Boat is getting a makeover (ceramic coating)

[Wee Venture]

Decided to ante up and get our R-31CB ceramic coated. Kevin VanderHeyden of Premier Custom Ceramic Coating is doing the work while the boat is hauled out at CSR Marine in Des Moines (Washington) for new bottom paint and a bit of other work. He’s also doing some gelcoat repair where dockbox rivets put scratches in the hull during a storm. We had been noticing some oxidation in our “hero red” hull as well as frustrations in keeping the boat looking clean so we decided to take the risk that this treatment will keep the boat looking shiny and new for some years to come with no waxing and only minor maintenance. I’ll post before and after pictures when the job is done.

John

 

[MV Toujours]

Decided to ante up and get our R-31CB ceramic coated. Kevin VanderHeyden of Premier Custom Ceramic Coating is doing the work while the boat is hauled out at CSR Marine in Des Moines (Washington) for new bottom paint and a bit of other work. He’s also doing some gelcoat repair where dockbox rivets put scratches in the hull during a storm. We had been noticing some oxidation in our “hero red” hull as well as frustrations in keeping the boat looking clean so we decided to take the risk that this treatment will keep the boat looking shiny and new for some years to come with no waxing and only minor maintenance. I’ll post before and after pictures when the job is done.

John

John,

I plan to have mine ceramic coated next spring here in Portland.

What areas are you having treated?

When it's all done, I'm interested in knowing what the final bill was.

Thanks.

Patrick and Joni

 

[Kaptajnen]

As an alternative to ceramic coating, I suggest you check out Prism Graphics in Seattle. They wrap hulls above the waterline with vinyl, which provides a durable and beautiful way to protect the original paint. We had our R31-SE wrapped two years ago, right before delivery while it was at the Ranger Tugs facility in Des Moines, but Prism Graphics normally wrap boats inside their large facility in South Seattle.

I can’t say enough about the high quality of their product and workmanship. The boat looks a pristine as the day it was delivered. There is a recent photo in my album, but I forgot how to link it to a post.

Anyway check them out at their website, which has lots of photos and testimonials.

https://www.prismgraphics.com/boats

 

[Wee Venture]

I plan to have mine ceramic coated next spring here in Portland.
What areas are you having treated?

We’re having the entire exterior of the boat done, including the non-skid. If that ends up being a bit too slippery, I might have to do something to tone it down a bit. But if the idea is to make the boat easy to clean (just rinse off) and keep it clean, I want to treat as much of the boat as possible.

We are not having the ceramic coating applied to the bottom however. CSR is doing standard bottom paint.

Claus, I did consider vinyl wrapping also. I’m delighted it has worked out so well for you. Maybe I’m prejudiced. I just remember vinyl floors in my home years ago that started out shiny but ended up looking dingy and even getting little rips. And vinyl graphics on our previous boat that looked faded and starting to fray a bit at the edges after a few years. Vinyl is softer than ceramic. Of course the vinyl layer that is applied is much thicker. I know the ceramic coating will not last forever either but my guess is it will be easier to renew. We’ll see.

John

 

[Brian98133]

John, we had Kevin coat our non-skid areas as well, and have found that it's not as slippery as we had thought. Happy we did it!

After 3.5 months, the coating is holding up very well! Water still seems scared silly to hang on to the gelcoat 😎

I've had cars coated with ceramic as well, and for many years now. It's important to heed Kevin's instructions on care! Plus, it's easier than ever than ever to clean after each outing!

While admittedly not done 'scientifically'... I did have Kevin coat the bottom (we're on the hard, so no need for bottom paint), and have gained about 2-3 MPH (at 4500 rpm) as compared to before the coating. I make note every time I'm out, and at 4500 I would average about 24 MPH with standard load (gear, fuel, water, etc.) - and now average 27 MPH. 😀

IMO, you'll be extremely happy with the end product!

 

[Wee Venture]

Well, the job is done and we are delighted with the results. Kevin is a perfectionist and it shows in his work. We have had the boat over three years now and done a lot of cruising. It has been moored out in the open the entire time, with no protection from the sun and the elements. And I am embarrassed to say I have not waxed it in that time.

So we were not sure how well it could be restored. There was a fair amount of oxidation and our beautiful “hero red” color choice - which we loved - was slowly losing its vibrancy and sliding toward an off shade of pink. And to add insult to injury, there were scratches through the gelcoat on the forward hull where the bow had scraped on the rivets of a dock box during a storm.

It turns out I needn’t have worried. Kevin promised he would return the boat to us “better than new” and I have to say he delivered. Our hero red hull is back in all its glory, the white decks and command bridge are shining, the rust stains around the railing bases are gone and the tan, horizontal “official Ranger stripe” (which was getting badly oxidized) is glowing again. He had to painstakingly detail all of the grooves in that stripe by hand.

Kevin tells us that the boat should stay clean now with just a rinse and that if we spray it with a special renewing solution every six months (no waxing or buffing required), the protection should last indefinitely. Admittedly it hasn’t been very long but so far dirt and spills have just disappeared with just a little spray of water or a swipe with a rag.

