upholstery question
 

1. I was goign to make new pads for the sides of my cockpit. The old one look very 80s. What kinf od foam shodul i use? Is tehre a specific type of marine foam? I was goign to makea panel out of playwood and the put the foam on it and cover it in vinyl. I saw how wellcraft did the old ones with staples in the back it shodu lbe pretty easy to do i'm just nto sure what kind of foam i should get. I want soem padding but i don;t want it to look pillowey.

2. any idea how i can mount them without the screws showing? I was thingking i might glue them on but then they are a pain to take off if i ever have too. If i do wind up putting screws through them how can i keep the vinyl from tearing shodul i punch the hole and then put some expoxy on the backside to keep the hole from getting bigger in future?

Puder To hold your pads on I would use tee nuts on the inside under the foam. You can buy ss ones at your upholstery shop or on line at [url]www.mcmastercarr.com

What your looking for is a poly urethane foam (yellow in color)
Tip paint your wood to seal. Use plastic over foam before stapling finished this will keep water off foam

I re-did mine. Baja used regular plywood and carbon steel t-nuts. Since water would be behind it the wood was constanly soaked and nowhere to go.

The T-nuts you are looking for is P/N 90973A029 from www.mcmastercarr.com. Use treated plywood if you can find it thin enough or put several coats of treatment on normal plywood.

Foam can be found in a bunch of different areas any upolsrty shop will have it. I've seen it at arts and crafts shops and Walmart.

I took them off after 2 years to get my entire cockpit done, they still look like new.

I've redone several and have had good luck. I coat the panels with fiberglass resin and let them dry for a day. They won't hold water and you can still staple into them.

Make sure you use stainless staples, they are available at some hardware stores or mc Master Carr. I had to redo a bunch of panels in one boat because the manufacture didn't use stainless staples or marine wood and every thing rotted.

An easy alternative to t-nuts is stainless screws with upholstery packers and caps. Good luck

Home Depot doesn't carry stainless staples, but Lowes does.

They are called "monel" I think. West Marine and boatus has the t nuts too.

Don't know if this will work for you but they do make vinyl with a thin, 1/8-1/4 foam backing attached.

Not sure which one of these links carries it.
http://www.garysupholstery.com/index.html
http://www.boatinstyle.com/

I think monel was a trade type name of a stainless steel. My dad gave me a box of monel staples that I know were at least 20 years old, and they were $14.95 a box back then.:eek:

Puder,
Good advice from everyone. Stainless T-nuts, staples, bolts/screws, finish washers etc. Talk to a local upholstery supply shop (distributor). There are different grades of vinyl and different manufacturers have different grain patterns. I know because I just went through all of this. Some manufacturers color will match your interior more closely but the grain will be off and vice-versa. There are different grades of foam also (density) and some boat builders wrap the foam in "saran-wrap" prior to covering. Take your time and it will come out fine.

Just a little horn-blowing for Formula. The only reason I recovered my engine hatch was due to sun damage on the vinyl. All of the wood and hardware was original from Thunderbird. Still had "311" and someone's initials written on the back of each piece of wood. I was impressed. Good luck.

For interior panels, I would use Starboard XL. It will never rot and you can staple with stainless staples. Visit www.kingstarboard.com for more info

The best foam is called Super-foam it is black or charcoal gray in color and holds its form very well. It will cost you a little more but it is worth it.

I'm a little leary of t-nuts so last time I did it I put screws through the backing before putting on the foam and vinyl. Then just use washers and nuts to hold them on. If you drill a smallish hole the screw will thread through the wood and stay nice and tight.