Clear Coat - Pros and Cons

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:18 am

I recently had my classic T-bird in for clear coat application from Ziebart. It did an amazing job and lasts for an entire year and protects against a lot of airborne pollutants.

It got me to wondering if there was anything available to put on my tri-cabin and restore its finish to showroom state. I found this product which claims to do just that for fiberglass and other materials.

I am thinking about trying it out.

Has anyone had any experience with clear coats on fiberglass boats and what has been your conclusions? Any input would be appreciated.

http://www.vivilon.com/product_list.html

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:57 am

Corvettes have clear coat ...

Don't see why you couldn't sand it out with 1200 grit and spray on a good 2-part urethane like Awlgrip ...
but if you did all that work, why not just spray on new white?

Not sure about these Ziebert coatings on a boat. Are you in salt water?

jefflaw35 · Post by **jefflaw35** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:18 am

Ive repainted 4 boats over the past 10 years with auto dupont 72400. All 4 boats are still on the salt water with no complaints and still dont need to be refinished yet. Alexseal makes a clear coat as well. I suggest respraying the white. You wont be able to sand out all the stains imo

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:08 am

rossjo wrote:Corvettes have clear coat ...

Don't see why you couldn't sand it out with 1200 grit and spray on a good 2-part urethane like Awlgrip ...
but if you did all that work, why not just spray on new white?

Not sure about these Ziebert coatings on a boat. Are you in salt water?

I wasn't intending to use anything form Ziebart - that was just the catalyst that caused me to begin to research the subject and lead me to the link I posted.

I am not in salt water and according to the product information, cleaning is required but not sanding.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:56 pm

K9th,

At the risk of sounding like an a-hole - why not ask Ziebart what they recommend?

What year T-Bird? Pix?

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:18 pm

Ross -

I guess I just don't think of Ziebart working on fiberglass. Their proprietary product Diamond Gloss is what went on the T-bird and it turned out great.

No reason not to ask them - just Googled it and found a lot of information available on clear coat products made for fiberglass.

akwalker · Post by **akwalker** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 4:57 pm

IMO, the problem with clear coat on a boat hull is the fact that it "locks in" any surface defect. In other words, the hull has to be perfect, no stains, scratches, gouges, etc or they will be locked in by the clear coat and stick out like a sore thumb. If the hull is fiberglass, there is no substitute for a good compound and wax.