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DIY Boat Seats

Discount Boater

New member
Hey Folks!

I am new to the community and was hoping someone could give me some upholstery tips. We just bought a used pontoon. It's in great shape, but the seats are shredded. I can't wait to get it in the water in spring to catch some walleyes, but first I need to fix up the seats. I don't want to pay $4000 for new seats so I want to try to fix them myself.

I know I should use Marine Vinyl, but what should I look for to make sure I get the best fabric out there. I looked at Joann fabric, but its really expensive and they don't have the colors I want (Bright Yellow and Black). I found this site Marine Vinyl Fabric .com. They have the colors I want, but how do I know it's quality? I also checked out allvinylfabrics and veada, but I like the colors best at this www.MarineVinylFabric.com place.

Besides choosing the right material are there any other tips people can give me to make this project go smoother. I already know I need to remove the old fabric and trace the pattern on to the new fabric and staple it back into place. Anything else I should be considering?

Thanks,
David
 
i dont know anything about doing the job but i can tell you how to protect the seats after the job is done...in the ad they say they have exposed the material for 200 hours to direct sunlight etc...if i stop and think about it that's not that many hours..

i had seats covered about 12 years ago..it was not cheap..when i picked them up i asked how to protect them...the owner of the shop offered to make covers for them...i declined as i had spent enough...as i was leaving his wife quietly told me to saturate them in wd40...so about once a year i put on rubber gloves and spray the seats liberally with wd40..a lot of it with particular attention to the seams..then rub it in a little bit..i then leave the seats wet with it..i do not wipe down...in a day or so the stuff is absorbed and the seats are usable with no trace of the stuff...the seats are like new today...

one note...if you have the cheap original carpet in the boat there us very little if any rubber backing to keep oil and gas and the wd40 to get to the glue and loosen the carpet..use rags or something around the seats to catch the errant spray..i have good rubber backed carpet and still do it..
 
Thanks papyson for the tips! Since I'll be doing the project myself I will want the seats to stay in great shape. This tip will come in very handy. I know 200 hours isn't very much but 500 hours is also not a lot when you think about it. I was thinking about also making a cover to go ver the seats to help keep them out of the sun and help extend the life of the seats.
 
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