Conference vicki::boats

    
        This weekend I turned a beige boat seat into a blue boat seat with
        "vinyl spray". It looks just like a can of spray paint and states
        it is for vinyl or carpet - just spray it on. The person who
        recommended the product calls it vinyl dye.
    
        The seat was new, but now it looks like a new BLUE seat, I am
        satisfied with the product.
    
        I used two cans on the one seat, you'll need considerably more for
        a carpet. I purchased the product from the spray paint display at 
        a local auto parts store.    
    
    
    Tom
    

    Have you considered just replacing the carpet?  Any dyes or sprays
    are going to be a temporary solution at best - the marine environment
    is pretty harsh.
    
    Check your local builder's supply, like Builder's Square or Home
    Depot.  Prices for indoor/outdoor carpeting are pretty reasonable
    there.
    
    Rick

Thanks for the suggestion. The carpet is in very good shape, especially the
floor area carpets which snap in and out. I always took these out so they 
have yet to fade. My problem is with the carpet which is under the gunwales and 
seats. I believe a professional would have to do these given my limited 
experience with carpet installation. It doesn't sound like a big deal but
there are quite a few very tricky areas which I wouldn't want to attempt.
The logical way for me is to dye.  I think I'll look at note 964.1's 
suggestion and try it out. Will let you know, thanks again.
							Jeff 

RIT is designed for absorbent fibers, like most natural ones--cotton,
wool, linen, etc.  Boat carpets are most likely these days to have
synthetic fibers to reduce absorption, mildew, etc. 

Even yarn-dyed fibers (the pigment is in the very goo they extrude the
fibers from, instead of added on) commonly fade in sunlight.  That UV in
particular has a way of inducing chemical changes of all kinds, and when
pigment molecules are chemically changed, they change color and/or fade. 
Fiberglass gelcoat and even car enamel fade.

Vinyl "paint" may be specifically designed to chemically bond to some
degree to vinyl, which may be a quite different type of material and
molecule than carpet fiber, whatever that is.  (I've never heard of vinyl
carpets.)  Best to find an out-of-sight corner on your faded rugs and test
it first, and when dry or cured, give it a scuff and brush test. 

I wouldn't be too optimistic about the results.  If it were straight-
forward, we'd probably hear about all kinds of products on the market to
do the job.  

John.

    I once had an old car with faded carpets that had once been maroon.
    They were mostly faded where the sun shone on them directly. 
    
    I used the carpet spray, and it looked great at first, but quickly
    faded back to straw yellow. 
    
    My experience with it was such that I wouldn't expect it to last on a 
    traffic area or on a spot that gets alot of exposure to the sun. Under
    the gunwales or seats, you should get a season out of it.
                
    If I remember correctly, the color selection was quite limited, (two
    reds) so you might have a problem getting a good match. If possible I
    would try to paint only the bad areas and leave the good as they are,
    but blending may be a problem.

    Jeff, thanks for letting me know that SEM made a spray version of the
    vinyl dye.  I used the brush-on SEM dye to bring back the color of my
    26 year old vinyl.  It came out real nice but I never finished the dash
    because it was going to be a major project to remove all the gauges and
    switches.  The spray which I didn't know existed will allow me to mask
    off the gauges and finish by spraying.
    
    I really think that you should re-carpet the areas needing it. 
    Indoor-outdoor carpetting sells for about $3 - $4 per linear foot in 6
    foot wide sections.  It's easy to work with and there is a discussion
    elsewhere in this file about the best ways to secure it.  Removing the
    seats to do it should be no big deal.  Go for it and I don't think that
    you'll regret it later.
    Wayne

[Moderator: Please move this note if there's a more appropriate topic I 
didn't find.]

This months's issue of Multihull Magazine has a news item on a vinyl dye, 
one that is supposedly different and more effective than any so far.  It's 
called Formula 40 Vinyl-Coat, and the article says it's a "vinyl-based 
lacquer dye,...[which] molecularly bonds with the particular substrata to 
which it is applied, rather than simply coating over the material."
Guaranteed not to peel, crack or fade, it can be used on vinyl, leather, 
rigid or semi-rigid PVC, polycarbonate or ABS plastic.  It takes 45 
seconds to touch-dry, 10 minutes to cure completely.  They also say it 
will not obscure any grain pattern or reduce suppleness of the material.

It comes in 9 shades, including white, black, gray, off-white, blue, 
beige, tan, red and yellow.  Custom color matching available on request.
Comes in 6-oz no-CFC aerosol cans ($17.95) which cover up to 10 sq ft, and
quarts ($64.95) for air-gun applications.  Stencil kits also available.

For info, contact:  Formula 40, Dept M, P.O.Box 127, Essington, PA 19029.
1-800-523-2844.