Ceramic Coating on a Ranger

[electritek]

Am anal about my rig, she stays in climate controlled garage, man cave. Live about 1 1/2 miles from ramp and rig always gets wiped down after pull out in the garage with Lucas or Meguiars. Been watching You tube videos about ceramic coating. Decided on Turtle Ceramic Spray Coating. Took rig to car wash Sunday and gave her a good bath. Came home, jacked her up off trailer and did total wipe down with vinegar to get all the water spots off. Today I applied a coat of the Turtle Ceramic Spray Coating to top cap, cockpit and hull, except pad. WOW Think this stuff is the real deal for the normal consumer, rig has never shined like this. Top cap has never been this slick and smooth. Gotta sit for 24 hours and then gonna give top cap another top coat and let her sit in the AC for another 24 hours. Good prep is a little time consuming but application is not any more difficult than Lucas or Meguiars. It doesn't leave white haze on rub rail or step pads like a Carnuba wax. Am pretty impressed!

[Bassin Bob71]

I've been using their Seal and Shine on the truck and am very impressed. They are making some good stuff these days.

[buster502]

i done the same with my tr196 triton, seems to work good,easy to put on and off but a real pain getting ready,i scrubbed mine with dawn and vinger to get spots off then put the Turtle Ceramic Spray Coating on,looking back on it i wished now i used THE LAST COAT it think its better but mine does look new for a 2005 boat

[MichaelJ3]

There is some stuff called "Hot Sauce" that my local marine dealer turned me on to. Never had anything take the water spots off like it...completely removed all H20 spots from my Merc...Marine guy swears by this stuff...will aid your prep work tremendously.

[RGK456]

There is some stuff called "Hot Sauce" that my local marine dealer turned me on to. Never had anything take the water spots off like it...completely removed all H20 spots from my Merc...Marine guy swears by this stuff...will aid your prep work tremendously.

I use it to wipe down immediately when my boat comes out of the water while it is still a little wet. I is amazing what it does............

[JR19]

For wiping down after a fishing trip consider using the Turtle Wax 3 in 1 ceramic detailer. If you already have a ceramic coat this will help maintain it.

[xcoach]

Thanks for the info, gotta try it!

[Paintworx]

The products you guys are using are not true Ceramic coatings but just spray products using the latest catch word “ceramic”. It’s kinda like Titanium, Teflon...... If you want a true ceramic coating that permanently bonds to the surface you will be best to find a high end detail shop and have it professionally applied. I am a OptiCoat dealer and we apply it frequently to automotive paint. I have not yet tried it on gel coat but planning on testing it on my Ranger after I get through my busy season. For best results you will want to do a surface correction to remove any light scratches.. because the ceramic coating does not cover or hide and flaws. As with most multi step processes the prep is the most important.
plan on spending some money if you want a real ceramic coating.

Our typical paint correction with a 7 year OPTICoat Pro+ Coating is $1300-$1800. I’m sure there are places that will do cheaper work but you get what you pay for in this industry and we are in the car enthusiast market and these guys expect perfection so that’s what we give em.

The other service we provide is Paint Protection Film aka clear bra. This is something you should all be considering on your boats in the high wear areas like where your rigging hoses rub or on your consoles where your rod tips and jig heads bounce around... I applied it in those areas as well as on my fiberglass fenders to protect against rock chips.... if applied right it is invisible and can be replaced if damaged or wears out...

Jim/JK2 Detailing.

[Paintworx]

BTW. There is nothing wrong with the products you guys are using. Certainly better than neglecting your gel coat. We are doing some testing now with the Last Coat that someone mentioned above. It seems to be a great product and no experience required to apply.

There a a couple other options out there as well as some diy true ceramic coatings too. I could go on forever about this stuff and most people lose interest when I start going deep. I have been in the high end detailing world for 30 years so not much I have not seen. Ceramic is the latest hype and everyone is jumping on board trying to capture the customers attention but putting it on the label.

[bbecnel]

I had my 2017 z520c opticoated about a year and a half ago. water/scum line wipes off with ease! I haven t used soap and water to clean boat since. well worth the money

[electritek]

The products you guys are using are not true Ceramic coatings but just spray products using the latest catch word “ceramic”. It’s kinda like Titanium, Teflon...... If you want a true ceramic coating that permanently bonds to the surface you will be best to find a high end detail shop and have it professionally applied. I am a OptiCoat dealer and we apply it frequently to automotive paint. I have not yet tried it on gel coat but planning on testing it on my Ranger after I get through my busy season. For best results you will want to do a surface correction to remove any light scratches.. because the ceramic coating does not cover or hide and flaws. As with most multi step processes the prep is the most important.
plan on spending some money if you want a real ceramic coating.



Our typical paint correction with a 7 year OPTICoat Pro+ Coating is $1300-$1800. I’m sure there are places that will do cheaper work but you get what you pay for in this industry and we are in the car enthusiast market and these guys expect perfection so that’s what we give em.

The other service we provide is Paint Protection Film aka clear bra. This is something you should all be considering on your boats in the high wear areas like where your rigging hoses rub or on your consoles where your rod tips and jig heads bounce around... I applied it in those areas as well as on my fiberglass fenders to protect against rock chips.... if applied right it is invisible and can be replaced if damaged or wears out...

Jim/JK2 Detailing.

I agree with your comments %100. The professional detail grade "Ceramic Coating" is for professional application. The products marketed as spray ceramic are a watered down version for consumers. However I feel they are superior to Carnuba wax and Lucas slick mist.

