New boat... is ceramic etc. worth it?

[LIforrelaxin]

Your going to find all kinds of opinions... here what it comes down to in my mind.... How long do you intended to keep the boat... the the answer to that is 10 years, adding the extras is no big deal .... If you are like others I know, and you will only keep the boat for 2 or 3 years... well just do the math......

While I have heard great things about Ceramic Coatings... I see it as nothing more then a fad, and a way to get people to spend even more money when buying a new vehicle....

My 7 year old truck still beads water on the factory paint... I have done nothing to it..... over all paints, finishes and Gel coats only continue to improve....

Now If I had a 10 year old boat, that I wanted to make shine again, instead of going and trying to buy something new... I would bring it down to John Spooner, and ask him to do what he can do.....

As my boats are both 20 year old, I do what I can do.... when I decided things need to look a little better, I use oxidation remover, and then a nice polish... brings things back to life... and costs me far less.... But then again, while I don't live on the Wal-mart side of the lake, I also don't need to have shiny sparkly boats and cars, I by them and use them, they should look used when I am done with them....

[Woody38]

I have been considering ceramic for my cars for some time. One I really like which does require prep which I can surely perform. So, what I have done is to use spray wax (Show Time) along with a clay bar. Smoothed the fiinish and gave a beautiful shine. Then I applied Nu Finish and the shine was even better. Once in a while a little spray With Show Time and use the California Classic Car Duster before taking the car out and after coming back into the garage. Washing appears to only need a hose off but I like to use the DuPont 7 truck and auto soap. Everything slides right off. I am always asked what I use to wax the cars.

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I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

[NHskier]

For the last several years I’ve been using Griot’s 3-in-1 Ceramic Wax spray above the rub rail on our Cobalt, and on our cars. (I leave the hull to the marina since we’re in a slip throughout the season). I apply it twice per year, first thing in spring and again in the late fall, and it holds up quite well, leaving a good shine and very good water repellency/beading properties. Very easy to apply, just spray on and wipe right off, no drying time needed.

Like Woody notes, a well prepped clean surface gives best results. Wash with a high ph detergent or use a surface prep cleaner to remove any old wax or sealant before applying the ceramic wax product. Griot’s also sells a detailer spray (Ceramic Speed Shine) for keeping everything nice and shiny.

Of course it’s not as durable or equivalent to a full blown ceramic treatment.

[8gv]

I bought the ceramic applications.

Pics of new boat are coming but if you see a blindingly white SeaRay SDX270 out on Winni it's me.

Can someone please drill another oil well? Soon?

Thanks for the opinions.

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by 8gv

I bought the ceramic applications.

Pics of new boat are coming but if you see a blindingly white SeaRay SDX270 out on Winni it's me.

Can someone please drill another oil well? Soon?

Thanks for the opinions.

Well lets hope it is not to blindingly white.... I don't need to be blinded by the suns reflection off of it...

Congradulations on the new purchase.... Remember there is always master card, and who cares if your paying off this summers gas bill next summer, you will have had fun this summer and that what counts right?

[8gv]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Well lets hope it is not to blindingly white.... I don't need to be blinded by the suns reflection off of it...

Congradulations on the new purchase.... Remember there is always master card, and who cares if your paying off this summers gas bill next summer, you will have had fun this summer and that what counts right?

The sun needs a welding visor when it looks at my boat!

[SAB1]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Your going to find all kinds of opinions... here what it comes down to in my mind.... How long do you intended to keep the boat... the the answer to that is 10 years, adding the extras is no big deal .... If you are like others I know, and you will only keep the boat for 2 or 3 years... well just do the math......

While I have heard great things about Ceramic Coatings... I see it as nothing more then a fad, and a way to get people to spend even more money when buying a new vehicle....

My 7 year old truck still beads water on the factory paint... I have done nothing to it..... over all paints, finishes and Gel coats only continue to improve....

Now If I had a 10 year old boat, that I wanted to make shine again, instead of going and trying to buy something new... I would bring it down to John Spooner, and ask him to do what he can do.....

As my boats are both 20 year old, I do what I can do.... when I decided things need to look a little better, I use oxidation remover, and then a nice polish... brings things back to life... and costs me far less.... But then again, while I don't live on the Wal-mart side of the lake, I also don't need to have shiny sparkly boats and cars, I by them and use them, they should look used when I am done with them....

Pretty much this. The Ceramic coating is nice but IMO you get three years at best out of it and for the cost I think it’s not worth it. A good buffer and polish each year does the trick along with a good spray detailer periodically your all set.

[VtSteve]

I've never coated the boat, but have a lot of experience with the cars. I would imagine that, like with vehicles, prep is mandatory. Lots of fake ceramics out there today, and most of the dealer ones are, well, a tad weak, and tremendously overpriced as well. The real coatings generally come in small bottles, and require a bit of experience to use. https://angelwaxwestcoast.com/produc...coating-500ml/. Is one that works very well.

