Tag Archives: Nanovere Technologies

Nano-Clear® makes lifeboats glossy for Carnival Cruise Lines

A Feb. 9, 2015 news item on Azonano profiles Carnival Cruise Lines and a deal the company has struck with Nanovere Technologies,

Carnival Cruise Lines implementing Nano-Clear® Coatings to restore their entire fleet of lifeboats.

Ship owners and operators spend a great deal of money and time maintaining their vessels and lifeboats to the highest quality standards, but are often let down by poor appearance. Conventional marine paints and gel coatings are highly susceptible to UV damage, causing the surface to oxidize and loose color over time. Lifeboats are designed to have a bright and glossy appearance for improved safety and visibility, but become dull and less visible over time due to UV damage.

 

A Feb. 7, 2015 Nanovere Technologies press release, which originated the news item, provides more details,

In late 2014, Nanotech Marine Services, based in the UK conducted a field application trial aboard the Queen Elizabeth Ship using Nano-Clear® Coatings manufactured by Nanovere Technologies in Brighton, MI USA. The purpose of the trial was to provide a long-term solution to the gel-coat oxidation issue on the ships lifeboats and tenders, as the orange gel-coat on these vessels are continually exposed to high levels of UV and fade rapidly. This paint oxidation issue has proven to be difficult to overcome including continuous polishing of the surface or a costly new paint job.

Nano-Clear® Coating was applied to the gel-coat surface and left to weather for several months aboard the Queen Elizabeth while operating in the Mediterranean. The field trial represented real world conditions and proved that a polished surface using the traditional cut-and-polish approach, fails surprisingly fast when exposed to harmful UV rays. The test patches coated with Nano-Clear® Coating showed “no” deterioration in gloss or color; as compared with the surrounding area showing a dull surface that will continue to oxidize over time.

Due to the outstanding success of the Nano-Clear® trials on the Queen Elizabeth, Nanotech Marine secured the restoration of 18 lifeboats aboard Queen Victoria. Carnival Cruise Lines is also implementing Nano-Clear® Coatings to restore their entire fleet of lifeboats starting with 26 aboard the Cruise Ship Azura in 2015. Nano-Clear® Coatings provide ship operators, maintenance yards and super yacht owners with a tested and practical solution to restore and maintain high value assets to the highest gloss level for many years.

Nano Clear is the only marine coating in the global market place to enhance, restore and extend the service life of newly painted or highly oxidized painted surfaces by 10 years. Nano-Clear® penetrates deep into the smallest pores of paint, enhancing the underlying color, dramatically improving gloss, scratch resistance, corrosion resistance and extending UV resistance, while reducing surface cleaning by 50%. Nano-Clear® eliminates the need to re-paint, color match or polish gel-coatings, thereby reducing material, labor and maintenance costs.

Nano-Clear® Coatings have been validated by leading global organizations including the US Army, Carnival Cruise Lines, Princimar Chemical Carriers, Toshiba Industrial Products and leading tank car manufactures. To learn more about Nano-Clear® Coatings, please email info@nanocoatings.com, visit www.nanocoatings.com or call (810) 227-0077.

Here’s an image illustrating the pre-NanoClear- and post-NanoClear-coated lifeboats,

Courtesy: Nanovere Technologies

Courtesy: Nanovere Technologies

I last wrote about Nanovere Technologies in a Jan. 2, 2013 post about automotive plastics.

Automotive plastics that never wear out

Nanovere is a coatings company that makes big promises according to the Jan. 2, 2013 news item on Nanowerk,

Imagine for a moment a world were automotive plastics never fade, a self-cleaning wheel that resists brake dust, a self-cleaning tire that looks new for life, or a fiberglass boat that resists fading for life. These and other amazing benefits are now possible due to 10 years of research & development in nanotechnology.

According to Nanovere Technologies Chairman & Chief Technology Officer Thomas Choate, “Nanovere is pleased to introduce the world’s first Wipe-On clear nanocoating to exceed automotive OEM specifications. The product is named Vecdor Nano-Clear®. What’s most unique about Nano-Clear® is the ability to permanently restore original color, gloss and surface hardness back into oxidized textured plastics, highly oxidized fiberglass and highly oxidized paint surfaces while reducing surface maintenance by 60%.”

…  Nanovere Technologies has pioneered proprietary 3D nanostructured coatings at the molecular level since 2003. Nano-Clear® forms a “highly crosslink dense film with extreme scratch resistance, chemical resistance, UV resistance, remarkable flexibility and self-cleaning properties including water, oil, ice and brake-dust repellency.”

(For those who are interested, there are more specifics about this wonder coating in the news item.)

In reading this I was reminded of a movie that I saw years ago, an Alec Guinness film, The Man in The White Suit. Here’s the synoposis from imdb.com,

An altruistic chemist invents a fabric that resists wear and stain as boon to humanity but both capital and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.

A very funny film released in 1951 it offers a trenchant commentary on why some problems are better left unsolved.