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[TedP]

My slew of questions lately have all been related to a re-upholstering project that I will be doing over the next 4-6 months.

The project is for me - not a customer - and I want to use high-quality materials to avoid doing it over in 5-10 years.

This will be my third go at a boat seating job (all done for my prior boats). I have used several brands of material in the past and want to make a good decision in choosing material for this project.

I have used Nautolex/Boltaflex (i.e. Omnova) some time ago and more recently used Morbern 2 years ago. The current project is done in Spradling material, and have been comparing the spec's etc. for the Spradling to the other 2 brands.

My own experience is that Omnova (Boltaflex) Colorguard is tough to beat from a longevity standpoint. 36 oz weight and I compared some 15 year old red material with new red material and you could not tell the difference in color or appearance. The grain pattern is a little dated?

My recent experience with Morbern SeaBrook is that it stained easily, but otherwise was fine.

I have not worked with Spradling, but my current boat/project is all Spradling (Simtex and Beluga) and it did not hold up well to usage. My concern is that the Spradling line may be more mid-tier than the Omnova lines (Nautolex/Boltaflex). Spradling seems to spec out at 29 oz weight vs 32-36 for Omnova.

My inclination is to use Omnova brands instead of Morbern or Spradling . . .

Anyway - Would Omnova be the best choice of the 3 mentioned in terms of quality, stain & UV resistance, and durability ??? Just looking for a collective of experiences and opinions on fabric choice.

TIA for any input.

[BigRig]

Tough for us to really help you out without know what part of the world you are in. For me Spradling is one of the brands I trust to last but every lot is never the same so who really knows. I will wait for others to chime in.

[TedP]

Northeast USA.

[John]

With vinyl its always a compromise between how nice the vinyl feels to the touch and how durable it is. In most cases the more tough and durable the vinyl is the stiffer and harder the vinyl is.
So its kind of up to you on whats more important. Comfort or Longevity?

My personal favorites are Spradling, Mobern, Naugahide because they are pretty durable and still feel nice.

Also boats that get used regularly take a real beating. Every one steps all over the seats with shoes on. Water get on them. They spend a lot of time in the sun as well. In my experience 10-15 years on a boat interior is really good.