As promised, I am posting “before and after” pictures. You can click on the pictures to see the larger versions that are in my album.

John,

I plan to have mine ceramic coated next spring here in Portland.

What areas are you having treated?

When it's all done, I'm interested in knowing what the final bill was.

Thanks.

Patrick and Joni

The bottom line was $4,500 (plus sales tax but you don’t have to worry about that in Oregon). That included the entire exterior of our R-31CB (except the bottom), including the hull, decks, cockpit, flybridge, swim step, etc., and in addition to the ceramic coating itself, it included all the oxidation removal, gelcoat repair and detailing. We definitely feel like we got our money’s worth.

So here are pics. "Before":



And "After":

. .


John

 

[Dumluck27]

She looks beautiful! What a change! Thanks for the great information. Something to consider for sure.

 

[zekeandboone]

Wow!!!! Looks great!
Kevin is an artist, and a nice guy!

 

[vertigo]

Well, the job is done and we are delighted with the results. Kevin is a perfectionist and it shows in his work. We have had the boat over three years now and done a lot of cruising. It has been moored out in the open the entire time, with no protection from the sun and the elements. And I am embarrassed to say I have not waxed it in that time.

So we were not sure how well it could be restored. There was a fair amount of oxidation and our beautiful “hero red” color choice - which we loved - was slowly losing its vibrancy and sliding toward an off shade of pink. And to add insult to injury, there were scratches through the gelcoat on the forward hull where the bow had scraped on the rivets of a dock box during a storm.

It turns out I needn’t have worried. Kevin promised he would return the boat to us “better than new” and I have to say he delivered. Our hero red hull is back in all its glory, the white decks and command bridge are shining, the rust stains around the railing bases are gone and the tan, horizontal “official Ranger stripe” (which was getting badly oxidized) is glowing again. He had to painstakingly detail all of the grooves in that stripe by hand.

Kevin tells us that the boat should stay clean now with just a rinse and that if we spray it with a special renewing solution every six months (no waxing or buffing required), the protection should last indefinitely. Admittedly it hasn’t been very long but so far dirt and spills have just disappeared with just a little spray of water or a swipe with a rag.

As promised, I am posting “before and after” pictures. You can click on the pictures to see the larger versions that are in my album.

John,

I plan to have mine ceramic coated next spring here in Portland.

What areas are you having treated?

When it's all done, I'm interested in knowing what the final bill was.

Thanks.

Patrick and Joni

The bottom line was $4,500 (plus sales tax but you don’t have to worry about that in Oregon). That included the entire exterior of our R-31CB (except the bottom), including the hull, decks, cockpit, flybridge, swim step, etc., and in addition to the ceramic coating itself, it included all the oxidation removal, gelcoat repair and detailing. We definitely feel like we got our money’s worth.

So here are pics. "Before":



And "After":



John

Outstanding!!

 

[SLyle01]

Congrats, looks great...but of course you could haul, powerwash AND apply 3 coats of hand-wax on hulls -TWICE a season (we pay $175 for haulout/washdown/launch and $250 per waxing) for five (5) seasons for that $4500.
P.S. Does anyone 'guarantee' ceramics will still look 'new' in five years?

 

[Wee Venture]

Congrats, looks great...but of course you could haul, powerwash AND apply 3 coats of hand-wax on hulls -TWICE a season (we pay $175 for haulout/washdown/launch and $250 per waxing) for five (5) seasons for that $4500.
P.S. Does anyone 'guarantee' ceramics will still look 'new' in five years?

Thanks. Regarding the math, I did run the numbers and it works out a little differently for us here. For starters, we paid $248 just for the round trip haul out (not included in the $4,500). And most haul out services here will not allow owners or people not contracted with them to work on the boat while it is on the hard. And I believe your figures are for a 27’. We are having to contend with more surface area with a 31’ plus flybridge. And the work involved was far more than a wash and wax. It included a great deal of painstaking oxidation removal and deep cleaning. Kevin even washed the canvasses that I had left to protect the flybridge seating and equipment, which I didn’t expect. And that figure also included gelcoat repair where dock box rivets had engraved white scratches through the red gelcoat on the bow.

Regarding a guarantee, I know that the longevity of the finish will depend on my diligence in spraying down the boat twice a year with the special sauce and then rinsing. But I trust myself to do this where I don’t trust myself to thoroughly wash, wax and buff twice a year. When we bought the boat I had good intentions but it didn’t happen. This is partly because we keep the boat year round in the water and logistics is a problem. The one guarantee I am sure of is that if I didn’t do something differently, the boat would continue to look worse every year. And that is not just an aesthetics issue but a real monetary loss in value.

John

 

[scross]

John,
Just curious if you considered refinishing the hull and darker colored trim pieces AwlGrip or something similar. Sounds like the prep that was done was very close to prepping for AwlGrip. Thinking the cost differences between ceramic and refinishing would not have been that much different.

 

[Brian98133]

Of course, every situation is different. However, I can certainly speak to a few things here.

First, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Kevin did our boat as well, and although ours was only 6 months old when he did the ceramic, there was much color-correcting (a term I learned refers to hard polishing/buffing the original surface to bring it to it's smoothest iteration), which when done was amazing! It looked better than new!

Longevity and durability: I admittedly do not yet have much history in the marine area of ceramic coating, but I can definitely speak to ceramic coating of cars. I had my car color-corrected and ceramic coated over 3 years ago. I have taken care to perform the relatively easy task of putting on a ceramic "serum" twice a year - a process that takes about 1/2 hour and won't break a sweat. I am fairly fussy about the cleanliness of my vehicles (including our Tug), and don't like when it's dirty. With ceramic, even after over 3 years, I hardly use soap... just a good stiff rinse and she's good to go. I use a light soap about once a month... whereas I used to soap down every week. So, it's held up very well!

I have to believe that the pummeling my car gets with dust at high speeds :mrgreen: and road grime, etc. is much more harsh than the marine environment to which the Tug is exposed. So, if the ceramic on the car has held up perfectly to date... I expect (with proper care) the boat's ceramic will probably exceed that.

Regarding the math: Before my Tug, I had a dark blue Sea Ray Amberjack that had gotten badly oxidized on the starboard side (exposed to the sun while on the hard). No amount of polish held up more than a month at best before the oxidation reared it's ugly head again. Every 6 months I had to hire someone to spend a couple days buffing/polishing/wet sanding, etc. to keep it looking decent. It cost me about $1K every 6 months (I don't enjoy the polishing aspect of cleaning a vehicle, so I'd rather hire it out). Based on this math, at about the 18 month mark, the ceramic will have paid for itself. I believe it will last many years beyond the 18 months... so I have saved MUCH money having Kevin apply ceramic! PLUS... I now have a boat that is the envy of the marina! 😀 And, that's every day, not just for a month every 6 months!

Couldn't be happier! Give Kevin at Premier Custom Ceramic Coating a call! He's a perfectionist, and our 'investments' are certainly worth it!

 

[FlyMeAway]

Posting mostly to follow this thread. Also located on Seattle. Looking at a
29/31 tugs. On my last boat it was nearly $2k every year for an annual buff and wax; not something I have time to do myself and definitely necessary with gelcoat. The idea of paying $4k once with minimal upkeep sounds very appealing.

 

[Wee Venture]

Note: I noticed my Before and After pics were rotated 90° when you clicked on them. So I went back and edited that post to display the pictures correctly. It’s about eight posts back in this thread, if you’d like to see the pics without straining your neck from tilting your head.

John,
Just curious if you considered refinishing the hull and darker colored trim pieces AwlGrip or something similar. Sounds like the prep that was done was very close to prepping for AwlGrip. Thinking the cost differences between ceramic and refinishing would not have been that much different.

I have heard AwlGrip makes great products though I haven’t personally used them. I think that would be a great solution if the finish on our boat was badly damaged or impractical to repair. But we loved the look of our boat as originally delivered and the idea of restoring it to equal or surpass its original glory was very attractive to us, rather than sanding and painting over the gelcoat. Also, by getting it ceramic coated, we ended up getting the entire boat treated, including the white decks and flybridge—not just the colored hull and stripe.

John

 

[rick.southard]

John,

It looks like it has been more than a year since you had it coated. How do you feel about it now? Still beautiful? How difficult was it to apply the maintenance treatment?

 

[PNWTX]

John,

It looks like it has been more than a year since you had it coated. How do you feel about it now? Still beautiful? How difficult was it to apply the maintenance treatment?

Yes! Would be very interested to hear how durability and maintenance has gone in the first year.

 

[Wee Venture]

John,

It looks like it has been more than a year since you had it coated. How do you feel about it now? Still beautiful? How difficult was it to apply the maintenance treatment?

You guys are keeping me accountable. This post actually came on the very day that I had set on my reminder calendar to remind me to do the maintenance coating. Our boat was originally coated (by Kevin VanderHeyden of Premier Custom Ceramic Coating) in the first half of September, 2020. So we are at the six month point now. Time to do a maintenance coating.

The boat is still shiny and looking like new. The “hero red” color, which we love, is still rich and deep and showing no signs of oxidation (though it is true that UV from the sun has not been a major factor during the fall and winter here in the Pacific Northwest). Water still beads and runs off leaving it always looking clean. While the horizontal white surfaces can collect a thin layer of dirt/soot/pollen over time giving it a slightly off-white appearance in places, I find that just spraying the deck area with a hose easily washes that all off again.

Maintenance treatment will involve cleaning the boat by spraying it down with water, using a special mild soap where and if there are areas that warrant it, then spraying it again with the maintenance coating, which can be applied with a spray unit that attaches to a garden hose. After the treatment is applied, the boat can be wiped down with microfiber rags or blown dry with a leaf blower. And that’s it for another six months.

I believe it will prove to be a great investment to preserve the value of the boat, not to mention our own enjoyment factor. I’ll give you another status report after the first maintenance treatment.

John