[Paintworx]

After making my post I went out to the shop and applied LastCoat on my 521VX. When I purchased the boat I did a full correction and a polymer sealant, the boat is in amazing condition and does not need any cover up products to bury oxidation or scratches.

That was last summer and since then I have just wiped the boat down with detail spray at the ramp every time I pull it out of the water. Doing this is probably more important than anything else as far as appearance maintenance.

I am going to have my boat sitting on the water for 5 days starting this Friday and I figured it would be a good way to test the LastCoat “ceramic” spray. My Detail shop foreman has been telling me how happy he has been with this product and I can see why. Took me about a hour to do the whole boat and trailer fenders and it added a noticeable shine and slickness. But..... there are lots of products that do this including Optimim Car Wax so I will see how it works after having the boat sitting in the lake for a week

[cwilt]

Do any of these "ceramic" coatings have any uv protection? I keep my boat outside, double covered trying to protect it from the sun. I am constantly waxing it after every fishing trip. It still looks great with no oxidation, but its alot of work. Been doing this since new.

[buster502]

After making my post I went out to the shop and applied LastCoat on my 521VX. When I purchased the boat I did a full correction and a polymer sealant, the boat is in amazing condition and does not need any cover up products to bury oxidation or scratches.

That was last summer and since then I have just wiped the boat down with detail spray at the ramp every time I pull it out of the water. Doing this is probably more important than anything else as far as appearance maintenance.

I am going to have my boat sitting on the water for 5 days starting this Friday and I figured it would be a good way to test the LastCoat “ceramic” spray. My Detail shop foreman has been telling me how happy he has been with this product and I can see why. Took me about a hour to do the whole boat and trailer fenders and it added a noticeable shine and slickness. But..... there are lots of products that do this including Optimim Car Wax so I will see how it works after having the boat sitting in the lake for a week

keep us updated on the results with LAST COAT,thanks (i dont think the turtle ceramic is as good as last coat a buddy done his the same day with last coat and his looks better and repells water a lot better)

[rojoguio]

I recently applied Glidecoat's Pro Ceramic coating to my current restoration job before flipping the hull over on the trailer. The process is really heavy in prep for the professional grade product. It is a 2 part product so you have a few days then what's left cures in the can. I must say I have never seen a final finish product like this. A piece of fiberglass was coated each time I coated the boat for "testing purposes". After allowing a week to cure I took a screwdriver to the scrap glass and the screwdriver angle had to be close to straight on for the blade to drag and scratch the gelcoat. Yesterday while installing the side running lights I tried to use blue masking tape to hold the light in place to mark drill holes and the tape absolutely would not stick. Below is a picture from my restoration post, you can see the shine. Well the finish is as hard as it is shiny! The 400 grit scratch running surface was also coated with 4 coats and it even has a luster afterwards. Here is the link to the full post http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=1022839

Glidecoat 1.jpgGlidecoat 2.jpg

[Paintworx]

CWilt. Opti Coat does protect against UV but I would not depend on it totally protecting it from constant exposure. Mother Nature always wins these battles. But keeping protection on the boat is gonna help a lot.

Rojo. I have not heard of glidecoat but I think you are on the right track if it's a marine product. Most of the ceramic coatings are formulated to work with moder automotive paint as it crosslinks into the clear coat. My OptiCoat Rep told me that it will work on gelcoat but my gut feeling tells me that it is not going to be the same since gelcoat is more porous.

Maybe I need to apply it to one of the rear corner areas on my boat to test it out for the rest of the season and compare to the uncoated areas.

One concern that i have is that making the gunnels super slick is somewhat dangerous since I stand on them sometimes and people will step on em getting in the boat. Probably shouldn't be doing that anyway but it just seems to happen from time to time. There was a situation that happened in my area years ago where a guy had his boat (a big lake cruiser type of boat) detailed and the shop that did it put something on it that made it super slick and the owner stepped on the gunnel and slipped off, banging his head on the way into the water and he ended up drowning because it was dark and could not be saved. That story has always stuck with me and I a man very carefull choosing the products we use on boats. I always go for a good clean shine without a bunch of greasy cover up products. Ceramics should be perfect for this.

[wmitch2]

I've been using F-11 Top Coat and the results are fantastic !! It's a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way. I usually apply it after I've wiped it down at the ramp and then get home. It's amazing how good it make the motor and bracing look and are easy to wipe down. I don't have to use it every time, I do it about every 2 or 3 outings, but always wipe it down at the ramp. Not bad for a 19 yr old boat !!!

Get a $10 coupon here !!

http://i.refs.cc/mpL1CVKp?smile_ref=...pudWxsfQ%3D%3D

[electritek]

After making my post I went out to the shop and applied LastCoat on my 521VX. When I purchased the boat I did a full correction and a polymer sealant, the boat is in amazing condition and does not need any cover up products to bury oxidation or scratches.

That was last summer and since then I have just wiped the boat down with detail spray at the ramp every time I pull it out of the water. Doing this is probably more important than anything else as far as appearance maintenance.

I am going to have my boat sitting on the water for 5 days starting this Friday and I figured it would be a good way to test the LastCoat “ceramic” spray. My Detail shop foreman has been telling me how happy he has been with this product and I can see why. Took me about a hour to do the whole boat and trailer fenders and it added a noticeable shine and slickness. But..... there are lots of products that do this including Optimim Car Wax so I will see how it works after having the boat sitting in the lake for a week

Please give us feedback after you return.

[dblume]

I use Griots 3in 1 ceramic spay. It has carnival was and a UV protector. It works great. Did my boat, both cars and RV. I saw a guy at a park with his six year old fifth wheel. It looks new. He says it's always outside and he does it every 90 days.

[dblume]

Carnuba wax