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

[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.