Marine · Restoration & Ceramic Coating
Marine Restoration & Ceramic Coating on the Grand Strand
Salt is already working on your hull. We reverse what it's done — oxidation, chalk, faded gelcoat — and then protect the surface for years with a marine ceramic coating, at your dock. This is premium restoration and protection, not a budget wash-down.
What saltwater does to a hull
A boat lives in the harshest environment you own.
Gelcoat oxidation
Sun and salt break down the gelcoat's surface, leaving it chalky, dull, and fading toward the color underneath.
Salt corrosion
Constant exposure pits and corrodes metal, hardware, and brightwork, and stains the hull at the waterline.
UV on the deck
Relentless coastal sun bakes non-skid, vinyl, and topside surfaces that take it all day, every day.
Constant exposure
Unlike a garaged car, a boat takes the full environment around the clock — which is why protection matters most here.
Restore → Protect
We fix what the coast has done, then make sure it can't come back.
Coating a hull without restoring it first just seals in the damage. So we work in order: decontaminate, remove the oxidation, restore the gelcoat, then protect it. Restoration is the entry; protection is what keeps it.
01
Wash & decontaminate
Salt neutralizing wash, clay decontamination, and waterline cleaning — strip what's bonded to the gelcoat before any correction begins.
02
Remove oxidation
Compound the chalky, sun-faded oxidation off the gelcoat and bring the gloss back — single or multi-step depending on how far it's gone.
03
Restore the gelcoat
For heavily chalked or neglected hulls: wet-sand, heavy cut, and polish back to near-new depth and clarity. This is where a dead-looking hull comes back.
04
Coat & maintain
Seal the restored gelcoat under a multi-year marine ceramic, then keep it ahead of the salt with a dockside maintenance plan.
Real restorations
Dead gelcoat, brought back.
No stock photos — these are real hulls we wet-sanded and polished back to gloss. This is what "restore, then protect" actually looks like.
Before 
After 
Before 
After The marine menu
From a maintenance wash to a full restoration.
Boat detailing & decon
Salt-neutralizing wash, clay, interior and vinyl care — the maintenance layer for boats that are already in good shape.
Oxidation removal
Cutting chalky, faded gelcoat back to gloss. The most common coastal fix, and often the entry to a coating.
Gelcoat restoration
Multi-step wet-sand and polish for heavily oxidized hulls — bringing depth back to gelcoat most owners think is gone.
Marine ceramic coating
A hard, hydrophobic SiO₂ barrier bonded to restored gelcoat — years of defense against salt, UV, and staining.
Marine ceramic levels
Three levels of protection, matched to your hull and how it's run.
Good
Gelcoat Guard
1–2 year protection
- Prep
- Wash + light single-step polish
- Coverage
- Gelcoat
A durable barrier for newer or well-kept gelcoat.
Better
Coastal Shield
3–4 year protection
- Prep
- Oxidation removal + decontamination
- Coverage
- Gelcoat, two layers
Our most-chosen marine level — restored and protected for the long season.
Best
Sportfish Reserve
5 year protection
- Prep
- Multi-step gelcoat restoration
- Coverage
- Gelcoat + metal & vinyl
Maximum restoration and defense for premium and offshore hulls.
Marine coatings are quoted by length and the condition of the gelcoat. We assess the hull and quote it specifically — and every coating pairs with a maintenance plan that holds the warranty.
Premium marine, on purpose
We don't run the bottom of the boat-wash market.
There's a race to the bottom on basic boat washes, and we're not in it. Our marine work is restoration and multi-year protection for owners who won't hand a serious boat to the lowest bidder. If you want the cheapest wash on the dock, we'll happily point you elsewhere. If you want the hull defended for years, that's us.
Marine work
Hulls we've restored, coated, and maintained.
After the coating
Keep it ahead of the salt.
A coated hull on a dockside maintenance plan holds its warranty and its gloss far longer than one left to the elements. Especially for boats kept in the water, recurring care is what makes the protection last.
Marine restoration & coating questions
How long does marine ceramic coating last in saltwater?
By tier, roughly one to five years of protection — but on the coast, the maintenance schedule is what keeps a marine coating performing to its full term. Constant saltwater and UV exposure are relentless, so a coated hull on a dockside plan dramatically outlasts one left on its own.
My gelcoat is chalky and faded — can that actually come back?
Usually, yes. Oxidation is the gelcoat's surface breaking down under sun and salt. Compounding removes that dead layer and restores gloss; for heavily chalked hulls, multi-step wet-sanding and polishing brings back depth most owners assume is gone for good. We test a section first and show you what's recoverable before you commit.
Gelcoat restoration or repaint — which do I need?
If there's healthy gelcoat under the oxidation, restoration is far less invasive and less expensive than paint, and the results are excellent. Repaint is for gelcoat that's too thin or too far gone to bring back. We'll assess the hull honestly and tell you which makes sense — we won't sell you restoration on a hull that needs paint, or vice versa.
Do you work dockside or in the water?
Yes — we bring the studio to the boat: at your dock, in a community boat yard, or in storage. For a ceramic coating the boat should be out of the water on a lift or trailer so the gelcoat is dry and the coating cures properly. We confirm water, power, and the right conditions when we book.
Is coating worth it on an older boat?
Often it's the boats that benefit most. Restore the gelcoat and lock it in, and you stop the oxidation cycle that's been eating the hull — protecting both the look and the resale value of a boat you plan to keep. We coat restored older hulls all the time.
Related protection
Marine service across
Salt air is already working on your hull.
Get a fast, specific quote — we'll restore the gelcoat and protect it for years, right at your dock.