Tommy in FLL
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2009
- Messages
- 44
Recently, I decided to freshen the vinyl seats on my 16 foot Larson.
Not a boat that I want to spend a lot of money on, I decided that it would really freshen the look of the boat to pain the vinyl seats. Having perused a few automotive forums, I heard SEM products talked well about, so I went online, purchased two cans of white vinyl paint, a can of dark blue vinyl paint, and a can of "plastic adhesion enhancer". Total bill, with shipping: $50.
I followed the directions expressly. They aren't on the can- you have to go to their website in order to find out how to prepare the surface. I did the best job I could do cleaning the seats, then sanded them with 400 grit, put down two coats of the adhesion enhancer, and then two or three thin coats of the color.
The results were great! I did this a week ago, and was amazed at the results. I was able to finish the rear jumpseats and the cushions in the bow area, but had to leave town on business for most of this past week. Well, I went out to look at them when I got back Friday, and noticed that the paint has dozens of scratches! We have a problem with feral iguanas down here in South Florida, and apparently they, or perhaps birds...had been crawling on the seats [no cover, yet]. Their claws are sharp, but they shouldn't be able to scratch the paint like that! In fact, I used my own fingernail to see if I could make a scratch, and sure enough just touching the paint causes it to peel right off.
?
What now? Has anyone else tried doing this? WHERE did I go wrong~?
T
Not a boat that I want to spend a lot of money on, I decided that it would really freshen the look of the boat to pain the vinyl seats. Having perused a few automotive forums, I heard SEM products talked well about, so I went online, purchased two cans of white vinyl paint, a can of dark blue vinyl paint, and a can of "plastic adhesion enhancer". Total bill, with shipping: $50.
I followed the directions expressly. They aren't on the can- you have to go to their website in order to find out how to prepare the surface. I did the best job I could do cleaning the seats, then sanded them with 400 grit, put down two coats of the adhesion enhancer, and then two or three thin coats of the color.
The results were great! I did this a week ago, and was amazed at the results. I was able to finish the rear jumpseats and the cushions in the bow area, but had to leave town on business for most of this past week. Well, I went out to look at them when I got back Friday, and noticed that the paint has dozens of scratches! We have a problem with feral iguanas down here in South Florida, and apparently they, or perhaps birds...had been crawling on the seats [no cover, yet]. Their claws are sharp, but they shouldn't be able to scratch the paint like that! In fact, I used my own fingernail to see if I could make a scratch, and sure enough just touching the paint causes it to peel right off.
?
What now? Has anyone else tried doing this? WHERE did I go wrong~?
T
