How To Repair Boat Seats

How Much Does It Cost To Replace Repair Or Reupholster Boat Seats

One thing you may be wondering about is how much reupholstering boat seats costs. Moreover, how does reupholstering compare to repair or purchasing completely new seats?

Well, your final choice cost-wise will depend on these factors:

• The condition of your seats. If your seats are not severely damaged, then you could get away with repairing them yourself. Otherwise, you may want to think about replacing the cover or just buying new seats.
• Your budget. If your budget is really limited, then replacing the seats probably isnt a good option.
• Supply availability and pricing. Can you purchase quality vinyl fabric in your area for a good price? Or can you purchase a decent seat for not too much money? Or maybe having a professional fix your seats would be cheaper? Youll have to look around your area to find out.

Now, lets have a look at how much repairing, reupholstering, or replacing boat vinyl seats would cost.

How To Get Stains Off Your Boat Seats:

Stains are also highly unattractive on your boat seats. These can be hard to get off and the longer they go untouched, the harder they can be to remove.

In addition to the vinegar, bleach, or mineral oil methods listed above, there are other techniques you can use to clean stains off your boat seats.

Other methods for removing stains from your boat seats can include alcohol wipes, magic erasers, or even specially designed marine-vinyl cleaners.

Quality Protection For Your Vinyl

Flexible and durable, an application of Vinyl Coat creates a permanent coating that wont crack, chip, fade, or peel. Vinyl Coat is also an American-made product that has been thoroughly tested for quality.

The best part is that Vinyl Coat can save you money over traditional replacement or restoration costs. A new boat seat can cost hundreds of dollars. By using Vinyl Coat to restore the seat, your material cost per seat is less than $32. You also save time because you can apply Vinyl Coat on the spot. No more waiting for a new seat to ship, and no more expensive shipping fees either.

You May Like: What Is My Pontoon Boat Worth

Secure The New Boat Upholstery

Once you have sewn your new boat upholstery, you can then place it in the boat. You will lay it over the foam and plywood and secure it with a staple gun. You will begin by securing the corners to the plywood and pulling in any slack. Once the corners are secure, you can then add staples every 1 inch across each side to keep the material in place.

Cleaning With Mineral Oil:

Mineral oil is a less common ingredient than vinegar or bleach. Mineral oil is created as a by-product during the distillery process of petroleum.

This cleaner is recommended for cleaning vinyl stains that are older, or even stains that have been caused by oil or grease.

This is because mineral oil has the ability to decompose oils while not doing damage to the surface featured underneath.

One important thing to note when using mineral oil for cleaning your seats it that it is mainly used for the stain itself. For this reason, you will want to make sure your seat is cleaned before proceeding with the mineral oil.

Tips on using mineral oil on marine vinyl seats include:

• To apply the mineral oil you will want to use a small piece of dry cloth that you have applied a few drops of mineral oil to.
• Wipe the stain with the cloth.
• If the stain seems to be really deep, you can consider using a few drops applied directly on the stain.
• Keep the stain on for about 5 minutes.
• Make sure you wash off the mineral oil.
• Repeat this process until the stain is sufficiently removed.

Mineral oil should not be used as a basic cleaning ingredient, it should be used more as a spot corrector for stain removal.

Make sure you are using the proper oil and that you are following any directions or special instructions.

You May Like: Colorado Boat Registration Requirements

How To Remove Paint Oxidation From A Fiberglass Boat

Vinyl upholstery that sits in the sun for long periods, like the vinyl seating on a boat, will eventually require some attention. Vinyl conditioners can help prevent the cracking of the vinyl, but if you have seats that are already starting to look a little brittle, or if the vinyl has already begun to crack, a simple repair will add years to their life and save the cost and effort involved in replacing the seat covers.

Items you will need

• Fabric paint

• Vinyl conditioner

Clean and prepare the surface. Usually, this is nothing more than a wet wipe-down with water and a mild detergent to remove any oil on the surface of the vinyl. Be sure the surface is completely dry before continuing with the repair.

Apply the repair compound using the applicator supplied with the vinyl repair kit and spread with a plastic knife. Plastic utensils are available from most grocery stores, are inexpensive and won’t absorb the vinyl repair material.

Allow the repair compound to cure completely. Smooth out the repair with 600-grit sandpaper.

Make color matching or color changes by using a vinyl spray paint, which can be found at most auto parts stores. Two light coats should be sufficient if you match the original color, the finished product is less likely to show scratches that occur in the future.

