Oxidized gelcoat that is shiny?

[Titaniumboy]

Oxidized gelcoat that still has a good shine? Who knew that such a thing was possible?

His level of disgust is palpable. This is just the introduction of a very very oxidized Cobalt. Actual correction will be later.

[Lockey14s]

He brings up some interesting points, especially about how he could do all this work and then the customer will most likely neglect it and it will all come back LOL.

He seems like an extreme perfectionist, which is what you want in a detailer. but it makes it hard when someone brings you a 10k boat and asks you to "make it shine again" for the cheapest price possible, when in reality it needs 5k worth of gel coat correction. So what he might just do is buff it to knock off the oxidation and get a decent shine, which will look good short tern. I feel his frustration lol

[Titaniumboy]

His OCD kicked in pretty hard on this one. He ended up doing FOUR passes with 3M Super Duty on the waterline until he was satisfied.

Lee says in the video that he decided to take off the swim ladder after all so he could do a nice job on the transom. He is even half way considering taking off the tower?!?

Is your 1978 Cobalt the oldest one on the forum? It looks like a total creampuff.

[Big Block Power]

His OCD kicked in pretty hard on this one. He ended up doing FOUR passes with 3M Super Duty on the waterline until he was satisfied.



Is your 1978 Cobalt the oldest one on the forum? It looks like a total creampuff.

His boat isn't the oldest but he is!

[Lockey14s]

His OCD kicked in pretty hard on this one. He ended up doing FOUR passes with 3M Super Duty on the waterline until he was satisfied.

Lee says in the video that he decided to take off the swim ladder after all so he could do a nice job on the transom. He is even half way considering taking off the tower?!?

Is your 1978 Cobalt the oldest one on the forum? It looks like a total creampuff.

BBP you tell LIES!!! lol

No mine isnt the oldest, but it is one of the few true remaining survivors. its all original except the drivetrain was swapped out.

I haven't watched the second video yet, but you said he does four passes with the heavy cut compound. I just dont understand why hes so against sanding... its a much quicker and more effective way to restore the gel coat. Especially Cobalt gel coat. Cobalt got its name BECAUSE of this additive they put in the gel lol. it makes it very very hard.

Ive done many experiments on my 78 hull, and the yellow part just does not respond well to the heavy compounds. The best results is when I do 1K grit, 2K grit, 3k grit wet sand, and then polish with Menzerna 400 (which is one thing this guy gets wrong). Menzerna works great as a gel coat polish on a foam pad, he experimented using it as a compound. Its just meant to get all the fine swirl marks and halos out after compounding and before sealing it.

[Titaniumboy]

Lockey14s,

If yours is not the oldest, then I wonder who has the oldest Cobalt on the forum?

I haven't watched the second video yet, but you said he does four passes with the heavy cut compound.

Not four passes with 3M Heavy Cut, but four passes with 3M Super Duty. Then he was going to do a pass with Heavy Cut, then PerfectIt EX AC. I think the waterline required four passes, but that was a relatively small area, it looks like the hull sides onlu needed one pass with Super Duty instead of four.

I just dont understand why hes so against sanding... its a much quicker and more effective way to restore the gel coat. Especially Cobalt gel coat

Lee says he is against wetsanding because compounding is faster for him. Even on Cobalt gelcoat. He has videos where he does one side of a boat compounding, and a wetsanding guy is doing the other side of the boat, and he is done in half the time.

Cobalt got its name BECAUSE of this additive they put in the gel lol. it makes it very very hard.

That is interesting and something I have not heard before. Do you have any more info on this?

[Lockey14s]

Lockey14s,

If yours is not the oldest, then I wonder who has the oldest Cobalt on the forum?

I haven't watched the second video yet, but you said he does four passes with the heavy cut compound.

Not four passes with 3M Heavy Cut, but four passes with 3M Super Duty. Then he was going to do a pass with Heavy Cut, then PerfectIt EX AC. I think the waterline required four passes, but that was a relatively small area, it looks like the hull sides onlu needed one pass with Super Duty instead of four.

