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We make custom wrap-around fender covers  - mainly aimed at the week-end mechanic who lives to work on, rebuild, and spend lots of money on parts to make his car go faster.  They then blow it up and have to work on it more.  (I know this because I have to live with one).  The fender cover is patterned to completely cover the entire front end with a custom fit.  I pattern a 1/2 of the front end very similiar to how you all do a car seat or a boat cover.

Here is my problem:  We had a high end car company contact us to make a fender cover for a super car they sell - the car is very limited and very expensive - 300K to 500K. They only want about a dozen fender covers - they plan to give one to dealership in the United States who has sold one of the cars so that whenever an owner brings their car in to be serviced they will have a fender cover to protect the car's finish.

After negotiating with them for almost a year now, we've come down to it is time to do the pattern.  The closest car to us is almost 4 hours away at a dealership.  The dealership was not involved in the negotiations - that all happened on the corporate end.  The dealership is not all that crazy about us being there.  They have basically told us "if you scratch it, you have bought it". 

I don't plan to scratch it, but accidents do happen. I am close to saying forget it but it is a really big opportunity which would have the potential to put us out there on another level. 

I pattern with plastic sheeting - just like you all talk about using.  I have to use scissors to trim the plastic to make it fit the lines of the car.  I am worried about slipping and scratching the finish. 

Do any of you know of any scissors or cutting tools that have a safety edge to prevent scratching?  I usually use several different types of scissors - sometimes though, I need to trim close and might use a very small, sharp pair of embroidery scissors. 

ANY thoughts or ideas? 
CeCe

We are making custom fender covers for car mechanics.  Business has been growing so we've had to ramp up our work space.  Built a 6ft by 12ft cutting table this weekend with a melamine top.   I'm cutting 4-6 layers of vinyl at a time using an Olfa rotary cutter.  My olfa blades seem to be dulling out fairly quickly.  I have the largest Olfa mat they make but some of my patterns are bigger than the mat.  And, if I try to use the mat and then move it, I mess up my layers. 

1.  Is there a better surface to put on my cutting table to help prolong the life of the blades?  We are sharpening the blades but I know that won't last forever and blades are expensive. 

2.  Is there anything better to cut around patterns?  I have an electric rotary cutter but the foot goes under the vinyl and it won't go up next to the pattern (we've transferred patterns to 1/8" fake wood/plastic material). 

Thanks for any advice,

CeCe

Placed an order last night with miamicorp for the vinyl to do the seats in a 20' hurricane.  I ordered 3 colors.  I just realized that D in seabrook D sea white means that the finish is delustered.   The other two colors , aqua and black, are normal.  I called to try to change it and it was too late - dang those people are fast :-) .  How bad is this going to look or will it be noticeable?

I am finally ready to order the vinyl to recover the seats in a 20 foot Hurricane deck boat.  I did a rough estimate of the seats and tried to draw out the layout for cutting the pieces to try to estimate the yardage.   I came up with a total of about 30 yards - using 3 different colors.  I never would have quessed that I would need this much - is this any where near accurate? 







These are the 3 seating areas, plus there is an oversized captains chair that is completely covered.

Any ideas on if I am in the right ballpark with my estimate  -  I don't mind having extras, just not several hundred dollars worth of extras :)

Thanks -CeCe

I've caught the bug.  We bought a boat in May.  The threads in the seats were beginning to rot and some of the seams were splitting.  I figured that I would resew the seams and eventually recover the seats myself.  I had also been dabbling in making some custom fit vinyl car fender covers for Buick Grand Nationals with the idea of moving into other car makes - my little singer was not making the grade.  So, I made the jump and bought a Juki.  

I started on a couple of the boat seats.  My plan was to just resew the splitting seams in order to get by for awhile.  However, once I got the seats apart - had no idea of how they were constructed - I decided that the work in taking them apart didn't go with just "resewing" the seams.   So, still thinking of "go cheap" cause it's gonna look homemade anyway - I bought 10 yards of white marine vinyl with a coupon from JoAnn's and used the needles I already had (didn't know they were size 22 at the time).  I had multiple rolls of black and grey outdoor/poly thread given to me by previous owner of the machine - so I went with the grey.  With some leftover aqua and grey vinyl from recovering waverunner seats, I set out recovering my first seat.

OF COURSE, I picked the absolutely hardest of all the seats to start with - duhhh.  The back of a u-shaped seat.  I then did a couple of the seat bottoms.  I knew I wanted to redo the first seat, but it came out ok enough to at least put back on the boat and use for awhile.


Here's picture of the first 2 cushion's I did - definitely a bad decision on my part to start with the back.  I had no idea of the difficulty I would have in putting the cover back on.   But, it gave me the confidence to want to redo it, knowing I could redo it better.  

Here are pictures of the "jig" we had to build to put the cover back on.   Just about got it right - only a little bit of puckering in a corner - I saved the jig to use when I redo it - just need to make the angle a little smaller.  




