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Hi SilentSeven,
Great questions. Here's what I know.
Item 1: Damage -- Yes is it a chemical remediation process. The Please keep in mind that if a person (or company under warranty) is going to reupholster their cushions due to pinking, then they consider the vinyl already damaged to the point of repair. Interestingly enough that folks around the Great Lakes areas have lot's of pinking, but ignore it. In Florida they want to do anything to get rid of it. LOL! So why not see if the product works because the vinyl is a loss -- that's the logic for taking a risk on a product. Even excessive bleaching will destroy vinyl.
OK, back to your question. There hasn't been reports of damaged vinyl per se, no stretching, sagging, thinning, or increase is wear.. Actually I find this a bit stunning.
As for other kinds of damage -- Depends on how you define it. Some claim it cleans too well and now they have a clean spot making the rest of the cushion look dirty. The product is a powerful oxidizer so it will make whites a bit brighter. It will fade dyed vinyl such as red and blue, which is a type of damage, the door swings both ways on this. So keep it to the white vinyl only.
But how so? It must be mean somehow right? Yes... Just like a sponge soaking up water and swelling, SOME vinyls will swell and soften a little, especially vinyls with no texture, with look dull and a little "pocked". HOWEVER only until the carrier solution is dried out. Then the original shape is restored, virtually without obvious flaw, as is the shine. It's quite amazing to watch under the microscope. Everything pulls back tight and shiny. It's critical to not touch the vinyl in anyway, except to add more product (gently) during treatment. Once fully dried out, the lifespan of the vinyl, so far after over 5 years of testing, seems unaffected. I asked the current owner of the product, he said that the only returns were due to damaged shipping packaging, and some people want an instant fix and aren't willing to wait the full cure time.
Item 2: YES new (modern, conventional) Vinyls are more resistant to pinking. Around 2013 when I invented the solution, the EPA cracked down some years prior on the use of antimicrobials used in vinyl fabrics. Climate change could of been a factor too, which is why we see it in Seattle sometimes. Even brand new boats had pinking issue. I invented a device to see into the vinyl for hidden stains. We checked several boat sales locations and 1 in 4 boats had minor stains already started. There was quite an influx of pinking. Some very high end boat manufacturers has significant impact due to warranty claims. Boston Whaler said I might be their "salvation" at one point! A couple of upholstery companies in Florida said that it was killing their business having to do warranty work.
The response was multi-fold. New formulations of vinyl (not using as much or any PVC) and adding more physical protection layers on the backside of the vinyl to keep bacteria from toughing the the vinyl itself and different EPA approved solutions have dramatically reduce pinking. Also cushion manufacturers are more careful to seal the edges and seams to reduce influx of the bacteria and the food source. The bacteria also seems to have a macro lifecycle. We are at a low right now. OK that being said... the goal for the manufactures is for the vinyl to not get pinking until after the warranty period -- or "goodwill" period. But this only lasts just so long -- Seam seals with flex and fissure letting in bacteria and water/food, the antimicrobials do wash away or just out-gas and become ineffective after about 5 years (SWAG here). Backing layers (and foam wrappers and treatments) get stretched and leak. So pinking tends to affect older boats. Or future older boats. I am guesstimating that we will see an influx of pinking in the next couple of years. Hard to say.
Item 3. EXCELLENT IDEA -- Yes , at first glance, a vinyl restoration product that could revive hardened vinyl using a the same carrier is possible. In fact I came up with a synthetic oil (esters of silicone), liquid PVC polymizer (sp?) and lipid (coconut oil) combo that dissolves in the carrier. The carrier dissolves in the vinyl. Softens it. Stays soft. However, this works best on vinyls that are very early in the hardening phase. Color changes, such as graying, do occur. If the vinyl is close to cracking then softening the vinyl will speed up the cracking just do to differential of mechanical and thermal effects, sometimes it will separate the backing fabric that was holding the vinyl in place to begin with. We felt that the probability of every case having reasonable success would be very low and thus bad reviews and high number of returns (plus support calls) of a anti-hardening product for consumers would be a show stopper. Professional service providers could use this, because they can examine the vinyl and do some tests to see if it can be restored. But if someone is willing to go so far as hire a service provider then you might as well replace the vinyl? I am not sure. But as a consumer product it would probably be a night mare.
Keep in mind, I'm not a chemist. I spend my time inventing new classes of super high end industrial 3D printers and consumer tools and electronics. Pink Away was a fluke in my world, in fact my bio-chemist brother one day said, "scotty you just got lucky, you found the only way it could ever work." Actually I worked a whole weekend on it, then month to refine it and spent $100,000 to patent and manufacture it. Money I didn't/don't have. Maybe some higher power wanted to get pink off their boat and I just channeled their will... Which explains why we don't sell nearly as many units as I wish we did, re: the powers that be are appeased. Of course maybe doing a little more advertising would help. But that's not my place in life. LOL!
Hope this helps. Ping me with more questions.
