Clear coating a Boat or RV

S

seneca2e

Here's the deal. Been reading about Vivalon http://www.vivilon.com/ and nyalic www.nyalic.com/ which are clear coat solutions for boats and rv's and other uses. The sites have some good info on cleaning/prepping the surface before clearing but are these products as good a solution as quality automotive polyurethane clears like Universal/MS or Imron, etc.? Do the automotive clears have enough ultraviolet blocking to hold up in this enviroment and take the pounding from sun AND water?

Some say that boats gel coating and RV's for that matter are not good candidates for clearing but if they're properly prepared(feel free to weigh in on how you'd do that by the way) it seems like a great way to restore the appearance of a faded boat or RV.

What do you think?
 
If you can scuff and clean it well automotive clear will work just fine.
 
The more I research this the more I think quality 2 stage automotive polyurethane would be superior to the single stage products I linked above but they sure have a heck of a "infomercial" website-the Vivalon especially. Wonder how the Universal/MS clear would do below the waterline on a runabout boat that is not moored in the water but resides at home most days.
 
seneca2e;10318 said:
The more I research this the more I think quality 2 stage automotive polyurethane would be superior to the single stage products I linked above but they sure have a heck of a "infomercial" website-the Vivalon especially. Wonder how the Universal/MS clear would do below the waterline on a runabout boat that is not moored in the water but resides at home most days.
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I do not know about with UC, but I do know that 20 years ago PPG clear worked great for that application on my jetboat.
 
I used Universal Clear on my fishing boat hull and it did just fine.
But remember, no automotive paint is rated to hold up under water if the boat is
one that stays in the water, one that is trailered is fine.
I think about a weekend is as long as you can leave it in the water.
My boat is 50 yrs old, my dad bought it new in 1961:D DSC01884.jpg
 
Amazing how things lasted from that era JC. Is that the boat you put the Kirker single stage on a few years back and then cleared it with the Universal? How'd you prep it?
 
Amazing how things lasted from that era JC. Is that the boat you put the Kirker single stage on a few years back and then cleared it with the Universal? How'd you prep it?
 
Yes, that's the one.
My dad had painted it with a brush many times over the years.
I sanded it to the bare aluminum and then used epoxy primer.
Then the Kirker urethane.
That's when epoxy made a believer out of me!
I also sprayed the inside with bed liner.
It's held up really well.:)DSC01791.jpg

DSC01795.jpg
 
SAF,
Thanks for the reply. Lots of back and forth on this on some of the boat forums but if properly prepared with a quality clear like you used(PPG) or Imron or I'm sure SPI's MS or Universal it would bring a killer shine and durability. I just can't see the endless buffing and waxing required to keep an older boat looking good when you can clear coat it.
 
I painted a 18' bass boat for a guy using auto clear.. I did inside and out all the way below the water line.. I also painted the motor.. I used SPI epoxy, high build 2k, PPG DBC base and SPI HS clear when that was in production..
The owner is some of my wifes family.. He sold the boat last year and said it looked as good as when I painted it..

Jcclark was correct.. You can use automotive clear as long as the boat doesnt stay in the water all the time.. I know my boat stayed in for sometimes a week, but I told him not to let it stay in the water consistently or it could begin to soak after a couple weeks..

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Prep.jpg


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Bondoking you did a great job on that vessel! If that's not proof that it can be done, look great, and have durability I don't know what is!

If fact I'm beginning to think clearing can have a lot of applications I previously hadn't thought of. Just took my Goldwing rear wheel off to mount a new tire and after endless cleaning of the aluminum wheel I can see that as something that needs cleared to put an end to the drudgery of trying to keep it looking even halfway decent.
 
you know almost every highend performance boat you see is painted using all automotive base and clear. all the graphics and artwork. there isn't anything special used there. they are holding up to mega flexing and 100+mph.
 
Jim C great point on the flexibility. We painted an aircraft recently with white single stage Imron 5.0(closest you can get to the Imron of old-about the stuff in fact). We had about 3 inches left in a quart plastic cup and after it hardened it was like a Superball. Still very flexible and when you dropped it(it popped out of the plastic cup like a muffin out of a buttered pan) from 5 feet it would bounce right back up in your hands!

Pretty impressive demonstration of its flexiblity! Do most polyurethanes do that? Specifically what about SPI MS or Universal clear?
 
Spi's stuff is more flexable than most clears these days. I paint a ton of plastic sportbike fairings thats why i switched to them many years back.
 
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