Give me your upholstery tips and tricks

[BillyChinookVLX]

Hey crew,

I am getting ready to take on a complete replacement of my 03 VLX interior. I ordered skins through Gabe’s Custom Marine. They are shipped and arriving next week. I used to turn wrenches for a living so I have no worries about getting the boat back together, I have never done upholstery though. I would love to hear your experiences, tips and tricks for stretching and stapling vinyl.

 

thanks! And here is a picture of the boat right now, and the new skins prior to shipping because everybody likes pictures 

 

[csleaver]

Use a pneumatic stapler, stainless staples, and steam the foam to reduce wrinkles and make the skins fit better during install.

[94MalibuEchelon]

Is it fair to ask if the Skins from Gabe’s were under or over $3000 ?  
Congratulations on your purchase and upholstery project…. 

[BillyChinookVLX]

18 minutes ago, 94MalibuEchelon said:

Is it fair to ask if the Skins from Gabe’s were under or over $3000 ?  
Congratulations on your purchase and upholstery project…. 

Full interior kit was $4500

[stang233]

A steamer works great to stretch the covers and helps with the foam. I also think having another set of hands is a must. I like to start in the middles and work to the corners.  
tips: add 2-3 inch strips rather than one staple for making your starts. Do not staple vinyl that is pulled and suspended over the edge, it will blow through it.  SS staples are a must. 

[hunter77ah]

5 hours ago, stang233 said:

A steamer works great to stretch the covers and helps with the foam. I also think having another set of hands is a must. I like to start in the middles and work to the corners.  
tips: add 2-3 inch strips rather than one staple for making your starts. Do not staple vinyl that is pulled and suspended over the edge, it will blow through it.  SS staples are a must. 

Monel staples if you can find them. 

[oldjeep]

Definitely need a steamer for a couple reasons.  The first is to fully steam the foam to get it decompressed, the other is that it makes smoothing the new covers a lot easier.

Make sure your stapler is a long nose type - I started with a short nose and it was not working very well.  Definitely Monel Staples - Amazon seems to be the only place I can find them easily, local hardware and lumber yards never had them.

[electricjohn]

Marine supply shops carry Monel staples, especially in you're near the west coast.

[justgary]

Home Depot carries both stainless and Monel along the gulf coast.....

[granddaddy55]

on care for upholstery tips - no product or anything other than effort keeping seats thoroughly dry and truly clean . i know this sounds truly stupid and repetitive but here is my angle.

Hiding is that double seamed piece that covers and protects the skin edge and stapling of skin.  it is anchor stapled in middle of  its double seam.  but tilting all cushions 100% of the time lets more air to cushion and elevates hiding to dry.  also with hiding if  there is dirt under cushions that  isnt kept to zero or minimum it wedges between skin and hiding on both sides of hiding.  without vacuum bristles and/or wiping both crevices with a  rag or fingernail scrsped😂 keeps that matter there.  combined with water it creates a mildew breeding ground that launches a military style takeover. so wipe crevices, run fan 24/7 , snd cover boat with fan after drying water excess.  you can put mew upholstery in and still have same issues 

[dalt1]

1 hour ago, granddaddy55 said:

on care for upholstery tips - no product or anything other than effort keeping seats thoroughly dry and truly clean . i know this sounds truly stupid and repetitive but here is my angle.

Hiding is that double seamed piece that covers and protects the skin edge and stapling of skin.  it is anchor stapled in middle of  its double seam.  but tilting all cushions 100% of the time lets more air to cushion and elevates hiding to dry.  also with hiding if  there is dirt under cushions that  isnt kept to zero or minimum it wedges between skin and hiding on both sides of hiding.  without vacuum bristles and/or wiping both crevices with a  rag or fingernail scrsped😂 keeps that matter there.  combined with water it creates a mildew breeding ground that launches a military style takeover. so wipe crevices, run fan 24/7 , snd cover boat with fan after drying water excess.  you can put mew upholstery in and still have same issues 

That was painful to read!

