2015 Sofitel faux leather is flaking

TexT@bers

Has anyone else experienced flaking of the faux leather seats that come standard in the Sofitel model?  We bought our new T@b Sofitel in 2015 and store it in 
a local indoor garage storage facility.  This past summer we noticed the two seats were flaking badly but the interior seat foam was fine.  We contacted NuCamp who said we now have to go through our dealer.  We ordered 2 seat covers from NuCamp using our dealer and was able to replace two zippered seat covers with matching faux leather.  Unfortunately, we now are seeing our other seats covers that are stapled on starting to flake.  Trying to decide if I can replace these myself since I have zero sewing knowledge.  Was wondering if anyone else has had this faux leather problem and if so, did you switch out to fabric?  I love the faux leather but don't want to deal with replacing it every 4 years.  Not sure what is causing it, maybe the mattress topper we use, but is has a cover.

TexT@bers

TexT@bers

Added this picture.  I tried to resize to 800x600 but not sure it worked.  Please let me know if incorrect size.

(Correctly sized.  Thanks - Sharon)

Verna

I had faux leather on my 2014 T@B S Max that I purchased in 2015. With over 36,000 miles over 3 years, I did not experience the “flaking. 

Now I am fulltiming in my 2019 400 Boondock Lite with faux leather and (knock on wood), I am not experiencing the “flaking” either.  

How do you clean yours? I use only a cloth cloth dampened with water to clean mine. 

TexT@bers

We used to clean our seats after our camping trips with vinegar in water.  We switched to Meguiar's Marine RV Vinyl and Rubber cleaner and Protectant after replacing the two seats that were flaking.

Verna

Thanks. I would say that the vinegar was good for sterilizing the cushions, but that maybe the caustic properties of the vinegar did not help with the longevity of the fabric. 

I like the change to the Meguiar product, although I have no experience with it. 

TexT@bers

Thanks Verna, appreciate the feedback.  I'm glad no one else has had this problem.  It was a bit pricey to replace the two seats with NuCamp upholstery so didn't know if I should switch to fabric.   I think for the other two flaking cushions, we'll probably get some faux leather fabric and staple it ourselves.  Do you happen to know if I can use fabric store faux leather upholstery in an RV?  Maybe someone else has reupholstered using faux leather?

Verna

There are others who have stapled fabric and it worked well. I’m really partial to faux leather as I camp on Arizona for 4 to 6 months a year—the dust would be troublesome for me with the upholstery. 

Try a search on staple or upholstery to see what their helpful hints were. 

I’m at nüCamp and Elsie, Whitney and myself feel the fabric store faux leather upholstery should be fine for your Sofitel.  Now mind you, this is an unofficial poll of three women....not an official notice from nüCamp. 

And, yes, if it were me, I would staple the faux leather myself. 

Good luck!

jkjenn

They use ultra leather, which is what I have and also what they use  Airstreams. I dont have the exact material, but very similar have had no flaking. I use a damp clothes to clean and it does a good job.

TexT@bers

Do you have a recommendation for brands similar to ultra leather? We are looking at Amazon and the prices are all over the place.  Our local fabric store does not stock the color we need (trying to match the Sofitel color).