References

Our Boat Seat Repair Kit Suggestions

Capable of making your vinyl seat look like new, fabric repair kits can do wonders.

Now, if you have a serious tear, then you may not be able to fully restore your boat seats. But with repair kits, you at least get the chance to bring your boat vinyl seat back to its former luster.

Typically, a vinyl repair kit includes the following supplies:

• Backing fabric to cover the tear.
• Repair compound as an adhesive for the backing fabric. Usually, the repair compound is colored to help you match the appearance of the patch to your vinyl seat.
• Color mixing guide, if there are several colors of repair compound included.
• Tools to help you with mixing and applying the compound to your vinyl fabric.

And here are our 3 boat upholstery kit suggestions to help you get started with your seat repair project.

Recommended Reading: How To Look Up Boat Hull Numbers

The Ultimate Guide To Boat Upholstery Repair

After investing a lot of time and money in your boat, you want to do what you can to ensure that it looks nice. However, with the boating season in full swing, you may not have time at the moment to do everything you need to do. This might include boat upholstery repair.

No doubt you are aware that your seats are an integral part of your boat. They are where people sit to enjoy the sun and water. If they are cracked, ripped, or damaged, this can detract from the aesthetic beauty of your boat and make them uncomfortable to sit on.

Pay Someone Else To Do It

It can take a certain level of patience and skill to do boat upholstery repair or replacement yourself. Theres no shame in paying someone else to do it if youre short of time or the necessary skills. However, when you talk with various upholstery installers, make sure that theyve worked on boats. Its very different upholstering a car seat or couch compared with a boat.

If youve never done a boat upholstery project or any type of upholstery project, you may want to shadow a specialist and help out on a few projects before attempting to replace the fabric on your own boat. Alternatively, have an experienced buddy help you out .

You May Like: Removing Mildew From Vinyl Boat Seats

How To Reupholster Boat Seats Without Sewing

First up, wed like to cover reupholstering boat seats without any sewing. Instead of sewing, the method well describe below requires stapling.

You might need to get yourself a stapler for this project, but ultimately, you will complete the job much faster with sewing.

With that, here are step-by-step instructions on boat seat reupholstering.

What Is Boat Upholstery

Boat upholstery isnt like what you find on your couch in your house. In many cases, its closer to what you will find in your car but its even more specialized than that. Boat upholstery has to be able to stand up to many different elements, including the sun and water, all of which can degrade materials. Therefore, this upholstery is often waterproof, highly durable, and UV resistant.

When it comes to getting the best boat upholstery, there are some things youll need to consider. This includes getting the best fabric and foam for your boat. You dont want to go cheap when it comes to these materials, as they will break down faster and need to be replaced sooner. They could even promote the growth of mold and mildew, and this will wreak havoc on your boat and could impact peoples health.

Youll also want to make sure that the material is durable and can stand up to more than just water and sun. If you have kids or pets who frequently join you on the boat, they can cause a lot of damage, which will lead to a need for boat upholstery repair. Having materials that can withstand such abuse is beneficial.

Don’t Miss: How To Clean Mildew Off Boat Seats

Understand The Difference Between Waterproof And Water

Your choices in upholstery will be either waterproof or water-resistant. If they are waterproof, this means that water wont be able to penetrate the surface at all. If they are water-resistant, this means that water wont pass through the surface easily and wont cause any harm to the material if it does get wet.

If youre looking for material for your boat, you more than likely want something that is waterproof. You will be on the water, which means that things will get wet. Having material that keeps water out is the best choice to make.

Finishing Of Your Boat Seat

It is best to cover the seat foam in a Polyester Padding to enhance the shape and this will also act as a protective layer. Stretch the padding over the foam and use a spray contact adhesive to fasten it in place. You can for additional security cover the polyester in a protective waterproof coating.

You can now proceed to install the cover on your renewed boat seat. You can use the old one if itâs in good condition or contact us to have your boat seat coverings made to order.

Stretch the cover over the base and foam and wrap the edges around the bottom of the base. You can then proceed to staple the cover to the ply. Apply staples at approximately 20-30mm spacings.

Do one side at a time, so you can even out any creases, so it is finished nicely taut and of the correct shape. Try not to pull the cover so tightly that it squashes the foam interior.

