Soaky Mountain Waterpark

Project Overview

When Soaky Mountain Waterpark reached out, they needed their most prominent attraction restored before the season reopened. This slide is the centerpiece of the park — a massive structure visible from the road that signals to every passing car that the park is there. After being let down by multiple contractors who failed to deliver quality results, the park had almost lost faith that anyone could bring their flagship ride back to life. They needed a team that could arrive fast, assess the damage honestly, and deliver real results within a tight reopening window.

A smarter approach to slide restoration. Not every job requires a full respray.

Exterior Surface Preparation

Every single square inch of the slide exterior was hand-sanded to create a proper surface profile. This ensures a strong mechanical bond between the existing surface and the new coating. Without this step, even the best materials will eventually peel or lose adhesion. We do not cut corners on prep work because prep is what makes a finish last.

Marine-Grade Exterior Coating

The coating applied to the exterior is marine-grade material, engineered to withstand constant water exposure, direct UV, and saltwater environments. If these materials can hold up on vessels sitting in the ocean and baking in the sun every day, they can more than handle a waterslide. This is why our exterior finishes last over a decade and still hold their shine. We currently have slides coated over ten years ago that look like they were finished yesterday.

Interior Wet Sand and Polish

The critical question facing the park was whether the surface had deteriorated beyond the point of restoration. A full strip-and-respray would be significantly more expensive and require a longer timeline. The park needed an honest assessment — not a contractor looking to upsell them on work they did not need.

Here is how we approached the project:

On-site surface assessment: Our team inspected the full slide surface and determined that the existing gelcoat was still structurally sound. A full respray was not necessary.

Expert wet sanding: The entire surface was methodically wet sanded to remove oxidation, surface wear, and imperfections built up over years of use and neglect.

Multi-stage compounding: Progressive compounding techniques were used to cut through deeper damage and restore a smooth, uniform surface across every section of the slide.

Professional hand waxing: A thorough hand wax was applied to seal the restored surface, protect it from UV exposure and chemical wear, and bring back a deep, high-gloss shine.

Eight-day execution: Our crew of experienced technicians worked efficiently through the entire window, treating every square foot of this large-scale attraction with the same precision we bring to every project. No shortcuts, no compromises.

The Result

The slide was restored to like-new condition — as vibrant and glossy as the day it was first installed. The park saved significant cost by avoiding an unnecessary full respray, and the surface finish exceeded their expectations.

After being let down by contractor after contractor, Soaky Mountain finally found a team that gave them an honest assessment and delivered results that matched. When other companies would have sold them a respray they did not need, we gave them the truth and a better outcome for less. That is how we earn trust.

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