I just dont understand why hes so against sanding... its a much quicker and more effective way to restore the gel coat. Especially Cobalt gel coat

Lee says he is against wetsanding because compounding is faster for him. Even on Cobalt gelcoat. He has videos where he does one side of a boat compounding, and a wetsanding guy is doing the other side of the boat, and he is done in half the time.

Cobalt got its name BECAUSE of this additive they put in the gel lol. it makes it very very hard.

That is interesting and something I have not heard before. Do you have any more info on this?

I watched the video and skipped through the long parts. He really is pretty negative about detailing hahaha. but every detailer has their own way of doing things, thats why there are a ton of youtube videos and not a single one is the same. wet sanding does take a little longer, but you can also dry sand, which is a lot faster. it just takes more skill as to not burn through the gel coat. Sanding will also cut deeper than any compound will be able to do, so im curious how well his detail jobs hold up and if the oxidation comes back. I was also surprised to hear him say that the Cobalt gel was thin.... its one of the thickest gel coats on the market

heres the article on Pack and where he got the name. Im so glad "Kustom craft" was already taken lol. and he didnt listen to his wife

https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/.amp/man ... er-culture

[Titaniumboy]

That is a great article on Pack St. Clair. As a neat aside, I bought my boat from San Ramon Boat Center. Unfortunately they have now sold the business to someone else.

Whatever he is doing with compounding seems to last quite awhile. This is a nasty, completely trashed out Bayliner that he is using as a demo for customers and also as a training platform for his students. The first video is long at 20 minutes, but the second and third video are pretty short.

How to starts at 3:30



And four months later



And a year later



DO NOT watch this one unless you want to throw up. This boat sat in the desert for over 20 years and the interior is just beyond description.

[Titaniumboy]

I just dont understand why hes so against sanding... its a much quicker and more effective way to restore the gel coat. Especially Cobalt gel coat. Cobalt got its name BECAUSE of this additive they put in the gel lol. it makes it very very hard.

Here he did one side buffing while another experienced boat detailer wetsanded the other side. On a Cobalt.

[Big Block Power]

I just dont understand why hes so against sanding... its a much quicker and more effective way to restore the gel coat. Especially Cobalt gel coat. Cobalt got its name BECAUSE of this additive they put in the gel lol. it makes it very very hard.

Here he did one side buffing while another experienced boat detailer wetsanded the other side. On a Cobalt.

I'm with Lockey14s. I've wet sanded first and I've buffed. The buffed one always came back. The wet sand was way more satisfying.

[Lockey14s]

He definitely has nailed down a good technique with that 3M Super Duty and thats fantastic for him. I might try the stuff down the line on future boats and see how it works. Again, every detailer has their own ways and swears by it, which is fine. I could watch these kinds of videos all day long lol.

[Titaniumboy]

BBP,

Lee has several videos showing boats one and two years after compounding that still look pretty good. I’ll see if I can find examples that he has posted. I don’t know exactly what he is doing different from other compounders to get wetsanding-like results, but I guess when you do 150 boats a year for 14 years that you pick up some skills.

He has said that he is in discussions with 3M to show them how to use their products to get better results than 3M believes is possible. He has said more than once that you are doomed to failure if you follow the instructions on the 3M bottles. Maybe we will hear more about the 3M discussions in a month or two?

What the heck do I know? I’m just some dude on the Internet with a Cobalt who is hoping to compound my boat using some of these techniques this spring.

This video is an 8 min excerpt from the 42 minute video on the green boat with the shiny oxidized gelcoat.

[Big Block Power]

I'm just glad my boat didn't see the sun so I won't ever have to buff again

[Titaniumboy]

Good plan !

My boat doesn’t see much sun either. It is the red one on the ground floor at the far right. The problem is, since the boat only sees sunlight while in use, that I’ve used that as an excuse not to do much waxing over the years. Now I’m overdue to get her back to a factory shine.

[Lockey14s]

Just a little more insight into the difference between wet sand and buffing