Any Ideas On What Can Cause This??

[jojo]

Less than a year ago, I made a boat cover from Sunbrella Surlast in gray. Here's what it looks like now. The top part has faded to a greenish yellow, and it is crispy. In the photo, some of the underside is showing for contrast. The underside is what it should look like.





So, what happened? Could this be a bad batch of Sunbrella? Or acid rain?
I should also mention that I used a scrap of the fabric to cover my barbeque for the winter, and after a long northeastern Pennsylvania winter it still looks good.

[Mike]

you know jojo I use to use a lot of surlast for a dealer but a;; the boat left and I never saw the covers again . never heard a call back to the dealer think it has a 3 year guaranty rite?   I gueese id see what the distributor says fade may be one thing but crispy?

[scarab29]

Is it sunbrella  or surlast? Really bad for one season old.

[JuneC]

Some years ago Glen Raven got a bad batch of fiber from Monsanto and their Cadet Grey turned a funky pea-soup grey-green in about a year.  I wonder if that fabric you have was made with the same fiber.  At the time I did a warranty claim they said they had recalled all of the Cadet that was in stores and warehouses. 

June

[regalman190]

That happened to me a few years back with Sunbrella Burgundy. Apparently, the UV and water repellent stage was skipped. The Burgundy became a lovely shade of pink.

[jojo]

Geez, so I guess I gotta eat the cost and make the guy a new cover.  :(

[Mojo]

I hate to say this but this is one reason why I will not use Sunbrella. Quality issues. Miami Corp refuses to carry the product because of the warranty issues.

I should be grateful though for Sunbrella. I book a lot of orders because of their quality. It stretches bad over time, fades and distorts. I have had one problem with Recacril and no problems at all with Sattler. My customers have a lot of factory installed Sunbrella and have serious issues with them. Carefree awning manufacturer dropped Sunbrella completely.

For those who have been in the marine business for years, I am sure they will attest to the fact that Sunbrella today is not like the Sunbrella of yesteryear. The word I got right from the head of a fabric manufacturer was that after cornering the market they changed their weave process and their yarns and went in a cheaper direction.

Very sorry to see your having problems Jojo. It sucks to put out a great product only to have problems because of a manufacturer. Get in touch with MiamiMike and have him send you a cut of Recacril and Sattler and give it a try. I think you will really like it. I know you will like the increased margins both bring. :)

Chris

[baileyuph]

These kind of reports makes COM look better?

I just finished a COM furniture job and in the shake out, I was glad I didn't sell the materials, just labor.

Doyle

[Mike]

they should replace the fabric jojo not your labor though

[Peppy]

If your BBQ cover is still fine I wonder if the customer used some weird waterproofing or treatment on it. I've seen people use armor all vinyl cleaner on their windows and it turned them to junk. Although I see covers come in looking like that one a lot. Especially on G3 boats. I've never used surlast, is that the stuff that looks like a gym bag with rubber on the inside?

[Mike]

No devon   It more like top gun only very lightweight. Fibers have a coating   Like westger max also only lighter. Tgere is a difference i side to out thiugh unlike  sunbrella.  Jono it had to be a bad run or domthing the owner did  ecsuse i never had a call back on any i used i used plenty

[Grebo]

If your BBQ cover is still fine I wonder if the customer used some weird waterproofing or treatment on it. I've seen people use armor all vinyl cleaner on their windows and it turned them to junk. Although I see covers come in looking like that one a lot. Especially on G3 boats. I've never used surlast, is that the stuff that looks like a gym bag with rubber on the inside?

I was going to say that, some kind of chemical attack. Could it be a spot where the gulls sit ?
I have one boat with a couple of spots like that, the product was stamoid light, all the other boats have been ok, I never fond out the course either, but I did see the boat cleaner using KH7 about the boat & I do know they use bleach here & there.
::)

Suzi

[jojo]

Thanks for the input guys. I suspect maybe there was some kind of chemical used on it, given the scrap that I have that still looks new.
He's going to buy the fabric for the new cover (regular Sunbrella this time), and I will do the work for free.
It's just so weird that it got so dried out and crispy. It feels like if you made a crease in it, it would crack.

[Mike]

I hope its a flat easy cover jojo  couple hours

[jojo]

Ha! In my dreams, Mike. It's a Great Lakes Skipper fishing boat with trolling motor that hangs over the front, windshield only on the drivers side, etc.
But there's only about a thousand darts. No big deal.  :'(
Thanks for the good wishes though.