Vinyl paint

Has anyone had any luck with painting vinyl cushions? My helm chairs on my fly bridge are stained but the vinyl is still in good condition Pompanette replacements $300 per chair x 3

Never tried it but they make spray paint for doing that in cars. Maybe ask a body shop or detailer if it would work.

Look for Vinyl repair people in your area. Your car dealer should be able to point you in the right direction. There are some good products available if you want to try it yourself. https://www.semproducts.com/product/vinyl-coattm

YouTube is your friend.

I spray painted a vinyl headliner in a previous boat. It worked fine, but we weren’t sitting on it so I have no idea how it would hold up in a seat application. I think I got the paint from Eastwood auto part supply, maybe.

DON'T do it... even professionally done, it will end up cracking and looking worse then what you have now. I would look for a pro cleaner and take the seats into them. You'd be amazed at what they can get out of the seats. If it's the "pink" stains, those can be taken out as well... "stains are caused by a strain of bacterium known as Streptoverticillium reticulum that infests boat upholstery between the top layer of foam and underside of the vinyl"

If it is pinking I don’t think it can be saved. We had all the seating in our boat recovered last winter with Sunbrella Horizon vinyl. It is the only vinyl that has a no pinking warranty. They refurbished the foam and did the new covers and they are outstanding. Find a good upholstery shop and they can probably recover the seats for less than buying new ones. If you have it done use Horizon vinyl and Tenara thread.

I used the SEM vinyl spray on my 2004-vintage cushions last winter. The vinyl did have some crackling in the finish and discoloration. The paint made the cushions look a whole lot newer but didn't change the crackling. I figure it added a few more years to the life of them before I would want to have them replaced.

If you want a cosmetic upgrade that doesn't cost too much, go for it.

I sprayed the bucket seats in my Austin Healy Sprite back in the 60s, worked great. Turned from stained red to black. Never had any cracking or flaking. I thought about that for my Captain seat but First Mate was able to clean it up so never pursued it.

I've had good luck with Rub'nRestore products on aged/faded/stained vinyl cushions on a previous boat. It's a dye, not a paint. Turned out good and held up well for a couple of seasons, till we sold the boat. https://rubnrestore.com

That is correct, I used a dye not a paint.

I have used the vinyl upholstery paint on the helm seats on my Californian. Didn't crack or flake worked very well. Left uncovered in the environment unprotected and lasted three years before I repainted. Much cheaper than redoing the seats. I recommend if using a Vinyl Upholstery paint.

I used this on the helm chair of our last boat. It doesn't go far; it took a can to do 1 chair and really could've used another half a can but when it was done we were very happy with the result. $20 from amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CPCROA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

The best product is “Run n Restore”. Works great on vinyl and leather. It’s a conditioning dye. I used it on cushions, as well as my salon ceiling vinyl. Apply with sponge or brush. Looks like new. Great product. Holds up year after year. Search them online.

How about Clorox?

I had scrubbed the dickens out of my chairs with negative results. They were accumulating a gray/black stain over the white. My daughter suggested Clorox. I purchased a bottle, reduced 1 part Clorox with 10 parts water and applied with a small spray bottle.

The results were fantastic... back to sparkling white cushions.

I used the SEM products on several car projects over the years with great success. The only times I had trouble was once when I used something other than Simple Green to do the final wash and on the welting on my current helm seat where I used a different brand. It’s just fine until sunblock gets on it. Whatever’s in the sunblock acts like a solvent.

I've used this on vinyl and leather and it works great. Looks very similar to rub 'n restore which I've never heard of before.

https://www.wood-n-stuff.com/

Funnily enough the discolouring of white seat vinyl to a pink hue is Sunscreen and can be easily remedied by multiple light coats of Vinyl white spray, and works a treat

After trying a couple of “vinyl cleaning” products with no great results I resorted to an old favorite soft scrub with bleach. I know bleach is bad for stitching but if your cushions are one step before replacing ($300x3 helm chairs)it is worth a try. My cushions were badly mold stained and the vinyl itself is worn, it no longer has the sheen of new vinyl but no tears and is not brittle. Apply the soft scrub rub into vinyl with medium soft scrub brush let it sit a few minutes then scrub and rinse. My cushions came out amazing and hopefully I can get at least one more season out of them.

I am happy to send you photos of my work with Rub N Restore product.

The mold stains on my headliner would not come out with soft scrub or other cleaners. I would also suggest an easy refinish with wood-n-stuff or rub-n-restore. I also have pics if anyone is interested.

I have used vinyl paints over the years . Works great. Only cracks if you use too much. Key is clean, wipe with acetone to make sticky. Paint light coats only. 3-5 for coverage. Too much or too heavy it will crack. Never flaked for me. 2-5 year and do again.