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SimTex Fabric Issue

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lp20th

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1st year, with a new to me, 2021 Bennington SX22. Love the boat but the biggest disappointment is with the SimTex covered seats. I was hoping someone has a solution, opinions or advice on what can be done. This fabric just seems to stain so easy and permanently at that. The color of the fabric is a light grey with darker grey accents. When stains appear on the light grey portions of the seats they come through as darker In color, almost matching the darker grey accents. I have followed the manufactors procedures step by step, to a tee, to remove the stains and nothing works. It actually seems to spread the stain and make it look worse.
I don’t know what caused the stains, food, drink suntan lotion etc. and unfortunately I am not catching them while they are fresh stains.

i am wondering if the stain has bonded to the fabric, if the fabric has actually become discolored or even if the color has come off the fabric and under it is a darker color? I am at a loss.

I reached out to Spralding, the manufacture of the material , and they have not responded. Any help is greatly appreciated.
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Sun tan lotion / oil or sun block will do that . Its not allowed on mine .If you have already followed the manufactures instructions ,not sure what will help .Im sure some one else will respond. The forum is usually slow on weekends .
 
Most lotions contain oil. It’s almost impossible to remove oil staining from anything. I‘ve seen it stain decking, concrete, clothing, etc…almost permanently. The only thing I think that helps is sun and time to “dry out” the oil, but now you are just letting everything else get beat by the sun. I would continue spot cleaning, let it dry, spot clean, let it dry, slowly breaking down the oil layer. Remember, SimTex is stranded, not solid like the old vinyl, so that oil is in the pores of the ”fabric” so it’s a different type of cleaning routine.
”I’d“ try Dawn if you haven’t, as it breaks down grease and oil (use at your discretion). As Jack stated, no lotions or at very least, use of towels is necessary.
 
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Thank you for your responses. Yes as part of the recommended cleaning methods I have tried Dawn. No matter what recommended procedures i have tried. I have yet to see any of the stain residue transfer off of the Simtex onto a clean white cloth when its plotted or wiped and rinsed with water. I have used a soft brush to as shown in this video Below as well. Anything I have tried seems to darken and expand the stain.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1073555929414136

I have thought of leaving the Dawn on the stain keeping it wet for a longer period of time to see if it could possible break it down and release it from the Simtex but am reluctant to do that unless Spralding says its ok to do.
 
I’ve had great results removing oil stains from various objects (clothing, fabric, driveways, etc.) using Lestoil.
 
Have they been there a while? I only ask because mine appeared to have some stains where something wet sat. It lasted for 2 days or so, then went away. I was surprised it took as long as it did to disappear.
 
The stains are old and have been there since at least the winter. The boat was stored inside in the winter and the mooring cover was in place while stored. I acquired the boat in April and noticed them after that. They have had their oppertunity to fade but no such luck.
 
I have to admit this topic is stressing me out more than I would have thought when I bought my boat earlier this year. The simtex seating is part of what made me want to buy a Bennington- just feels and looks a bit more luxurious than regular vinyl to me. The dealer also talked about how easy it is to maintain, giving example of how their entire rental fleet is left uncovered all season, never any issues, easy wipe clean, etc. Now that I own the boat, I'm constantly worried about sun tan lotion, any type of food or drink with color, etc.. How can a boat have seats that are not able to withstand sun tan lotion??

So far no issues on ours but I feel like I am on constant watch with my kids. Our previous boat (with regular vinyl) had no issues for 14 years and we never thought twice about any of these things. Is Simtex really this sensitive to staining? How are all of these rental boats holding up when I am 100% sure the renters are not treating the seats so carefully?
 
dclboater said:
I have to admit this topic is stressing me out more than I would have thought when I bought my boat earlier this year. The simtex seating is part of what made me want to buy a Bennington- just feels and looks a bit more luxurious than regular vinyl to me. The dealer also talked about how easy it is to maintain, giving example of how their entire rental fleet is left uncovered all season, never any issues, easy wipe clean, etc. Now that I own the boat, I'm constantly worried about sun tan lotion, any type of food or drink with color, etc.. How can a boat have seats that are not able to withstand sun tan lotion??

So far no issues on ours but I feel like I am on constant watch with my kids. Our previous boat (with regular vinyl) had no issues for 14 years and we never thought twice about any of these things. Is Simtex really this sensitive to staining? How are all of these rental boats holding up when I am 100% sure the renters are not treating the seats so carefully?
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ditto to your points above...

out of fear, we have a no sunscreen on the boat policy... apply on land, and sit on a towel till it "works in". I'd like to not worry as much, but at the same time, some spray sunscreen doesn't even seem to wash off my arm hair sometimes, so i don't imagine it would clean off the boat any easier...
 
Do a search ( upper right corner) there are many things captains do not allow on their boats and there is a reason for all of them .Sun tan lotion / oil is at the top of my list with glass. If someone doesn't like my rules, buy a boat ( Bennington) and make your own rules .
 
dclboater said:
I have to admit this topic is stressing me out more than I would have thought when I bought my boat earlier this year. The simtex seating is part of what made me want to buy a Bennington- just feels and looks a bit more luxurious than regular vinyl to me. The dealer also talked about how easy it is to maintain, giving example of how their entire rental fleet is left uncovered all season, never any issues, easy wipe clean, etc. Now that I own the boat, I'm constantly worried about sun tan lotion, any type of food or drink with color, etc.. How can a boat have seats that are not able to withstand sun tan lotion??

