Good staples for upholstery?

am_dew · Jul 11, 2012

What kind and size of staples do you guys use when doing upholstery work? I recently had new seats made/installed and the shop used very small staples that look like the ones in my stapler at work....not what I was expecting to say the least and some of them are already coming out after just a couple weeks. This is not a great pic but it gives you an idea...

mrdjflores · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

i use monel when i can find them...or stainless at the very least.
the depth and width will vary...especially the depth, all depends on the thickness of your backer board.
mine boards are 5/8" thick and i used 1/2" staples...they were also about 1/2" wide...

you can see some of them in my "how to" thread in my signature...

also, and i may be just being anal, but i like to fold the edge of the vinyl back under itself before i staple...i still have a few seats to go back and re-tuck...i just dont like the exposed edge of the vinyl being, well, exposed

am_dew · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

Thanks. The backing boards on my seats are 3/4" marine plywood so plenty of depth for a staple to grip into. The staples they used are just like the staples you use in your basic stapler at home or work...very thin and only about 1/4" long, if that...pretty lame if you ask me. I am going to mention it to them when I take the boat back to them for some upholstery adjustments having to do with other issues, but I don't suspect they will do anything about it and instead will say something along the lines of "That is what we always use and we have never had any problems".

mrdjflores · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

3/8" wide is about the narrowest i have used...sometimes might use 1/4" in tight corners.
if you use too narrow of a staple, you don't have enough beam engagement (width of the staple that contacts the vinyl) and you run the risk of the vinyl tearing away from the staple. now granted, you can overcome that beam engagement by using more staples, but more staples = more small holes = more places for moisture to creep in

am_dew · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

mrdjflores said:
3/8" wide is about the narrowest i have used...sometimes might use 1/4" in tight corners.
if you use too narrow of a staple, you don't have enough beam engagement (width of the staple that contacts the vinyl) and you run the risk of the vinyl tearing away from the staple. now granted, you can overcome that beam engagement by using more staples, but more staples = more small holes = more places for moisture to creep in

I was referring to the length of the point above, not the width. In any case, I am guessing they are 3/8" wide and yea, they used a lot of them.

Scott Danforth · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

if they are coming out, take the work back to the shop. the length of the staples is determined by the depth of the material. I uses standard T-50 staples. I use Monel staples, Stainless is ok if the boat will never see salt water.

Woodonglass · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

I totally agree ^^^^ 1/2 x 1/2 is the minimum I'd use and I also agree with the folding back to give double thickness for stapling. You can buy a AIR 1/2" crown stapler from HF for $20 bucks. Buy some 1/2" stainless Monel staples and with a small pancake compresser shoot some correct staples in there yourself to ensure that it will not come loose.

Arizona2ride · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

Where can we buy these marine staples, local type store, online ETC, where? and can we use a regular staple gun, not the desk top stapler but the big heavy duty steel staple gun? I am going to be doing fabric work on my boat as well soon.

Jaime

am_dew · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

I completely agree with everything you guys say....but getting the shop to think the same way is another story...it's been nothing short of a nightmare dealing with it all. Based on the shop's reputation, I had my hopes that they would do a professional job with the little extra touches that make the big differences, but that has proved to not be the case.

mrdjflores · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

many places online that you can order the staples from...just google "monel marine staples" and will list most places that deal with marine and boating applications....or just search for "monel staples", Arrow Fasteners makes them, you might be able to order from their website.

and, i looked, but didn't find them in the iBoats parts search

Scott Danforth · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

Jaime you can get Monel staples nearly everyplace that sells staple guns and staples, however its best not to hijack someone elses thread.

Woodonglass · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

If the shop does not "Do you Right" then you can inform them that you will be posting on the local Craigslist, and at the local marinas, pictures and details of their shoddy work. This might encourage them to do the right thing and stand behind their work. It really makes me upset when people that SAY they are PROS and then turn out worse than amateur results. Just because someone says they're a PRO does NOT make it so. The proof is in the pudding, at least that's what Momma Said!!!

mrdjflores · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

well...for many places, PRO, is just an abbreviation.
for: PROblematic UnPROfessional PROduction ApPROach...or just plain "PRO" for short

am_dew · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

If anyone is interested, below is a link to a "fixes needed" document I gave to the shop. They have been cooperative about agreeing to fix things that are not to my satisfaction, albeit with some struggles. I will be taking the boat back to them this weekend for them to start work on the fixes. I will mention the staple issue to them at that time and see what they say.

http://www.panix.com/~am_dew/boat/Notes%20on%20Acme's%20work%20UPDATED.doc

Scott Danforth · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

in sports, an amature performs without getting paid, usually for the enjoyment of the game. a Pro (professional) gets paid for performing.

if we use that analogy.........

heck, if they wont fix their work, follow WOG's advice. you can staple them yourself if you have access to a decent stapler

am_dew · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

Scott Danforth said:
heck, if they wont fix their work, follow WOG's advice. you can staple them yourself if you have access to a decent stapler

Hate to spend another couple hundred bucks on equipment needed to do that given how much money I've already spent on the job, but yea, it may come down to that.

Woodonglass · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

Not sure why it would cost a couple of hundred bucks. YOu don't HAVE to use an air stapler, any regular staple gun will work, Air just makes it faster and easier.

am_dew · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

Woodonglass said:
Not sure why it would cost a couple of hundred bucks. YOu don't HAVE to use an air stapler, any regular staple gun will work, Air just makes it faster and easier.

I was assuming one would need to use an air stapler and since I don't have a compresser, would need to buy one of them as well.

mrdjflores · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

a regular staple gun (manual) will work just fine...if it is not strong enough to drive the staples all the way in, you can tap the the rest of the way in with a hammer

fishrdan · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Good staples for upholstery?

I used monel staples in my rebuild and at least half of them bent while driving them into marine plywood, lots of foul words were flying while I was using them. I used a cheap harbor freight stapler and a good Arrow stapler with equal success/failure. I burned through a couple boxes and needed more, but the store was out so I had to finish up my stuff with stainles steel staples, only about 10% of the SS staples bent.

I'll never, never, never use monal staples again!

Good staples for upholstery?

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