VINYL ARMREST REPAIR - How To

Ever find a nice set of armrests but then pass over them because they have a crack? Or maybe you want to replace your old ones but the high cost of "good" ones on eBay has left you shaking your head. Well why not fix your old ones? Since spring is coming into Wisconsin with a major snowstorm today and I can't work outside. I thought I would fix up an old pair of armrests that have been sitting around and write a little tech article about the procedure. You can use these tricks on other vinyl parts as well.

Start by making sure the piece isn't too far gone already. If you push around on it with your thumb and it is hard and brittle and just keeps cracking, forget this repair. Depending on what it is, it may need recovering if possible, otherwise keep looking for a better one. If the part seems to be in good shape, other then a crack or two, the next step is to use a razor knife to cut away all the old "dead" vinyl. Try to leave the underling padding intact, unless that is hard or crumbles away easy. Once you have your hole cleaned out take a scrap piece of vinyl material and cut out a piece that matches the shape of the hole. You can see in the picture the big patch for this pad and the smaller patch that is for the mate to this armrest. I use a vinyl repair adhesive that is excellent called VLP. You can find this stuff anywhere; it has been on the market for years. Follow all the precautions and directions for its use on the package.

Place some VLP in the hole and push in your scrap piece. VLP takes only a few seconds to set and maybe 30 seconds to dry. It is fully cured in an hour or so but you can work with the armrest again in just a few minutes without screwing up what you have completed. What you want to do is get the patch piece sealed into place with several layers of the VLP. I've found a neat trick that allows you to work the liquid around for a few seconds before it sets. After applying the VLP, place a piece of masking tape, sticky side out, onto the work. You will see the liquid under the tape and can push it around with your finger. The tape will not stick to the VLP but it does block air from getting to it. This will slow down the set time, as VLP needs air to dry. You will have to hold the tape a few minutes to give the VLP time to set. Once you have the repair built up level with the rest of the armrest, you can start to get a smooth even layer to hide the patch lines and make it all look the same. You can do this by repeated sanding (I use 100 grit) and a finish steel wool rubdown (0000). In between sanding, you may need to add more VLP to fill in gaps or ridges. Go right ahead, it can't hurt it. One thing you will learn is if you get too much you can just sand it out and go at it again. How much to put on each time is something you will learn quickly after a few times working with the VLP. Figure on many little layers instead of one or two big puddles.

 

Now here comes the fun part! After many times sanding and many reapplications of the VLP you will achieve the uniform blending of the materials. Don't worry about the color differences, as you will need to dye or spray the parts to finish them. You will notice that all that sanding has left the vinyl smooth in the repair area. You need to get that grain look back into the vinyl. You can buy a tool that looks like a pencil soldering iron that has a quarter stuck to it. It is a neat little tool that you just heat up and touch around on the repair to melt a grain back into it. I don't have one of those. I have also seen grain paper that you heat from the backside that is supposed to put the grain back onto the repaired area. I don't have that either. So what I do is take a course wire mesh (in this case it is a lint trap filter for the washing machine) and heat it up to dab on my own grain pattern. I twist the wire up to get it a little uneven and also turn the mesh a little each time I touch it to the vinyl. That breaks up the lines and creates an uneven pattern. Be super careful not to melt it in very deep or you will be back to sanding again. A little texture goes a long way! Also, when vinyl burns it gives off phosgene gas and will create sulfuric acid in your lungs. You should not be making any smoke; just a little melting is all. You don't need to get it that hot, but you may get a little smoke and fumes when heating the mesh in the flame. Just pay attention to what you are doing. Once you have a grain look again to the piece you will need to run the sand paper and steel wool over it to clean up the high spots and even out the texture. Just like body paint on the car, the vinyl dye will not hide marks or defects, so get the finish as nice as possible before painting.

 

Once you are satisfied with the look, it is time to paint. I like the vinyl dyes for their penetration and ability to soak into older vinyl and rejuvenate it a little. An excellent spray product for coloring vinyl is KRYLON FUSION, which is made for plastics. Sometimes, Krylon can leave a newer or really soft piece of vinyl with a sticky film. If that happens, a Krylon rep told me to give it a light coat of Krylon low order clear. I've never had it happen to an armrest before, as they are made from a thicker, tougher vinyl. Follow all the directions on either the dye or the Krylon. You may need to lightly sand your work area between coats to blend it all in. You can even add more VLP if you notice pin holes after sanding again. The vinyl, VLP, dyes and Krylon paint are all compatible with each other. The dyes and Krylon dry really fast, in about 15 minutes. So if you need to do more VLP and sanding, you can after a short dry time.

And there you have it! Is it perfect? No, not by a long shot. But you know what you are looking at, so you're focused in on the repaired area. 9 out of 10 people would never even notice it if it has been done cleanly. Really cool thing is, it cost almost nothing in materials to do the repair. Granted, if you have to go out and buy the VLP, Krylon, vinyl, tape, ect…it would be more like $8.00. But once you have these things on your shelf and know how to fix something made of vinyl…. There's no telling what you will be restoring next!

Now I'm gonna sit back and have a beer and watch the snowfall.

Eric J