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Question Ceramic coating worth it or not?

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sheridany

RVF Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Messages
1,879
Location
Orinda, CA
RV Year
2023
RV Make
Prevost
RV Model
Marathon #1361
RV Length
45
Chassis
Prevost
Engine
Volvo D13
TOW/TOAD
2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Fulltimer
No
I have been reading up on ceramic coating and making a decision eventually whether I want to ceramic coat my coach or not. I hear a lot of different opinions from experienced detailers about it and it’s very expensive. The process is a minimum of 3 days and one quote I got was $105 a linear foot for paint correction (which is a must) and coating.
 
$$o_O
 
What does Marathon say on this? I know what someone else 'round here is gonna say :) If you have the right people and vault of ?I'd say do it.
 
I know @redbaron had his previous coach completely done with scratches/swirling removed, clay treated and ceramic coating applied. I think he swears by it. Wonder if the new LA will get the same treatment. Personally I’m happy with a good yearly waxing, but that’s just me.
 
Personally I’m happy with a good yearly waxing, but that’s just me.
Hopefully we will hear from @redbaron about what he thinks and whether he will do it to his LADP.

I had an experienced detailer tell me he was not sold on ceramic as his testing on his own cars did not yield that much better protection than good routine waxing and proper washing. If you take the quote I got at 105 per foot you are at almost $5K. How much is a good wax and I wonder how many wax treatments can I get before I am at the same cost is the question going around in my head.

What does Marathon say on this?
I have not asked them yet but I will at delivery.
 
We considered having our coach ceramic-coated and got a quote from a trusted detailed. It was $6K for a 40’ coach. That’s $150/foot. He did stress the need for careful preparation (clay treatment) in order to get a good finished result. The quality of the paint finish apparently has everything to do with the quality of the ceramic coating. We opted not to have it done.

TJ
 
How much is a good wax and I wonder how many wax treatments can I get before I am at the same cost is the question going around in my head.
$10/ft for a wash and hand wax with two guys working all day on my 40 footer. That gives me 10-15 years of a top notch cleaning & waxing of my coach, having it done each year.
 
I am with J&JD. It is not worth it. 6 months after I got my Mountain Aire I paid $6000 for ceramic coating with a 2 year warranty, I was not impressed. I should have invested in a top notch cleaning & waxing every year and used the $6000 to buy bitcoins. ?
 
As you all know, I have spent a lot of time researching and talking about ceramic coating.

Let me clarify briefly some of the major points of ceramic coating.
* Protects the clear coat
* By protecting the clear coat, it protects the paint
* Replaces the need to wax. The purpose of wax is to protect the clear coat
* The hardness levels determine how long the product will last-- under perfect conditions
* Must still wash *regularly* and protect the paint from normal things like bugs, bird poo, etc
* Must check the consistency regularly.
* Forget about the warranties---they don't matter
* Paint correction is the key, and the reason you pay the big bucks.

Now for some details:
My 2019DSDP looked terrible from the factory. It had many burn marks from a poor polishing job. Every time you wash a BASF clear coat, it will show micro scratches. It is very soft. Newmar recognized this early on, and blamed the brushes, saying go with lambs wool.

Anytime you wash anything, you should use the 2 bucket method, with a soft (micro fiber / lambs wool) material, that is then rinsed in 2 buckets between each stroke.

I will not get into the great detail about washing--I could do a whole series on that. The point is that paint correction, once done, should be protected. I had my coach paint corrected, and then protected that finish with ceramic coating.

The ceramic coating I chose was a 9H, and I put 3 layers on. The marketing tells you this is a 7 year guarantee. Read the fine print and you realize there is nothing really being guaranteed.

Annually the entire coach needs to be washed and inspected for hydrophobic properties (does water just run off easily or collect). A good installer will charge $10/ft to do an annual maintenance on a ceramic coated RV, and include a top coat of ceramic that will build up whats already there. By starting with 2 layers of 9H, and keeping up with annual top coats, you will never have to strip the ceramic and start over. Even better, you will never have to paint correct again.

The cost of paint correction is what you are really paying for in that $150/ft price. That is on the high side, but about what I paid for one that needed 40+hrs of paint correction. You don't want to rush this job.

If you don't care about the micro swirls, and don't see them, then you can save yourself a lot of money by skipping the paint correction and doing just the paint prep and ceramic coating. Those prices go for $30-40/ft for an RV. They call this a 1-stage paint correction and it involves a clay wash, and quick pass polish before coating.

The next level from ceramic coatings is the Paint Protection Film. I did 80% of my 2021 BMW M3 CS with PPF, and then ceramic coated ontop of that. The PPF is much better than the junk that Newmar installs on the front of our coaches. It is self healing, prevents scratches, and does not require any special maintenance. Bugs clean off so easily, I have already decided that I will be doing this on the LA, covering the entire front cap, and then down both sides on below the slides.

This year I have had PPF and ceramic coating done to 4 new vehicles, and 1 older car. My 2011 black suburban was showing signs of clear coat failure. By doing the paint correction on it, and then applying ceramic coating, I have frozen the failure in place. It looks so much better now, and I know it won't get any worse.

@sheridany I think your coach would greatly benefit from a ceramic coating. Every time you wash it, the coach will look like it was freshly waxed. The paint you have on there is some of the very best, and this is an investment in protecting it for the future.
 
It's a very labor intensive process. My humble opinion, if you spend the same amount to time prepping the paint and used a quality wax at least once a year, your results would be the same.
I have spent a week detailing the paint on my cars that already look showroom nice. Most of them have been black or red. Have not used ceramic on one yet.
Here is a Wizards video showing the process to give you a idea just how labor intensive it is.
 

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