These coatings assume you've taken the time to really polish your gelcoat and free it of all contaminants before starting. I typically polished every spring, and used Gel Coat labs for polishing and protection.

I would never pay a dealer to coat anything. If you have a bonafide detailer in the area, take it to them.

[BroadHopper]

Dealer detailing is great until you take it to a car wash and boom! Gone.
$300 plus in the dealer's pocket!

You can always detail like a dealer. It doesn't take much time and effort. Dealers say it's professional but take a peek out back, they are high school kids.

An experienced detailer is the way to go. They have the equipment and knowledge to do a great job.

[Woodsy]

Use a Pro like John Spooner at Diamond Shine... anything else will ultimately become a waste of time/money.

Woodsy

[8gv]

As promised...

[XCR-700]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

Dealer detailing is great until you take it to a car wash and boom! Gone.
$300 plus in the dealer's pocket!

You can always detail like a dealer. It doesn't take much time and effort. Dealers say it's professional but take a peek out back, they are high school kids.

An experienced detailer is the way to go. They have the equipment and knowledge to do a great job.

Sadly true, and I just saw this where I was quoted $1200 to detail my boat! All kids doing a half ass job,,,

Worse yet, last year they must have had my boat out of the rack doing a mechanical service on it, and I can only assume they had a mobile detailing service working on another boat next to it and mine was covered inside and out with buffing compound over spray. Total hacks doing too much of that work.

[XCR-700]

Originally Posted by VtSteve

I've never coated the boat, but have a lot of experience with the cars. I would imagine that, like with vehicles, prep is mandatory. Lots of fake ceramics out there today, and most of the dealer ones are, well, a tad weak, and tremendously overpriced as well. The real coatings generally come in small bottles, and require a bit of experience to use. https://angelwaxwestcoast.com/produc...coating-500ml/. Is one that works very well.

These coatings assume you've taken the time to really polish your gelcoat and free it of all contaminants before starting. I typically polished every spring, and used Gel Coat labs for polishing and protection.

I would never pay a dealer to coat anything. If you have a bonafide detailer in the area, take it to them.

And has anyone actually checked to see what the boat manufacturer says about some of these coatings??? My 3" thick bible provided by Formula tells you to wash and wax it, it says NOTING about any ceramic sealer and so it begs the question, could you void your warranty on the finish by doing this? I would not be surprised. I have seen similar happen in the pool industry, the fiberglass pool people will void your warranty for the smallest of deviation from their guidance.

[VtSteve]

Originally Posted by XCR-700

And has anyone actually checked to see what the boat manufacturer says about some of these coatings??? My 3" thick bible provided by Formula tells you to wash and wax it, it says NOTING about any ceramic sealer and so it begs the question, could you void your warranty on the finish by doing this? I would not be surprised. I have seen similar happen in the pool industry, the fiberglass pool people will void your warranty for the smallest of deviation from their guidance.

There term Wash & Wax has become extremely watered down over the years. Way back, I realized that my time actually waxing was wasted due to lack of longevity. There's nothing inherently harmful in using a wide variety of products, from waxes to sealants to coatings on gelcoat. The only real harm is typically putting a polisher in the hands of a newbie. If you do polish your boat, either by rotary or dual-action polisher, whatever protection you apply as the last line of protection will generally look better, and last longer. For the casual user, a DA polisher should be their first tool, not the rotary. Cheaper ones are out there, but your arms and entire body will thank you if you don't cheap out in this category.

I used https://www.fourstarproducts.com/gelcoatlabs.html. Gel Coat labs for many years. Not a ceramic coating, their final layer is a sealant. I'd use the DA in the Spring with their polish, then apply the sealant. Typically, my boat was shiny and mostly clean the entire season. With those results, I had no reason to look elsewhere. With my results, I had quite a few people stop using their Collinite wax and switch. Now today, "ceramic" is a very overused term, and many consumer products have little to no real ceramic in them. The real separation is between a real coating, and a consumer sealant or semi-coating. A real ceramic coating, which comes in the small bottle, is quite different. They also require a real learning curve, and some special care when applying.

I can tell you this, they're a lot easier than wax, and last longer. Want something easy as pie that looks good? Try MEGUIARS Hybrid Ceramic Wax. Spray on wipe off, and it's cheap. Turtle Wax makes a similar product. Might last the entire season, but anyone can do it. If you're not going to a pro, and won't or can't do the prep, stick to an east to use product. There are some pretty bad ones out there.

[Descant]

Anybody have thoughts about rejuvenating AwlGrip? Mine (1999) looks good, but factory fresh is always nice too.

[mowtorman]

During bike week a ceramic guy had a stand 5r so years ago.

We were doing a ton of boat recons and he presented his schtick. I forget the volume of the containers but they weren't cheap.

I said repeatedly give us one to sample and we will know whether it works. He wouldn't spare one container so we never tried it and went on with acid treatment for waterline followed by traditional buff with compound and wax.

He could have sold quite a few if it was a shortcut to a better looking boat that held up.