Seat Repair - vinyl tear

[rderenzy]

Hello
​i'm wondering if anyone has found any products to repair a large tear in vinyl or any crafty recommendations.
​This is my bench seat in my boat, where everyone steps in from the dock
​I've tried my own "vinyl" repair kits, but none of them seal it well or give me a large enough piece
​I've taken it to a marine canvas/upholstery shop - and got a 800$ quote

I don't care how it looks, i'm just looking to seal it and stop water from getting in
​shoot, even duct tape would be fine from a view aspect (and I've tried, I bought white colored duct tape and it will not stay or adhere)

​knowing that the visual aspects is not a big deal, anyone have a good fix for this? maybe a patch I could heat and melt,glue? rather not stitch or sew

thanks all

 

[JASinIL2006]

If the rest of the vinyl is in good shape, an upholstery shop might be willing to replace just the ripped panel. I did that on a number of panels in my boat and it was pretty cheap. They even made a deal where if I removed the vinyl for them (i.e, pulling about a million staples out to free the vinyl), they made it really cheap.

The first time I did it, I had them reassemble the cushion (I documented the disassembly with a lot of photos so they were able to reassemble it). I did a second round of cushions this winter, and it was even cheaper because I reassembled them after the vinyl panel were repaired. (You'll want a stapler - preferably a power stapler, and monel or stainless steel staples.)

They look quite nice, if I do say so myself, and the total cost was less than $200.

 

[rderenzy]

funny thing is, the 800$ quote was to remove and replace that "brown" area - so it looked good, seamless, etc.
800$ isnt' worth it to me
200$ sure.

​this is why i'm stuck with the, i'll just put a patch over it, some how some way

 

[JASinIL2006]

Might want to check with a different shop; that seems outrageously pricy to me.

 

[R055]

Go to a different upholstery shop. 800$ does seem like too much.

 

[wahlejim]

You can score a pretty nice brand new seat for $800.

 

[TurboJet]

You can just take the seat apart and sew a patch yourself over the hole for $10 in vinyl. (Color match the best you can)

Difficult part is, it is on the seam, not the end of the world, really easy actually...

(Family has done custom upholstery for years)

 

[Scott Danforth]

my local vinyl guy that I found would charge about $40 for the sewing labor with me pulling the staples and re-stapling.

 

[82rude]

If your in Canada, canadian tire has a leather/viynl repair kit in the auto section where permatex and jb weld hang out that might be what your looking for.

 

[rderenzy]

i'll shop around.
I worry about taking it all apart, apparently w/ all the ridges and bumps in the seat there are a lot of "hooks" or hangers, that need to be connected? I dunno.

I really just want a dam piece of vinyl I can glue or stick down - lol

i'll get more quotes

 

[gm280]

rderenzy, with the problem in a seamed area, you could also remove that panel and if possible, either replace it with some new vinyl or snug the seam up and resow that it was closed up again.

We, wife and I, actually removed old seat covers from a car before and carefully removed the threads in the seams and made new patterns from them and sowed up new seat covers. And they fit perfectly and looked new. So that little area could be done the same way. Just takes time. JMHO

 

[JASinIL2006]

No Title

Usually, there would be some additional pieces of vinyl, in addition to those on the perimeter, that get stapled to the base. On mine, there were several pieces of foam glued to the base. Between those pieces of foam were extensions of the vinyl seat covering that went between the foam pieces and that were stapled to the seat base.

On your cushion, I could imagine a piece of vinyl extending along the long seam running across the seat that would be attached to the seat base, for example. (See red line in picture below.) Or perhaps along the seams that form the indentations (blue lines). These tabs that are stapled to the seat base help the cushion retain its shape around contours and helps keep the vinyl from sagging over long stretches. I expect those are what your upholstery shop is talking about. They aren't that hard to reattach, especially if you have a pneumatic stapler (or a good electric stapler). They do add to the work in removing the piece (I couldn't believe how many staples are used in these things!), but it's not hard, just tedious.

Whatever you figure out, good luck!

 

[briangcc]

Have you tried some of the repair tapes that are out there? Quick search turned this up - search term was "repair tape"

http://www.iboats.com/Tear-Aid-Boxe...4363831--session_id.892789081--view_id.341290



I honestly haven't used it but I used something similar from Gear Aid on my pop up tent - tenacious tape - available at Dicks Sporting Goods (probably others as well). The stuff I used is MUCH stickier than duct tape.


With any of the tapes out there I would try to get a piece on the underside and then go topside and put one there as well. In a nutshell a tape & vinyl sandwich. And like any tape, it's a temp fix as at some point the adhesive will give out.

 

[drrpm]

I repaired a split seam on my sunpad last year with some clear duct repair tape and its still holding fine.

 

[rderenzy]

how the hell did you get the duct tape to stick? maybe it was my special white color duct tape, but that dam thing would not seal or stay put, would just slip right off pretty much

​thanks all, I don't trust my sewing abilities, i'll look to see if there is any talent on criags list and try maybe a smaller shop in town to get a better quote

 

[dpoff]

Google Eternabond. It`s a tape used to repair tears in RV rubber roofs. My son used it on his camper and there is no sign that this stuff is coming off.

 

[Ki Ki]

Been there and avoided large costs... Actually looks good. Get Gorilla Tape, clear, cut the tiniest of strip you can. Pinch with tweezers the vinyl together as if you were going to sew it and put the tape on. Done! Mine has lasted all summer.

 

[rderenzy]

cool, i'll try more of the tape approach. didn't want clear, but whatever, just want to stop it from spreading right now

 

[Slip Away]

Get some Shrink Wrap tape. It is VERY sticky. It will not leave tape/glue residue when it is removed, like
Gorilla Tape or Duct Tape will.
https://www.uline.com/Product/Detai...-2-x-180-Clear?model=S-14139C&RootChecked=yes

 

[hemi rt]

Use something like acetone to remove anything that is on the vinyl, sounds like you may have some type of vinyl protectant on the vinyl - that's why the tapes don't stick. The vinyl has to be perfectly clean for the glue to hold.