Which Sunbrella fabric?

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I've decided to replace the cockpit/flybridge seat covers on my boat. The accepted wisdom seems to be that Sunbrella supply the best fabric for marine application. Anyone got any opinions on that? They seem to make a bewildering array of different colours and design. Anyone got any opinion on which types are best for marine seating and which are easiest to keep clean especially with difficult to shift stains like red wine and olive oil?

 

[Momac]

If you go to the sunbrella website and advanced search it allows you to select marine seating and a general colour , which perhaps helps with choice. Hope it helps . Sorry I dont have first hand experience of its use for seating.

Our canopy is Sunbrella fabric. Its much thinner/lighter weight than the original canvas which makes it much easier to handle. It does the job - no leaks.

 

[JKay]

I've decided to replace the cockpit/flybridge seat covers on my boat. The accepted wisdom seems to be that Sunbrella supply the best fabric for marine application. Anyone got any opinions on that? They seem to make a bewildering array of different colours and design. Anyone got any opinion on which types are best for marine seating and which are easiest to keep clean especially with difficult to shift stains like red wine and olive oil?

I think JFM is the resident expert of Sunbrella

 

[stillwaters]

I've decided to replace the cockpit/flybridge seat covers on my boat. The accepted wisdom seems to be that Sunbrella supply the best fabric for marine application. Anyone got any opinions on that? They seem to make a bewildering array of different colours and design. Anyone got any opinion on which types are best for marine seating and which are easiest to keep clean especially with difficult to shift stains like red wine and olive oil?

Someone else may suggest an alternative material but,short of vinyls or similar,the only other materials that I've found usable tend to be either the heavier canvas types in limited colours or quite thin and not very hard-wearing or uv colour-fast fabrics.
Sunbrella produce different weights of fabric generally recommended for different uses such as outdoor or indoor,awnings or seating though I've noticed patterns supposedly only available for awnings being used on seat cushions so,maybe some are interchangeable. Possibly the first place to look is www.sunbrella.com or contact a dealer in your area for advice. Their website does offer a section on how to clean-off specific stains but I can't remember without checking if they offer advice about pre-treatment to prevent staining. The important thing NOT to use is a silicone based treatment such as Scotchguard because they don't prevent oil-based stains,just make them a devil to get rid of. Another website to look at for this is www.303products.com where you will see an article about Sunbrella recommending their "303 fabric guard". Again,I imagine a half-decent Sunbrella dealer could offer further advice.

 

[gjgm]

I've decided to replace the cockpit/flybridge seat covers on my boat. The accepted wisdom seems to be that Sunbrella supply the best fabric for marine application. Anyone got any opinions on that? They seem to make a bewildering array of different colours and design. Anyone got any opinion on which types are best for marine seating and which are easiest to keep clean especially with difficult to shift stains like red wine and olive oil?

Same possible situation (less flybridge).
Had a guy down at the boat the other week, and he didnt bring much except Sunbrella, but I am interested to see what shows up here.

 

[tico]

With full credit to Mr Wolf (jfm).... the one you should be looking at is 'Sunbrella plus'.. It has an inner coating to render it fully waterproof and , believe me, shrugs off just about anything that you can throw at it!

When I get a mo, i'll post the results of the tests I carried out... Red wine, beetroot juice, sun cream, engine oil etc
All came out with (at most) a little soap & water.. very impressive.

As noted elsewhere, the man to make them is Martin Duce at MJ, but getting the seats back from the med might be a problem

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

With full credit to Mr Wolf (jfm).... the one you should be looking at is 'Sunbrella plus'.. It has an inner coating to render it fully waterproof and , believe me, shrugs off just about anything that you can throw at it!

The Sunbrella website is extremely confusing as there doesn't seem to be any useful info on the application each type of fabric is designed for. Sunbrella Plus would appear to be for use in biminis and cockpit awnings, according to the pics, but no sign that it can be used for marine seating. There are loads of fabrics listed in the Showroom section for marine seating but no explanation of the pros/cons of each range. Unfortunately my boat is in Italy at the moment and it would be impossible to ship all the cushions back here for a UK upholsterer to do them

 

[Nick_H]

I suppose its better to use Sunbrella Plus (though you wouldn't know such a thing existed from the Sunbrella web site), however I used normal Sunbrella, and it actually hasn't been a problem at all if combined with open cell foam.

