OVERVIEW
Changing your “buff and wax ” plan from quarterly or annual to a ceramic coating could be scary. NaNo Coatings! Lets see: All that is out there over internet – some are misleading and others are just a straight lies. All that marketing fake will eventually tarnish the image of this great new product of Boat-Yacht paint protections. There are many different kinds of ceramic coatings, Most of them based on SiO2 (Silicon Dioxide) with different elements to get higher their characteristics as-water repellency, hardness, self healing, etc. This brings us to the story of Princess. After picky researching for the best yacht ceramic coating protection, Captain of Princess selected Aqua-Shield from ISHINE llc.
CHALLENGE
For a last 30 years, most of boat owners, selected the traditional maintenance program of buffing and waxing their toys to protect from the harsh marine conditions. We think its a time to change it for something new and good. As I am sure you have experienced yourself, wax does not hold up well over time. Wax can’t hold up for a few reasons;
• Does not bond with the pores of the Painted surface Wax is similar to sunscreen as it simply sits on the surface, not filling in the pores and bonding with the surface. This means that every time the boat is used, rinsed, or washed, you are effectively removing a layer of wax from the surface. As a result, salt and water will be able to get into the pores of the surface and start to cause damage
• Wax begins to evaporate at 43°C Here in UAE, it is quite often for the surface of the boats to be exposed to temperatures greater than 43°C. And, at this temperature, wax will start to evaporate, whereas, the Aqua-Shield Hybrid ceramic coating can withstand exposure to temperatures greater than 535°C
• Best wax is only a temporary solution Wax will be effective here in UAE if you are re-applying every 6-8 weeks, sometimes, sooner then that. Wax not bonding directly to the Painted surface, common use of the boat with exposure to water abrasion, salt, sun, washing, etc, will facilitate removing the wax. Without any protection, your boat or Yacht will start to experience the repercussions.
Back To a Princess Story
What’s interesting with Princess story? From the beginning, the captain was acquainted with ceramics through his friend. His friend had applied a ceramic coating to his fancy vehicle in I-SHINE Auto Spa and was amazed by the results. But, later, upon researching ceramic coatings, he discovered a huge number of options for the automotive sector, but almost nothing that are strictly focused in the marine industry.
Any yacht-boat owner who is decide a ceramic coating to be applied to his boat, got to be sure in a product he will apply.. Application of ceramic coating to a boat is different than an automobile and you should consider a coating that has been specifically designed for marine use.
Here at iSHINE, we have developed our hybrid ceramic coating product since 2010 to specifically resist harsh marine conditions. Aqua-Shield formula was designed to fight high temperatures, constant exposure to salt, chemicals and UV damage.
Now, back to the process of applying Aqua-Shield hybrid ceramic coating protection product to his Princess
The Service included applying different types of ceramic coatings to:
• Hull
• All stainless steel & brass parts and railings
• Transom part
• All exterior facing painted fiberglass on the top side and superstructure.
See the photos below, as upon first starting the work on the Princess we encountered salt all over the hull, considerable amount of dirt and watermarks on the surface, swirl marks and scratches from previous detailing jobs and inconsistent gloss meter readings.
Without any protection to the surface, salt and dirt will fall on the surface and get into the pores of the paint. Overtime, salt and Sun will cause of oxidization. Before any paint correction process, the glossymeter readings were as low as 38.9, with the highest reading of 75.3 on the transom.
THE PROCESS
The process of yacht ceramic coating protection is laborious. When we are working on a yachts or boats, our process at a minimum is 5 steps and can range more steps depending on the paint condition of the surface. High Quality and proper preparation and restoration is absolutely essential in case of Ceramic Coating application! The ceramic coating is absolutely transparent and it will simply lock the condition of the surface after paint correction will be done. Our process here at iSHINE is to use a glossy-meter to measure the current shine condition on a surface. When we arrived at Princess, we take glossymeter reading in various areas to get a full picture and understanding of the necessary correction steps.
Low glossy-meter numbers are normal for surface with wax The use of the glossy-meter has a a good points and benefits:
• Provides physical evidence of the surface shine A brand new yacht-boat out from the agency will have glossy-meter readings of 82 – 88. On Acrylic, usually you can see a bit higher numbers than on a gel coat.
• Check the performance of the Aqua-Shield ceramic coating From our laboratory and field testing, we guarantee the gloss meter readings will not go below 30% after the ceramic coating application. Therefore, on a Princess, the glossy-meter readings were as good as 97.4.
We can guarantee the glossy-meter tests in 1.5 year will be higher than 68. So! After total inspection we began our correction process by using our Compounds with a light cutting foam pad to remove the salt, water marks and existing scratches. After an initial assessment of the boat, after washing and checking again we start carefully application of Aqua-Shield Hybrid nano coating. Professionally done process will completely restore your boat’s surface to a perfect mirror shine and offers the ultimate protection available on a market now.
Here it comes! The real transformation. For now, we have finished the restoration-correction process to bring back the shine and color of the hull. With the surface now fully prepared and consistent we started the application of our Aqua-SHIELD ceramic coating.
• Applying two (2) coats of our marine ceramic coating, the coating will fill in all of the pores of the surface and after 72 hours of curing time, will create a protective barrier on the hull to prevent oxidization. After the curing process, the hull of the yacht looks like glass! You will be Surprised how a little of product can do a big job!
Once all done, the shine and finish of the hull is second to none! Before we start working on that beauty, glossy-meter readings was as low as 38.9 & 75 on the transom. After the Aqua-Shield treatment, we had glossymeter shows as high as 97.4!
Lets look at THE RESULT
