Mold ?? on Vinyl seats. ?

[k9trainer]

Hi Guys,
I discovered this brown / rust colored stain that appeared on my vinyl cushions over this summer.
The coloration is sticky to the touch and appears to be something like mold. Its not rust as no metal ever touches it.
I have tried a variety of mold removers and vinyl cleaners but nothing seems to work. A guy at West Marine said he thinks the vinyl is breaking down. The boat is a 2004 Sanpan. I keep it stored inside during the winters and at the marina over summer. We boat on Lake Roosevelt in WA state.
The coloration has only appeared on the aft end cushion tops.
I will try and attach two pictures of the stain and a picture of the Pontoon boat.
Has any one ever seen this stuff before.? If so how do you clean it ?
Thanks Guys, enjoy whats left of summer.

[The_Hellbilly]

Looks like your vinyl is rotting out. Hit it with a magic sponge and see what happens.

[Tallykenj]

Wow would cause that? How long should vinyl last if it's properly cared for? What constitutes proper care, in general?

[RonKMiller]

Looks like UV damage.

Vinyl varies dramatically in quality and cost, and I can assure you that most boat manufacturers use the cheapest stuff available. It all looks pretty when it leaves the show room. The only way you can make it last is to keep it covered at all times when not in use.

I just bought an entire set of furniture direct from Veada at a huge discount. The vinyl looks great but tears easily. I can deal with it for the price but I just can't believe how tissue paper thin it is. If I had kids on my boat it would be already trashed.

[Liberty MO]

Could it be flouride or some other chemical residue from a cleaner reacting to the sun? I've seen something similar to this in showers before. Possibly a diluted color safe bleach as a cleaner could remove it?

[The_Hellbilly]

It looks similar to part of what I had. I blamed this on armoral.

[sjc195]

I don't have any pics but my 07 Fisher did the same thing. It was turned in under warranty and Fisher initially denied the claim saying it was sun damage. However, I got lucky and had a vinyl guy that new his stuff and said it was an error in the dipping/manufacturing process. He wrote a report w/samples and sent it to fisher and they fixed it. You can clean it up a little bit w/magic eraser but it'll just keep getting worse. Some places said they could try using vinyl paint to cover it but felt it may just seep through.

[hyper]

use a majic eracer and it should be gone!!!

[k9trainer]

Hi Guys,
yep I used magic eraser, sponge etc.....no change.
then used a mild solution of bleach and water...nothing.
I think the fabric may be breaking down ????

Thanks for the input.
I will send the photos next to SANPAN and see what they say.

Enjoy the summer.!

[PlaynDoc]

Uuuuummmmm........

Was anyone ever shot with a shotgun on your boat????

[hyper]

If you used a Magic Eracer and it did not come off, I can tell you it is not coming off. If those little white pads will not take it off forgit about it. It is there for the long haul!!

I dont know what you can do about that!

[texaswildman]

paint it , love that top, how much to get one

[dockholiday]

looking close it look like some alligatoring which may be the end of it life. try this and if it doesn't work you are only out about 6 bucks. would not worry about harming it at this stage
http://www.homedepot.com/Mold-Armor/h_d ... ogId=10053
doc

[belercous]

We've got the same thing on our boat. I can tell you that if you hit it with bleach, you will lock the stain in. I'm not sure what to remove it with (my partner is the cleaner, I'm the mechanic) but do NOT use bleach.

[Leisure Kraft]

We've got the same thing on our boat. I can tell you that if you hit it with bleach, you will lock the stain in. I'm not sure what to remove it with (my partner is the cleaner, I'm the mechanic) but do NOT use bleach.

I agree about the bleach. A lot of people "go for the big guns" trying to clean their vinyl (by using bleach) and then end up ruining the furniture's thread in the process. Fortunately, we use teflon thread so we don't have that particular problem.

Check with your pontoon manufacturer to see if it's covered in their warranty but they may claim that it's UV damage and that you didn't have a mooring cover.

You mentioned that the discoloration is sticky to the touch. Either this is a chemically-changed version of vinyl (as if the wrong cleaner has come into contact with it) or it's something on top of the vinyl itself (and therefore removable ultimately). The trick to removing something sticky is to find the right solvent. It may be worth finding a hidden spot somewhere and applying acetone to a Q-tip and see if that works. Usually, the lighter the solvent, the more aggressive it will work and yet the more damaging it can be to the underlying product itself.

Sticking with the product-based solutions, though, MaryKate Mildew Stain Remover (MK3732) is the generally-accepted cleaner for this (if it's mold). Mequiar's Professional Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner (#39) might also be a good suggestion. You could even call them directly and offer to send them your photos:

Meguiar's: 800-347-5700
MaryKate: 800-272-8963