If it rains, the fabric part of the "Plus" absorbs water but it doesn't go through to the foam, whereas on mine it soaks through but drains through the foam. I'd guess they dry in pretty much the same time, as either way only the small amount of water held by the fabric has to evaporate. If the "Plus" saves changing the foam, then of course that makes more sense.

Marine upholstery work in SoF is eye wateringly expensive. If its the same in Croatia/Italy then make sure you're sitting down when you get the quote!

edit; If you're not changing the foam then of course you don't have to ship all the cushions back, only the covers (assuming they unzip) which you can take in your luggage. Putting them back on is a pig of a job though.

 

[jfm]

I agree all the replies above Deleted User. The description "sunbrella plus" can, i think, mean different things in different markets. In euro (as opposed to US) it means an ordinary sunbrella upholstery fabric with a layer of pvc plastic bonded to the back side. Martin at MJ (excellent) does this on-site with a big hot roller machine. I much prefer the plus fabric.

The cloth part is PTFE/teflon coated yarn and resists water+ stains, and the "plus" treatment keeps the foam 99% dry (water can get in on seams if you let cushion stnad in a puddle)

Choosing a colour is hard off the sunbrella site. If it helps, the "dupione" series is suitable for upholstery, and has a wood grain texture. I had this on previous Sq58s and on the lower aft deck on current Sq78. The newish "Natte" range is also good, and has a plain canvassy texture and is what I have upstairs on the Sq78. The heather beige and its sisters in that range are also good, having a fine canvassy texture that looks good n classy on upholstery - Nick_H has this

Silvertex fabic is also excellent as is extex (sp?). All superyachts are done in Sunbrella, Extex or Silvertex, basically.

If you give us a clue about the look and colour/texture you want we can suggest fabrics and I can mail some samples possibly

These three pics are sunbrella dupione, colour=sand, (with waterweave sand vinyl on the seat backrests). The dupione has a woodgrain texture

This is the same dupione fabric but colour=walnut, again with woodgrain texture

And this is Sunbrella Natte, canvassy texture, in a colour called hemp,

Here is grey sunbrella; Magnum could tell you which exact fabric it is

 

[gjgm]

Is the first picture in Natte range; not familiar with your boats

 

[jfm]

Is the first picture in Natte range; not familiar with your boats

No, it's dupione in "sand" colour

The onlt "natte" pictures are the sq78 flybridge

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I agree all the replies above Deleted User. The description "sunbrella plus" can, i think, mean different things in different markets. In euro (as opposed to US) it means an ordinary sunbrella upholstery fabric with a layer of pvc plastic bonded to the back side. Martin at MJ (excellent) does this on-site with a big hot roller machine. I much prefer the plus fabric.

The cloth part is PTFE/teflon coated yarn and resists water+ stains, and the "plus" treatment keeps the foam 99% dry (water can get in on seams if you let cushion stnad in a puddle)

Choosing a colour is hard off the sunbrella site. If it helps, the "dupione" series is suitable for upholstery, and has a wood grain texture. I had this on previous Sq58s and on the lower aft deck on current Sq78. The newish "Natte" range is also good, and has a plain canvassy texture and is what I have upstairs on the Sq78. The heather beige and its sisters in that range are also good, having a fine canvassy texture that looks good n classy on upholstery - Nick_H has this

Silvertex fabic is also excellent as is extex (sp?). All superyachts are done in Sunbrella, Extex or Silvertex, basically.

