Seats, panels and headliners for boats, cars and RVs

Matching the old cover, down to a 27-year-old pattern

The job starts from the piece you bring in. The old cover becomes the pattern, and the new one is cut from marine vinyl or from leather hides, chosen in the showroom.

One Google reviewer went in looking for a matching door panel that was missing. After he returned with the panel, the shop came out with a perfect piece of matching upholstery, in a material he says was 27 years old. When there was not quite enough of it for the other pieces he then brought in, the shop found another piece with a slightly different pattern in a perfect colour match. The reviewer signs as WILD WILLY BILL.

The same care shows up beyond cars. An RV owner who called Jerry's work master craftsmanship had captain's chairs, a couch and a jackknife sofa re-covered here, and has trusted the shop with a pair of 30-year-old bar chairs too.

Re-foam or re-cover, and how to make either last

A split seam on a seat that is otherwise firm is a re-cover. A seat that bottoms out, holds water or has gone flat needs foam first, because a new cover over dead foam wears out the way the old one did. Press the seat before you judge the cover, and check whether the base stays damp after rain.

In Florida sun, cover boat and bike seats when they are parked, wipe vinyl with mild soap and water instead of solvents, and rinse salt and sunscreen off before they dry on the surface. Leather hides want a conditioner, not a scrub brush.