Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

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Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by Titaniumboy »

Lee buffs the white gelcoat between the glass and bow on the starboard side.


2007 Cobalt 240 with Merc 496 MAG Bravo 3
1977 18’ Beachcraft with Ford 302 V8 OMC 190
Whiskey Slough Marina
Holt, CA
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by Titaniumboy »

Next up is the starboard gunwale top section near the bow seats.


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1977 18’ Beachcraft with Ford 302 V8 OMC 190
Whiskey Slough Marina
Holt, CA
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by CBO »

Lee does great work and is very informational. A buddy and myself had the opportunity to stop and see his work in person while in Lake Chelan for work. I followed his every word as well as his technique and my boat came out almost perfect. The products he recommends are the cats meow! I took his advice and put that Fireglaze on my RV and all my vehicles. I now do a light strip and reapply Fireglaze on the boat every year. This past season I never once had to wash the boat, just dry it off at the launch and wipe it down with 303 speed detailer after parking it in the shop.
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Rathdrum, ID
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by Titaniumboy »

That is good to hear. I’m hoping to use his buffing technique this spring for the first time.

Starboard side in and around the tower supports.

2007 Cobalt 240 with Merc 496 MAG Bravo 3
1977 18’ Beachcraft with Ford 302 V8 OMC 190
Whiskey Slough Marina
Holt, CA
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by CBO »

You will definitely be amazed at the outcome. You will end up doing the entire boat. I even did the bottom and nothing sticks to it anymore. It’s just very time consuming.
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by Titaniumboy »

The entire port side is made into a mirror.


2007 Cobalt 240 with Merc 496 MAG Bravo 3
1977 18’ Beachcraft with Ford 302 V8 OMC 190
Whiskey Slough Marina
Holt, CA
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by Pilotmike »

I am watching his series now and he gets results. Brought this up to a detailer friend of mine and he said never used auto wax on a gelcoat boat finish!

Seemed to work for Lee, what's everyone's thoughts on using Fire Glaze? I use Flagship, but curious about tr4ying this product.

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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by Titaniumboy »

Have you seen what he did with the thrashed and trashed Bayliner?
2007 Cobalt 240 with Merc 496 MAG Bravo 3
1977 18’ Beachcraft with Ford 302 V8 OMC 190
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by CBO »

I use Fire Glaze Plus on everything, its great stuff. I followed his exact advise and my boat has that same mirror finish. I get so many compliments at the launch, even held up the line having people looking at the boat. It's not hard just very time consuming, but the results are worth it. My boat and RV live in a heated shop so I usually have all winter to get them looking perfect.
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by Titaniumboy »

I lied. There was more port side work to do. Here Lee goes after the top gunwale on the port side. Also the tricky gelcoat section between the window and bow seats.


2007 Cobalt 240 with Merc 496 MAG Bravo 3
1977 18’ Beachcraft with Ford 302 V8 OMC 190
Whiskey Slough Marina
Holt, CA
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by IA_SD220S »

I enjoy his videos. Trying to justify buying a buffer like he uses. Just have a random orbital for now. I am scared of messing up my clear coat so that’s the main reason I haven’t upgraded.
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by Titaniumboy »

I couldn’t justify the cost of a new Dewalt polisher like Lee has so I bought a used one off of eBay and cleaned it up. A new one would probably have been less expensive if I accounted for the 2-3 hours spent cleaning it.

Here is a “short” video of Lee working on the port bow, but first he goes on a bit of a mini rant and issues a challenge to wetsanders.


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1977 18’ Beachcraft with Ford 302 V8 OMC 190
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by sturge »

Watched a bunch of his videos and some others to learn. Spent $500 on materials and just did my '08 252 which was in need of some love. Lots of work but it came out awesome basically following what Lee recommended.

Took some trial/error on sections to see what worked best for my oxidation but it was amazing how well it works once you figure it out. Ended up doing one round of 3M Super Duty, one round of 3M Heavy Cut. I never had to use the 3M Perfect It EX AC because it looked so good after the second round. I cleaned/degreased with Mothers CMX spray, then waxed with Meguires Flagship. Maybe next year I will try the FireGlaze.

Cleaned entire hull with Starbrite Hull cleaner. All buffing was with 9" double sided wool pad ($50) using Dewalt rotary ($199) that Lee recommended. Bought a "spur" to clean pads as needed ($7). Wax was applied using Harbor Freight Hercules Forced Rotation Dual Action Polisher ($99) with a 6" foam pad ($20 for box of 3).
CobaltBeforeBuff.jpg
CobaltAfterBuff.jpg
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by jhnmdahl »

Sturge, that is some impressive work! I swapped the photos around so its before-and-after, as if it wasn't super obvious.
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Re: Lee tackles a faded blue Cobalt

Post by sturge »

jhnmdahl wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2024 8:16 pm Sturge, that is some impressive work! I swapped the photos around so its before-and-after, as if it wasn't super obvious.
Thanks!
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