Graphene Coating

[Mahomee]

There is a a lot of bad info in this thread. Let me clear some things up.

Wax Graphene, ceramics, sio2, sealants are all very are different materials. Prep is all the same for the most part, application is very different. For most bass boats, carnauba is going to be easiest. I prefer a polymer sealants. Ceramic are good for things that don’t get touched a bunch. Graphene is newer and I dont have much experience.

I would never recommend anyone to just wet sand a boat without touching the gel coat first. That’s crazy to recommend. Gel coat correction can go very wrong very quickly.

your clear coat on your truck and rv are not the same as gel coat. While they can be treated similarly, they are not the same

Water spots are the minerals, impurities, etc left over after the water evaporated. Unless you dry you boat/vehicle or is pure water, you will have some water spots. Coatings help sheet water of so it reduces the amount and will
make it easier to clean

Waxes and sealants are essentially fats, washing them with dawn or degreaser wil strip your wax. Use wax safe marine or car wash. I buy soap based on the kind that smells good

I am assuming your talking to me, I did not say my truck had gel coat. I did say my rv had gel coat and I learned that about half way in, it was gel coat(same as a boat)..

ANY moron can buff, sand, prep gel coat. Paint and clear... not so much. Damage can be done in paint easily.


Yes after you ceramic your not suppose to go thru a contact car wash etc. As contact is what wears it down.

[Paintworx]

Doing any of these coatings is going to require at least a full day to “do it right” unless you have a fairly new boat that is not a dark color. I have never seen a boat or car that is sold brand new that doesn’t have considerable room for improvement. Most people do not care about things being as perfect as possible and you are lucky because life gets tough when you notice all those stupid little things.

The prep is the most important part of the job. The application of the coating is the easy part. Many people want to get right to the application and that’s fine but trust me… you are not getting a fraction of the benefits they offer. They will all work fine and better than not doing it at all, but not like it should or (could) look if you take your time. If you do not enjoy doing this type of stuff, I would suggest taking it to a high end detail shop and have them do it. Find a XPEL authorized shop. XPEL fusion Marine is the best Coating you will find. There’s a dealer locator on the XPEL site. I am not trying to sell anybody on this particular brand, it’s just the best one we have found and we see these new coatings popping up every day. OptiCoat also has a solid dealer network. But if you are interested in Paint Protection Film (PPF) as well (and you should) you will want to find a XPEL shop that does both. My engine and top cap are wrapped with PPF and there are several gouges and scrapes in the film that would have been into my metal flake for sure so this stuff should be applied when the boat is brand new or at least as polished/detailed out as it can get if it’s a used boat. It will stop almost all damage from regular use. If you rake you boat down a dock with rusty nails the film will slow it down but it has limits. It takes a lot to get through the film but usually if the film is damaged the boat will be unharmed.

I did not read all the posts but these “Coating” topics come up a lot so I figured I would throw in my 2 cents. I have been in the high end Detailing and Paint Protection biz for many years (Too Many:). And what I see the most in the DIY world is not having a good understanding the amount of time it takes to get top notch results. But I urge all of you that like diy tinkering to spend some money on equipment and products and your boat will look great and hold up to the elements and stay looking new for its entire life. I have a 2007 Ranger 521 that still looks showroom fresh”ish”. It’s an oldie so it has a couple beauty marks that all tell a story but it’s a good old Ranger. I spend/waste a lot of time detailing and tinkering with my boat all winter when our water is frozen.

It’s really therapeutic for some.

[Paintworx]

SORRY FOR DOUBLE POST. I can’t delete this one for some reason.






Doing any of these coatings is going to require at least a full day to “do it right” unless you have a fairly new boat that is not a dark color. I have never seen a boat or car that is sold brand new that doesn’t have considerable room for improvement. Most people do not care about things being as perfect as possible and you are lucky because life gets tough when you notice all those stupid little things.

The prep is the most important part of the job. The application of the coating is the easy part. Many people want to get right to the application and that’s fine but trust me… you are not getting a fraction of the benefits they offer. They will all work fine and better than not doing it at all, but not like it should or (could) look if you take your time. If you do not enjoy doing this type of stuff, I would suggest taking it to a high end detail shop and have them do it. Find a XPEL authorized shop. XPEL fusion Marine is the best Coating you will find. There’s a dealer locator on the XPEL site. I am not trying to sell anybody on this particular brand, it’s just the best one we have found. OptiCoat also has a solid dealer network. But if you are interested in Paint Protection Film (PPF) as well (and you should). My engine and top cap are wrapped with PPF and it has several gouges and scrapes in the film that would have been into my metal flake for sure.

I did not read all the posts but these “Coating” topics come up a lot so I figured I would throw in my 2 cents. I have been in the high end Detailing and Paint Protection biz for many years (Too Many:). And what I see the most in the DIY world is not having a good understanding the amount of time it takes to get top notch results. But I urge all of you that like diy tinkering to spend some money on equipment and products and your boat will look great and hold up to the elements and stay looking new for its entire life. I have a 2007 Ranger 521 that still looks showroom fresh”ish”. It’s an oldie so it has a couple beauty marks that all tell a story but it’s a good old Ranger. I spend/waste a lot of time detailing and tinkering with my boat all winter when our water is frozen.

It’s really therapeutic for some.

[donh1298]

For some background information, my boat is a 1986 Stratos 179V. It is in great condition as it was garage kept by the only 2 other owners. It is white, gold, black and gray with multi color glitter. I am looking for protection but also high gloss. It is a little dull. Not much but some. I am experienced wet sanding and polishing with a d/a polisher. I had a red and black Ranger I brought back from the dead. So, I'm not afraid of some time and work. If I can figure it out, I'll post a pic of my current boat.

20250306_120853.jpg

[adam_p]

Water spots should still be there, but a light wipe of your sleeve or rag and they are gone???

Not without something sprayed on it. Just spraying with water and wiping down helps so I do that a lot to save money. I keep a pump sprayer full of water and mist it down before I wipe. Detail sprays work better. Gtechniq C2V3 is the my favorite I've tried so far. Boat drip is decent, I use it every now and then when spots are bad since it has vinegar in it.

It is possible it is our water.

[Mahomee]

Not without something sprayed on it. Just spraying with water and wiping down helps so I do that a lot to save money. I keep a pump sprayer full of water and mist it down before I wipe. Detail sprays work better. Gtechniq C2V3 is the my favorite I've tried so far. Boat drip is decent, I use it every now and then when spots are bad since it has vinegar in it.

It is possible it is our water.

Again sounds like something is wrong with your professionally applied ceramic coating.

As I said I don't have to spray anything on my black motor to remove the water spots right now, but my coating is new. The coating does wear off.

Using some detailer or water will help not remove the ceramic coating while wiping down, but for test purposes I wiped some on my rv and boat dry and its mint.

Spots should not be BAD on ceramic coating the stuff is very slick sounds like you have worn yours off.

[lpugh]

Not without something sprayed on it. Just spraying with water and wiping down helps so I do that a lot to save money. I keep a pump sprayer full of water and mist it down before I wipe. Detail sprays work better. Gtechniq C2V3 is the my favorite I've tried so far. Boat drip is decent, I use it every now and then when spots are bad since it has vinegar in it.

It is possible it is our water.

Do not use anything that is acidic like vinegar or hot sauces as it will instantly remove almost all protectants except the better ceramics, good ceramics properly applied can only be removed by mechanical means, wet sanding with super fine paper 3000 and up and buffing
Vinger can be used at the beginning of your prep work for Appling high end coatings

[Aj14]

Good info here.