Fiberglass Travel Trailer Ceramic Coatings
Ceramic coatings are the best form of environmental protection for gel coated travel trailers. As ceramic coating specialists, CGI Detailing has taken the last 7 years to research and perfect the ceramic coating process to the highest standard. The CGI team proudly uses GlideCoat Ceramic Coatings which offers unparalleled protection from the elements and a stunning high-gloss finish. With CGI's use of cutting-edge techniques and technology, we ensure your investment will be protected for years to come.
Why get a ceramic coating for your fiberglass travel trailer?
Travel trailers are a great investment for long term value and a great camping experience. While the gelcoat on these trailers is very physically tough; sun, rain, road grime, bugs, hard water, pollen and dust all take a toll on gel coat over time. A professional ceramic coating adds a durable, sacrificial layer that protects your trailer’s finish from daily abuse and long-term wear, while simultaneously making maintenance extremely easy!
A ceramic coating chemically bonds to your trailer’s gel coat, creating a hardened surface that helps protect against: UV oxidation and fading, black streaks and organic staining, road grime, bugs, salt, water spots and mineral deposits
Explore the many benefits of having a ceramic coating to protect the gelcoat finish of a fiberglass travel trailer
What does the ceramic coating process look like?
CGI Detailing takes several steps to ensure the application of your ceramic coating is perfect. The preparation and application of the Glidecoat ceramic coating typically takes the team 1-2 days to complete.
Part 1:
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Gloss meter readings to measure the overall condition of the gelcoat
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Pre rinse to remove loose dirt and contaminates
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Removal of bugs, tar, and iron
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Full exterior hand wash, clay-bar + dry
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Variety of buffing/polishing steps to ensure paint is in near perfect condition
Part 2:
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Wipe the surface with alcohol to remove any left over oils from the polishing stages
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Application of the 2 Year Glidecoat ceramic coating
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Final inspection to ensure customer satisfaction
The success is in the prep
Gel coat that has been outside in the elements for several years will usually have a varying degree of sun damage, often times appearing as a dull chalky finish. This damaged gel coat is known as being oxidized. In order for a ceramic coating to properly protect the surface and make for easy maintenance, all of the oxidized gel coat must be restored to fresh shiny gel coat before being ceramic coated. The CGI Detailing team has broken down their assessments of gel coated trailers into 3 categories; these categories will determine how aggressive the correction needs to be before being able to proceed with the coating process. CGI utilizes a gloss meter and years of experience to determine the level of oxidation present on each trailer.
The severity of oxidation will directly affect how long the team will need to work on the trailer, as well as which compounds and tools to use. This is also a big determining factor is overall pricing for a trailer, so it's best to get the surface protected as soon as possible to slow down the rate of oxidation!
New trailer: No oxidaiton
A new trailer should have no oxidation present, meaning the CGI team can do their normal compounding and polishing steps to refine the surface and remove factory imperfections before the coating process!
1+ year old trailers: Light-Medium oxidation
Used trailers that have seen the elements for one year or longer may start to show signs of being oxidized, usually the roof and the front area of the trailer are the first to become dull, these areas will need extra attention before starting the normal process.
Used trailer exposed to UV rays for extended period of time: Heavy Oxidation
Trailers that have been exposed to the elements with little maintenance are prone to becoming heavily oxidized. This means the team will have to use specialized tools and compounds to remove the heavy oxidation before moving on to the normal process. This extra step often adds 4-6 hours to each coating job.
Oxidized vs corrected and coated!
How do you maintain a ceramic coating?
Ceramic Coatings greatly reduces the time and effort required to maintain your travel trailer. Maintenance is very easy but essential in ensuring you get the maximum lifespan out of your ceramic coating.
Simply rinse your trailer after each use, and use a microfiber wash mitt, towel, or microfiber wash mop to wash the bugs off the front of the trailer (It is highly recommended to dry the trailer after rinsing to avoid water spots). We recommend washing your trailer with CGI Detailing's Polymer Infused Soap and a microfiber wash mop every month (if stored outdoors), easily removing surface stains. To increase the lifespan of any ceramic coating, we recommend the use of CGI Detailing's Ceramic Shield every 3-4 months to add a sacrificial layer which enhances the protective properties and gloss.
For those that prefer a worry-free experience, we offer a yearly maintenance program where we take care of all coating maintenance!
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What does reapplication look like?
The reapplication process will heavily depend on how well the coating has been maintained over its lifespan. If maintained properly over the course of 2-3 years, all that will be required when its time for a reapplication will be a simple polish, and 2 more coats of ceramic coating. A well maintained ceramic coated trailer will be less expensive to recoat compared to the initial application.
Trailers that have been neglected to be maintained over the lifespan of the coating will have to restart the coating process, resulting in the same price as the initial application. For trailer owners who aren't able to or don't want to worry about ongoing maintenance of their gelcoat, we strongly recommend getting on our yearly maintenance plan to ensure the trailer stays protected for its whole life!
Scheduling a Ceramic Coating
There are a couple of options when it comes to scheduling your ceramic coating service, either a drop off appointment at our shop in Murfreesboro, TN or we can schedule a mobile appointment where we come to your location. Mobile service is priced differently, check out our Travel Page for more info!
What do our customers say about ceramic coatings?
We asked AI (Artificial Intelligence) to analyze the internet for people's experiences and opinions on our ceramic coating service for Oliver Travel Trailers.
Disclaimer: This audio clip is entirely ai generated based on online forum threads about our ceramic coating. We thought it was interesting what it came up with, take a listen!
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CGI Detailing products being used in a video sent to us, looking good! #ceramiccoating #washing
