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Ceramic coating.

BigKahuna

BigKahuna

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Who's familiar with the ceramic coating of pontoons?!? There's a new detail shop that opened up near us. They'll detail anything and everything! Anyway I saw the sign for ceramic coating. So I went in and asked about the process (Very similar to Shark hide) and of course the price to do 3 entire pontoons. She quoted me....... $80-$100 a foot!!! Holy crap! She said that it will last 5 years! Thoughts?!?
 
Hopefully Tom will chime in.
 
Is this the same as the ceramic nano coating they put on cars? For the outrageous cost I'd need to see 2-3 mph and serious fuel savings to justify it. You can flash your motor to add HP and have enough leftover to go on a cruise with the wife (in 2022 or whenever)!
 
My research finds ceramic coating is the cats meow for awhile, but it has to be reapplied, and it's very expensive. Some are only applying it on the outside of the toons where oxidation would show. With it, it's just a simple wipe off to keep them looking like new. Some manufacturers now offer it as an option and recommend it, but I don't think they are saying 5 years.
 
I have Ceramic Pro on my Axopar top to bottom including hardware, upholstery, and trailer ~$135/ft for 3 years. The prep is the costly part, as they do a full "paint correction" similar to what is done for cars. We boat 100% in salt water, dry rack stored, so the ease of clean up and not having to detail it so frequently was worth it to me. The top layer is sacrificial so it does need a refresh every year or so to keep warranty in place. Overall I'm happy with the performance. Just beware, there are MANY who claim their coatings are "just like Ceramic Pro", but are nothing more than traditional wax. It takes a bit of homework. They were the original, so have a lot of experience, which you definitely pay for.

I don't really see it being beneficial for aluminum pontoon tubes in fresh water, if that is what you're looking for. It's done a decent job on my aluminum trailer, but I think Sharkhide may have been better in that case. Up North my painted steel trailer for the Benny was always indoors, looked like new (with Sharkhide on it), but this all aluminum trailer sits outdoors in the brutal SW Florida sun. It's just very difficult to compare.

I have it on my Tundra too, as well as paint protection film for the front end, and it has absolutely been worth it when washing the truck (by hand), huge difference. I'll always do it going forward.
 
Potomacbassin’ said:
Is this the same as the ceramic nano coating they put on cars? For the outrageous cost I'd need to see 2-3 mph and serious fuel savings to justify it. You can flash your motor to add HP and have enough leftover to go on a cruise with the wife (in 2022 or whenever)!
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Yes she was also talking about applying it to the painted portion of the pontoon boat. Expensive stuff!
 
TomS said:
I have Ceramic Pro on my Axopar top to bottom including hardware, upholstery, and trailer ~$135/ft for 3 years. The prep is the costly part, as they do a full "paint correction" similar to what is done for cars. We boat 100% in salt water, dry rack stored, so the ease of clean up and not having to detail it so frequently was worth it to me. The top layer is sacrificial so it does need a refresh every year or so to keep warranty in place. Overall I'm happy with the performance. Just beware, there are MANY who claim their coatings are "just like Ceramic Pro", but are nothing more than traditional wax. It takes a bit of homework. They were the original, so have a lot of experience, which you definitely pay for.

I don't really see it being beneficial for aluminum pontoon tubes in fresh water, if that is what you're looking for. It's done a decent job on my aluminum trailer, but I think Sharkhide may have been better in that case. Up North my painted steel trailer for the Benny was always indoors, looked like new (with Sharkhide on it), but this all aluminum trailer sits outdoors in the brutal SW Florida sun. It's just very difficult to compare.

I have it on my Tundra too, as well as paint protection film for the front end, and it has absolutely been worth it when washing the truck (by hand), huge difference. I'll always do it going forward.
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I've always had Sharkhide on my toons. I was just curious about the ceramic coating. Thx Tom!
 
ILLINOIS AVE said:
"I've always had Sharkide on my toons" also! Three Bennington's later I stand by it.
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Sharkhide has done an amazing job protecting our pontoons. From posts here, it seems like the water one boats in has a big impact on the effectiveness and longevity of it. I am glad it works well for us.

