Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 3, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 3, 2014 I recently redid the upholstery in my 95 Malibu response and wanted to give a shout out to Chee Moua for his excellent service and craftsmanship! when I started looking into doing this project I checked with Malibu about ordering skins for my 95 but they don't do the older boats any longer so I started doing some research and found out Chee came highly recommended on the Malibu crew web site. come to find out Chee has been doing Malibu's work out of Merced for many years. I was able to get his email address (Souluckmoua@yahoo.com) I contacted him for a quote and quickly got an answer back. he asked for my VIN number and what pieces that I wanted to replace. I was in need of a complete kit for a closed bow. he quickly responded with a quote of 1100 dollars delivered to my home. naturally I was flabbergasted because everyone around here wanted anywhere from 2800 to 3800 so I quickly responded before he changed his mind. Haha! so anyways it took approximately 3 weeks from the time I ordered till it was delivered at my house and he lost a portion of that time waiting on the the embroiderer to embroider the Malibu emblem on the site coming panels. I recently got the boat back on the water in all the comments have been wow it looks just like brand new from the factory. I'm extremely pleased with the outcome! here is a picture. I will try to get a couple more today to post. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 3, 2014 Author Baller Share Posted April 3, 2014 just got done skiing is set in 62 degree water 57 degrees air. I'm starting to feel a little better. I ran 5 28's and 2 32's and tried a couple cracks at 35 to no avail. but enough about me here are some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Fine409 Posted April 3, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 3, 2014 Looks great. I've heard a lot of good things about his work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kstateskier Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 For any price those skins look incredible, let alone $1100 delivered! Good lookin response too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 3, 2014 Author Baller Share Posted April 3, 2014 yeah Chi does amazing work! I had to send one skin back because I had some loose stitching which was probably from me. yesterday a brand new skin showed up on my doorstep. naturally I was pleasantly surprised because I figured I'd get my other skin back which would have been fine by me but he replaced it with a brand new one. can't say enough good things about him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller PurdueSkier Posted April 3, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 3, 2014 Chee is awesome. I redid all of my skins a few years ago. They showed up exactly like he said maybe even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Lieutenant Dan Posted April 3, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 3, 2014 @Steven Haines @PurdueSkier I am curious about the materials that Chee used. Did he use the older / smooth (and not so tough) materials that Malibu used to use, or is it the newer/"grained"/tougher material that Malibu uses today? I have a 2001 which is going to need redoing at some point soon and am wondering what I would get... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Fine409 Posted April 3, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 3, 2014 Did you install the skins yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 4, 2014 Author Baller Share Posted April 4, 2014 @ Lieutenant Dan, the material he used his very thick, I believe it's the new type of material. I'll attach a photo of the material. @DTM 8119, yes I installed it myself. I got a couple quotes from upholstery shops around my home. they wanted anywhere from $1400.00 to 2800.00 to install them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller PurdueSkier Posted April 4, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 4, 2014 @"Steven Haines" pic above is same material I got from Chee as well. It is very thick a very good quality. I did the upholstery myself. Pretty straight forward. Get a good hand steamer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 4, 2014 Author Baller Share Posted April 4, 2014 @Purdue skier, I was looking at some pneumatic stapler but then decided to try my hand stapler and it worked just fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Lieutenant Dan Posted April 4, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 4, 2014 @Steven Haines @PurdueSkier So, what was the process for installing them? Steam them then stretch and staple? What was the best way to steam them. Any "lessons learned" to share? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller PurdueSkier Posted April 4, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 4, 2014 @Lieutenant Dan Yep, that's basically it. Couple things I learned. I used a hand steamer like the "shark-garment-care-steamer". It worked really well to heat up and stretch the skins. You have to use something to heat them up, or you will never get the corners to come out right. I bought an upholstery pneumatic stapler and S.S. staples. It was well worth it. When doing the entire boat, there are a ton of staples. The staplers that are made for upholstery are narrower and longer where the staples come out, so they can get into tighter spaces. Not a big deal for most of the seats, but helpful on some. The biggest thing I didnt know was that most of the skins (at least on my boat) have a "tab" in the middle. The foam is usually in two pieces and the tab goes between them and folds under one. So you have to pull half of the foam off, line everything up, put the tab in place, staple it down, put the foam back on, the pull the corners down, flip the seat over, and stretch and staple. Some of the big pieces were a two or three person job. Engine cover was interesting, but turned out great. Good luck. I am really glad I did mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Texas6 Posted April 4, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 4, 2014 Very impressive work indeed, looks awesome! Does Chee only do Malibu or do you know if he does MC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 4, 2014 Author Baller Share Posted April 4, 2014 I didn't have to steam mine I just laid mine out in the sun so they got hot enough to work with. I'm not sure where purdue liVes but I'm in southern california so that could be the difference. be ready for a lot of stapling! I've used 4000 staples. texas 6, I'm sure he could do mastercraft but I don't know if he has the patterns, you might have to send him skins. oh yeah the engine box was fun! the worst part is getting it lined up to lay on the box correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Texas6 Posted April 5, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 5, 2014 Thx @Steven Haines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller PurdueSkier Posted April 5, 2014 Baller Share Posted April 5, 2014 I live in Indiana and did mine over the winter. There was no sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 5, 2014 Author Baller Share Posted April 5, 2014 no problems @T6! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 @Steven Haines Sweet looking boat. How'd my dog get on your swim platform (your dog looks just like my little rescue)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 5, 2014 Author Baller Share Posted April 5, 2014 @MrB, thanks for the compliment! that's abby the boat dog. she belongs to my ski partner "Huge" in the other picture. if you look at that picture closely you'll see that she's a very accomplished skier! she's always at 38! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Steven_Haines Posted April 5, 2014 Author Baller Share Posted April 5, 2014 the next step is Z box so I don't get my butt kicked by zo any longer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdfordf150 Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Hello I want to get my boat seats recovered. I emailed "chee" and haven't heard anything back. Do you have his phone number or a better way to contact him??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Lieutenant Dan Posted August 28, 2017 Baller Share Posted August 28, 2017 @jdfordf150 I believe that Chee is no longer in the business. I believe that Gabriel Garcia is the guy now. His email address is bassmastergarcia@yahoo.com Let us know how you make out with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller DavidN Posted August 28, 2017 Baller Share Posted August 28, 2017 He also has a FB page: Gabe's Custom Marine Upholstery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MauroVm Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Hello! I am looking for a complete kit for my 2004 Response LXi. Anyone know if this mail is still valid - (Souluckmoua@yahoo.com)?? Has anyone used gator step on their Response? any pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller brody Posted June 8, 2021 Baller Share Posted June 8, 2021 I have had 3 seats done by Gabe. Absolutely perfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Siouxcitysmitty Posted June 8, 2021 Baller Share Posted June 8, 2021 Just had the storage hatch lids for my RLXI done for me by Gabe's. Look great! Be ready to provide your VIN, as apparently he has an arrangement with Malibu to color match. Also, prepare yourself for 6-8 week leadtime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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