Great questions. Here's what I know.
Item 1: Damage -- Yes is it a chemical remediation process. The Please keep in mind that if a person (or company under warranty) is going to reupholster their cushions due to pinking, then they consider the vinyl already damaged to the point of repair. Interestingly enough that folks around the Great Lakes areas have lot's of pinking, but ignore it. In Florida they want to do anything to get rid of it. LOL! So why not see if the product works because the vinyl is a loss -- that's the logic for taking a risk on a product. Even excessive bleaching will destroy vinyl.
OK, back to your question. There hasn't been reports of damaged vinyl per se, no stretching, sagging, thinning, or increase is wear.. Actually I find this a bit stunning.
As for other kinds of damage -- Depends on how you define it. Some claim it cleans too well and now they have a clean spot making the rest of the cushion look dirty. The product is a powerful oxidizer so it will make whites a bit brighter. It will fade dyed vinyl such as red and blue, which is a type of damage, the door swings both ways on this. So keep it to the white vinyl only.
But how so? It must be mean somehow right? Yes... Just like a sponge soaking up water and swelling, SOME vinyls will swell and soften a little, especially vinyls with no texture, with look dull and a little "pocked". HOWEVER only until the carrier solution is dried out. Then the original shape is restored, virtually without obvious flaw, as is the shine. It's quite amazing to watch under the microscope. Everything pulls back tight and shiny. It's critical to not touch the vinyl in anyway, except to add more product (gently) during treatment. Once fully dried out, the lifespan of the vinyl, so far after over 5 years of testing, seems unaffected. I asked the current owner of the product, he said that the only returns were due to damaged shipping packaging, and some people want an instant fix and aren't willing to wait the full cure time.
Item 2: YES new (modern, conventional) Vinyls are more resistant to pinking. Around 2013 when I invented the solution, the EPA cracked down some years prior on the use of antimicrobials used in vinyl fabrics. Climate change could of been a factor too, which is why we see it in Seattle sometimes. Even brand new boats had pinking issue. I invented a device to see into the vinyl for hidden stains. We checked several boat sales locations and 1 in 4 boats had minor stains already started. There was quite an influx of pinking. Some very high end boat manufacturers has significant impact due to warranty claims. Boston Whaler said I might be their "salvation" at one point! A couple of upholstery companies in Florida said that it was killing their business having to do warranty work.
The response was multi-fold. New formulations of vinyl (not using as much or any PVC) and adding more physical protection layers on the backside of the vinyl to keep bacteria from toughing the the vinyl itself and different EPA approved solutions have dramatically reduce pinking. Also cushion manufacturers are more careful to seal the edges and seams to reduce influx of the bacteria and the food source. The bacteria also seems to have a macro lifecycle. We are at a low right now. OK that being said... the goal for the manufactures is for the vinyl to not get pinking until after the warranty period -- or "goodwill" period. But this only lasts just so long -- Seam seals with flex and fissure letting in bacteria and water/food, the antimicrobials do wash away or just out-gas and become ineffective after about 5 years (SWAG here). Backing layers (and foam wrappers and treatments) get stretched and leak. So pinking tends to affect older boats. Or future older boats. I am guesstimating that we will see an influx of pinking in the next couple of years. Hard to say.
Item 3. EXCELLENT IDEA -- Yes , at first glance, a vinyl restoration product that could revive hardened vinyl using a the same carrier is possible. In fact I came up with a synthetic oil (esters of silicone), liquid PVC polymizer (sp?) and lipid (coconut oil) combo that dissolves in the carrier. The carrier dissolves in the vinyl. Softens it. Stays soft. However, this works best on vinyls that are very early in the hardening phase. Color changes, such as graying, do occur. If the vinyl is close to cracking then softening the vinyl will speed up the cracking just do to differential of mechanical and thermal effects, sometimes it will separate the backing fabric that was holding the vinyl in place to begin with. We felt that the probability of every case having reasonable success would be very low and thus bad reviews and high number of returns (plus support calls) of a anti-hardening product for consumers would be a show stopper. Professional service providers could use this, because they can examine the vinyl and do some tests to see if it can be restored. But if someone is willing to go so far as hire a service provider then you might as well replace the vinyl? I am not sure. But as a consumer product it would probably be a night mare.
Keep in mind, I'm not a chemist. I spend my time inventing new classes of super high end industrial 3D printers and consumer tools and electronics. Pink Away was a fluke in my world, in fact my bio-chemist brother one day said, "scotty you just got lucky, you found the only way it could ever work." Actually I worked a whole weekend on it, then month to refine it and spent $100,000 to patent and manufacture it. Money I didn't/don't have. Maybe some higher power wanted to get pink off their boat and I just channeled their will... Which explains why we don't sell nearly as many units as I wish we did, re: the powers that be are appeased. Of course maybe doing a little more advertising would help. But that's not my place in life. LOL!
Hope this helps. Ping me with more questions.
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