Ceramic Coating Experiences
I recently read in the magazine about doing a ceramic coat on the plane. I have been doing research and am considering doing it. Anyone on the forum have experience doing it? Satisfied or dissatisfied, different brands to use, words of wisdom, etc.
Thank you!
Comments
9/10 of the time is in prep. If you left any flaws you will lock them in. Planes are tough to prep as oil, etc can be trapped in seems, riveted surfaces are hard to polish, lots of transitions, gaps and angles. For most waxes they last x months and if there are any issues you can fix it on the spot or wait for the wax to degrade away.
I think it was in the article but committing to surface at a time might be a good path to test it out.
Every video I watch they take a matte finish weathered plane part that has been sitting in the sun for 50 years and 3 minutes later it is "see yourself in the mirror" perfect. When I polish my average paint plane using the same tools and materials I achieve slightly above average in hours....
Eric Panning
1981 Seneca III
Hillsboro, OR (KHIO)
Thomas;
Eric is spot on. 90% of the work is preparing the aircraft. He's also correct that any imperfections will be trapped beneath the coating, so the prep work is truly the most important step.
I've ceramic coated a number of cars and aircraft, and MikeJJ posted an article on ceramic coating his plane recently. You may want to look that up in the archives.
Wash and detail the plane as clean as you can get it. Now is the time to touch up paint imperfections or chips. Allow the touch up paint to thoroughly dry. Next, buff the entire plane with a polishing compound using an orbital buffer. When that is completed, your plane will look like new and you may be tempted to stop, but this is part of the 90% prep.
Some of the newer ceramics are much easier to apply than the older versions, and each ceramic coat manufacturer has slightly different directions, so follow them closely.
If no directions are provided, use this as a guideline: Apply the ceramic coating to the applicator (only a few drops are required). Apply the coating to the aircraft in about a 2 ft x 2 ft (61 cm x 61 cm) area. Allow it to set up until you see it haze over. Then, wipe and buff that area with a lint free/micro fiber cloth. If you see streaks, reapply that area. Continue until your plane is done. You may knock off for the night and pick up where you left off the previous day. It's not a problem.
It took 2 people working for roughly 8 hours to wash, buff and ceramic coat my plane. Let's call it 16-20 man hours for the whole job.
The ceramic coating lasts a long time. I believe 4-5 yrs on average, and possibly more if the plane is hangared. Six years later, my plane still looks beautiful.
Washing the plane is now a breeze, and wiping off bug splatters on leading edges requires nothing more than a damp micro fiber cloth. No bug pads, and no scrubbing.
I highly recommend it.
Jim "Doc Griff" Griffin
PA28 - 161
Chicago area
Thank you both for all the information! It was very helpful. I plan on doing a little more reading up on it, but as of now I am planning on doing it.