Vinyl seat reupholstery questions

[dgfreeze]

Ok, I’m a bit tentative about this, but after getting prices to have it done ($5k), I’m pretty much resigned to doing this myself. My mother is a seamstress, and my brother in laws cousin has an Industrial sewing machine I can borrow. I’m more than just “handy”, wrenching and fabrication is my job, so most of this doesn’t scare me. What does concern me is selecting the correct vinyl. Has anyone here have good advice on where to buy, and what to buy? Does it make much difference? Is 4 way stretch a big benefit? Obviously, it has to be marine grade vinyl, but I’m finding it for as little as under $10/yard, upwards of $30/yard. Just trying to get good vinyl that will last, so I don’t have any regrets in a few years. I’ll listen to any advice offered, and reserve the right to change my mind. Although given the cost, that’s not likely.

 

[Beachbummer]

Hey, I'm all for diy, go for it. Humble advise... Take 1 or two challenging pieces that are easy to remove to test it out. Worst case you learn something anyway. I like to prototype and iterate. No shame on giving up later, but no harm in trying.

The guy that did mine was meticulous on removing the old and examining it to use as pattern.

Sorry, no clue on material quality.

Best of luck!!!

 

[dgfreeze]

@Beachbummer thanks! I read your thread about your reupholstery job. Looks good! I wish I could find someone around here who would be in that price range. But yes, I’ll definitely take one and do some testing. I’m just short of astounded that there aren’t more people who have tackled this themselves, just doesn’t seem to be much experience on the matter out there. Google is my friend, I guess, but I have the attitude that if someone else can do it, I can too.

 

[swatski]

@Beachbummer thanks! I read your thread about your reupholstery job. Looks good! I wish I could find someone around here who would be in that price range. But yes, I’ll definitely take one and do some testing. I’m just short of astounded that there aren’t more people who have tackled this themselves, just doesn’t seem to be much experience on the matter out there. Google is my friend, I guess, but I have the attitude that if someone else can do it, I can too.

5k is hard to swallow for sure... But, doing it yourself - don't expect a miracle!
I find upholstery projects to be similar to woodworking (and don't DIY) - relatively easy to make things look okay BUT to make things look good, or great, one needs serious skill and experience.

--

 

[dgfreeze]

Yes, I do agree with you in general. That’s why I am trying to give myself the best chance for success by getting the right vinyl, that will be decent to work with, and also stand the test of time. I’ll likely purchase some vinyl, see how it goes, and if I and my wife are happy with the results, proceed with the rest. The color scheme will change, but the pattern will stay the same, so we should be able to basically copy the existing. I’m crazy enough to try it, and humble enough to acknowledge when I’m in over my head. I think.

 

[Beachbummer]

For 5k saved, it's ok if it passes the 2ft test... Looks good from 2ft away.

May not be perfect, but it likely is a huge improvement over what you have now if you are looking to replace it, so there's no harm.


We do tend to be less forgiving with imperfections on our own work because we remember where they are and we recall making the mistake.

I reupholstered my old boat with less curves with no stitches, just tightening the vinyl and stapling away. Far far from perfect, but much better than broke.

 

[dgfreeze]

Haha, also known as the close inspection after four beer test. But yes, if I’m happy with my work, it likely looks very very close to professional. I’m a “just wing it” kind of guy, but then on the finer details I end up spending stupid amounts of time trying to make it “perfect”. And like I mentioned in my initial post, my mother is a seamstress, so my only real fear is stretching the vinyl correctly to prevent wrinkles, etc.

 

[B Frank]

Not sure if there is a Dr Vinyl in your Columbus or not. I dropped 2 of my seats at one in Nashville last year. They fixed 2 of my seats for $125 total. I would ask one of the vinyl shops what they would use if doing the work. Dr. Vinyl did a great job on mine. Apolstry shop in Lex Ky wanted $300 per seat to repair them!! I drove the 3 hours one way no problem!!



QUOTE="dgfreeze, post: 413423, member: 18435"]
Ok, I’m a bit tentative about this, but after getting prices to have it done ($5k), I’m pretty much resigned to doing this myself. My mother is a seamstress, and my brother in laws cousin has an Industrial sewing machine I can borrow. I’m more than just “handy”, wrenching and fabrication is my job, so most of this doesn’t scare me. What does concern me is selecting the correct vinyl. Has anyone here have good advice on where to buy, and what to buy? Does it make much difference? Is 4 way stretch a big benefit? Obviously, it has to be marine grade vinyl, but I’m finding it for as little as under $10/yard, upwards of $30/yard. Just trying to get good vinyl that will last, so I don’t have any regrets in a few years. I’ll listen to any advice offered, and reserve the right to change my mind. Although given the cost, that’s not likely.
[/QUOTE]

 

[dgfreeze]

It looks like they only do repairs? Worth a phone call for sure, though! Thank you!

