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Anyone thinking about replacing vinyl "skins" - here are the tips from nautuqueskins.com. This will give you a better understanding of what is involved in doing it yourself.
Mine is minor compared with an entire seat - the removedable seat cushion on the rear seat - 99 Sport. I am waiting for mine to arrive, just shipped yesterday.
REPLACEMENT UPHOLSTERY SKIN INSTALLATION TIPS
Note: Unpack and spread the skins out in a warm environment, if possible, to prevent stubborn fold marks. They will come out with stretching and heat when installing them but the less you have the easier it is during installation.
We recommend that you replace the stainless steel machine screws that you remove on motor box handle, some hinges, etc. as C.C. cut the ends off and getting the nuts started back on them is very difficult, if not impossible. Tighten any loose screws on the coaming pads, rear hatch hinges, etc. that you can only get to when the skins are off.
1. Take several pictures of each item before and as you remove the item from the boat and before you remove the old skin so you have a reference as you install the new skin and reinstall the item in the boat.
2. Do not cut the old skins off. Remove all of the staples to remove them. You want the old skins to be just as they were installed for comparison. It also insures that all the staples are removed thus no chance of one staple sticking up damaging the new skin.
3. Have plenty of razor blades/knives handy for trimming. Dull blades cause mistakes.
4. Any required openings in a skin, ie; speaker holes, walk thru wall openings, throttle opening, etc., are cut AFTER the skin is installed.
5. Install new skins as you remove the old skins. Don't remove all the skins then go back and install new ones. It's a lot easier to reverse the process while it is fresh in your mind. While removing a skin, if there is something you see and you say to yourself, "I'll remember that", take a picture of it before you proceed.
6. Mark, (use pencil or a grease/china marker, never use ink or "magic" marker while handling/installing the skins), the back side of the board, on items that have welt/cording stapled on separately, where the welt/cording starts and stops.
7. Use only stainless steel staples. Crown size does not matter. Narrow crown= more staples. Wide crown= less staples. 3/8 inch length works everywhere except pass thru walls and some coaming pads, (if board is less than 1/2 inch thick), which need 1/4 inch or they will stick out the other side.
8. Get some of the cheap plastic painters drop cloths, (about $2.00 for a 10' X 20' at Home Depot), and cover every piece with the plastic, (you can staple it or use some aerosol spray glue), making sure to cut it as needed where there are listings passing through the foam. This is not to keep out water, it allows the skin to be installed without sticking to the foam. Without the plastic, installation will take twice as long and look half as good!
9. Generally, it works best to fit and staple the corners and then work from the centers out to the corners.
10. When installing the skins, always staple close to the edge of the vinyl away from the edge of the item. That way, if you need to remove the staple to readjust the skin, there is no chance the holes from the removed staple(s) will move into an area that will show. After you are sure the skin fits correctly, you can staple closer to the edge of the item.
11. The warmer the skin the easier to install and adjust. Placing the skin in direct sunlight for about 30 minutes before installing is the safest way to warm them. Before using any other heat source, CALL OR E MAIL US!
12. Do not trim any excess off of the skin until you are positive it fits properly and does not need any adjustment.
13. When repairing or replacing foam, remember, installation of the skin will compress the foam a little so a little large on the foam is better than too small.
14. When you remove any hardware necessary to replace the skins, you will notice that the factory cut off the ends of a lot of the screws. It is much easier to buy new stainless steel hardware than to fight with trying to get the nuts started on the cut off old screws.
These are the basics to get you started. Please feel free to e mail us, providing pictures if needed, or call 1-866-589-5614 toll free with questions you encounter as you install your new skins.
Mine is minor compared with an entire seat - the removedable seat cushion on the rear seat - 99 Sport. I am waiting for mine to arrive, just shipped yesterday.
REPLACEMENT UPHOLSTERY SKIN INSTALLATION TIPS
Note: Unpack and spread the skins out in a warm environment, if possible, to prevent stubborn fold marks. They will come out with stretching and heat when installing them but the less you have the easier it is during installation.
We recommend that you replace the stainless steel machine screws that you remove on motor box handle, some hinges, etc. as C.C. cut the ends off and getting the nuts started back on them is very difficult, if not impossible. Tighten any loose screws on the coaming pads, rear hatch hinges, etc. that you can only get to when the skins are off.
1. Take several pictures of each item before and as you remove the item from the boat and before you remove the old skin so you have a reference as you install the new skin and reinstall the item in the boat.
2. Do not cut the old skins off. Remove all of the staples to remove them. You want the old skins to be just as they were installed for comparison. It also insures that all the staples are removed thus no chance of one staple sticking up damaging the new skin.
3. Have plenty of razor blades/knives handy for trimming. Dull blades cause mistakes.
4. Any required openings in a skin, ie; speaker holes, walk thru wall openings, throttle opening, etc., are cut AFTER the skin is installed.
5. Install new skins as you remove the old skins. Don't remove all the skins then go back and install new ones. It's a lot easier to reverse the process while it is fresh in your mind. While removing a skin, if there is something you see and you say to yourself, "I'll remember that", take a picture of it before you proceed.
6. Mark, (use pencil or a grease/china marker, never use ink or "magic" marker while handling/installing the skins), the back side of the board, on items that have welt/cording stapled on separately, where the welt/cording starts and stops.
7. Use only stainless steel staples. Crown size does not matter. Narrow crown= more staples. Wide crown= less staples. 3/8 inch length works everywhere except pass thru walls and some coaming pads, (if board is less than 1/2 inch thick), which need 1/4 inch or they will stick out the other side.
8. Get some of the cheap plastic painters drop cloths, (about $2.00 for a 10' X 20' at Home Depot), and cover every piece with the plastic, (you can staple it or use some aerosol spray glue), making sure to cut it as needed where there are listings passing through the foam. This is not to keep out water, it allows the skin to be installed without sticking to the foam. Without the plastic, installation will take twice as long and look half as good!
9. Generally, it works best to fit and staple the corners and then work from the centers out to the corners.
10. When installing the skins, always staple close to the edge of the vinyl away from the edge of the item. That way, if you need to remove the staple to readjust the skin, there is no chance the holes from the removed staple(s) will move into an area that will show. After you are sure the skin fits correctly, you can staple closer to the edge of the item.
11. The warmer the skin the easier to install and adjust. Placing the skin in direct sunlight for about 30 minutes before installing is the safest way to warm them. Before using any other heat source, CALL OR E MAIL US!
12. Do not trim any excess off of the skin until you are positive it fits properly and does not need any adjustment.
13. When repairing or replacing foam, remember, installation of the skin will compress the foam a little so a little large on the foam is better than too small.
14. When you remove any hardware necessary to replace the skins, you will notice that the factory cut off the ends of a lot of the screws. It is much easier to buy new stainless steel hardware than to fight with trying to get the nuts started on the cut off old screws.
These are the basics to get you started. Please feel free to e mail us, providing pictures if needed, or call 1-866-589-5614 toll free with questions you encounter as you install your new skins.
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