This project was actually done quite a while ago and the pictures have been sitting on my hard drive just waiting to be used.
Anyways, we bought a (old) boat this summer, but with an old boat you might not have the best looking interior. Actually, the family had kept it up well considering the age of the boat, but there was still updating that needed to happen.
The vinyl was in relatively good condition with just a couple of rips (which we used a vinyl repair sealant on those before painting) but was dingy looking and needed to be refreshed.
The seats were all removed from the boat and scrubbed clean with bleach and water before applying the vinyl paint (which is sold in an aerosol can at an Automotive Parts Store). After cleaning, all you needed to do was spray a few coats of the paint.
I was surprised it did not dry "crunchy" or stiffen the vinyl. It appeared to be absorbed right in to the vinyl as if it was always that color and didn't change the feel of the vinyl. So far so good!
The top picture you can see the different between one of the seats with the old look and then one with the paint job.
All seats were painted and held up well for the remainder of the summer and in to fall. We will see how it is after sitting this winter and how long it lasts.
The inside of the boat does look much nicer with it's re-paint.
A couple of comments from husband/painter:
ReplyDelete- This was a pretty straight-forward job, but it took much more paint than I was expecting. I think I used 8-ish cans total. Many layers were required on the nearly 30-year old seats.
- Overall the color is holding up well, but I've had to do a couple of touch-ups to areas that get a bit of wear.
- In retrospect, I should have sprayed on an 'adhesion promoter' layer first. That's also available in a spray-can from auto stores.
Aside from those notes, I'm very happy with the results, especially considering it was all done for around $75, and makes the boat look considerably nicer. I'd definitely do this again for another project.