 

[B Frank]

They removed the vinyl on mine and stretched the material and re-sewed the seams. The one I went to knew a lot about boat vinyl and said they had redone many Yamaha seats. Tougher part is seat backs as not sure if you can remove and leave those. Anyway they know about the best vinyl if not. Good luck!

 

[Speedling]

Would love to see someone do this! We are in bad need of doing ours but closest i can find is a car guy and he has only done a few boats.
Taking the seats is hard enough but the foam is already there.
No idea how the vinyl is attached to the boards. On my father in laws it was just stapled to the underside which seems inadequate for my abuse children.

 

[dgfreeze]

Would love to see someone do this! We are in bad need of doing ours but closest i can find is a car guy and he has only done a few boats.
Taking the seats is hard enough but the foam is already there.
No idea how the vinyl is attached to the boards. On my father in laws it was just stapled to the underside which seems inadequate for my abuse children.

Lol, kids are relatively destructive, but teenagers like a herd of Tasmanian Devils. Mine are stapled underneath, with a beauty strip covering up the ugly row of staples. Removing them won’t be fun, but to me, it’ll be the easy part, since that’s my wheelhouse. If/when I get around to doing this, I’ll try to take pics, and somewhat document the project. I tend to tear into projects, and forget about anything else, then later kick myself for not taking pics along the way, but I think something like this would be enough pieces and time for me to be able to document progress. At the moment, I’ll probably get vinyl from marinevinylfabrics.com. They seem to have good vinyl for a good price, and piping to match the colors.

 

[Speedling]

I was worried about the piping as well. That all get sewed on together? Never messed with stuff like this!

 

[dgfreeze]

I was worried about the piping as well. That all get sewed on together? Never messed with stuff like this!

Yep, from my understanding, that’s where the industrial walking foot sewing machine becomes a necessity. Without a walking foot, it won’t feed correctly, and become misaligned. And trust me, I’ve never messed around with stuff like this either, but with some direction from my mother, we will figure it out. I just hope I don’t have too much problems with stretching it, and getting the wrinkles out. That’s one of the main reasons I want to get the right vinyl. I want to make sure it’s workable, and good quality.

 

[Paulie]

Give @JetBoatPilot a call. Will offered to template the vinyl for me if I removed it and shipped the originals to him.

 

[dgfreeze]

Interesting, didn't know they did vinyl work. I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

 

[mark_m]

@dgfreeze ill ask my neighbor, he had some reupholstered done on his boat when he had a place on apple valley lake.

Checking out the local lake scene in Ohio maybe there is a mom and pop option to address your need. Pleasant valley lake around ashland, buckeye lake, salt fork lake, etc.

I may do the silvery hammer top parts on my 07 one day but have higher priories now.

 

[dgfreeze]

@dgfreeze ill ask my neighbor, he had some reupholstered done on his boat when he had a place on apple valley lake.

Checking out the local lake scene in Ohio maybe there is a mom and pop option to address your need. Pleasant valley lake around ashland, buckeye lake, salt fork lake, etc.

I may do the silvery hammer top parts on my 07 one day but have higher priories now.

Hey, if you get a name soon, let me know. Unless I find a financially feasible option in the next week or so, I'll probably be ordering some vinyl before long, and seeing how things go. Thanks!

PS, did you make it out this past weekend? We made it out on Alum Sunday afternoon. It was beautiful, and the lake was nice and calm...

 

[mark_m]

Hey, if you get a name soon, let me know. Unless I find a financially feasible option in the next week or so, I'll probably be ordering some vinyl before long, and seeing how things go. Thanks!

PS, did you make it out this past weekend? We made it out on Alum Sunday afternoon. It was beautiful, and the lake was nice and calm...

Actually, I was... but only briefly on the dock at The New Galena launch. I was helping @Sweinberger since he was getting his trailer weighed with the boat unloaded. When he came back I went and winterized our boat and did some other errands. The pics I saw from the trees, they looked very nice. I regret not spending Sunday on the water, it looks like it was our last nice day this season.

 

[mark_m]

Hey, if you get a name soon, let me know. Unless I find a financially feasible option in the next week or so, I'll probably be ordering some vinyl before long, and seeing how things go. Thanks!

PS, did you make it out this past weekend? We made it out on Alum Sunday afternoon. It was beautiful, and the lake was nice and calm...

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