A Japanese firm says it is getting ready to mass produce a film coating that will allow scratches on electronic device screens to self-heal.

Toray Advanced Film Co. said its "Self-cure Coat Film" repairs itself quickly and automatically if scratched or scuffed, solving the problem of marred finishes and reduced visibility that has bedeviled the touch screen industry.

The company said the film can heal itself in as little as 10 seconds at room temperature, physorg.com reported Monday.

The film can only heal itself if a scratch is less than or equal to the film's depth, the company said,

The thicker the film, the deeper the scratches that can heal. But thicker film means less light from the device screen can pass through it.

In a test, one coated device was subjected to 20,000 scratches and still kept on healing, the company reported.