I just think it's the koolest thing ever to stuff cushions with a vacuum and silk film. SO easy! I finally took a few secs to take pics of the process.
The skin:
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi40.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fe225%2Fjune-c%2Fth_seatbottomcover.jpg&hash=9c4551a6821e824e34e0f7818802f01b) (http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e225/june-c/seatbottomcover.jpg)
Foam on top, loosely encased in film wrap
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi40.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fe225%2Fjune-c%2Fth_wrappedfoam.jpg&hash=cbc3ac016e2950ac554658aee3cd29b5) (http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e225/june-c/wrappedfoam.jpg)
Shrink that sucker up and stuff the foam. It's about 1/4 the original size and 4 inches thick compressed to maybe an inch.
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi40.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fe225%2Fjune-c%2Fth_shrunkenfoam.jpg&hash=34d4a5ff951845e6b4f4b1d2eea33cd3) (http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e225/june-c/shrunkenfoam.jpg)
June
There was a window treatment workshop here in town. Went out of business 2 or 3 years ago. It was a mother and daughter team.
5 or 6 years ago I showed the daughter how I use silk film and she started crying. She said for twenty years the worst job she and her mom had was hand stuffing inserts into cushion covers. She said they would always do it first thing in the morning when they both had the most energy.
gene
Yep, fighting chair cushion - an $18,000 Merritt ??? (that's the chair, not the boat). You need silk film with no holes in it. Just put the end of the hose against the foam, fold the film around the cushion - no need to be neat or tape anything - just make sure all surfaces have film over them. Hold the hose tightly against the foam and turn on the vac. In about 3 secs, the cushion's down to next to nothing. If it doesn't seriously shrink, you have an air gap someplace - a hole, bit of foam uncovered. The pics are dri-fast foam so it shrinks dramatically. With high density standard foam it doesn't get as small, but it REALLY takes the pain out of cushion stuffing.
June
I have never tried this trick but will next time I stuff a cushion. Thanks for posting June. :)
Chris
What! $18,000 chair? Why so expensive, is it made of precious metal?
I am missing something on that one. Is the name of the chair Merritt, really?
Maybe a google would clue me in?
Anyway, yes the vacuum way really works I hear. I use silk film without the vacuum and it sure helps also. But, can't be as easy as the vacuum method.
The only negative that I have with silk film is the crinkling noise. Sometimes, going in and digging the silk film out (without messing up the batting) is almost as tiring as stuffing the cushion by hand.
Once you clean the film around the zipper, ship it! ;)
Doyle
This is a fish fighting chair on a merrit boat
There sre other brands all ridiculusly expensive as the boats they go on.
http://www.marlinmag.com/files/imagecache/enlarged_image/_images/200705/125-05chair.jpg
There a small chair id like to buy cor the cront of my fishing. Oat that $500
That the problem. How bad do i want it.
Me too June, particularly those awkward shape cushions, hang on... thats about all of them ::)
Suzi
Noise from silk film? Thats half the beauty of the stuff , there's no krinkling noise ! Works for me June , thanks for sharing !
Quote from: scarab29 on September 14, 2012, 09:22:57 am
Noise from silk film? Thats half the beauty of the stuff , there's no krinkling noise !
Well, then I wanna get my silk film from the same place that you're getting yours from. Because the stuff they're sending me is noisy as hell.
When I get in a factory job that was stuffed with silk film, I can always tell that they made a half-hearted effort to at least remove most of it.
The stuff I get is a little thicker than I think it should be. So where do you guys get yours?
last time was from rochford im pretty sure. like ten miles of it on a roll so l'ii probably have to re order in 2020
Ya im on like my Second roll last one from miami corp
In another month we will be talking about stuffing a turkey.
The silk film I use is just like the plastic you get from the dry cleaners - very thin. It's on a roll.
After stuffing, I reach inside and rip out a hand full of silk film from the middle. I then flip the cushion over and reach in and rip out a hand full of silk film from the other side. This makes sure that the foam can breath.
I then reach in to each of the corners and just tear the silk film to make sure it is not compressing the foam, if needed. I then 'stuff' the corners as I do even without silk film to make sure the foam is fitting the corners correctly.
Bake at 375 degrees for 3 hours and serve.
gene
Quote from: Mojo on September 12, 2012, 07:07:00 pm
I have never tried this trick but will next time I stuff a cushion.
