Car/Boat Detailing- Ceramic Coating

[warthog]

Anyone else messing around with ceramic coatings?

I tried a couple on my Jeep- mostly the spray on hose off kind. Great results on a 41 year old paint job.

The boat has been another project entirely. I started buffing it in September. The gelcoat was pretty chalky, but not too far gone.
1 pass with Aquabuff 2000, 1 pass with 3M Finesse It II, and wipe down with Denatured Alcohol.
Just put the first coat of ceramic on 2/3 of one side today. This stuff is magic. Glidecoat Liquid Crystal.

During- front of boat is untouched, rear is Aquabuff only. As usual, I forgot to take any good before pics.





2/3 of port side done.




Really impressed with this stuff. I am going to do my wife's SUV next. Planning to use the same product, but their automotive version.

If anyone else is playing around with ceramics, post up some pictures.

[iceman]

Looks sharp. Post up some pics of your wife's suv when you do it please

[warthog]

Glad that said SUV. Cause, you know... TGR

[warthog]

Round 2 results- front and very back port side done.
This really show the difference of old vs new.

[4matic]

Mostly the polish makes it look good vs the coating. Nice work.

[warthog]

Yes, but the coating will keep it looking like that, hopefully. Supposed to last 18 months.
Thanks. Saving myself $5,000 never hurt so good.

[Mazderati]

Are you doing above the waterline only or the whole hull?

[warthog]

Hull and rails first- whatever I have left in the bottle will go inside. You don't do the bottom- that can be dangerous, as it can slip on the lift, or fall off the forklift at the mechanic.
I can do the interior slowly. The hull is a bitch due to being on the lift, so I want to get it done while it is actually cool out and low humidity.

[4matic]

I’ve used it in. On cars. It’s not miracle sauce. Contaminants can still get through it. You can’t polish it once it’s on. Only wax.

[SB]

Looks good.

My go to surface coating on my kayaks was always multiple wet sandings then a micro layer of epoxy. A pretty different animal but I got great results particularly when I had an adventure race coming up.

The old sail boat speed cheat method was to coat hull with liquid soap and let dry, then drop boat in water just before the race. If they caught you with soap bubbles in your wake you got DQd.

[warthog]

I’ve used it in. On cars. It’s not miracle sauce. Contaminants can still get through it. You can’t polish it once it’s on. Only wax.

Why would you wax over it? The point is, I won't need to polish or wax. Only hose it off. There are 1 and 2 year test cases on Glidecoat's website. I trust the research so far, but we shall see.

[iceman]

Yeah I don't get why you'd want to put something on it if it works as advertised, that's defeating the whole point.

[Timberridge]

You don't do the bottom- that can be dangerous, as it can slip on the lift, or fall off the forklift at the mechanic.

Can I use this on the bottom of my skis?

I currently use a non-caloric silicon-based kitchen lubricant which creates a surface 500 times more slippery than any cooking oil but it wears off rather quickly.

[iceman]

^^that reminds me, do people still use Zardoz Notwax? Just wondering. I used it for a while but just kinda stopped after a while. It did seem to work pretty well although it didn't last very long but at least it ws super easy and quick to apply. There was a thing where some people claimed it really helped with arthritis, supppsedly it gets into your cartilage and makes it slipperier. Probably while also causing cancer but you gotta pay to play amirite?

https://www.zardozboost.com

[BmillsSkier]

Can I use this on the bottom of my skis?

I currently use a non-caloric silicon-based kitchen lubricant which creates a surface 500 times more slippery than any cooking oil but it wears off rather quickly.

Clark, you are a genius when it comes to food additives.