You have now finished repairing your boat seat and you can now go out and enjoy some sailing or a spot of fishing, or if you are into water skiing some time spent doing that.

Boat Seat repair is not an easy job and you should research as much as you can before you proceed with doing it. If you find itâs too much to handle, you can contact the Foam Shop and we will be welcome to provide our professional boat seat repair service. We have many years experience in boat seat, marine upholstery and yacht seating so you can be assured of a great job.

Don’t Miss: Licensing A Boat In Missouri

What Are The Additional Expenses

Some experts can reconstruct a seat if it were to have a structural issue for an extra cost.

If you do choose to reholster the whole boat, some experts will typically advise setting up brand-new stereo and speakers at the same time given that the wires will be visible. While optional, if you do want to set up a brand-new stereo, this can be an extra expense to think about.

How To Protect Your Boats Seats While Parked:

Maintenance is important to keeping your boat seats looking great, but it is not the only thing that you should be doing.

When you are not using the boat, you should cover your boat for its own protection. This will prevent all kinds of dirt and damage to your boat.

If you do not want to cover the entire boat, which can be a pain at times, you could look into boat seat covers.

When looking for boat seat covers make sure that you find some that are breathable to prevent mildew. You will also want to be sure your covers are made with a fabric that blocks UV rays.

Read Also: Is Banana Boat Sunscreen Gluten Free

How To Avoid Boat Interior Restoration

Eventually, you’ll need to either put serious elbow grease and free time into your boat or employ someone to provide boat restoration services. You can’t avoid it, but you can prolong it. Here are some great tips to keep your boat in “like new” shape for yourself, for you drooling lake neighbors, or for resale.

From faded and worn to brilliant and new. Bring your boat back to life with Color Glo.

Make A Cleaning Schedule

If you get into the habit of scheduling a regular deep cleaning for your seats, you will not only form a good habit but you will not forget what needs to be done and when.

How often you are out on your boat and how dirty it gets when you are using it can help determine how often you should make cleaning a priority.

You also will want to make sure that you clean it if you notice a build-up of dirt or grime, even if you are not scheduled to.

You May Like: How To Register Boat In Missouri

Boat Seat Repair & Restoration: How To Fix Torn Boat Upholstery

Keep your boat in tip-top shape by fixing torn boat upholstery to prevent you from having to make costly seat replacements.

After you take your boat out of storage this summer, there will be repairs you need to make to get it ready for the water. In addition to a thorough cleaning, its important to give the engine a tune-up. You should check your boats battery to ensure it will last for the season. Boat electronics like GPS, radio, and radar can all drain the battery over time. If your battery is more than four years old, it likely needs to be replaced.

As you are getting your boat ready for a fun season in the sun, it is likely you will encounter some torn upholstery. Marine-grade vinyl is made to withstand the rigors of sunlight, water, and family fun. Yet, over time rips and tears are inevitable. It is much more affordable to fix the tears as they happen versus replacing a seat ruined by water damage. The good news is that you can opt to fix small holes on your own with a vinyl repair kit. Creative Colors International Inc., the leader in mobile leather and vinyl repair, has the tips and tricks to this do-it-yourself project for weekend warriors.

Just How Much Does Boat Upholstery Repair Work Cost

The price of reupholstering boat seats will depend on the material/fabric being utilized, the number of seats, where you live, and the company or professional employed for the task. In general, the cost per seat cushion is typically around $100 to $300+. Most companies will have a minimum hourly cost, which typically starts at $55 hourly and can reach $150 or more. You can check out the list below to see what these jobs might cost you.

The rate increases as the workload of the task need more than just changing a set cover. On an online forum thread, for example, an online forum member stated an upholstery task that consisted of 2 bolsters, a leaning post seat, seatback, and the 2 small back cushions can cost $1,000 to $2,000.

An online forum member on iBoats.com stated he was just returning from the upholsterer and was charged $1,100 for four-seat bottoms, the sun deck, and the bench back.

Another family-owned boat upholstery service, for example, uses a price quote for layback seat panels that keep the same seat frames, foam, and hardware at $290 each. A sample upholstery task for layback seats, complete with brand-new frames , is priced at $345 each, according to the businesss site.

Part of the Boat and its Average Cost

So how much would it cost to reupholster a 20-foot boat for example? Its pretty complicated to say. It all comes down to the individual pieces that need reupholstering, the level of degradation, and the professionals you choose to work with.

Read Also: Gluten-free Sunscreen 2021