Kawasaki's new Highly Durable paint features a special coat that allows scratches to repair themselves, enabling the paint to maintain its high-quality finish.
Kawasaki is the first motorcycle manufacturer offering self-healing paint from the factory. Self-healing paint comes in two main varieties: overlays and additives. Overlays are laid over existing paint, while additives are mixed with paint before spraying a body surface. Both rely on heat to rearrange the surface where a scratch, scuff, or swirl marked it. Exposure to sunlight usually does the trick, but sometimes the process can be accelerated with a heat gun or warm water.
Kawasaki hasn't revealed how its proprietary system works, but the principle will be the same. "Soft and hard segments in the coat work together like a chemical spring, creating a trampoline effect that absorbs impacts," according to Kawasaki's website.
Even though it'll be a few years before we know how Kawasaki's formulation holds up, the motorcycle manufacturer already pointed out some limitations of this self-healing paint. "In some cases, it takes about one week for recovery. The paint will not recover in the case of scratches caused by a coin or key, or zip fasteners", as stated on their website.