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"  When the PR department of a paint company promises something that&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;unlike any product we&amp;#039;ve manufactured before,&amp;quot; it&amp;#039;s easy to be skeptical. However, I&amp;#039;ll admit Rust-Oleum came through with the goods during a recent demonstration of its NeverWet Multi-Surface Liquid Repelling Treatment. Like all well-marketed home products, NeverWet&amp;#039;s name leaves little to the imagination. Any water-based liquids that come into contact with concrete, wood, plastics, metal, or fabric treated with NeverWet will bead up and roll off, literally. In our demo, the product specialist poured water into a 3D maze that was coated in the stuff. The water quickly gathered into a single blob and rolled around the maze like liquid metal. (It reminded me of those old mercury-based games we had during the 1980s. Good riddance to them.) Another demo saw water flash off a piece of plywood as though it never even touched it. The technology at work here is known as superhydrophobic repelling. The concept is neither new nor exclusive to Rust-Oleum, though previously it&amp;#039;s been used only for industrial applications. For a coating to be considered superhydrophobic, it must repel water molecules at an angle of 150 degrees or more, which is three times the contact angle of an untreated surface. A wide contact angle forces water droplets to form into spheres and then glide off the surface. Conversely, a narrow contact angle flattens the droplet so that is stays put and saturates the surface. A waxed surface, for example, repels water at a 90 degree contact angle. A non-stick coating on a frying pan works at around 110 degrees. NeverWet repels at an 165-degree angle.      NeverWet is currently sold as a two-part clear aerosol treatment. The use of the word &amp;quot;treatment&amp;quot; is deliberate here\u2014it&amp;#039;s not a permanent finish and will eventually wear off. How long it lasts depends on how much wear the surface gets, but the base coat remains intact, meaning you&amp;#039;d need to reapply only the topcoat. The finish is not crystal-clear and has a suede-like texture, so it&amp;#039;s not suitable for glass. It&amp;#039;s not oil-repellent either. Still, the product has plenty of applications. Spray it on work boots to keep mud from sticking. Coat horizontal exterior wood surfaces, such as furniture and outdoor bars (we all have those, right?) to prevent water and drink stains. Kitchens and bathroom surfaces could always use extra moisture protection, especially around sinks and toilets. Rust-Oleum&amp;#039;s product repels ice, so there are probably winterization uses that the company hasn&amp;#039;t thought of yet. As for automotive applications, the company suggests spraying it on wheel arches or hubcaps to keep them clean, if that&amp;#039;s your thing. The product specialists I met spoke openly about the &amp;quot;limitations&amp;quot; of how the finish looks\u2014it&amp;#039;s like frosted glass\u2014but I like it. It has a contemporary feel. Rust-Oleum shipped NeverWet earlier this week and it will be available at The Home Depot in the coming days. Expect it to be sold elsewhere by midsummer. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gear/a9047/watch-this-crazy-coating-completely-repel-water-15560490/>