Owners are often surprised that a lake as clean as Ouachita is hard on a boat. The water is not the problem. The sun is. Here is what is actually happening to your gelcoat, and what it takes to bring it back.
Gelcoat is the pigmented outer skin of your hull. Ultraviolet light breaks that layer down over time, leaving a dull, chalky surface where a glossy one used to be. Run your hand over an oxidized hull and it feels dry. Wipe it with a clean rag and the rag comes away colored. That is the gelcoat giving up its pigment.
Ouachita's clarity means sunlight penetrates and reflects back up at the hull instead of being absorbed by murky water. Add long bright Arkansas summers and the hull takes UV from two directions. You skip the tannin stains of a darker lake, but you oxidize faster than you would expect.
A wash removes what sits on the surface. Once the surface itself has gone chalky, no amount of washing brings the gloss back, and waxing over chalk just seals the damage in. That is the line between maintenance and correction, and catching it early is what keeps the bill at the bottom of the range.
All figures are estimates. The written quote is the final price.
Wash a small patch. If it dries dull and a clean rag wipes away color, that is oxidation, not grime. Dirt rinses; chalk stays.
Wax slows it while the wax lasts, one season at most here. Waxing over existing chalk locks the dullness in, so correct first, then protect.
Nothing is permanent under this sun, but ceramic pushes the next correction out by seasons rather than months, and keeps washing easier meanwhile.
Three quick fields plus the boat. Every figure on this site is an estimate; the written quote we send back is the actual price.
Prefer email? lakeouachitaboatdetailing@gmail.com works too. Our crew is mobile across Lake Ouachita: marina slip, lift, trailer or driveway.