Superhydrophobic materials are usually based on metals and oxides, or polymers, which means they have a limited range of colors. For applications in décor, fabrics, windows, self-cleaning building materials etc, being able to choose the color is an important property.

Now, colored superhydrophobic materials are available thanks to nanotechnology, where particle size controls superhydrophobic characteristics. Hitoshi Ogihara, Jun Okagaki and Tetsuo Saji, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, have found that they can spray-coat copper, glass, paper, coiled wire, and even tied thread to produce a reproducible and reparable superhydrophobic surface.

• Facile Fabrication of Colored Superhydrophobic Coatings by Spraying a Pigment Nanoparticle Suspension,
  Hitoshi Ogihara, Jun Okagaki, Tetsuo Saji
  Langmuir 2011.
  DOI: 10.1021/la200898z