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Surlast Bimin refresh

MrG

MrG

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I have a Black Doubble Bimini on my 2575 QCW. It's 5 years old and it's looking quite faded in my opinion. I keep it folded up when not it use. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with a "Magical  product" that could make the Bimini material darker? More true black? I was wondering if any of the 303 products when sprayed on would bring some color back into the black Bimini, it has a grey-ish tone to it due to sun fade. 


Thanks 
 
The 303 makes my bimini & mooring cover a little brighter after an application but certainly not a miracle.  Black must fade the most.


I would think you could bring it to a professional company that could dye it jet black again
 
If I look at my Bimini fabric closely I can see sunlight through it.  It is not water proof by design from what I understand.  I catch myself wondering why it's not and why the material is not a thicker heaver material like sunbrella.  
 
Link said:
The 303 makes my bimini & mooring cover a little brighter after an application but certainly not a miracle.  Black must fade the most.


I would think you could bring it to a professional company that could dye it jet black again
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My old mooring cover was faded big time but it still was in sound shape. Believe me I searched pretty much all of the canvas and upholstery shops in Virginia and North Carolina to see if it can be dyed instead of having another one custom made. No luck. Couldn't find anybody that offers that service.  
 
azray007 said:
If I look at my Bimini fabric closely I can see sunlight through it.  It is not water proof by design from what I understand.  I catch myself wondering why it's not and why the material is not a thicker heaver material like sunbrella.  
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I would bet so it can "breathe". If not, your boat would be filled with mold. My guess on the second is, the lighter performs the necessary function without driving up the cost needlessly. 
 
azray007 said:
If I look at my Bimini fabric closely I can see sunlight through it.  It is not water proof by design from what I understand.  I catch myself wondering why it's not and why the material is not a thicker heaver material like sunbrella.  
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Whenever we have the chance we are having our Bimini and Bimini boot  redone to match our mooring cover. All will be the Sunbrella fabric........
 
BigKahuna said:
Whenever we have the chance we are having our Bimini and Bimini boot redone to match our mooring cover. All will be the Sunbrella fabric........
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Hi BigKahuna, I know this is an old thread but I thought it would be a good place to start.

Today I met with various trades people to get some extra things done to my new boat. One of those big cost items is a full enclosure . My boat will be on a lift with bimini permanently up and breathable mesh sides, so I want the best possible materials to handle the elements.
One of the trimmers has recommended removing the new Surlast bimini and replacing it with Sunbrella because it is more fade resistant, waterproof and generally more durable. This of course comes at a cost, so I really want to get it right. Full mesh sides with new Sunbrella bimini and Sunbrella front and back( US$8000).
My question ... How much rain comes through the Surlast bimini and how long would you expect the Surlast to last compared to Sunbrella? As I looked up at the Surlast bimini I can see light, so I’m concerned this thing will leak badly in our Queensland sub tropical wet season.

I have amateurishly edited a photo of a passing Bennington to give you an idea of what I’m wanting. The black will be Sunbrella/Surlast and the windows will be grey mesh, zipped and rollable. What do you think?

Thanks


 

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The cover on my 2014 RCW was replaced with Sunbrella .No rain at all came through
 
I just sold the 2014 last year ,i put 303 on Surlast once a year ,I never had to put any on the Sunbrella
 
I have to be honest the Surlast cover lasted 12 yrs. and did it's job. Of course it faded big time and was brittle towards the end. Sunbrella is a premium breathable fabric and we had it for 4 years. Excellent product that never leaked. We did spray it with Starbrite waterproofing spray every other year and it beaded up like a just waxed car! With Sunbrella vents are not needed because of it's breathability!!! Excellent product well worth the money!
 
BigKahuna said:
I have to be honest the Surlast cover lasted 12 yrs. and did it's job. Of course it faded big time and was brittle towards the end. Sunbrella is a premium breathable fabric and we had it for 4 years. Excellent product that never leaked. We did spray it with Starbrite waterproofing spray every other year and it beaded up like a just waxed car! With Sunbrella vents are not needed because of it's breathability!!! Excellent product well worth the money!
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Did you have your Surlast bimini up and in the open position for all that time?

How much rain actually gets through the Surlast?

Maybe leaving the factory bimini and using Surlast and mesh sides will be OK.
 
Kozzie2020 said:
Did you have your Surlast bimini up and in the open position for all that time?

How much rain actually gets through the Surlast?

Maybe leaving the factory bimini and using Surlast and mesh sides will be OK.
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No I was referring to the Surlast mooring cover. We did deploy the Bimini everytime we used the boat though. In my opinion you should be fine using the factory bimini Surlast material for years to come. Why go through the extra expense now to replace something that's new.....
 
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