How to keep your boat’s interior in cruising condition

As the temperatures climb higher, boat lovers everywhere will be returning to the water every chance they get. Taking your boat out after a long, cold winter can be extremely refreshing, especially if you have been kept off of the water by the weather. While you’re gearing up for your joyride, remember to pay attention to your upholstery. Summer weather is beautiful, but it can also lead to worn down seats if you don’t properly care for your boat.

(Top) Mildewed seats. (Bottom) Seats looking like new after the Fibrenew touch

The first thing you should do upon exposing your boat to the summer elements is to find out exactly what type of material the seats on your boat are made of. Many seats are made with a combination of vinyl and leather, so make sure you know which category your boat falls under.
Choosing a good leather cleanser is the next preventative measure to take. We recommend using water based cleanser, which has fewer chemicals and is better for long-term use. Wiping down your seats regularly with a good cleanser is an excellent way to prevent major wear and tear as well as keep your leather looking clean and new.

Making sure to cover all upholstery on your boat is another great way to keep it from sun damage. Being openly exposed to the sun all the time will wear on the material and cause serious fading, so make sure to invest in a good cover if you store your boat in an outdoor area. Sun damage can cause cracking and fading, so protection is vitally important to keep the material in good shape. Covering up your upholstery will also help protect from dirt, which can stain, and dampness, which can cause mildew. Be sure to dry out the boat before covering it up. Trapped moisture can cause rotting and mildew of the boat’s interior.

Taking these precautionary measure will help keep your boat in fantastic shape. Prepare to relax and enjoy those long summer rides on the water!

Check out more of Fibrenew’s blog for other helpful tips.

Learning About Leather: Not All Leather is Alike

When considering adding to your leather collection, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. What type of leather is best suited to your needs? To assist in some of the research, we are showing you the pros and cons of the three main types of leather.

Aniline Leather
Aniline leather is considered the most natural looking leather. Some people refer to it as “naked leather” because of how natural it looks. It is known to be very soft and comfortable. A lot of people enjoy aniline leather because it preserves each marking it receives, making each piece completely unique. While this type of leather can be very visually pleasing, it is a material that is easily stained. If you have a busy family or high traffic in your home, this is a type of leather you may want to avoid.

Semi-Aniline Leather
The main difference between semi-aniline and aniline leather is the light protective coat semi-aniline receives. This protective coat is useful because it makes the material more resistant to strain and stains, which helps it to last longer. The color in semi-aniline leather is also more consistent than in aniline leather. The downside to this type of leather is the protective coat leads to less uniqueness; the leather does not retain markings as well with the protective coat.

Pigmented/Protected Leather
The most durable type of leather available, pigmented leather is covered with a polymer surface coating that contains pigments. This coating gives the leather more resistance to scratching, scuffing or fading. Pigmented leather does not have the unique qualities of other types of leather, as the sealant prevents marks from staying on the material. Pigmented leather is an excellent choice for busy families who have high traffic in their homes. Pigmented leather is easy to maintain and makes for an excellent couch or lounge chair material.

As you can see, there are good and bad aspects to every type of leather available. Being informed about which kind works best for your lifestyle is important when purchasing leather furniture. Happy shopping!

Source: Learning About Leather

Melbourne Franchise Business Opportunity!

Are you a budding entrepreneur looking for the chance to learn a new skill, truly be your own boss and take charge of your financial future? Fibrenew has an amazing mobile service franchise opportunity available right now in Melbourne & Area! With a lean & simple operation, flexible schedule and multiple revenue streams, Fibrenew might be the right fit for you!

What We Do

Fibrenew is a niche mobile service business that restores, re-dyes and renews damaged or worn leather, plastic and vinyl in homes, offices, boats, vehicles, airplanes, medical clinics and more. Anywhere there are items like this in need of restoration, we are called upon to help our clients. Stop and think, or look around now – where do you see leather, plastic or vinyl? It’s everywhere!

Why We Do It

Fibrenew’s services save customers time and money by offering an alternative to replacement. Our services are more economical than the cost of replacement and can often times be completed faster than the time it takes for replacement materials to be ordered or delivered. As an added benefit, this saves hundreds of damaged items from ending up in landfills. It’s win-win!

Who We Are

Since 1987, we have built and refined a robust franchise business system. This includes the research and development of a proprietary product line, highly specialized techniques as well as rock-solid support, operations and marketing systems. The strength of our business model, the quality of our products and services and our enthusiasm for what we do all contribute to the success of more than 245 Fibrenew franchises around the world today.