Chris
It's quite cool even if you don't have a cushion to stuff. You'd never believe just how much AIR is in the foam! Truly amazing how small it can get.
Quote from: sofadoc on September 12, 2012, 07:27:09 pm
The only negative that I have with silk film is the crinkling noise. Sometimes, going in and digging the silk film out (without messing up the batting) is almost as tiring as stuffing the cushion by hand.
Mine makes absolutely no noise at all. It's insanely thin and soft. And like Scarab, there's about 10 miles on a roll. I'm still on my first roll (since 2005) and it ain't anywhere near done yet. It's been so long I don't remember where I got it.
June
Silk film is noisy over dacron.
Quote from: Cheryl on September 14, 2012, 09:15:47 pm
Silk film is noisy over dacron.
That would explain why some of us experience noise, and others don't.
For me, the silk film sometimes creates as many problems as it eliminates. If at all possible, I still stuff by hand. I only use the silk film/vacuum method when there's no way in hell I'm gonna get the foam core into the cover without busting the zipper.
It
is beneficial for odd-shaped/oversized cushions. But for a standard sofa cushion, I can stuff it by hand, and be on my second cup of coffee before I can stuff it with silk film (factoring in the time it takes prep the cushion with the film, and afterward to go in and dig the film out of the cover).
I think it's got to be different kinds of silk film. I cover all my foam in Dacron (polyester batting), and I can't get a peep out of the silk film. This is one reason I don't feel the need to get all the silk film out of the cushion cover. No one will ever know that it is in there.
I do love the silk film vacuum method when I have boxed cushions where the sides of the cushion are going to be seen. I can keep the zipper on the back only and the sfvm really helps me to slide the foam into the zipper opening.
gene
I love silk film but we don't get it over here in the UK :(
So the key for me was improvisation, I now use the thin plastic
from auto paint shops that they use for masking up body panels
it works just as good but does make more noise than silk film.
I use a shower drain/trap fitted to the end of my vacuum for sucking
foam, it makes the suction area a little larger
Rich
Gene, June, Scarab: Watch this video and see if this silk film looks different from yours.
This particular cushion has a muslin casing, so the noise isn't as bad (as it would be over dacron). Plus, the mic on this little camera didn't pick up the noise very well.
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi775.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy33%2Fsofadoc%2Fth_MOV003752.jpg&hash=429ea7a1c2966bc186158996cfb583c6) (http://s775.photobucket.com/albums/yy33/sofadoc/?action=view¤t=MOV003752.mp4)
On a tight dacron-wrapped cushion, digging the silk film out (without disturbing the batting) can be a chore. I've tried just digging it out of the top & bottom, and leaving remnants on the sides (like Gene suggests) but I still got a few complaints about the noise.
I'm hoping you guys are going to say that your film is thinner.
My film is DEFINATELY thinner
Mind you, mine is about 20 years old. But it is thinner and quieter
Maybe the newer ones are thicker
I still try to get it out when I make a cushion, but it doesn't make a discernable noise, so I really don't have to
If I knew how to make, and post, a video, I would show you mine to compare to yours
Maybe I could mail you a piece of it
I see Sofa , why oyu'd want to get that all out , very noisy. I'm sure June will concur that is not the silk film we are talking about. PM me your info and I'll rip you off a piece to check out. :o
Same here. Way thinner than that. I didn't even have to run the video. Just looking at the thumbnail pic I can tell it's a different product. Yours is all crinkled. Mine won't hold a crinkle like that. It looks fairly smooth, even after being compressed into a ball in the palm of your hand. I believe I may have gotten mine from Rochford Supply as well. Back when I got it I had not established wholesale accounts with anyone. I was price shopping on the Internet for supplies. Still on my first roll after 7 years (of course I don't always use it and a large part of my work is canvas, not upholstery).
June
Thanks guys. After reading these replies, I made a few calls to some of my regular suppliers. Apparently, when you ask for silk film, many of them just send this stuff now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDJASJztDY
This is nothing but thin plastic sheeting, like you get in a paint store to use as a drop-cloth.
I'm going to call around, and get them to send me a sample piece before I haul off and order a big roll.
I might warn some you that are still using the same roll that you bought years ago, when you go to re-order make sure they aren't going to send you this crap.
Yep. Me to.
Like I said, my silk film is very similar to the dry cleaner bags that are used over clothes.
I've also heard silk film called skin film. No crinkling sound, no shine. I could tell right away at the start of the video that what you are using, sofa D., was different than what I use.
