Upholstery mail in service, anyone had experience with such?

[_vn_]

Hello, I am looking for a mail in upholstery service to do my vinyl seats. I have my seats off & skins are off, who can share experience.

Thanks !

 

[Teamster]

Isn't there a upholstery guy local to you somewhere???

 

[smokeonthewater]

sounds like a bad idea to me.... go local

 

[MRS]

Not sure what kind of seats you have, but would probably be less money to just buy new seats. After paying shipping & handling back and forth to you.

 

[_vn_]

local guys charging trough the roof in Vermont, and that is not even going trough local marina who will also will have to add to cost.
buying seats for a boat? they're made for the boat, its not like purchasing benches and screwing them to the deck plus i only need skins done, i will put them back on myself.
its 2004 Tahoe 254 so manufacturer isn't selling replacement parts for it and honestly, after looking how vinyl aged on them i wouldn't want same materials to be used.

i found this place called Twin Skins Upholstery http://www.twinskinsupholstery.com/
has anyone had experience with them?

 

[oldjeep]

Looks like they used to be called Copycat Upholstery - do some googling and decide for yourself. Just ignore any posts you see anywhere from ILOVEMYBOAT2010 since that seems to be the account they used everywhere to anonymously pimp their business.

 

[thumpar]

I would go local. I had my whole sundeck redone for $300 in 2 color with seams and swirl using marine grade vinyl. See if you can find someone with a classic car and ask where they got there upholstery done. The guy I use does old cars and boats.

 

[oldjeep]

I would go local. I had my whole sundeck redone for $300 in 2 color with seams and swirl using marine grade vinyl. See if you can find someone with a classic car and ask where they got there upholstery done. The guy I use does old cars and boats.

Yup. Check with local dealers to see who they use. We've got a local guy who the Mastercraft and Malibu dealers recommend, he re-did the spotters seat in my father in-laws boat with the factory match vinyl - you would never know it had been redone.

 

[tpenfield]

I'd say if you were mailing them to 'corjen1' (iBoats member), you'll be in good hands.

 

[_vn_]

I'd say if you were mailing them to 'corjen1' (iBoats member), you'll be in good hands.

thanks! i will give him a try !

 

[rotozuk]

I'd be curious knowing what you end up doing, and if you were happy. I have a couple of panels on my boat I would like to replace. The sun damage is beyond repair.

-Wayne

 

[Woodonglass]

One of our members mailed me his old covers and I made him some new ones patterned off the old ones and shipped em back to him. He stretched and stapled em back on. They turned out pretty well.. He bought the vinyl and thread, I did the sewing. I got some pics of the results. Send me a PM and I'll share em with you if you want. If the seats aren't to complicated of a design you should be able to re-install the covers and make em look good. That's the hardest part of the whole deal. The other issue is the condition of the foam. If it's compressed and deformed then you need the steam the foam to revitalize it or the covers need to be adjusted to make em fit.

 

[64osby]

That's some fine work WoG. :joyous:

 

[_vn_]

One of our members mailed me his old covers and I made him some new ones patterned off the old ones and shipped em back to him. He stretched and stapled em back on. They turned out pretty well.. He bought the vinyl and thread, I did the sewing. I got some pics of the results. Send me a PM and I'll share em with you if you want. If the seats aren't to complicated of a design you should be able to re-install the covers and make em look good. That's the hardest part of the whole deal. The other issue is the condition of the foam. If it's compressed and deformed then you need the steam the foam to revitalize it or the covers need to be adjusted to make em fit.

why is putting back new covers on seat backs hardest of it all? i assumed sewing was pretty complicated task... also, i guess some boat manufacturers don't really care about second hand owners and in my case seats were mounted on the top of boat before it was joined with bottom where all screws are going from inside out and are located at top of seats - i had to do some yoga moves to reach some spots, where some were just not possible to reach and i had to saw them off.
foam is discolored but has firmness, not crumbling and still same shape. seat backs are made from plastic so there was no mold or rot there.

 

[Woodonglass]

why is putting back new covers on seat backs hardest of it all? i assumed sewing was pretty complicated task... also, i guess some boat manufacturers don't really care about second hand owners and in my case seats were mounted on the top of boat before it was joined with bottom where all screws are going from inside out and are located at top of seats - i had to do some yoga moves to reach some spots, where some were just not possible to reach and i had to saw them off.
foam is discolored but has firmness, not crumbling and still same shape. seat backs are made from plastic so there was no mold or rot there.

Knowing how to stretch the vinyl and staple it correctly, especially at the corners is not all that easy. Getting the vinyl to stretch and fit without wrinkling and fit to the foam and look "Factory" is and "Art" unto itself. Sewing seams is not that hard if you have the right equipment. Fitting it back on old dilapadated seat frames and foam takes some patience and talent.

 

[SDSeville]

Knowing how to stretch the vinyl and staple it correctly, especially at the corners is not all that easy. Getting the vinyl to stretch and fit without wrinkling and fit to the foam and look "Factory" is and "Art" unto itself. Sewing seams is not that hard if you have the right equipment. Fitting it back on old dilapadated seat frames and foam takes some patience and talent.

+1^ this was real tough. I added 1/2" of new foam to my old foam to make it fit a little better.

 

[hnt]

No Title

I used Copycat in Florida in 2011 for new seat skins and cockpit bolsters for my Pursuit 2460 Denali. I was very happy with the quality and price but they were really slow. I sent them in March and it took about 6 weeks. Don't wait until spring.

The lowest local price I found in CT was $2,300. Copycat did for less than $700.with all new zippers and snaps. Top quality materials and workmanship and they have held up very well for 4 seasons.

HNT

 

[_vn_]

I used Copycat in Florida in 2011 for new seat skins and cockpit bolsters for my Pursuit 2460 Denali. I was very happy with the quality and price but they were really slow. I sent them in March and it took about 6 weeks. Don't wait until spring.

The lowest local price I found in CT was $2,300. Copycat did for less than $700.with all new zippers and snaps. Top quality materials and workmanship and they have held up very well for 4 seasons.

HNT

looks good! was it really hard putting skins back?
i am currently speaking with "twin skins upholstery" which is either renamed copycat or an ex-employee went on his own, ne sent me some samples and really trying to get this project. only question now is whether i want to put those skins back on myself ....

 

[SDSeville]

looks good! was it really hard putting skins back?
i am currently speaking with "twin skins upholstery" which is either renamed copycat or an ex-employee went on his own, ne sent me some samples and really trying to get this project. only question now is whether i want to put those skins back on myself ....

Putting the skins back on is a PITA, but well worth the hundreds or even thousands of dollars you can save.

 

[Woodonglass]

At the 20:12 mark of this video it shows the installation process of a seat cover. Even though it's for a Golf Cart seat it still is a good representation of the effort needed to do the job. If all you have is a Manual Stapler or Electric stapler and have never done any thing like this, I can almost guarantee you your results won't be anywhere close to as nice as this.