Film experience

Chimo

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 24, 2016
Messages
747
Fluid Motion Model
C-26
Vessel Name
Chimo
MMSI Number
316033437
I usually wax the hull every year using Meguiar's Pure Wax. The boat is in its fifth year and has not needed a polish so far, probably because it is kept in-water in a boathouse. One problem I discovered early on was that the bow is permanently bouncing off the V sides of the boathouse deck. This really happens when it's windy or there's a storm and the whole afair rocks around. I have edging on the deck which supposedly is non-marking but I know that anything (fenders etc.) with a nice coat of salt acts like a grinder on fiberglass. I try to rinse with Salt-Away regularly but there's always salt around.

It has been 4 years now since I applied two rectangles, about 24 x 12" of 3M film to the areas subject to grinding. There are several qualities of the film and I went with the stuff used on Porsche front ends to protect against rock chips. It wasn't cheap, about $50 a side but it seems to have worked well. If you look carefully at the pictures the film can be seen but usually are not noticeable.
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I have the same issue. Excellent idea! Thank you for sharing.
 
Dumluck27":17iuol1x said:
I have the same issue. Excellent idea! Thank you for sharing.


Thanks, I was thinking that it might be interesting for anyone who suffers from Fender Rash etc. In discussions about painting or ceramic coating the durability of film is not seen as very good. Just pointing out that this film has seen salt grinding for almost 4 years with an occasional wash being the only maintenance.
 
Yes the fender protection film is a great idea. We have been doing it on the boats we Ceramic coat with a self healing film and so far people love it. Thanks for bringing up the subject! Kevin
 
Very nice. We recently had ceramic coating added (love it so far) by Kevin VanderHeyden -- fellow RT owner and TugNut contributor. He suggested doing exactly the same thing: adding film for protection, in our case from general fender rash.

When he did the ceramic coating, Kevin added film for all six of our typical fender locations. Can barely see it, but it adds a lot of protection!
 
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