What a full detail does that a wash can't
A maintenance wash keeps a boat clean. A full detail makes it look new again. The difference is correction: instead of just rinsing off the salt and grime, we remove the oxidation, water spots, and swirls that have baked into the gelcoat, then lock in the restored finish with a wax or sealant. For a boat that's spent a season or two under the Florida sun, that's the step that brings back the deep, wet gloss.
We build every detail around the condition of your boat. A well-kept hull might need a single-stage polish; a chalky, sun-faded one needs multi-stage compounding. Because we quote by the foot after seeing the boat, you get an honest number for the work your gelcoat actually needs — not a padded package.
The full-detail process, step by step
- Pre-wash & degrease. Hull, deck, and non-skid washed to strip salt, film, and loose grime before any correction.
- Clay-bar decontamination. Embedded salt, overspray, and bonded contaminants pulled out so the surface is glass-smooth.
- Compound & polish. Oxidation, swirls, and dull spots machined out in as many stages as the gelcoat needs.
- Protect. A marine wax or sealant sealed over the corrected finish to hold the shine and shed salt.
- Details. Vinyl cleaned and conditioned, metal and chrome polished, glass and non-skid finished, hardware wiped down.
Want the shine to last? A full detail is the perfect setup for a marine ceramic coating — the correction is already done, so adding a coating locks in that fresh gloss for years instead of months.
Why Northeast Florida boats need it more
Salt from the Atlantic and Intracoastal, brackish water on the St. Johns, and a sun that never really quits all gang up on gelcoat. Left alone, a hull chalks and fades within a season or two, metal pits, and vinyl grows mildew in the humidity. A detail two to three times a year isn't vanity here — it's how you protect resale value and keep the boat something you're proud to pull up in. If your gelcoat has already gone chalky, our oxidation removal service is the heavy-correction version of this same work.
Every kind of boat, right where it lives
We detail center consoles, bay boats, offshore boats, cruisers, pontoons, and personal watercraft — in the water at your slip, on the rack at dry storage, or on the trailer in your driveway. We bring marine-specific products, water, and power, so there's nothing for you to set up. Between full details, keep it easy with a recurring wash & wax plan.