DIY Skin Install

[ChadFulton]

Just placed an order with Gabe for a full set of skins. Was leaning towards having a local shop do install, but Gabe encouraged me to do at least most of the pieces myself to save some money.

Has anyone done this? If so, would you recommend DIY route?

[BDFD1206]

I did my 3 back seat cushions myself. It was harder than you would think to get the seams to line up perfectly, and how tight to pull the vinyl so it meets up with the adjacent seats perfectly. I definitely saved some money, but if you were looking, you would be able to tell it wasn’t perfect. Also, if you do install them yourself, get monel staples.

[Mb911]

Super easy. Just takes time. I did the sun deck panels and just ordered 4 more skins from gabe

[ChadFulton]

Just got the pics from Gabe... woohoo!

[REHinH20]

Here is my post with photos from when I started my seat bottoms.  Start with those, as they are the easiest. them move on to the ones with more contours,  That puts you further down the learning curve.

 

[Joshuntnd]

We got our skins from Gabe’s also! The quality was awesome! We tried to use a local shop, long story, but that didn’t work out. So we did the entire boat ourselves working all the free hours we had in a 2 week period. We had zero experience going in. So be confident that you too can do it. 
 

There are a few things that we learned along the way.

1) TAKE YOUR TIME!

2) An upholstery stapler is an absolute necessity! You can not successfully us general construction staples/guns. The staples are sharp and cut the vinyl. 
Here is what we used- https://www.sailrite.com/Sailrite-Long-Nose-Upholstery-Staple-Gun

That gun has a long nose. After completing the job I wished I had the short nose. 
https://www.sailrite.com/Sailrite-Short-Nose-Upholstery-Staple-Gun

3) You will definitely need steam! the steam will help revive the foam, unfortunately it will not always make it like new. Here is what we used- bonus here you can us it for other things around the house afterwards- 

McCulloch MC1375 - got it on Amazon. 

 

4) You will also find that Silicone spray helps things slide into place. We sprayed all of the corners/edges of the foam. 
 

5) Staples, staples, and more staples. We used roughly 15,000! 
 

https://www.sailrite.com/Sailrite-21-Gauge-3-8-10mm-Staples-10-000-Box-Stainless-Steel

6) TAKE YOUR TIME!!

Good luck, it will be worth it in the end!!

[Bkreece]

I agree with Joshuntnd's points.  I ordered a pneumatic staple gun, borrowed a clothes steamer and used silicone spray.  On some of the more difficult seat backs, i stretched the vinyl, stapled, then stretched from another side, stapled, steamed, then pulled first staples, stretched again, more staples and on and on until I finally got the vinyl to lay flat.  On the seatbacks in the bow in particular, I just couldn't get it perfect.  I got it as good as I could and moved on.  Well, over the course of the summer with the sun and people using the seats, all the remaining wrinkles stretched out and are now gone.   I am impressed that Joshuntnd finished in two weeks.  This project took me about 4 months.  But I mostly worked just a couple few hours on weekends.  

1/2 way through the project I seriously questioned why I decided to DIY.  But now that it is all said and done, so glad I did this myself.  It looks great and people are shocked when I tell them that I did it.  In addition, I learned a ton about my boat having all the seats out.  It also gave me a chance for a real deep clean and to clean up some funky stereo stuff a previous owner did.  

[bboozer]

I got my skins from Gabe and used a local shop to do the install and I am torn... It still cost me a lot of $ and I am not happy with their attention to detail (or Really Lack there of) there are things that they put back together wrong or backwards (like the grab bars and some they didn’t even connect) and they messed up some of the stereo wiring, but I don't want to take it back for fear of them screwing something else up... Example the owner walked through the mud in their lot and then proceeded to climb into my boat with his muddy shoes on and get mud all over the carpet... 

[Joshuntnd]

On 11/5/2023 at 11:11 PM, Bkreece said:

I am impressed that Joshuntnd finished in two weeks.

Thanks! We were totally shocked! 

It was a VERY VERY long 2 weeks! It was me, my wife, and my in-laws. The wife and I spent every free minute we had in those 2 weeks working.  Easily 6-8hrs every evening during the week, and as many hours as we could physically and mentally take on the weekends. There were definitely some stressful/trying moments. 

 

On 11/5/2023 at 11:11 PM, Bkreece said:

On some of the more difficult seat backs, i stretched the vinyl, stapled, then stretched from another side, stapled, steamed, then pulled first staples, stretched again, more staples and on and on until I finally got the vinyl to lay flat.  On the seatbacks in the bow in particular, I just couldn't get it perfect.  I got it as good as I could and moved on. 

Well said Bkreece! These are some very important steps/points/tips that I failed to mention. 

[Bird]

Gage just finished up for me and a Freind, the best ever.