Cleaning Upholstery

[ErikF]

Hello,

Our family recentally upgraded from our 15' Starcraft to a newer and larger 1981 18' Blue Fin Aluminum runabout. The upholstery in the boat is mildewed from years of being in the weather. Are there cleaners we should try to use on it. I was thinking bleach but am afraid that it may dry it out and crack it.

We will also have to replace some of the upholstery soon and would appreciate any advice on where to get it.

Thanks,

Erik

ps- I'll add pictures as soon as we get the boat home.

 

[rlk]

Re: Cleaning Upholstery

Erik, I have always used X 14, followed by a liberal application of something like Armorall. Wear protective gloves and old clothes though, as X 14 will get to you after a while.

Bob

 

[ErikF]

Re: Cleaning Upholstery

Here's a picture of the boat.

And yes I do know that there is something very wrong with the picture

I'll get some more pictures when we pick it up tomorrow.

 

[ErikF]

Re: Cleaning Upholstery

Any other suggestions?

I will also be looking into new seats soon as the drivers seat is a bit collapsed and the rest of the seats are starting to show age. Are there any seats that are considored a "best buy" I need something affordable but also need durability so I'm not replacing them every few years.

Also is there a place I could go to have some of the upholstery replaced, the sunpad is ripped in a few spots so it will need to be replaced. Other than this however it looks like all it will need is a good cleaning.

Thanks,

Erik

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Cleaning Upholstery

I've had EXCELLENT results with "Tuff Stuff" Carpet and upholstery cleaner. It works on everything from leather, to carpet, with immediately visible results.

When I bought my Tahoe with gray leather interior, you could see the garbage that was in the pores of the leather. I used about 3 or 4 different leather cleaners with little to no results. I happened to mention it to my father in law, who told me he had a can of Tuff Stuff that he'd used on his boat upholstery with good result. I tried it on a couple of spots, and could not believe how well it worked.

I'm sold on this stuff.

You can get it at autozone for about $3 per can.

 

[ErikF]

Re: Cleaning Upholstery

Thanks for the suggestion,

I'm pretty sure I have a can of tuff-stuff in the garage, never used it and not really sure what to use it for until now.

Thanks