If you give us a clue about the look and colour/texture you want we can suggest fabrics and I can mail some samples possibly

These three pics are sunbrella dupione, colour=sand, (with waterweave sand vinyl on the seat backrests). The dupione has a woodgrain texture

Thanks jfm for usual comprehensive reply. Dupione was one of the ranges that I identified so its comforting to know at least I'm looking at the right stuff! A couple more questions, if you don't mind. Are the darker colours uncomfortable to sit on in direct Med sunlight? What about the foam; I was a bit surprised to hear that NickH has got open cell foam on his boat. My existing cushions would seem to be closed cell foam judging by the fact that they don't seem drain water through them. Which type did you use? Lastly do the very light colours show stains more readily?
With regard to the colour, basically I was thinking originally about some boring sand/beige/cream colour but then I got thinking about maybe something with a fine stripe in it. My boat could do with a splash of colour as the interior is cream, cream and more cream. Inoffensive but dull.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I suppose its better to use Sunbrella Plus (though you wouldn't know such a thing existed from the Sunbrella web site), however I used normal Sunbrella, and it actually hasn't been a problem at all if combined with open cell foam.

If it rains, the fabric part of the "Plus" absorbs water but it doesn't go through to the foam, whereas on mine it soaks through but drains through the foam. I'd guess they dry in pretty much the same time, as either way only the small amount of water held by the fabric has to evaporate. If the "Plus" saves changing the foam, then of course that makes more sense.

Marine upholstery work in SoF is eye wateringly expensive. If its the same in Croatia/Italy then make sure you're sitting down when you get the quote!

edit; If you're not changing the foam then of course you don't have to ship all the cushions back, only the covers (assuming they unzip) which you can take in your luggage. Putting them back on is a pig of a job though.

Thanks NickH. I'm a bit surprised to hear you've got open cell rather than closed cell foam. Was that a deliberate decision? Yes I could take the covers off and bring them back to the UK although I'd need a bloody big suitcase. I did do that before when I had my previous boat in SoF but the UK trimmers at first refused to make the covers on the basis that they preferred to have the foam to work around. I had to persuade them to go ahead and in fact they didn't do a particularly good job in the end. Yup, I remember SoF is not a cheap place to get anything done on your boat

 

[Hurricane]

Thanks NickH. I'm a bit surprised to hear you've got open cell rather than closed cell foam. Was that a deliberate decision? Yes I could take the covers off and bring them back to the UK although I'd need a bloody big suitcase. I did do that before when I had my previous boat in SoF but the UK trimmers at first refused to make the covers on the basis that they preferred to have the foam to work around. I had to persuade them to go ahead and in fact they didn't do a particularly good job in the end. Yup, I remember SoF is not a cheap place to get anything done on your boat

You might like to try these people, Mike
http://www.parcel2go.com/

I've used them to get stuff out to Spain.
It isnt as costly as you might think.

Three large packages last year containing a 6 foot table, two wake boards and a load of other stuff - cost less than £70 to get it there in three days - I think they used DHL so a reputable carrier.

I'd definately get covers made in the Uk to a standard that you know.

 

[jfm]

Thanks jfm for usual comprehensive reply. Dupione was one of the ranges that I identified so its comforting to know at least I'm looking at the right stuff! A couple more questions, if you don't mind. Are the darker colours uncomfortable to sit on in direct Med sunlight? What about the foam; I was a bit surprised to hear that NickH has got open cell foam on his boat. My existing cushions would seem to be closed cell foam judging by the fact that they don't seem drain water through them. Which type did you use? Lastly do the very light colours show stains more readily?
With regard to the colour, basically I was thinking originally about some boring sand/beige/cream colour but then I got thinking about maybe something with a fine stripe in it. My boat could do with a splash of colour as the interior is cream, cream and more cream. Inoffensive but dull.

I find the darker colours perfectly ok in the med sun. Anything will be hot in mid afternoon, and so you chuck a swim towel on it before sitting on it, but that's ok. Of course any colour of sunbrella will be less scorchy than any vinyl. I chose the stuff on the Sq78 m deliberately to get some depth to the look of the boat and avoid acres of cream and light beige, but that's down to personal taste. I would say beware stripes, in the sense you might suddenly find yourself in 2002, but it depends on the stripe and personal taste of course

I always use old fashioned open cell foam that can soak up a ton of water. It's way more comfortable to sit on than closed cell, which is just too hard. I don't buy the logic of closed cell. If it offers any advantage, that can only be when water has got inside the fabric, and if you let that happen you are into a world of greeby mildew and green gunk inside the cushions. What you really want is a system of quick covers to keep the cushions dry in heavy rain, and of course inside storage when the boat is on downtime. Light/medium rain is fine in the high season becuase everything dries off in 15 minutes or so, and the bimini is a big umbrella. So i don't see what closed cell foam brings to the party.

