using a miniature car wash.