How To Match New Marine Vinyl Fabric to Boat Upholstery

Although the exact timeframe is influenced by many variables, on average, boat upholstery starts exhibiting signs of wear and tear around the seven-year mark. Interior upholstery tends to hold up longer, while the common areas that show their age are the outdoor and high traffic areas, such as where people enter and exit the boat.

While some areas can be repaired, there are instances where you need to replace the material with something new. Using marine vinyl fabric guarantees you’ll get the most life out of your upholstery, thanks to its ability to resist damage from stains, moisture, and the sun. Here’s how you match your new marine vinyl fabric to the boat upholstery already in place.

Do Your Research to Match Marine Vinyl Fabric on Your Boat

Use the material you intend to replace as a swatch for your new marine vinyl fabric. Take your time to carefully compare it to the current selection of fabrics to find matching upholstery fabric for the boat’s current pattern, texture, and color.

Sometimes, boat owners discover that the specific color or pattern they ordered at the time of production isn’t available for aftermarket sales. In that instance, you may need to explore different vinyl manufacturers to find a fabric match for your boat.

It’s important to recognize that all fabric rolls have slight color variations, depending on their dye lot. A trained eye may be able to notice a slight difference in a shade of blue, but for the most part, fabrics can be matched closely but not exact without being noticeable.

Match the Colors of Your Boat’s Marine Vinyl Fabric

If you can’t find matching upholstery fabric for your boat, you may want to consider picking a color that’s intentionally different but complements your current color scheme. This is also an opportunity to explore a modern texture. You may end up surprising yourself and employing the new color or texture on other parts of your boat with additional restoration projects.

Not being able to match to your main color is a little trickier. You’ll have to make a choice on a color that you think will go well with the overall theme, or pick a new color entirely to update the whole boat.

It’s also possible to find the same or a very similar color in a different texture, which will give your boat an updated and modern feel. If you’ve stuck with traditional colors, such as neutrals, blacks, blues, and reds, you likely won’t have many issues matching your new marine vinyl fabric to your current boat upholstery.

All Vinyl Fabrics carries a wide selection of marine vinyl fabrics in multiple colors and textures to match boat paint and other upholstery. You can even order samples of our fabrics to be sure that the new marine vinyl fabric matches the boat’s upholstery. Contact us today at 877-618-4695 to get the right fabric for your boating needs.