Upholstery stains

[moomba wannabe]

So one of my winter projects is to clean the upholstery. I have the Malco leather and plastic cleaner which seems very effective except for these orange/redish stains. They are on the seat bottoms throughout the boat and wont come up at all. I didnt notice them when I was buying the boat and they seem to have "surfaced" within a couple weeks of owning the boat. I have no idea how the dealer kept them from being visible but I think they are baked into the vinyl from the sun and are permanent, whatever they are. Just wondering if anybody had any experience with similar stains or ideas. Thanks!

[maxpower220]

Try WD-40 to get it out. If that doesn't work, try a 50/50 amonia/water mix.

[moomba wannabe]

The WD-40 didnt do it. I need to get some ammonia and I will give that a shot. Thanks.

[DOCDRS]

looks like some kind of oil stain , like tranny oil, i am very interested in how if you can get them out........ i use spray 9 but that looks like its an oil right into the vinyl colouring

[moomba wannabe]

Yea, I agree, they look like they're here to stay. Nothing has worked, I am going to try spray 9 but I'm not expecting too much. I think I will clean up the upholstery the best I can and probably in a few years get skins to replace the stained lower cushions.

[tazz3069]

Here is a few questions for you. I see that you are located in Northern Calif. I assume that i t gets pretty warm there. Do you keep your boat covered and store it outside? If it is outside, is it in the sun or covered parking?
I had a friend that had a similar problem with his boat. Different manufacturer. The problem is that if the boat is stored outside with the cover on and sitting in the sun, you are baking the upholstery. Call your Mooba dealer and talk to them about this. My dealer contacted SC and they are going to warranty the issue. My buddies boat (Malibu) is also getting warrantied. I was told that there are two manufactures that make they upholstery. They said that there is something inside of it to cause it to burn and discolor. I hope this helps and gets your boat fixed. I live in Vegas, were the sun is freaking hot. I keep my boat in the garage to avoid this problem, plus it keeps it looking nice. The only time it sees the sun is when she is on the water. Good Luck
Tazz

[moomba wannabe]

I just bought the boat in July and it was a repo. It came with a cover but I dont think the previous owner used it much based on the condition of the inside, not really bad but certainly in need of a thourough cleaning and some TLC.

But I found your comments interesting; I did not notice the stains when I bought the boat and I did store it outside with the cover on, and yes, it can get pretty darn hot where I'm located. I noticed the stains after having stored the boat covered in the heat. They look like some sort of liquid that got on the seats then got baked in, and to me, like they had been there all along and I suspected the dealer somehow covered them and whatever they used finally wore off and there they were.

I'll call my dealer and see what they say, I've got nothing to lose. Thank you for the information.

I did incidently just clean out my garage today so I now store it in there!

[tazz3069]

Sc should take care of this problem. The dealer that sold me my boat has fix a few of these problems under Warranty. I do know that Malibu is taking care of my buddies boat. They also confirmed about the vinyl that is used on all the boats. Keep us posted on the repairs.
Tazz

[tazz3069]

Ed you are right. Each manufacture makes their own seats. I toured the Sanger shop in Northern Calif and saw from start to finish. I also toured the Malibu shop. It is simply amazing on how they put a boat together. In regards to the upholstery, they all buy it from the same place. Now, from I am been told, they have corrected the problem. I can not remember what I was told, but there was some type of oil or something they used in the mixture of making the vinyl. I guess it really all depends on the boat manufacturer on how much material was purchased. In my buddies boat, all his seat have that discoloration. In another friends boat, it is just a couple of pieces. Two different boats two different manufactures and both boat, with the cover on, are in the sun.

I found this article somewhat explaining the stains.
http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/196779-pink-discoloring-vinyl.html

[moomba wannabe]

Just as an update; I sent photos of the stains a couple weeks ago to my nearest dealer, asking they present them to Skiers Choice but havent heard anything back. I'll give them another week or so and check in to see if there is any word. Keeping my fingers crossed.