DETROIT: Somewhere in the Nissan Technical Center North America near here is the smallest car wash you’ve never seen. But it serves an important purpose.
The miniature car wash, about the size and shape of a popcorn machine, is equipped with a spinning brush that has vibrant blue bristles that allows engineers to test paint samples to make sure Nissan’s exterior paints hold up to the tough environment of automatic car washes.
Nissan said its engineers have to make sure that every shade of exterior paint will stay looking great, even if the customer frequently takes his Altima or her 370Z through the rigours of an automatic car wash.
To mimic an automatic wash cycle, Nissan’s miniature car wash spins the brush at around 180rpm, causing the bristles to harshly slap the paint sample as water jets spray and “Arizona dirt” replicates the harsh and abrasive real world.
In the video, the red 1:16 scale model of the 370Z is for illustrative purposes only. In actual testing, Nissan paint is applied to rectangular plates (such as the yellow sample seen in the photos), which are placed into the miniature car wash and tested multiple times to ensure a lasting finish.
Keyword: Nissan's tiny car wash key to lasting paint finishes