I just bought a used trimline from another artist and it's in perfect condition minus the skylight. It's good as far as seal and wear, but the material is discolored (brown). I tried cleaning it but I think it's permanently stained. My question is...has anyone had this issue & if anyone has heard of having just the skylight replaced (was thinking a marine upholstery shop)?
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I would try using Simple Green. It might clean it up.
There are some products on the market that will restore vinyl, you might try that.
Flourish is GREAT to deal with. Contact them, they might give you ideas. They might also be able to replace the skylight, for less than the entire top.
This is an ongoing issue with all the translucent panels, as far as I can gather. Mine was a Showoff and had the same problem. The brown vinyl eventually becomes porous. I don't recall how long I had it before it turned brown, but it was not very long.
I had to buy a whole new top. I opted this time to do without the skylight. It is definitely darker but I didn't want to have to replace an otherwise good top when it happened again.
Thanks for your reply. That's a bummer to hear as I was hoping to avoid spending another $400 on a new top, but good to know when I do replace it.
Aafke Brouwer > Megan PetersonMarch 19, 2018 at 10:42pm
You can buy see through plastic, but you might need a specialized sewing machine, and you need a good thickness. But you have the original so you'll know what to look for. It's a lot of money for a new one though. A sail/awning/tent shop might be able to sew it for you. And then seal the seams with a seamsealer for tents. I would see how much all that would cost you and if it's significantly cheaper try that first myself.
Replies
I would try using Simple Green. It might clean it up.
There are some products on the market that will restore vinyl, you might try that.
Flourish is GREAT to deal with. Contact them, they might give you ideas. They might also be able to replace the skylight, for less than the entire top.
Great tips!
This is an ongoing issue with all the translucent panels, as far as I can gather. Mine was a Showoff and had the same problem. The brown vinyl eventually becomes porous. I don't recall how long I had it before it turned brown, but it was not very long.
I had to buy a whole new top. I opted this time to do without the skylight. It is definitely darker but I didn't want to have to replace an otherwise good top when it happened again.
Thanks for your reply. That's a bummer to hear as I was hoping to avoid spending another $400 on a new top, but good to know when I do replace it.
You can buy see through plastic, but you might need a specialized sewing machine, and you need a good thickness. But you have the original so you'll know what to look for. It's a lot of money for a new one though. A sail/awning/tent shop might be able to sew it for you. And then seal the seams with a seamsealer for tents. I would see how much all that would cost you and if it's significantly cheaper try that first myself.
You can just buy a new replacement top from Flourish.