Seat Repair Questions

[Harritwo]

Was doing a visual inspection and discovered one of my bow seats had bad plywood. It had rotted and was greatly deteriorated. I removed the cover, removed the foam and cut new Fire Retardant Marine Grade Plywood to replace the bad wood. Before i reassemble i need some advice as to whether the plywood can be varnished and if the foam is to be wrapped in plastic? The foam had a sheet of plastic between the cover and the foam but not between the foam and the plywood. I could not tell if the wood had any preservative on it like varnish or not. The replacement has been cut exactly like the old with the vent holes drilled in the bottom all in the same locations. (I used the old as a template)

So, does the plywood need to be varnished? If so, home many coats are needed on each side?
Does the foam need to be wrapped in Plastic? Just a sheet between the cushion and the foam or totally enclosed? What type of plastic? The remnants look like a cheap plastic trash bag.

George

 

[bruceb58]

I would definitely paint or varnish the wood. I use an epoxy resin mixture thinned with MEK but paint will work fine. You really only need plastic between the vinyl and the foam so just reuse what was on there.

You don't want to completely enclose the foam because it can trap water. the plastic is there to keep the vinyl from turning the foam to dust when they rub across each other.

Use stainless steel staples.

 

[Scott Danforth]

for a seat that is not in direct contact with water, I tend to leave them, so if they do get damp, they can dry out. that is my opinion.

also, use monel staples vs stainless. the stainless still rust.

 

[bruceb58]

Depends on the stainless staples I guess. The ones I use on my bunk boards get dunked in salt water and do not rust. Upholstery shops use stainless. I buy commercial ones and shoot them with an air stapler.