Permaplate on new Monty

[brenkco]

Has anyone had their rig Permaplated? We are taking delivery of our 1st 5er in the next few weeks. The dealer has offered it for $1600 inside and out.
I have not done it on personal vehicles in the past however, I had it done on a business car that I new was going to be parked outside all the time. The paint and finish is in excellent condition after 3 years. My son had it done to one of his cars and swears by it.

Any suggestions?

Also, I have been reading all of the posts and threads in the past week or so to help my wife and I with our purchase decisions. What a wealth of info...Thanks to everyone!!!!!

[snfexpress]

Welcome to the forum. Like you, I spent hours reading the various posts when I was first introduced to this forum - lots of good information here.

[bsmeaton]

Sounds like you may have already convinced yourself Ken so I won't try to change your mind. Me personally - I find it humerous.

Score - Dealer 1, Customer 0

[stiles watson]

Welcome!! So glad the forum has helped. In this case, I am unfamiliar with the product you describe. I did want to welcome you though.

[brenkco]

Brad,
No, I hadn't made any decision. I was only asking.....I get your point.

[Emmel]

brenkco, first of all, welcome to the MOC family. Hope you find an answer to your question, I'm afraid I've never heard of this Permaplated process you refer to. As far as a paint protection, the newer paints with base coat/clear coat will stand up to the Ohio weather for many years. My personal 2002 GMC has been waxed once since purchased new in October of 2001 and still looks very good compared to the older paints of yesteryear.
Our Montana has the gel coat option and looks great too! Nothing more than a yearly wax job here after 5 years of ownership.

[Bruce Lenhardt]

I agree with Emmel. The basecoat/clearcoat system used on todays trucks and cars needs no protection IMHO. I do body work and paint as a hobby and never put additional protection on automotive finishes. I am unfamiliar with the protection you asked about but I believe they are all of little value except to the ones selling them.

On edit, what are they going to coat/protect in the inside????

[Exnavydiver]

brenkco, just Google Permaplate, there is a wealth of info on it and several car forums with threads about it... Dave and Betsy P.S. Upon further search I found the following link http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...threadid=18869 This was just one of a long list of posts about "Permaplate" As Nancy Reagan used to say "Just Say No!"

[brenkco]

Thanks for the discussion. I was curious if anyone had actually purchased this on a Monty. Perhaps I am the only dummy that considered it.

Bruce, to answer your question, the main reason I bought the Permaplate for the business vehicle was for the interior protection. I assume it is some form of Scotchgarding but it was the warranty I was after. The business vehicle is a leased pizza and Italian food delivery car. Knowing that we were going to have spills, I bought it for the guarantee in case the stains don’t come out at the time of the lease return (Marinara and meat sauce doesn’t do well with fabric). After 3 plus years, the numerous spills have cleaned up and there are no stains so far.

I realize that just my wife & I are not nearly as rough on the interior of our 5er but I have been impressed by the performance none the less.

I was curious about the exterior. I understand the new paints and clear coats very well and agree that the improvement of their performance has been exceptional over the older paint products. What I was interested in is the ‘waxing’ of the Monty. Since we’re talking about a Gel coat finish rather than paint, I was interested in if, how, or how often you wax your rigs. Waxing just sounded like a big job to me thus my interest in this product.

[Mac]

Ken,

Don't be silly and don't call yourself a dummy you just posted a question, nothing more. Now some of us even make silly statements, like me, so ease up on yourself and enjoy your new friends!

mac

[brenkco]

So noted,
Thanks Mac!!!!

[bsmeaton]

Ken,

You could have your Montana exterior waxed by a mobile detail service annually for the next 5 years while you and Marilyn supervise from a lawn chair sipping a Margarita, and the money you save will pay for the Margaritas.

Avg exterior detail $350

[Mudchief]

brenkco, I do remember a couple of people doing this to their Montana. It was about a year ago. Try a search and see what comes up.

[Mac]

Brad,

Have you found anyone locally that could do that mobile wax for me? I'm getting less interested every year and I'd gladly pay. PM me if you have used one.

mac

[bsmeaton]

Mac,

I got the estimate and about a month before I had it done, we traded in instead. I will have to find the name of the company and PM you. If I remember, it's actually down your way.

[ggranch]

A late entry but here goes anyway. Unless you have a custom paint job (real paint) it is not advised on the fiberglass gel coat. Have your truck done if you like but not the trailer. Bob

[Snownyet]

Ive got a fried whos brother's a sales manager at a car dealer that offers this service. Based on the info Ive got, with a quote of $1600 the dealer is profiting better than $1000.

[sreigle]

Brenko, I'm interested in whether permaplating effectively eliminates the need for waxing and for how long. Waxing this monster is among my top ten "do not like to do" items. In fact, it's pretty close to number one.

My wallet tends to squeak a bit. It's easier for me to take a larger hit once than to take smaller hits multiple times. In other words, I'd rather spend the $1600 up front than to spend $350 per year each of five years. So, my ears definitely sit up and tune in when I hear about a product that might keep the rig looking freshly waxed all the time without hard labor on my part.

[05WAF350]

If the Permaplate is the same we have always purchased on our new cars and trucks, it is only wax and you still need to renew the wax every year. We had the clear coat applied when we purchased our 2007 3400Rl. I apply the fiberglass wax you can buy at camping world or most other places for foberglass. $1,600 is alot of profit for somebody as my guess is $6.00 for the wax and the rest is labor. I agree with the earlier post, save your money. If you do not want to wax the RV then you have several years of detailing money in the bank.

[jfarmer]

Brenkco,

I find it ironic that www.permaplate.com states their product "paintguard" bonds so well to the paint or body, but then they recommend a further purchase of a "maintenance kit" to prolong or facilitate the product. I say keep the 5er as clean and out of the sun as possible, there's nothing better than that.