new interior

ghcoe

ghcoe

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Jun 8, 2006
Messages
22
Just got done redoing the vinyl in our 1989 Blue Water Executive. This was our first try at doing upholstery and it came out pretty good. Did everything on a domestic machine and it did fine. Just wanted to post to show what can be done. Cost was under $150.00. Included before and after pictures.
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xxxflhrci

Chief Petty Officer
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Jun 14, 2008
Messages
637
Re: new interior

Nice work. I've done a good bit of sewing of marine vinyl on my 89 buck Singer and it works just fine.
 
dh4winn79

dh4winn79

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Jun 29, 2008
Messages
24
Re: new interior

Looks awesome!:D What kind of thread did you use? I love seeing posts like this, because it give me hope that when I do my interior I will be able to do it myself rather than pay someone to do it.
 
tashasdaddy

tashasdaddy

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Nov 11, 2005
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51,019
Re: new interior

it was about due for a face lift. nice job. i've done quite a bit with my 1950 singer.
 
fire7882

fire7882

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Jul 15, 2008
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172
Re: new interior

Very Nice!! I plan on doing the interior in my project boat I just pick up. Did you replace the foam?
 
ghcoe

ghcoe

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Jun 8, 2006
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22
Re: new interior

dh4winn79 said:
Looks awesome!:D What kind of thread did you use? I love seeing posts like this, because it give me hope that when I do my interior I will be able to do it myself rather than pay someone to do it.
Click to expand...


I used bonded nylon thread.

Go ahead and try it yourself. We used the old seat covers for a pattern. Just get a thread ripper and and take out the seams. We got a roll of paper at the home improvment center and put the old panels on it and traced around them. Then you just cut them out and use them as a pattern for the new vinyl.

I made new piping myself. I used 5/16 nylon twine and cut strips of vinyl 1 3/4 inch wide. Lay the vinyl flat and use 3M heavy duty spray adhesive and spray the strips. Lay the twine down the middle, carful not to pull the twine tight just lay it in place, then fold the vinyl over lining the edges up and press together.

We used a power stapler to staple the seat covers back in place.

The side panels were a snap. Just removed the old and stapled the new back on. We just used the old vinyl for the pattern.
 
ghcoe

ghcoe

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Jun 8, 2006
Messages
22
Re: new interior

fire7882 said:
Very Nice!! I plan on doing the interior in my project boat I just pick up. Did you replace the foam?
Click to expand...

The foam was in pretty good shap so we just repaired where needed. It is easy to repair. You just need 3M spray adhesive and some foam. Cut the foam to fit in the crack or hole and use the spray adhesive to bond the patch in. It really works well.
 
Firestar

Firestar

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Aug 20, 2006
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530
Re: new interior

Once you take the covers apart, you can flip them over to the fabric side and iron them flat. That way you can pass the making patterns step. Just use the panels themselves as patters.
 
ghcoe

ghcoe

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Jun 8, 2006
Messages
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Re: new interior

Firestar said:
Once you take the covers apart, you can flip them over to the fabric side and iron them flat. That way you can pass the making patterns step. Just use the panels themselves as patters.
Click to expand...


I thought of that, but I wanted to be able to mirror the pattern. I put the panel on the paper and drew a outline of the panel and then folded the paper in half and trimmed off the the extra that might have been on one side or the other. I figured that if the pattern was off it would be from the vinyl stretching/ripping and trimming off that extra would bring the pattern closer to the original shape. Otherwise your pattern would not be any better than what you removed.
 
W

wca_tim

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
1,708
Re: new interior

I been working on mine at home and am finding that my regular sewing machine does ok, but it is tough / time consuming to get tight seams next to the welting and places where I put stripes... I wimped out and bought pre-made welting and gimp matching the vinyl coilors I'm using...

looks good, hope I can get mine to turn out well...
 
O

Off-Peak

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
102
Re: new interior

thanks for the pictures... I have been wanting to redo mine too!! What size thread?
 
jennis9

jennis9

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Mar 22, 2008
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396
Re: new interior

awesome job! I know I can do it too...

But I have two questions:

1. I have a tough time with the piping... do you need to use a special foot when you sewed the piping in the seams?

2. I read somewhere that you should wrap some plastic on the foam to protect it - when you reused your foam - did you do that as well?

Thanks for sharing!
 
J

J. Mark

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
303
Re: new interior

Looks good. I bought a yard of vinyl to try out on my sewing machine and the initial attempts went very well. Having done some work with welting in the past, I am probably going to limit it's use on my boat. The most intimidating part is the engine cover on mine. It is just so damn big it is going to be hard to manage the big pieces of vinyl when it all gets sewn together.

I believe that learning to do your own vinyl work may be just as important as doing gelcoat and fiberglass work when it comes to saving money and making a project look nice.
 
ghcoe

ghcoe

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Jun 8, 2006
Messages
22
Re: new interior

jennis9 said:
awesome job! I know I can do it too...

But I have two questions:

1. I have a tough time with the piping... do you need to use a special foot when you sewed the piping in the seams?

2. I read somewhere that you should wrap some plastic on the foam to protect it - when you reused your foam - did you do that as well?

Thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...

1.I use a zipper foot. Works well and gets a tight stitch next to the cord.

2.No plastic. There was no plastic on them originally. It did have a mesh coating. I think it was there to maintain the shape of the seat. Factory vinyl was pretty thin.
 
SuzukiChopper

SuzukiChopper

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Oct 10, 2004
Messages
782
Re: new interior

jennis9 said:
2. I read somewhere that you should wrap some plastic on the foam to protect it - when you reused your foam - did you do that as well?
Click to expand...

I think the 'wrap in plastic' mantra comes from the misconception of people who think that factories do it to 'protect' the foam. 9 times out of 10 the plastic is there because factories vacuum the foam down to make it easier to insert in to the upholstery, and then it's just left there. Personally I'd prefer having foam that could breath through the vinyl.
 
ghcoe

ghcoe

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Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
22
Re: new interior

SuzukiChopper said:
I think the 'wrap in plastic' mantra comes from the misconception of people who think that factories do it to 'protect' the foam. 9 times out of 10 the plastic is there because factories vacuum the foam down to make it easier to insert in to the upholstery, and then it's just left there. Personally I'd prefer having foam that could breath through the vinyl.
Click to expand...


I think you are right about the breathing thing. If any water or moisture gets in the foam it would not be able to evaporate. Also I would think that plastic would promote condensation build up. George.
 
S

singinout

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 20, 2009
Messages
339
Re: new interior

Hey gud job! Looks great! I seen the first pic and i made a face and thot - wow that does need some help! You did just perty gud tho! Incredible what a makeover like that does to a boat.

You shoulda took it to a boat dealer and got it appraised before and after. :) Would be interesting to see how much dif it would make. ;)
 
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