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marine vynil

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kmcormick9

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has anyone had their car reupholstered with marine vynil? i am thinking of doing this because of the fade resistance and its waterproof.
 
My wife just went and bought a cow hide and it was only $100 cdn!! Why use vinyl?? Marine vinyl still fades, and it is waterproof, but the needle holes arent!!
 
This is what my wife did for me out of an old cow skin!!
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seat3.jpg
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Gary Lloyd:
My wife just went and bought a cow hide and it was only $100 cdn!! Why use vinyl?? Marine vinyl still fades, and it is waterproof, but the needle holes arent!!<hr></blockquote>

true, but i want to be able to leave my top down without worries, and eventually eliminate the top altogether. along with my vinyl, i plan to use boat carpet. its mildew resistant and it usually has some sort of waterproof backing
 
I guess marine proven upholstery materials will make things less likely to be ruined in the event of rain, but I'd think twice about eliminating weather protection all together. Unless you can guarantee never getting wet (and it sounds like you can't). For starters, the car could actually fill up with water-I doubt anyone wants a couple of inches slopping around on the floor. Also, how would you waterproof the dashboard and window demister area? Lots of electrical connections and stuff under there.
-William (Just charge that two cents, Landlord!)
 
I think that William is right. There are more things to the interior of a sportscar than merely the carpet and upholstery. There will be no way for any water to drain either, as so correctly pointed out. If you don't want a roof then fine, make do with a tonneau cover or one of those "cockpit cover" things that act almost like a boat cover.

More negatives and down-sides to this than just going the normal route.
 
another advantage to that marine stuff is the heat retention....it has little to none. i dont know about you yankees and canucks, but in virginia it gets pretty hot, and my original vinyl seats (yes original) tend to be roughly 30-40 degrees hotter than the outside. so if its 90 outside (which it is a lot) the seats are a rump frying 130 degrees. my parents boat however, the seats are quite comfortable regardless of temperature
 
i was planning on putting 2 weep holes along each door and 2 along each side of the tunnel
 
???????????????????

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by kmcormick9:
i was planning on putting 2 weep holes along each door and 2 along each side of the tunnel<hr></blockquote>
 
weep holes in the floor for the water to drain from. i have them in my dd from the factory
 
I have been using marine vinyl on my Spridgets since 1988. Great stuff! Easy to work with, durable, water proof for when you get stuck in the rain topless.
And available in hundreds of colors and styles.
 
That's some great looking seats, Gary! Gonna look good in that red car!
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by kmcormick9:


true, but i want to be able to leave my top down without worries, and eventually eliminate the top altogether. along with my vinyl, i plan to use boat carpet. its mildew resistant and it usually has some sort of waterproof backing<hr></blockquote>

anything that holds moisture will cause rot to the floorboards and even worse the sills, and there goes the car
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by kmcormick9:


true, but i want to be able to leave my top down without worries, and eventually eliminate the top altogether. along with my vinyl, i plan to use boat carpet. its mildew resistant and it usually has some sort of waterproof backing<hr></blockquote>

All that is true, but you're only keeping the carpet and seats looking good while the metal is rapidly deteriorating from moisture retention.

Using a waterproof carpet may help keep the water out of the floor, but it may also keep moisture trapped between it and the metal causing corrosion (rust) to grow rapidly. This is especially true if you're laying the new carpet down in pieces as the moisture will no doubt find its way between the seams.

If you have your mind set on a waterproof tub you'd be best to pull every bit of the interior out (dash included), strip and blast the interior, followed by some metal treatment and a good solid coating of POR-15. That should at least offer a solid contiguous waterproof surface that should protect the metal. Once your "waterproof" carpet is installed (with drain holes) any moisture trapped under the carpet shouldn't hurt the POR-15 treated metal.

Of course none of this offers any protection for your dashboard and electrical system. To achieve the perfect "topless all weather car" you could replace all the switches in the car with watertight switches, retrofit the ignition switch assembly with a watertight version of some kind, seal all the connectors so they don't corrode, and leave the radio out.

I realize you're probably just trying to set the car up so if it gets wet accidentally it'll be fine, but I'd suggest that keeping the top on the car and putting it up when the weather is iffy will result in better long-term protection than just changing the seat and carpet material.
 
Aloha,

I very rarely put up the top (hood) on either my MGTF or TR3, but I do use a tonneau cover on both of them.

Scott has many good points why it is sometimes nice to have the top up, you can't always find a bridge to wait under in a heavy rain storm. Visibility is an important safety consideration over creature comfort.

If you are set on removing the top and hood sticks, Chuck's suggestion of a tonneau cover is a good compromise. It gives you weather protection for the interior and some security. It will keep cats and other things out of the car in addition to leaves, dust and other debris to help keep your car clean. You can totally remove it quickly, fold it and store it in the boot. I usually just unzip it and uncover the driver side. Good luck with your interior work.

Safety Fast,
Dave
 
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