Recommended MATERIAL for Toon cover?? Seats w/ mold spots

[maddad]

Two Q's I'd like peoples input on for my 2003 20' Sweetwater: Last June we Vinyl painted majority of our seats cuz of mold spots. A lengthy process, about $200 in paint and they looked great. Even after a couple of months though, they would still grab cloth from towels we put down. This is stored outside with Original snap on cover, and in winters I remove the cover and tarp it, still allowing ventilation. Just removed the tarp and the mold spots are back. Haven't pulled it home to try the many "recipes/process" to clean up the seats, but after having a Bayliner that we stored the same way and didn't get mold, I'm thinking it is just getting too much moisture so am headed down a couple paths: Replace the cover and Recover the seats (new foam or plastic wrap the foam under the upholstery). We're handy and the wife can sew (she revamped the Bayliner cover), but with sooooo many posts on being waterproof, breathable, durable, etc, just curious what others here have for cover material...600D, 1200D, Sunbrella, etc??? I haven't popped the upholstery, but with many saying you have to remove the mold from the underside of the upholstery, didn't know if others have unstapled, wash/bleach and put it back together. Also, do you know if your foam is plastic wrapped, to prevent the foam from retaining water and inhibiting mold growth. It's an '03, so I do have some areas that are cracked so it's probably time to bite the bullet on new upholstery material. Love the idea of the DIY ready-made seat skins I have seen out there, just can't find Sweetwater skins. Thx in adv!

[sunedog]

I have a 2001 Bennington and don't have mold problems in humid central SC. My custom cover is Sunbrella. I also leave at least one side door open for ventilation. And my fence is on 1/4" spacers which allows some more airflow.

Now tell me more about those seat skins. I have never heard of them.

[mrlouis]

many older toons get mold as the vinyl used back then were not treated to prevent/reduce mold no matter what kind of cover you had on them, I had a 2003 Tahoe that had a terrible mold problem, 2007 Bennington never had mold issues same now with my San Pan, the vinyl
used on most mfg's today is of better quality than what was used in the past

[Bamaman]

Mold can often be removed with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water or white vinegar and water. There are some commercial products that remove mold and midew available at Home Depot/Lowes.

Re-upholstering one of these boats is very expensive as there are so many seats. And I'd never put new foam rubber in a boat due to the extremely high price of the foam--outrageous. Sometimes it's easier just to buy new seats.

Last time I did some canvas work, I used Surlast which is a Chinese copy of Sunbrella. It's 90% as good for half the cost. I couldn't get over how hard the stuff was to get a needle through, however. It really takes an upholstery sewing machine to properly do canvas work like mooring covers, etc. It also requires a special extremely heavy thread--and a lot of patience.

[TDJ2591]

Since mold and mildew are moisture problems, maybe consider running a fan under your cover, maybe solar powered or on a timer. And don't put a cover on while the floor or seats are wet. We wipe our seats and surfaces dry each outing before putting it back in dry dock.

[maddad]

[quote="sunedog"]I have a 2001 Bennington and don't have mold problems in humid central SC. My custom cover is Sunbrella. I also leave at least one side door open for ventilation. And my fence is on 1/4" spacers which allows some more airflow.

Now tell me more about those seat skins. I have never heard of them.[/quote]


Thx for the info. Ran across the seat skins at Great Lakes Skipper.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=gre ... &FORM=IGRE

[maddad]

[quote="Bamaman"]Mold can often be removed with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water or white vinegar and water. There are some commercial products that remove mold and midew available at Home Depot/Lowes.

Re-upholstering one of these boats is very expensive as there are so many seats. And I'd never put new foam rubber in a boat due to the extremely high price of the foam--outrageous. Sometimes it's easier just to buy new seats.

Last time I did some canvas work, I used Surlast which is a Chinese copy of Sunbrella. It's 90% as good for half the cost. I couldn't get over how hard the stuff was to get a needle through, however. It really takes an upholstery sewing machine to properly do canvas work like mooring covers, etc. It also requires a special extremely heavy thread--and a lot of patience.[/quote]

Thx for the lead on Surlast. I've checked into buying new seats, but for the price of new, I'll test my wifes patience