Flaking vinyl on seats

Ubugarrity · 12-10-2021, 12:17 AM

Thor Axis 25.2 2017. Both seats have the flaking off vinyl. I called Thor, they know about it but have no solution.
Options to fix:
Seat covers, replace vinyl, paint

I was going to order vinyl that closely matched and re-sew the skins.
I then heard about vinyl paint. I went with the SEM products as a couple of friends have used it on their boat seats and were happy with it.

The vinyl was down to the backing in spots. I used the SEM soap, then SEM prep, and then painted. There is also a putty type product to fill in spots but I didn't get it. I probably should have used the putty in the bad spots. I used two cans of paint to just do the bottom of the driver and passenger seat. 1 can was plenty but I just kept adding coats to fill in the damage. The color is slightly lighter than original but it looks fine. I'm very happy with the outcome. It cost about $80 for 3 cans of paint, soap, prep, and gray pads. I personally don't think the soap, prep and pads were necesary. The bottoms of the seats were very bad. If you rubbed your finger on any spot, the vinyl would come off. The rest of the seats seem fine but I'm thinking of painting them sooner than later because it would be a lot easier and look better.

Before Pictures

Ubugarrity · 12-10-2021, 12:18 AM

After Pictures

ducksface · 12-10-2021, 12:58 AM

That's very very nice work.

Fweezal · 12-10-2021, 01:34 AM

Wow! That's excellent! Kudos!

Chateau_Nomad · 12-10-2021, 03:45 AM

Wow!! I didn't even know that vinyl "spray paint" existed! That looks excellent - like new! Thanks for sharing!

lwmcguir · 12-10-2021, 12:24 PM

Looks great, be curious in a year or so how it wears

Bob Denman · 12-10-2021, 01:32 PM

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/at...1&d=1639143151

chunker21 · 12-12-2021, 01:44 PM

What you may have in those seats is bonded leather. Horrible product but cheap which is why thor and most other RV manufacturers used it in that mid-decade. Leather scraps are made in to a very thin sheet and bonded/glued to a fabric "underlayment". The parts don't contract or swell at the same rates and over time, 2+ years usually, the top "leather" parts begins flaking off. I hope it lasts but don't be surprised if it doesn't since it's likely not vinyl.

After you have sat in and used the seats a while, please come back with a sitrep.

lwmcguire · 12-12-2021, 03:49 PM

Other than very high end coaches almost all the manufacturers used Ultra-leather or a similar product.

Top grain was used in many coaches at around a million or so and up

Bonded leather is sold primarily at discount or low-end furniture stores and it truly is a crappy product

Drobin · 12-12-2021, 04:09 PM

Has anyone bought new seats for their rig? Where did you find them? We have the same issue and are looking for a solution. Thanks

Jimbo56 · 12-12-2021, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drobin

Has anyone bought new seats for their rig? Where did you find them? We have the same issue and are looking for a solution. Thanks

Shop4seats.com, Rec pro.com, camping world.com. We bought theater recliners from shop4seats and are very happy. They’re a leather look fabric but not pleather. 2 seasons with a lot of use and still look great. The vinyl paint may look good now. But if it went on over flaking vinyl, bonded leather or whatever, it won’t last long. IMHO

Ubugarrity · 12-12-2021, 04:44 PM

I was concerned about putting anything over a flaking issue but after it's done, I have high hopes. Feels really good. I'm going on a trip over Christmas so I'll update after that.

chunker21 · 12-12-2021, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubugarrity

I was concerned about putting anything over a flaking issue but after it's done, I have high hopes. Feels really good. I'm going on a trip over Christmas so I'll update after that.

Watch out for "brown stains" on your backside.

chunker21 · 12-12-2021, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lwmcguire

Other than very high end coaches almost all the manufacturers used Ultra-leather or a similar product.

Top grain was used in many coaches at around a million or so and up

Bonded leather is sold primarily at discount or low-end furniture stores and it truly is a crappy product

Ultra leather is not bonded leather. Ultra Leather is a synthetic material also comes in varying qualities and good Ultra Leather costs more than regular leather. I had a top grade Ultra leather in my Itasca Horizon and it wore extremely well. For those not aware the Horizon was the top trim line in that Winnebago model. Bonded leather was used by more than just low end like thor, others like Tiffin, Grand Design used bonded leather with the same disastrous results. The difference is companies like Tiffin helped owners after the basic warranty expired. I'm sure you can guess the thor response.

Top grain real leather is out of my price range in RVs, but I wouldn't be surprised if Newel, Marathon and other premium coaches used it.

chunker21 · 12-12-2021, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drobin

Has anyone bought new seats for their rig? Where did you find them? We have the same issue and are looking for a solution. Thanks

I swapped the terrible stock "incliner" that's what thor calls it for Recpro theater seat recliners. See the thread
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f4...nts-27825.html
or under C section, XG32 improvements.

Ubugarrity · 12-12-2021, 06:55 PM

A backup plan was possibly seat covers. I thought I saw a link on the forum somewhere but wasn't able to find it again. Anyone have experience with covers?

Beau388 · 12-12-2021, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubugarrity

A backup plan was possibly seat covers. I thought I saw a link on the forum somewhere but wasn't able to find it again. Anyone have experience with covers?

I bought a pair of captain's chair covers from Camping World (made by Covercraft) in 2016 just after we bought the coach. We travel with cats so covers for anything vinyl is required. Except for multiple cat claw holes the covers are holding up well. What it looks like under neath I could not say. We replaced the sofa due to pealing Pleather, however the vinyl on the dinette is holding up well. Now it is time to replace pealing RecPro reclining love seat.

Tpowers@tampabay.rr.com · 12-15-2021, 08:47 PM

I have the Thor Vegas 25.3 2017. Forget trying to fix them, you will be wasting your money. You need to take the seats and get them re-done. I had my front seats and my dining seats re-done. 4 from dining 2 front seats. Cost is between 1,000 and 1,500.
I was even at the Thor factory in Elkhart. They will not do a thing for you. It is just cheap crap they used for pretend vinyl. Sorry - Tom -average 80 days a year camping.

Norrirn · 12-15-2021, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubugarrity

A backup plan was possibly seat covers. I thought I saw a link on the forum somewhere but wasn't able to find it again. Anyone have experience with covers?

I bought seat covers from Covercraft for our 2013 ACE 29.2. They fit well, look nice, and are more comfortable than the seat originally. However, they do nothing for the seats’ skirts which shed vinyl like crazy. Undecided about what to do with the jackknife sofa but it hasn’t reached the state of the front seats yet.

Connieb · 12-16-2021, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drobin

Has anyone bought new seats for their rig? Where did you find them? We have the same issue and are looking for a solution. Thanks

I had mine reupholstered with a fabric,2 captains chairs dinette booth,and sofa. I couldn't be happier. It looks alot better than the crappy vinyl

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