So, I have some questions  ;D

1.  Is there a better way to lay out the "jig" or measure the angles?  Not only is the seat curved, but it is also angled.  I just tried to make a pattern of the shape of the boat and marked where the seat attached to the boat - then tried to attach the seat at the same places - it was all very "I hope this works"

2.  Now that I think I can recover the seats and they will look good - I want to upgrade to some decent vinyl and really do a good job.  In reading and reading and reading - I see a lot of people recommending Mobern's Seabrook line.  They have a teal/aqua color that I think will match the colors in the boat - the aqua I used is really too light for matching the boat and I don't have enough to finish.  Is Seabrook a good choice - it's a 10year plus boat - want good vinyl, but don't want to put high dollar finishes in it, either.

3.  I need to redo the bimini top too - it was going to "make it" for awhile, but we "blew it" off the frame last weekend cause the hubby didn't put it down when trailering it.  What would be a good, moderate priced choice for the bimini?  I want to match the teal color in the seats- it doesn't seem like all of the lines carry a variety of colors.  Is there a line that matches the Seabrook better than another?  Can I use the same material for the boat cover (which needs to be redone also).

4.  Looks like most suppliers are charging for the sample cards - how do you match colors?  Can you trust the computer colors?  Should I expect to pay for the sample colors or will suppliers send them to you if you ask?

5.  Lastly- is there anyway to estimate the amount of vinyl I will need without laying it all out?  That would take me forever -  It's a 20' Hurricane - I don't mind having some extras but I don't want double what I need.

Thanks
CeCe

I have 3 princesses in elementary school - we adopted them almost 2 years ago.  Trying to make up for lost time (no spoiling baby time) I often go overboard.  I decided, about a week before school started, that they needed their own personalized messanger bags made just for them by "Mama".  This project - although it about sent me over the edge trying to get them finished for the first day of school - gave me some good needed practice AND the girls felt so special.  Of course, at their school, because of what they have gone through in their little lives, they are BIG fish anyway - they by far stood out with their custom made bags (of course in their school colors).   A funny side note - my 17 year old son, soon after he saw their bags, put in his order for a black one with pink fur inside.  

My machine is getting oil everywhere - it seems to me that it is mostly coming up from the bobbin area - it is soaking the seams of the vinyl I am sewing. 

I have a Juki 1541 - when I lean the machine back to add oil to the bottom, do I lean it all the way back? There seems to be a lot of oil under there and in the oil pan - I had to add oil but the oil catcher didn't have a lot in it. 

I did the paper test, like the manual said, and the oil spots seemed big it wasn't a light line of oil - drops were about the size of a pencil eraser.  I adjusted the screw and the line did get lighter - but I am still getting a lot of oil on the vinyl.

Any thoughts?  Could I have over oiled the top and it is dripping or is it most likely from below?  Any thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks
CeCe

I have a Juki 1541- new to me - they guy I bought it from gave me lots of extra bobbins - they are all the same diameter but some are skinnier (about half the thickness).  What gives with this?  Will they work or are they for different machine?

Also, in winding a bobbin - if you aren't sewing something at the same time, do you just remove the bobbin and take thread out of the needle?  Do you do anything else?  Just let the needle go?  Manual is kind of skimpy as far as details go.

Thanks
CeCe

I ran across a Chandsew 406RB that says it is made by Chandler.  I have seen the Chandlers but not one that says Chandsew.  Does anybody have any information about this machine?  I can buy it for $400 plus get a lot of freebies with it.  The guy bought it in 2002 to make a boat enclosure and cover - he made it and one for a friend.  Prior to that it was used in a small upholstery shop.  Any idea of how old this machine could be or if it would be a good buy?

Thanks
CeCe

I gots the fever for a "new to me" sewing machine - been reading and reading for days.  Ran across a Juki LU 562 locally - can't find a lot of information about it.  I know it is a walking foot - but is it a compound walking foot?  Would this be a good machine to sew vinyl - boat seats maybe a car seat or two - just starting out - won't be a "business" but would like to build up to making some money on the side if possible.  If it is not a compound walking foot would I be better look towards a different machine?

Thanks
CeCe

Just bought a deck boat - vinyl is in really good shape (still soft and pliable, no splits or tears) but the thread on the seams is starting to rot.  I am going to recover the seats.   After reading/researching I know I should use poly T90 or T92 thread.  When trying to order, I noticed it said "usually requires a commercial sewing machine".  I have a home machine - a Singer Confidence7470 - it says I can use a size 18 needle - can I use this size thread?  Can I move down to T69 thread and still be ok?  I am not going fancy, putting in as few seams as possible.
My other thought was - since the vinyl is in good shape - looks like boat was always covered/stored inside and only has about 150 hours on - it is 1998 - vinyl looks original - could I remove the vinyl and resew the seams slightly inside what is already there?  There are only 4 or 5 of the seams that have split?
Other option is I have a 1928 singer machine that I was told was an upholstery machine - but someone else said it was not an industrial machine - not sure - I do think someone used it to do upholstery at one time - hasn't been used in years and years - it was my father's - would need to spend $$ on it getting it running - motor works, but haven't a clue how to run it - needs belts.  Ideas?  Thanks a million  -  CeCe