[BillyChinookVLX]

I started the project yesterday afternoon, the steamer is an absolute must have for sure. It’s amazing how much volume it brings back into the foam cushions and how much more workable the vinyl becomes when it is steamed. I got my bow seat bottom cushions done yesterday and I’m pretty happy with the results. I will get some more pictures up here soon. 
 

Any advice for keeping away the wrinkles when I’m stretching along those inside corners? (The seat backs that are rounded around a corner and the main bow sections) I’m predicting that these pieces will be the most difficult to have come out looking perfect. 
 

Thanks crew, you guys are an awesome resource.

Edited February 11, 2023 by BillyChinookVLX

[oldjeep]

You need to stretch a bit more so that the seam follows the edge.  In terms of minor wrinkles, the will disappear with use and sun

[BillyChinookVLX]

Made good progress today, I’m running out of easy pieces to work on. 
 

every time I look at it I see another wrinkle or seam that isn’t laying quite right. The downfall of perfectionism I guess.

[BDFD1206]

Making the bead line up from cushion to cushion is a pain. I did my 5 rear-most cushions last year. They look about the same. Nobody else notices that stuff though. Keep at it. Definitely still looks fresh.

[csleaver]

Some of the wrinkles may work their way out over time.  The more stubborn ones can be filled in by gluing some batting onto the low areas of the foam.

https://www.sailrite.com/Batting-83-Thick-55-Wide

 

[BillyChinookVLX]

Do any of you have a picture of the hinges on the observer seatback or the port side seat that is hinged? I forgot to take pictures of how the vinyl strips were laid out to hide them. 
 

Thanks!

[Bkreece]

I am curious as to how far you have gotten since Feb.  I am doing the same to my 03 with a set of skins from Gabe.  You seem to be a bit ahead of me.  I have finished the cushions and moving onto the sunpad.  The corners on the sunpad have me a bit stumped...not sure how I am going to make those tight without a ton of pleats.  

[oldjeep]

38 minutes ago, Bkreece said:

I am curious as to how far you have gotten since Feb.  I am doing the same to my 03 with a set of skins from Gabe.  You seem to be a bit ahead of me.  I have finished the cushions and moving onto the sunpad.  The corners on the sunpad have me a bit stumped...not sure how I am going to make those tight without a ton of pleats.  

Make sure to steam the foam first and then pull really hard.

[Bkreece]

On 4/12/2023 at 1:05 PM, oldjeep said:

Make sure to steam the foam first and then pull really hard.

Ha!  You are right about that!!!  I was able to get the corners to look alright, not perfect but probably only I will notice.  I totally screwed up the center hatch cover (over the engine) where there is a concave around the ski pole.  My relief cuts there were a bit aggressive so I pulled it super tight to hide them under the hidem trim.  We'll see how long it lasts.  I fully expect it to tear sometime this summer, probably have to replace that one next winter.  

All in all, I have not regretted tackling this project.  Gabe was very helpful, his videos online gave me most of what I needed.  The rest has been pretty simple to figure out through trial and error.  To anyone thinking about doing it, expect to invest some time.  Gabe's advice was "take your time and it will come out fine."  I second that.  A great DIY project!

 

[BillyChinookVLX]

Finally getting getting back to this thread, life got busy this spring. 
 

I did everything but the big rear backrest, the captain’s chair, and the top bow piece by myself. Hired a friend who did upholstery for a living to do the pieces with the complex inside corners, worth every penny as far as I’m concerned. Super happy with the final product though.

My biggest lessons learned:

-Steam, steam, steam. Steam your foam and your vinyl. The foam will gain about an inch of volume on most of your cushions, makes the skins fit much better. Streaming the vinyl will make it stretch and lie flat much easier.

-Patience is a virtue (that I am severely lacking) take your time getting the skins tacked in the right place, make sure your seams are laying flat and in the right spot. You will thank yourself down the road. When you make your tacks, run 3-5 staples to prevent pulling tearing or pulling through while you stretch the vinyl.