Why Nissan Has a Little Machine for Washing Diecast Cars
The modern automatic car wash isn’t exactly the best thing for your paint if you care about your car.
But Nissan is realistic and knows that many of its owners will make a trip to an automatic car wash rather than hand washing their car, which means the automaker’s paint needs to hold up. To test paint samples, Nissan engineers at the Nissan Technical Center North America in Farmington Hills, Michigan, has a miniature car wash that is about the size and shape of a popcorn machine. It is equipped with a spinning brush that has vibrant blue bristles, spinning at around 180 rpm. This causes the bristles to harshly slap the paint sample as water jets spray and “Arizona dirt” is used to replicate harsh real world conditions.
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Nissan notes the 1:16-scale model used in the video and photos is for illustrative purposes only. In actual testing, Nissan paint is applied to rectangular plates that are placed into the mini car wash and tested multiple times to ensure a top quality finish that lasts, even under modern automatic car washes.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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