Ceramic coating on a new trailer

[John and Debbie]

Hi all,  I did a search on this topic and couldn't find anything,  but has anyone put a ceramic coating on a new trailer?   I would think the prep work is nil as no buffing is required.  Has anyone just bought the material and applied it right out of the can?  Does this make sense?   I have seen some videos of applying it with a rag and wiping it off.  Please direct me to a thread if one exists that has already covered this topic.  Thanks,  John

[johnwen]

We're getting hull #996 done by CGI next month in Murfreesboro, TN.  We saw hull# 67 on display at the rally and then made our decision.  We're probably going to do our 2019 Silverado as well.  It's just becoming quite a chore waxing them.  The Casita was a lot easier to do 🙂 

John

[SeaDawg]

Try looking here, but there are other threads,  scattered.

With a new hull, prep time will probably be less, but still necessary. Need to make sure the mold release agent/wax is gone.

Prep, of course, is a big factor in the process  and price.

[Jps190]

This highly depends on where you will be storing your trailer.  I have 2 vehicles with Opticoat pro ceramic on them.  My truck lives outside and my wires car lives in the garage.  If you are storing inside then I would say yes to ceramic on the trailer.  If storing outside then I would probably advise against it.  The coating I have is supposed to last "5 years".  Wife's car still looks immaculate, but the horizontal surfaces on my truck (hood and roof) appear to losing there hydrophobic properties after about 1.5 years.  If storing outside I would probably just wax it every 6 months or pay to have it done.  With ceramic if it starts to break down you have to remove it with mechanical means to start over which will add to the expense of maintaining your trailers appearance.  Wax is just wash/polish/wax again to be good as new.

 

John

[ScubaRx]

@Jps190 I’m not sure I follow your reasoning. It seems basackerds to me. My Elite II is the oldest one on the road. Hull #050. We had never waxed it, washed it a couple of times in the past 10 years. Always stored under cover. Had it ceramic coated and it looks better than the new ones being delivered today. 

[Patriot]

16 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

@Jps190 I’m not sure I follow your reasoning. It seems basackerds to me. My Elite II is the oldest one on the road. Hull #050. We had never waxed it, washed it a couple of times in the past 10 years. Always stored under cover. Had it ceramic coated and it looks better than the new ones being delivered today. 

The truth. 

[Mike and Carol]

25 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

@Jps190 I’m not sure I follow your reasoning. It seems basackerds to me. My Elite II is the oldest one on the road. Hull #050. We had never waxed it, washed it a couple of times in the past 10 years. Always stored under cover. Had it ceramic coated and it looks better than the new ones being delivered today. 

I checked out 050 at the rally and it did look good.  Those guys did a good job.  As soon as we’re home for a while, or in Tennessee, I’m going to get my trailer ceramiced too.  Mike

[Jps190]

29 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

@Jps190 I’m not sure I follow your reasoning. It seems basackerds to me. My Elite II is the oldest one on the road. Hull #050. We had never waxed it, washed it a couple of times in the past 10 years. Always stored under cover. Had it ceramic coated and it looks better than the new ones being delivered today. 

When did you have the ceramic applied?  10 years ago or recently?  If it was recently then it will obviously look as good or better than new ones.  All fiberglass (Gelcoat)  can be made to look new (within reason). The prepping process assures that the gelcoat will look like new before the coating is applied.  I am talking about the longevity of the coating.  If storing outside in the elements the life of the coating will be drastically reduced as opposed to storing indoors or under cover.  My point was that the value (lifetime) of the coating will be dependent on your storage conditions.  If storing outside uncovered like I do then I personally don't believe it is worth the price.

 

John

[ScubaRx]

@Mike and CarolIs “ceramiced” even a word?

[Mike and Carol]

2 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

@Mike and CarolIs “ceramiced” even a word?

It is now.  I wasn’t sure how to spell it!

[ScubaRx]

Just now, Mike and Carol said:

It is now.  I wasn’t sure how to spell it!

It’s my new word of the day. Now I just need to work it into a conversation. 

[Mike and Carol]

4 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

It’s my new word of the day. Now I just need to work it into a conversation. 

It’s the past tense of “to ceramic”.  Yesterday, I ceramiced my trailer.  Maybe there should be a “k” in there.  Yesterday, I ceramicked my trailer. 🤓

[Patriot]

9 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

It’s the past tense of “to ceramic”.  Yesterday, I ceramiced my trailer.  Maybe there should be a “k” in there.  Yesterday, I ceramicked my trailer. 🤓

100% total recovery! 👍🏻 😅

[SeaDawg]

@Jps190, I'm with you. I'll wait and see.

