Polymer wear resistance evolution was studied based on nanoscale healing and fracture of a model polyinterface system: sintered film of uniform submicron polystyrene particles. The observed phenomenon was divided into three regimes namely interdiffusion, trough, and recovery, respectively. Film annealing up to 10 min in interdiffusion regime enhanced wear resistance with a 3.8 power dependence on interpenetration depth. Further annealing led to a severe wear resistance decrease, trough regime. Wear resistance then showed a sharp increase followed by a gradual rise to a plateau, recovery regime. Surfactants preservation during film formation shifted whole wear resistance-annealing time curve to shorter times, decreased differentiations among observed regimes and reduced wear resistance power dependence on interpenetration depth to 2.3. Aforementioned regimes were also discernible in impact strength-annealing time curves but without the steep rise of the recovery regime. Wear resistance scaled impact strength with a 0.67 power by omitting trough regimes data points. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013