Nissan

Nissan's Miniature Automatic Car Wash Tests Paint Quality

Nissan wants to make sure that taking your car to a drive-through wash doesn't hurt the car's paint or finish.

If you truly love your car, you cringe at the idea of using an automatic car wash, but this is probably the easiest and most convenient way to get your car clean.

As these car washes continue to grow in popularity, Nissan has come up with a unique test to make sure its paint can handle the abuse of an automatic car wash.


Nissan's miniature automatic car wash is only about the size of a popcorn machine. This allows the automaker to perform real-world tests on paint samples. The controlled environment shows the long-term effects these car washes have on a paint's finish, which then helps Nissan create a higher paint quality.

It doesn't matter if you drive a Nissan Versa or a Nissan GT-R; nobody wants faded, scratched paint on their new car.

As if the iconic spinning blue brush (spinning at 180 rpm) isn't already brutal enough to your paint, this testing process also sprinkles in a harsh abrasive to mimic sand.

Proving that you're never too old to play with model cars, the video of this mini car wash in action uses a 1:16 scale Nissan 370Z. In reality, the test only uses a flat paint sample (as shown beneath the toy car).

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