If your hull has gone chalky, dull, and colour-faded — and a wax just soaks in and disappears — you're past the point a wash or a wax can fix. That gelcoat needs to be restored, and a real restoration is a different animal from a detail. Here's exactly what the job involves, why it takes more than a day, and how it's priced on the Emerald Coast.
Gelcoat is a pigmented outer layer, not paint. Salt, sun, and time break down its surface into a powdery, oxidized film — that white chalk you get on your hand when you rub it. Once the pigment itself has faded, there's nothing left for a wax or a polish to bring back — the oxidized layer has to be physically removed to reach the good gelcoat underneath. That's the line between a "detail" and a "restoration."
A quick honesty check we do first: rub a small test spot. If it cleans up to a deep gloss, you're in compound-and-wax territory (a lot cheaper). If it stays dull, or you start to see a faint fiberglass "checkerboard" pattern, the gelcoat is thin or the pigment is gone — that's a true restoration, and sometimes a sign the surface is a candidate for paint instead. We tell you which one you're looking at before any work starts.
A proper job is a sequence, worked one section at a time — the rule is start heavy, end light, and wipe the chalk off between every pass:
We aim for a realistic finish, not mirror-perfect — chasing the last few percent risks over-thinning gelcoat that already took a beating (and it gets scratched on the next launch anyway). What we don't skip: cutting the chalky oxidation back as far as the gelcoat safely allows, and blending the decals.
A wash or a wash-and-wax we can price by the foot. A restoration we can't, because the cost is driven by how far gone the gelcoat is, not just the boat's length — a lightly-hazed 22-footer and a chalked-to-the-fiberglass 22-footer are completely different amounts of labour. It's priced as a multi-day project: a rough range from your photos, then the final number after we see the hull. For reference, our by-the-foot boat services start at $15/ft (wash) and $30/ft (compound & wax, $650 min); a full restoration sits above that because of the sanding day.
Restoration buys the gelcoat back — protection keeps it. In our salt and sun a wax finish needs re-doing regularly; a ceramic sealant or coating holds up longer, and how much longer depends on the product and the prep, which we confirm in person. The smart move is to book the re-wax (or the ceramic) at delivery, so the hull you just paid to restore doesn't slide right back into oxidation.
Text a few photos of the gelcoat plus your boat's length and we'll tell you honestly whether it needs a compound or a full restoration, with a rough range and a final number once we've seen it.
If the oxidation is light, yes — a compound and wax may be all it needs, and that's cheaper. Sanding is only for heavy, chalky oxidation a compound can't cut. We check a test spot and tell you honestly which one your hull needs.
It's a multi-day job for most boats — the wet-sanding step alone is often a full day, before any cutting, polishing, and coating. We give you a realistic timeline with the quote.
If there's enough good gelcoat left, restoring is far cheaper than paint and looks excellent. If the pigment is gone or the gelcoat is worn through to the fiberglass, we'll tell you it's a paint candidate instead of selling you a restoration that won't hold.
It's usually the best value: after you've paid to bring the gelcoat back, a ceramic protects that work longer than wax and makes wash-downs much easier. How long depends on the product and the prep, which we confirm in person. We can do it as part of the same job.
