Ceramic coatings on fiberglass?

[zemurray]

I'm a car guy, so quite familiar with the benefits of using ceramic and hydrophobic coatings on surfaces. It's amazing on a car to keep it clean and provide additional UV protection.

I was thinking, why not on on the waterline of a fiberglass pool? Might help protect against UV, resist the waterline dirt/scum/oil better, and help with water spotting. I did a quick google search and don't see anything about this. There are specific ceramic coatings made for gelcoat, they use them on boats. Anyone try this or see a reason not to?

Something like this..

Q²R GelCoat

Q²R GelCoat is the ultimate protective marine ceramic coating for gelcoat and yacht paint to protect against UV-rays, oxidation, dirt and stains.

gyeonusa.com

 

[Newdude]

I imagine it would slick the pool as it broke down and washed off. You wax (or this stuff) a 25 ft boat with miles and miles of water to absorb it when it comes off.

You're thinking about waxing 92 linear ft into 480 (?) sq ft.

 

[zemurray]

I imagine it would slick the pool as it broke down and washed off. You wax (or this stuff) a 25 ft boat with miles and miles of water to absorb it when it comes off.

You're thinking about waxing 92 linear ft into 480 (?) sq ft.

It’s not wax, or oil. It’s a ceramic coating. Once it cures, it wont wash off.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The Truth About Ceramic Coatings For Boats

Our editor investigates the marketing claims of consumer-grade ceramic coatings.

www.boatus.com

A pool is not a boat but it does seem that these DIY ceramic coatings can have considerable variation in product compositions. Also note that in the case of boats, when the surface did need to be cleaned, the ceramic coated ones were harder to fix than traditional waxed surfaces.

I dunno, it’s your pool and your elbow-grease … if you want to give it a whirl and test it out, that’s your choice. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Newdude]

It’s a ceramic coating

It breaks down eventually and needs to be reapplied, or, a maintenance type spray needs to be applied as a sacrificial layer which will also end up in your pool.

But maybe you're onto something and it works great for you.

 

[zemurray]

I have a professional ceramic coating on my car. It’s fantastic. I rarely have to touch the car to wash it. Just spray on some soap foam and rinse it off. Dirt just falls off. I just did a quick search on the boat related products as it made sense to me that a fiberglass pool and gelcoat is essentially the same as a boat hull. I was not sure how the automotive products would work for gelcoat. I have a black pool, so the water spots and dirt show on the waterline probably more than a lighter colored pool. The biggest issue I see is the surface prep, which if I were only doing the waterline wouldnt take long if the pool were empty but it’s not.

After the surface is polished, ceramic is very easy to apply. I think the biggest question is if it will stand up to chlorine honestly.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

After the surface is polished, ceramic is very easy to apply. I think the biggest question is if it will stand up to chlorine honestly.

I think the bigger issue is going to be doing surface prep and application of the product in a pool full of water. You have no way of masking off the surface easily while capturing excess and overspray. On a vertical wall, the liquid material is going to run down quickly. I would be very wary of getting “silica-based” chemicals in water as they are typically low molecular weight siloxane compounds that are dissolved in highly volatile solvents. Siloxanes can react with water causing very sticky and adherent contaminants to form. That can really screw up a smooth surface or get into a filter and cause irreparable damage. If you look at some of these product tech sheets, they all clearly state that the receiving surface needs to be clean and DRY and that humidity plays a huge role in how these chemicals dry. How would it be possible to keep a surface dry when there’s a pool full of water all around?

I think what we’re all saying is that it’s certainly something you can do if you feel like trying it but there’s definitely risks of screwing up your fiberglass surface. There’s no good data to go on here and I’m sure the manufacturers of those products would tell you not to use them in ways that they aren’t intended for. But it’s up to you to decide if the risk is worth it.