Chemical Burn

[SoxFan]

After a full day of boating with friends last weekend we got back in the dark and put the boat away.
Pulled the boat out of the garage today and noticed these two burn marks on the front cushion.
With no smokers on the boat, I am curious if anyone can help identify what could have caused a chemical reaction to melt the vinyl??
If hand sanitizer leaked out of someone’s pocket, could direct sunlight cause this reaction?
Aside from living with it, which I can’t do, I see no way of repairing it
Looks like I’ll be asking for a new cushion for Christmas I

 

[sfadchi]

Oh man that sucks! I'm sure a good shop could fix it for cheaper than a new one.

 

[mrcleanr6]

Hmmm i work daily with tons of defferent chemicals and harsh solvents and im not sure what would have a reaction like that. The seats are pvc and even if a solvent that could melt it got on there, i dont think it would make it darker like that. Hand sanitizer is just alcohol. You can wipe your seats down all day with alcohol and it wouldnt do that. Alcohol flashes off so fast too that it wouldnt have time to do that kind of damage before it evaporated. Only thing that i could maybe see doing that is a really harsh acid....and thats a maybe. That really looks more like a burn. Fireworks? You could repair it and be less noticeable but it will never be like before. Unfortunately you will need a new one

 

[Robconn]

I’m sure an upholstery shop could have that done cheaper than a marine shop. I also read where eyeglasses or a water bottle left in full sunlight has a magnifying glass effect. Hope that is a cheap repair for you.

 

[Crob83]

I’m sure an upholstery shop could have that done cheaper than a marine shop. I also read where eyeglasses or a water bottle left in full sunlight has a magnifying glass effect. Hope that is a cheap repair for you.

I bet your right, is it just me or is there a lighter perfect colored ring around the burns. Looks like maybe a water bottle or an empty cup was sitting there

 

[HangOutdoors]

I have had something similar happen on a cushion on my patio set. It was a water bottle with water in it that created a magnification like a magnifying glass does with the sun. Pretty rare I guess. Sun would have to be at the right angle and water or other liquid in the bottle to do that. Some shapes are better for a light focusing lens than others.

Not sure if that is what this was.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Friend had that happen. Pair of clear corrective glasses on a seat burned holes right through the seat. have heard of that happening to car dashboards as well.