Vinyl discoloration from cover?

[jakewar]

Dearest Boating Experts -

I've relatively new to this hobby - picked up a nice '02 Four Winns Horizon 200 with just over 200 hour on it. The only real issue aside from the sticky shift control is this weird red/brown staining on the vinyl which looks to me to be from the dark blue canvas cover. I've tried everything to get it off - magic eraser, denatured alcohol and a variety of household cleaners. It seems to be deep in the vinyl. Anyone ever run into something similar and figure out how to clean it up?

Please and thank you!!

 

[ahicks]

Those brown stains, in my experience:
1. don't come off
2. are a sign that the vinyl is going to need to be replaced soon - within a year or 2.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the life expectancy of vinyl in a boat is 15 years based on normal maintenance (you can get slightly longer life if the boat is uncovered and garage kept)

your boat is 17 years old

that staining is permanent and is coming thru from mildew inside the fabric/vinyl

Magic eraser is nothing more than 600 grit sand paper. it actually ruins vinyl by removing its outer protective layer.

 

[MTboatguy]

That is not staining, that is aging and UV damage that accumulates over years of use, the vinyls now a days hold up for a lot longer, but they still have a maximum life. You are looking at 17 years of use in harsh environments which lakes, rivers and oceans are, they are harsh with not a lot of shade.

As ahicks said, you need to be planning your next interior make over.

 

[frantically relaxing]

That there may simply a bad batch of vinyl. Some friends had a Bennington that had all the seats do that at about 2 years old. Note that the boat wasn't garaged, but was covered. They too thought the cover caused it but the final theory was the material sucked and the discoloration was caused by high temperatures in general, because the boat was always covered when not in use (not much UV exposure) and much of the discolored vinyl was nowhere near the cover material. Bennington was alerted, and they balked, but when the boat was around 5 years old Bennington replaced the seats. FWIW their vinyl was exactly the same color and 'look' as what I see in the pics.

If it's the same vinyl, and it took 17 years to brown-out, that may be a sign the boat spent a lot of time indoors...

 

[JimS123]

I'm a bit confused by some of the answers here. IMHO, that isn't mold or mildew, but rather the vinyl was "burnt" (for lack of a better term), by contact with the cover. I think its heat related. Covers don't affect what's underneath unless moisture, abrasion or excessive heat is involved.

In my case, after 35 years of storage in a garage (AND covered as well) the vinyl showed no signs of any deterioration or discoloring. However, what didn't happen was moisture or sunlight, and of course the vinyl was cleaned and treated twice a year.

 

[MTboatguy]

Jim, you can throw altitude into the factors as well, I live at almost 6000 feet in elevation and the sun is a lot more intense up here ever though we don't get the heat as the lower elevations do, I have seen the UV eat boat seats in 2 years in my area because of the high UV index.

There are a lot of factors that comes into deterioration, large cities have much more contaminants in them than small towns.

But I do have to say, the OP's boat is 17 years old and that is a good run for vinyl seats in a boat.

 

[crazy charlie]

Jake,you dont have a lot of options outside of replacing .Here is my suggestion as I have been in similar situation before.Take a facecloth ,saturate it with old fashioned bleach,not the new "spill proof" type.Place the saturated facecloth on the worst part of the vinyl keeping it from any stitching.Leave it there for at least 5 minutes.Look for any improvement at all .You may have to leave it longer.Contrary to what most will tell you,the vinyl will not be damaged any further.If zero improvement the you have determined that the stain is not organic and your next option is vinyl paint which works very well.Matching color is going to have to be a sacrafice,I have had great results with painting vinyl.OPtion 3 is replacing but I think the bleach might get things better than they are.Post back any results.Charlie

 

[QBhoy]

Hi
carefully use paint thinner and a white rag...almost to the point of the vinyl melting and going soft. Wipe quickly with a damp cloth. Repeat a few times. Leave in sun. I’ll wager it will sort it out. Did with mine when nothing else worked. Was a last ditch effort before replacing the whole thing. Amazed it worked.

 

[rick3452]

Look online or at an autobody supply shop and buy a can or two of S.E.M. Vinyl paint Amazing product several colors to choose from as well. Yo wont believe the results....

 

[oldjeep]

Common issue. Just put the boat out in the sun and there is a pretty good chance that it'll go away. Weird reaction between moisture and the glue that some companies used to use. It is super common in early 2000's malibus, everywhere the cover touches when it is wet. The color comes from the inside out. Although you have already pretty much ruined the vinyl with the other stuff you tried.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

I think its mold I have it on several of my boat seats that occurred when they were about 6 years old the areas that it showed up were on seats folded down for the winter in there darkest slowest to dry areas not areas where any rubbing occurred. Ive tried a few things but decided any hope to get it off was most likely going to do more harm than good. These seats were installed about 2004 so there now 15 years old and are still in great shape other than the discoloring.