reccomendation for seat cushon foam type

[orlandoclippertim]

I tried searching this but came up empty. My seats were reproduced by someone. Cover are some type of grey vynal. Plain but functional.
however the foam inside looks like the kind you get at the craft store. way soft- about 3 inches thick. covered with that THIN clear film. Every one of them had some water insied the plastic. several were full. I tool a couple of then out - the logged ones- and took the foam out of the film
and noticed the foam is kind of disintegrating - a powdery dirt comming out of the foam (its the foam material) - maybe dry rot ? So this stuff has gotta go !
I noticed the covers have zippers all the way across the back - but there are no vent holes to let water out along the bottom. Should there be ?

i have seen several kinds of foam for boat seats. several firmnesses. One in particular was a super-open cell that supposed to not hold any water - it just runs through fast. It was the color os a paper grocery bag and had kind of big pores and was on the firm side. I can't remember the trade name. If I use that would I leave it un-sealed and add drain gromets at bottom of covers ?

Or would I be better off using a film covered foam and go the other direction ? It looks like the sealed up versions with harder foam or sandwitches of hard/soft foams give a more sculpted look to the cushon. My cushons are pretty basic things. (1956 aluminum orlando clipper) I just dont want them to stay wet inside the covers and get all nasty.

I may get the foam and cut it myself with a hot wire cutter (if it will cut that way)

What does the voice of experience out there say ?????

Tim in Orlando

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: reccomendation for seat cushon foam type

the film is not for sealing... it is for lubrication between the vinyl and the foam.... without it the foam will deteriorate quickly.... You can use foam from the craft store but you want high density.... the low density is cheaper but not comfortable for more than a couple minutes

 

[tswiczko]

Re: reccomendation for seat cushon foam type

also if you use a plastic bag that goes between the foam and upholstery material you can use a shop vac to remove the air reducing the volume of the foam and it will go into the pocket much easier.

I put tarp grommets, 1 or 2 on the under side of the ones that were in an envelope depending on how big they were, and drilled 3/4 inch holes in the one with wood bottoms for air movement more so than drains. That way the cushions would rise back up when you stood up.

A lot of the foams I looked at when I done my cushions was at fabric stores and had a flame retardant on them that made them a lot more expensive.