So far no issues on ours but I feel like I am on constant watch with my kids. Our previous boat (with regular vinyl) had no issues for 14 years and we never thought twice about any of these things. Is Simtex really this sensitive to staining? How are all of these rental boats holding up when I am 100% sure the renters are not treating the seats so carefully?
Click to expand...
Since rental boats do not have the same warranty as consumers, the rental companies may be using / doing things that void the warranty. Just my opinion ,but I do see a lot of rentals and they are not treated as if the renter owned it . There is one rental in my area with a 300 Verado and an aluminum prop.
 
As mentioned I am disappointed that the SimTex fabric is that sensitive to staining and that difficult to remove a stain once set in, at least from what I have expierenced. Granted I don’t know what caused my stains as it occurred before I took ownership. From my past expierence conventional vinyl is less stain prone and easier to remove stains once when it does get stained.
I did an experiment on a hidden area of SimTex putting a small amount of suntan lotion on it. It did darken that area. Not sure if its the oil or something else in suntan lotion that causes this.

I am going to try reaching out to Spralding again with the hopes of finding a solution.
 
Do a search in the upper right hand corner on sunscreens that have not been problematic on seating. I have contributed a couple options in the past people can look up. We use both lotion and spray sunscreens. Spray lakeside before going on boat. Our Simtex seats are 7 years old now, and look nearly new (minus 2 dealership induced small cuts…sigh).

We don’t do much food or drinks on our boat, but that’s more because I am a clean freak about vehicles and that stuff AND we are lakeside, so we can just do that on our larger lakeside deck. That said, our seats clean up well, look pretty good, and we are very pleased 7 years in.

As for rentals - rentals always look beat up. I don’t trust a word the one rental person said about how well theirs hold up with renters. Like Jack said, since their warranty evaporates fast in rental fleets, they can use more harsh chemicals without worrying about future repercussions. They’ll discount sell that issue to the next owner.

We just rented a double decker tritoon down south on Table Top Lake in Missouri yesterday. Another manufacture and quality differences showed. FYI: I don’t have a trailer, so cannot take mine with me. We all missed our much softer and more comfortable Semtex fabric compared to this older gen traditional marine vinyl - no thank you.

Anyway, a GREAT day on Table Rock Lake, in a double decker with a slide - way fun! But yeah, that rental tritoon needed some serious TLC. Other than being a double decker with a slide, we MISSED our Bennington all day. Really got my wife and I talking about getting a trailer…a talk already in the works due to another issue anyway.
 
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I am very impressed with the Simtex. Thankfully I have not had suntan lotion on it since it sounds like that is an issue.

But other things, chocolate, wine, bugs, all wipe off with just a damp towel. The chocolate even sat for a day and still cleaned off easily.
 
big shooter said:
I am very impressed with the Simtex. Thankfully I have not had suntan lotion on it since it sounds like that is an issue.

But other things, chocolate, wine, bugs, all wipe off with just a damp towel. The chocolate even sat for a day and still cleaned off easily.
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OMG. Chocolate on my boat on a hot day. Ain't happening. LOL
 
I have had 6 kids, 6 teenagers, a dozen adults (all different times), we eat, drink, slather on lotion (spray and bronzing is banned), we spill, we don't use towels to sit on, we have bled, birds have used the Benny as target practice - and yet it all just keeps washing away. We spot clean with Fantastik (great on blood and bird poo - with a rinse after), a wet cloth on most other spills works fine, and then have a low power rinse using lake water with a mist sprayer to wash it all down every other trip or when particularly messy. Boat looks new - 1.5 seasons in - about 14 long weekend trips. Plus SO much more comfortable than the old vinyl.

I do wish we could get better guidance on using products like 303 to protect the fabric. I did a bunch of research on Spralding, the manufacturer and even reached out to them (as others have as noted above) and asked about a protectant - no answer. I was able to ascertain the fabric is coated with two different products - but no idea how long it lasts and/or if 303 helps over the long run and/or when the integrated stain repellent would start to fade a 303 product should be used. Suppose time will tell......
 
I cannot help wondering about the OP’s situation. Did previous owners use something VERY problematic and out of the ordinary on it, leading to the discoloration this past winter that they are unable to remove? OR is there perhaps an issue with their batch of the fabric? It seems unusual to have a severe situation with the Semtex, particular when its so new.
 
LaurencetheAdventurer said:
I have had 6 kids, 6 teenagers, a dozen adults (all different times), we eat, drink, slather on lotion (spray and bronzing is banned), we spill, we don't use towels to sit on, we have bled, birds have used the Benny as target practice - and yet it all just keeps washing away. We spot clean with Fantastik (great on blood and bird poo - with a rinse after), a wet cloth on most other spills works fine, and then have a low power rinse using lake water with a mist sprayer to wash it all down every other trip or when particularly messy. Boat looks new - 1.5 seasons in - about 14 long weekend trips. Plus SO much more comfortable than the old vinyl.

I do wish we could get better guidance on using products like 303 to protect the fabric. I did a bunch of research on Spralding, the manufacturer and even reached out to them (as others have as noted above) and asked about a protectant - no answer. I was able to ascertain the fabric is coated with two different products - but no idea how long it lasts and/or if 303 helps over the long run and/or when the integrated stain repellent would start to fade a 303 product should be used. Suppose time will tell......
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i wish i could use ceramic... would give me so much peace of mind... Simtex definitely doesn't seem compatible with ceramic from everything i've read...
 
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