Painting Vinyl Cushions

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bw150
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Painting Vinyl Cushions

Postby bw150 » Sat May 14, 2022 7:11 am

Give me advice on using an SEM Marine product to paint vinyl cushions of a 150 Sport 2005.

jimh
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Re: Painting Vinyl Cushions

Postby jimh » Sat May 14, 2022 8:07 am

My advice: don't do it.

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Phil T
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Re: Painting Vinyl Cushions

Postby Phil T » Sat May 14, 2022 10:29 am

If the act of painting is to cover up mold, it will not be successful.

If for purely visual improvement, it will last a year, maybe two.

Consider replacing with quality cushions from Anderson's.
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Jefecinco
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Re: Painting Vinyl Cushions

Postby Jefecinco » Sun May 15, 2022 9:53 am

Another option is to have your cushions recovered by a quality local upholstery shop using marine quality vinyl.
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Oldslowandugly
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Re: Painting Vinyl Cushions

Postby Oldslowandugly » Sun May 15, 2022 8:16 pm

The [way to have success when applying SEM Color Coat aerosol paint to paint old vinyl cushions] is to clean, clean, clean [the old vinyl cushions before applying the new SEM Color Coat aerosol paint]. [There can be] no dirt or oils on the [vinyl cushions]. [Apply SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] on a warm sunny day. No wind. Light coats only. Wait ten to 20 minutes between coats. Never do thick coats.

Cushions will need to be done one side at a time obviously, unless you can hang it from something.

Once you are happy with the coverage do not touch the cushion. Let the cushion sit for a few hours.

If you cannot take the cushion inside then cover the cushion.

If you can smell an odor of the [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] coating, then the coating is still curing. Let the coating cure.

If you can't get an exact color match, then get a close color match.

Changing the color of a cushion to black from white is a problem, or vise-versa. More coats will be needed.

On my flip-back seat I use the Sailcloth White color. I only need to touch up the paint with a quick coat maybe every three years.

If the preparation for painting [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] was done well then the [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] will be very durable.

I do automobile seats with [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] and that is probably the hardest use of all.

[Moderator's note: changed "it" to "SEM Color Coat aerosol paint" in many places.]
Last edited by Oldslowandugly on Mon May 16, 2022 11:50 am, edited 2 times in total.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: Painting Vinyl Cushions

Postby Oldslowandugly » Mon May 16, 2022 11:01 am

More about [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint]:

Many years ago [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] was advertised as "vinyl dye".

[SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] did not actually dye the vinyl and eventually the name changed to [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint], but [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] is the same thing [as "vinyl dye"].

[SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] is a flexible paint that will not crack from movement.

I use [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] on automobile interior vinyl parts such as dashboards, door panels, and seats.

Even on seats [SEM Color Coat aerosol paint] is very durable as long as the vinyl has been scrupulously cleaned during preparation. A degreaser such as Simple Green is [a] perfect [cleaning agent].

I use an old school scrub brush with stiff bristles to get into the seams and crevices. Then I rinse off with fresh water and let [the cushions] dry in the sun for a long time.

A Color chart.

IMG_0960.JPG
Fig. 1. Center console and dashboard changed from red to blue. Exact color match was available.
IMG_0960.JPG (196.88 KiB) Viewed 1102 times


IMG_0974_01.JPG
Fig. 2. Trans Am dashboard changed from tan to black.
IMG_0974_01.JPG (55.72 KiB) Viewed 1102 times
Attachments
P7070094.JPG
Fig. 3. Flip-back seat painted Sailcloth White #15603.
P7070094.JPG (141.58 KiB) Viewed 1099 times
Last edited by Oldslowandugly on Tue May 17, 2022 10:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

jimh
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Re: Painting Vinyl Cushions

Postby jimh » Mon May 16, 2022 4:56 pm

OLD--thanks for the information about SEM Color Coat aerosol paint. I hope that was the product that was being asked about. The initial post just described the product to be discussed as an "SEM marine product."

The automotive surfaces you re-painted with SEM Color Coat aerosol paint look okay in the low resolution images you posted. The boat seat looks okay, too.

Where can you buy a spray can of SEM Color Coat aerosol paint?

How much does a spray can of SEM Color Coat aerosol paint cost?

Allowing for the many, many light coats you recommend be used, how much does one spray can of SEM Color Coat aerosol paint cover?

Oldslowandugly
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Re: Painting Vinyl Cushions

Postby Oldslowandugly » Tue May 17, 2022 10:46 am

Yes Jim, I assumed the same thing, that the OP was asking about the Colorcoat product. I buy it at an old school mom-n-pop auto parts store that carries auto paint and body working supplies. They had the best price and color selection. Also most dedicated auto paint supply shops carry it. I have also found it on the internet from auto body supply sites as well as Ebay and Amazon. Prices can vary wildly. I am used to getting a 12oz aerosol can for around $10 but I have seen it as high as over $20. You need to shop around. The console/dash blue color in fig 1 was difficult to find as it was a discontinued color. But I found an entire case lot of it from an auto body supply place in Ohio on the internet. They were happy to get rid of it for a great price. As for coverage, one can will go quite far if you stick to the thin coat instructions. I often overdo it and use an entire can on a single front car seat because I am usually changing the color drastically. If you were just renewing a color such as Firethorn Red, which GM used a lot, you could cover two front seats and then some. I realize that my pictures were not the best. The finished look is really quite good since it is fresh paint.