Sunshine Foam, where I buy mine, describe silk film as plastic that feels like silk. It does.
Thanks for the video.
gene
I'm glad this topic came up, because I had grown weary of even using the stuff that I thought was silk film. The stuff that I ordered is listed as silk film, but obviously, it isn't.
I've never bought silk film because I can only get it in 5 mile rolls (life time supply) up here. I just use dry cleaner bags or more usually really cheap garbage bags (they're easier to rip out).
Lately I've taken to using cellophane (plastic wrap,saran wrap,what ever you call it) on the corners of an arm or sofa back where the fabric is all sewn together or on the leading edge of cushions as I stuff them. Not as kewl as vacuuming but way more effective than a spritz of silicone and you don't need to fish it out because it is silent and doesn't trap moisture inside because you only use it on a small area.
I see Couch, why oyu'd have to get that almost all out, very noisy. I'm certain June will certainly concur that's not the cotton film we have been talking about. PM myself your details and I am going to rip an individual off an item to view.
Quote from: mroy559 on September 19, 2012, 02:59:03 am
I see Couch, why oyu'd have to get that almost all out, very noisy. I'm certain June will certainly concur that's not the cotton film we have been talking about. PM myself your details and I am going to rip an individual off an item to view.
Very clever mroy! Changing my name to "couch". No one will ever suspect that you're a spammer.
Yea, sofa d:
I put a post a few weeks ago about mcroy being spam. I think I went ahead and deleted it. I thought it might not be spam.
He/she/it says to PM but no email in profile and the website is to a lady's clothing store in the UK.
I'm still not sure if it's spam. May be someone legit who likes to drink or drug their well earned upholstery wages?
Maybe someone testing their wings on posting.
The way Mike types I'm surprised more folks don't think he's spamming. LOL
And what about that guy who uses that damn irritating red LOL with the little guy jumping up and down on the "O"???
gene
Quote from: gene on September 19, 2012, 03:35:23 pm
no email in profile and the website is to a lady's clothing store in the UK.
If mroy got you to click on he/she/it's UK clothing website, then he/she/it accomplished he/she/it's goal.
I'm wondering if there is spambot technology now that will take an existing post, change a couple of words, and re-post it. I can't believe that he/she/it does it manually.
If mroy got you to click...
I think that's an important point sofa d. I did not click on the website. I copied it and put it in google.
If people would stop clicking on unknown websites as often as they do there might be less spam and a lot less viruses going around.
And a good point about what kind of software is going on now a days. If that redneck from Podunk, Alabama who's taking your customer service call is actually someone in India who has learned to talk "redneck from Podunk, Alabama," then I guess anything is possible.
gene
Getting back to silk film, I got in a 100 yard roll today. Since Gene suggested Sunshine Foam, I ordered from them. It's everything you guys said it was. I had become so disgusted with that other stuff, I avoided using the vacuum method whenever possible.
I really don't even understand why they would do that youtube video with the noisy krinkly crap.
Now if I could only fight the subliminal urge to buy some "Plus size fashions" :D
Getting back to the off topic:
My wife told me last night that she got an email from UPS saying her package was undeliverable and she needed to click the link to find out where to pick up her package.
It was spam. And now she's worried about a virus.
I told her about right clicking the link and seeing the 'properties' or 'information' or whatever her computer calls it. When you do this you can see that "UPS.com" does not go to UPS.
gene
Quote from: gene on September 19, 2012, 03:35:23 pm
And what about that guy who uses that damn irritating red LOL with the little guy jumping up and down on the "O"???
gene
I was wondering when someone would complain about that. :) ;) :D ;D >:( :( :o 8) ??? ::) :P :-[ :-X :-\ :-* :'(
Quote from: fragged8 on September 16, 2012, 02:08:12 pm
I love silk film but we don't get it over here in the UK :(
So the key for me was improvisation, I now use the thin plastic
from auto paint shops that they use for masking up body panels
it works just as good but does make more noise than silk film.
I use a shower drain/trap fitted to the end of my vacuum for sucking
foam, it makes the suction area a little larger
Rich
Me two ;D I do a mix of covers & cushions sometimes don't do a cushion for months. When I need it I pop down to the local DIY & get a hand full of dust sheets, they are so thin & soft I would call them silk film.
No noise at all.
I have a old Vax machine for the w/shop, the one with adjustable suction, I found the small upholstery cleaning head is perfect for this.
Suzi