Brisbane Franchise Business Opportunities

Are you a budding entrepreneur looking for the chance to learn a new skill, truly be your own boss and take charge of your financial future? Fibrenew has an amazing mobile service franchise opportunity available right now in Central and South Brisbane! With a lean & simple operation, flexible schedule and multiple revenue streams, Fibrenew might be the right fit for you!

What We Do
Fibrenew is a niche mobile service business that restores, re-dyes and renews damaged or worn leather, plastic and vinyl in homes, offices, boats, vehicles, airplanes, medical clinics and more. Anywhere there are items like this in need of restoration, we are called upon to help our clients. Stop and think, or look around now – where do you see leather, plastic or vinyl? It’s everywhere!

Why We Do It
Fibrenew’s services save customers time and money by offering an alternative to replacement. Our services are more economical than the cost of replacement and can often times be completed faster than the time it takes for replacement materials to be ordered or delivered. As an added benefit, this saves hundreds of damaged items from ending up in landfills. It’s win-win!

Sydney Franchise Business Opportunities

Are you a budding entrepreneur looking for the chance to learn a new skill, truly be your own boss and take charge of your financial future? Fibrenew has an amazing mobile service franchise opportunity available right now in Sydney & Area! With a lean & simple operation, flexible schedule and multiple revenue streams, Fibrenew might be the right fit for you!

What We Do
Fibrenew is a niche mobile service business that restores, re-dyes and renews damaged or worn leather, plastic and vinyl in homes, offices, boats, vehicles, airplanes, medical clinics and more. Anywhere there are items like this in need of restoration, we are called upon to help our clients. Stop and think, or look around now – where do you see leather, plastic or vinyl? It’s everywhere!

Why We Do It
Fibrenew’s services save customers time and money by offering an alternative to replacement. Our services are more economical than the cost of replacement and can often times be completed faster than the time it takes for replacement materials to be ordered or delivered. As an added benefit, this saves hundreds of damaged items from ending up in landfills. It’s win-win! Visit us for more info!

How One Man Googled His Way to Owning a Fibrenew Business

You really can use Google to find anything you want. Jeff Butler can attest. Not too long ago, after realizing the need for a new career and life direction, Butler decided to type “mobile franchises under $100,000” into the search engine and see what happened. After carefully evaluating his options, Butler narrowed it down to Fibrenew, the market leaders in leather, plastic and vinyl restoration, and founded Fibrenew Central Arizona.

In order to establish his new business, Butler dedicated two weeks to the Fibrenew training program in Calgary. “It was great,” he says. “Everyone from Fibrenew is super nice and helpful. It’s a great organization to be part of.” The training program was intense, and although Butler admits it was a lot of information to absorb in such a relatively short period (ranging from techniques to product information to general business advice), he found the subsequent Fibrenew Apprenticeship Program to be a valuable component to getting Fibrenew Central Arizona up and running. “The nice thing about the Apprenticeship Program is that you can go home, go on your iPad and see the information you’re looking for and review the videos you need instead of worrying about not being able to remember what they told us in training,” he explains. “And if I can’t find what I’m looking for, the Fibrenew support team is only a phone call away.”

Prior to the initial training, Butler shadowed fellow Fibrenew franchisee owner Dan Hoffman, owner of Fibrenew Portland, for two days. That’s when he knew he’d made a smart decision to invest in his own business. “At the end of day one, I saw Dan writing up the invoices from the day and remember thinking, ‘Not bad for a day’s work!’” Butler laughs.

Being a new business, Butler’s start-up phase consists of hard work, planning and a go-get-’em attitude. “There’s no such thing as a typical day for me,” he notes. “A lot of times I’ll line up my day, but then by noon I’ve altered it already! I like that. I like being able to just go with the flow and plan my day as it happens.”

Butler has always been drawn to the “hands-on” sort of work — he has a lengthy background in the auto industry, ranging from service technician right up to service director. Because of his vast background in the automotive industry, Butler is naturally drawn to the services he can provide to the numerous used car, RV and boat dealerships in his area. Fibrenew Central Arizona tackles every sort of restoration and refurbishing a client requires — including residential and commercial contracts — but Butler expects the automotive contracts to be the largest component to his clientele.

“One of the best parts of Fibrenew is being hands-on, being able to be the person who directs daily activities, makes sure the work is accomplished correctly, being able to interact with customers. It’s a much better environment than being stuck in a cubicle,” Butler says.

Source: Fibrenew Franchising