Permagard Paint Protection for Large RVs
Thomas G. Thomassen, an active 25 year Permagardian veteran that was featured on our blog recently, completed a full paint restoration and Permagard application on this giant Foretravel 45 RV. However, it would be an understatement to say that Thomas encountered a huge challenge with this massive vehicle.
Restoring Oxidized Paint from Ceramic Coatings
This magnificent RV was treated with a ceramic coating at the request of the previous owner. Upon taking delivery, the new owner noticed that the painted surfaces were incredibly oxidized and dull under the ceramic coating. The new owner knew that the only solution was to carry out a full paint correction, from top to bottom, to restore the shine and gloss hiding underneath the ceramic coating. The new owner of this RV had inquired about Permagard because he wanted to preserve as much of the original paint as possible, without shaving more paint off. He had also read our article, “Permagard vs Ceramic Coating”, and was not convinced he wanted to have another ceramic coating reapplied to the RV because Permagard sounded like the better option overall.
Every time a polisher, combined with an abrasive compound such as Permagard Abrasive, cuts (or corrects) a surface, you diminish the clearcoat more and more. And every time you apply a ceramic coating to a vehicle, if you don’t correct the surface to be treated with the ceramic coating, you will lock in any imperfections or contaminants that are present on the surface. To Thomas’s surprise, he could not believe this beautiful RV had a ceramic coating applied to it. All of the painted surfaces had some level of oxidation on them. They were also damaged, scratched, and had almost no depth of gloss or noticeable shine.
Challenges of Removing Ceramic Coatings
After Thomas got to work on cutting the paint with our Permagard Abrasive 1500-2000 and a rotary polisher, he began to notice something peculiar happening. The more Thomas cut the surface to shave off the ceramic coating, the more this oily, film-like substance, accompanied with dirt, started appearing on his pads. This glue-like substance was completely incompatible with standard compounding techniques. He washed the pads continuously with Permagard Multi-Purpose Cleaner, as he has always done. However, Thomas had to refill his bucket with clean water more times than he had ever done.
This thick, oily, and dirty film-like substance was everywhere that the ceramic coating had been applied to. Thomas said it was even sticky at times and it began to become harder and harder to clean off of his pads. As matter of fact, on his very first day of removing the coating, something else caught Thomas’s attention. He immediately called the owner and his wife to come outside to their RV to see what had occurred. To all of their amazement, they could see the gloss, shine, and color depth that was hiding underneath the ceramic coating!
Why Permagard is Better Than Ceramic Coatings
Ceramic coatings are supposed to enhance the shine and gloss of your vehicle. Not make the surface duller and void of color vibrancy. The ceramic coating was even applied to the chrome surfaces on the vehicle, leaving a cloudy and hazy appearance with little to no shine. Thomas also struggled at times to ascertain if there was any ceramic coating left on some areas, as the unevenness of each section was glaringly apparent to him. However, after an entire week of paint correction, Thomas had finally removed all of the ceramic coating.
The next step was applying our pretreatment, Treatment for Very Damaged Surfaces to the entirety of the painted surfaces. As you can tell from these photos, even before applying the Treatment for Very Damaged Surfaces, Thomas was able to restore a huge amount of gloss to this awesome paint job after his excellent paint correction process with our Permagard Abrasive 1500-2000. After Thomas finished applying the pretreatment, it was time for the pièce de resistance and icing on the cake: our Permagard Reactive Polymer Paint Protection. And just like every painted surface it’s been applied to before this RV, Permagard made this RV shine like the sun and look better than brand new.
Ceramic Coating and PPF Issues on RVs
“An experience that comes to my mind is in Norway back in the 90s”, said Thomas. “Case in point, I had a guy doing Permagard treatments on autos. He called me one day about a car he had in his shop and asked if I had come across any cars with ceramic coatings”, he continued. “I said no, and asked why? He replied with, ‘Well, I gave him a quote over the phone for Permagard, the guy decided to bring his car, and we are having to wet sand and polish off the ceramic coating!’ It took him two days and two of his guys!”, Thomas exclaimed. “I met up with him and saw it. It was oxidized and severely scratched. Needless to say, my auto guy lost any profit on the car and at that point, we NEVER took another ceramic coating treated car again.”
Another issue that Thomas had noticed was that the front of the RV had a PPF clear bra applied to it. Not only did Thomas notice the huge amount of rock chips in the film that stood out like a sore thumb, but he also noticed the very clear color contrast difference between the area protected by the PPF and the rest of the RV. The PPF had reacted with the surface that it was supposed to protect and modified the colors ever so slightly that the rest of the RV’s painted surfaces looked slightly different in color. That is a significant paint degradation problem that we covered in our article, “The Truth About Paint Protection Film (PPF) And Why Permagard May Be a Better Solution To Protect Your Paint”.
The Benefits of Permagard for RV Paint Protection
The problems that Thomas Thomassen encountered with this RV are as clear as day. The ceramic coating applied to it was a botched mess that took him far longer than it should to remove it for any detailer and the PPF has permanently changed the original paint specifications of this RV by degrading the paint. His 25 years of experience were taken for a test, as he had to remove the ceramic coating while removing as little clear coat as possible. It is IMPOSSIBLE, even for the most experienced polisher, to remove ceramic coatings without removing some of the original clear coat. These reasons are exactly why Permagard is, and always will be, the best automotive paint protection solution for your RV, daily driver, supercar, or garage queen. There is no other paint protection product available today that will fully protect 100% of your original paint specifications, ensuring maximum protection from the environmental attacks encountered on the road, while bringing a rich depth of shine and gloss for a supreme “wet-look effect” that cannot be replicated by competitive products. Permagard Automotive is the absolute best option to protect your beautiful asset from environmental damage, such as UV rays, corrosion, bug splatter, hard water spots, acid rain, and bird dropping, just to name a few.
If you would like to learn more about how Permagard Automotive can protect your RV, trailer, supercar, or daily driver, give our Permagard Headquarters in Miami, FL, a call today at (305) 662-5070 for more information. It’s time to shine and see yourself in your beautiful RV!