As for ceramic coating, I cannot imagine adding it to the boat due to expense and future re-application. However, I finally decided to try it out on our new vehicle this past August. OMG - AWESOME!!! I can safety say I will probably add it to every new vehicle we get from here on out. The shine, ease of cleaning, extra protection - for vehicles I will say it is absolutely worth it.
 
I still don't understand why they just don't paint the tubes. I had an Alum. Crestliner Sportfish for 20 years and the paint looked great. Never had to reapply anything other than cleaning.
 
Vikingstaff said:
Sharkhide has done an amazing job protecting our pontoons. From posts here, it seems like the water one boats in has a big impact on the effectiveness and longevity of it. I am glad it works well for us.

As for ceramic coating, I cannot imagine adding it to the boat due to expense and future re-application. However, I finally decided to try it out on our new vehicle this past August. OMG - AWESOME!!! I can safety say I will probably add it to every new vehicle we get from here on out. The shine, ease of cleaning, extra protection - for vehicles I will say it is absolutely worth it.
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Is the sharkhide something you do yourself? Looks like there is a cleaner product as well as a protective product. Do you do both when you apply? I know every situation / lake condition may be different but what would you say is a typical length of protection?? Our boat sits on a lift out of the water so that would not be an issue.
 
Google "sharkhide". The owner has several videos on how to do it, etc.. Yes, you can do it yourself, and it typically last several years if not left in the water.
 
I’m hoping Tom pulls up behind my house one day and takes me out!!
 
joc0623 said:
Is the sharkhide something you do yourself? Looks like there is a cleaner product as well as a protective product. Do you do both when you apply? I know every situation / lake condition may be different but what would you say is a typical length of protection?? Our boat sits on a lift out of the water so that would not be an issue.
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The Sharkhide guy is a vey nice man I've called him a few times he will answer any question you have. Like Big D said Google or Youtube it. Well worth you time and muscle to apply it
 
I have not reapplied it yet on my 2017. It came on the boat when I ordered it. It still looked good through last summer. I think it is heavily dependent on a lot of variable as to how long it lasts. Ours was on a lift, and now on Sea Legs when not in use, so it doesn‘t sit in the water either.

My guess is I should strip it off and reapply anytime now. However, without a trailer, I really don’t know how to pull that off. I also don‘t know of anyone locally that does that service, so no one to really hire for it either. So...hoping to squeeze another year or two out of it.
 
Vikingstaff said:
I have not reapplied it yet on my 2017. It came on the boat when I ordered it. It still looked good through last summer. I think it is heavily dependent on a lot of variable as to how long it lasts. Ours was on a lift, and now on Sea Legs when not in use, so it doesn‘t sit in the water either.

My guess is I should strip it off and reapply anytime now. However, without a trailer, I really don’t know how to pull that off. I also don‘t know of anyone locally that does that service, so no one to really hire for it either. So...hoping to squeeze another year or two out of it.
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Vikingstaff, You don't have to strip it down. Just wash toons with soap and water let them dry and reapply. I do it every year on my 2017.
 
ILLINOIS AVE said:
Vikingstaff, You don't have to strip it down. Just wash toons with soap and water let them dry and reapply. I do it every year on my 2017.
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Oh...I did not know that. Thanks for the insight. I thought you had to strip off the remnants of the old Sharkhide first before reapplying. That eliminates a big part of my concern. How thick is it and do you brush it on? When you reapply...if you are careful, can you do it without it dripping off the tunes?

In theory I could reach ALL of my toons with the boat up on its Sea Legs. However, it would be sitting over the water, so I wouldn’t want to drip any into the lake. Doable or not doable?
 
Definitely doable! Just take a cloth diaper or anything lint free and apply it by wiping in one motion and overlapping as you go. They give you good directions on the can. The only reason why I removed Sharkhide in the past was because it looked like crap below the water line so I removed it all gave it a good cleaning and then re-applied it. Do two or three coats so you're assured of not missing anywhere....
 
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