Our 2008, waxed twice yearly, with quality, uv protection carnuba based wax, still looks great, stored outside 24/7/365. We also wash it frequently, with marine soap.  

My only tangential experience with ceramic coating was my neighbor's 28 ft boat. Took two days to complete. Lasted 2 years in Florida sun and salt spray. Our boats do better/look better than that with twice yearly wax, and far less costly. My neighbor sold the boat, so didn't care. I would.

I'd look for a local mobile detailer if I didn't want to keep up with waxing routines.

Everyone has to follow their gut on this decision.  Either way, if not diy, it's  a high $$$ investment. 

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, SeaDawg said:

 

Everyone has to follow their gut on this decision.  Either way, if not diy, it's  a high $$$ investment. 

I might pay high $$$ so I can say I ceramicked my trailer.

[Mountainman198]

5 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

I might pay high $$$ so I can say I ceramicked my trailer.

I am a huge fan of Mr. Miyagi.  Wax-on, Wax-off.  Found several tins of the discontinued, 3M Marine Ultra paste wax. Its pretty easy to apply and buffs out nice.  Plus, It gets me ready for the Summer Parade Season with my parade wave (elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist).  🤪

[SeaDawg]

35 minutes ago, Mountainman198 said:

3M Marine Ultra paste wax. Its pretty easy to apply and buffs out nice.  Plus, It gets me ready for the Summer Parade Season with my parade wave (elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist).  🤪

I'm really missing 3m ultra marine. We've been using a collinite wax. Not as easy,  but great results. 

The good news, collinite gives much more practice on the royal parade wave....

Hope mr. Miyagi approves. Lol.

[AlbertNTerri]

On 5/30/2022 at 7:22 PM, Mike and Carol said:

It’s the past tense of “to ceramic”.  Yesterday, I ceramiced my trailer.  Maybe there should be a “k” in there.  Yesterday, I ceramicked my trailer. 🤓

The British version is pronounced Sera-Mikkdt

[John and Debbie]

16 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

@Jps190, I'm with you. I'll wait and see.

Our 2008, waxed twice yearly, with quality, uv protection carnuba based wax, still looks great, stored outside 24/7/365. We also wash it frequently, with marine soap.  

My only tangential experience with ceramic coating was my neighbor's 28 ft boat. Took two days to complete. Lasted 2 years in Florida sun and salt spray. Our boats do better/look better than that with twice yearly wax, and far less costly. My neighbor sold the boat, so didn't care. I would.

I'd look for a local mobile detailer if I didn't want to keep up with waxing routines.

Everyone has to follow their gut on this decision.  Either way, if not diy, it's  a high $$$ investment. 

"Our 2008, waxed twice yearly, with quality, uv protection carnuba based wax, still looks great, stored outside 24/7/365. We also wash it frequently, with marine soap."

What are the names of those two products?   Do you use the clay bar to buff?   I saw that mentioned somewhere on a thread. 

[SeaDawg]

We've never used a clay bar.

We used to use 3m ultra paste wax. Now we use collinite marine paste wax, (#885, Fleetwood, blue and white can) since 3m discontinued the ultra.

West marine boat soap, the pink one .

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, John Welte said:

 Do you use the clay bar to buff?   I saw that mentioned somewhere on a thread. 

Clay bars don’t really buff anything.  They do the serious cleaning.  After you wash and dry, you spray on a solution (I use a spray quick detailer) for lubrication then rub with the clay and it picks up everything that isn’t supposed to be there leaving a very smooth surface.  Wax is after.

[Dave Mazone]

So, all, what can one expect a detailer to charge for say a wax or a ceramic service?

I live in California, so I'll double yoir figure and tax myself to death.

[AndrewK]

Dave,

A wash, polish and wax in San Diego is $400.

Andrew

[rideandfly]

Been thinking about the ceramic coating process for Ollie, but decided to follow Bradger's advice in the following thread and purchase a dual action orbital polisher. We have always hand waxed our vehicles, boats, and Ollie. Going to practice on our 2003 Toyota Tacoma with the orbital polisher first, if that works out, the 2022 Tundra is next, and last will be Ollie. Been watching several Youtube videos by Drakes Detailing.