The darker colours definitely hide stains better than the light beige colours. You gotta clean stains off anyway, but with a light colour it's visible till the end of the day or weekend when the cleaning crew can do their thing, whereas the dark colours hide it. That said, all this isn't a big deal becuase the stuff is so easy to clean

I would just check with Nick-H when he says "open cell foam". Does he mean that fancy reticulated foam, or does he mean traditional open cell sponge foam?

As hurric says shipping might be cheaper than you think, though i don't know about Croatia

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

You might like to try these people, Mike
http://www.parcel2go.com/

I've used them to get stuff out to Spain.
It isnt as costly as you might think.

Thanks H. I ship quite a lot of stuff out to the boat via DHL at work and as you say, its remarkably cheap. Shipping back to the UK is more of a problem because you need to box stuff up or palletise it and prepare the necessary paperwork. Some guys on the Liveaboard forum seem to use a particular man with a van to get stuff to/from their boats

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I would say beware stripes, in the sense you might suddenly find yourself in 2002, but it depends on the stripe and personal taste of course

I'm time warped in about 1985 so stripes are my style!

I always use old fashioned open cell foam that can soak up a ton of water. It's way more comfortable to sit on than closed cell, which is just too hard. I don't buy the logic of closed cell. If it offers any advantage, that can only be when water has got inside the fabric, and if you let that happen you are into a world of greeby mildew and green gunk inside the cushions. What you really want is a system of quick covers to keep the cushions dry in heavy rain, and of course inside storage when the boat is on downtime.

Personally I'm quite happy with the firmer feel of closed cell foam and I hate it when cushions fill with water and then ooze for several days after. Yes we have covers for everything anyway

As hurric says shipping might be cheaper than you think, though i don't know about Croatia

Croatia is a nightmare for shipping stuff because they're outside the EU and everything has to go thru customs which means you usually have to collect it yourself from them. Thats one of the reasons I've moved the boat to Italy for the winter

 

[Nick_H]

I would just check with Nick-H when he says "open cell foam". Does he mean that fancy reticulated foam, or does he mean traditional open cell sponge foam?

You're quite right jfm, I was getting confused as usual. When I said open cell I was talking about the reticulated stuff with a structure which lets water run through it. Closest analogy I can think of is a loofah, but its quite different to that.

The finer open cell stuff (which I mistakenly referred to as closed cell, despite it been pretty bludy obvious it's not) does act like a sponge, so you then really need to keep the water out of it, either by using waterproof fabrics or being a whizz with the covers.

Mike, the generic name for the Sunbrella type fabrics is solution dyed acrylics, because the dye is added before or during the melting process (ie. in solution), rather than the fabric being dyed afterwards. This is the main reason the colours don't fade I guess. Other people make them, almost certainly cheaper, and maybe just as good for all I know, but the cost of the fabric is tiny in proportion to the cost of the job so i'd stick with Sunbrella as they have a better range of colours/patterns.

 

[henryf]

Who are the people Princess use? Is that sunbrella?

I was a bit unsure when I first saw it used, I assumed it would deteriorate and stain. Having had it on the P42 for the latter part of 2011 I am a total convert. A friend has it on his V45 which is chartered and I've kept an eye on how it fares.

Water and marks come straight off, they don't soak in. It's really weird stuff. It's a lot nicer to sit on as well even in a bit of (British) sunshine.

Henry

 

[henryf]

Just to add there are some photos of the cockpit and flybridge seating on my site for the boat. www.princess42.com. I can't put a link directly to the photos as I'm on my iPad. Click on any of the small pictures and it opens a large image which you scroll forwards and backwards.

That fabric is "Movida metallic" coloured. I agree with JFM's comments about a slightly darker colour giving the boat a bit of depth compared to standard white vinyl. I was very pleased we took the plunge and made the change.

Henry