Articles having hydrophilic or water-wettable surfaces are desirable in many applications. In many environments, dust, dirt, oil and pollutants are common contaminants which tend to deposit from either the dry state or from suspension in rainwater onto objects such as vehicles, road signs, buildings, and the like. A hydrophilic protective coating can reduce or eliminate this contamination and provide a substrate that is easier to clean—without the use of detergents or soaps. Additionally, hydrophilic surfaces can also provide for water, in the form of rainfall or from water sprays, to sheet off efficiently, which in turn results in easier cleaning and drying of such surfaces. This can result in more aesthetically pleasing and cleaner surfaces by retarding soiling and preventing the formation of water spots caused by concentration of environmental dirt or contaminants or hard water minerals during drying of individual water droplets. In addition, hydrophilic surfaces can reduce the tendency of atmospheric moisture to condense and cause fogging.
Common surface protectants, like those used to protect painted vehicle finishes, typically provide a very hydrophobic surface, that is, a surface exhibiting low surface energy, high water contact angle, and the commonly observed behavior known as “water beading”. This causes the undesirable formation of water spotting, by increasing the tendency of water to bead into individual droplets rather than sheeting off and self-drying.