are all grommets createed equal?

[Kiltmadoc]

I am looking to make a deck/c0ckpit cover and I have nver tried to place grommets before. Are the taylor made's at west marine ($19) really 2x as good as the ones I can pick up at walmart ($9)?

Any advice is welcome....

[MobiusALilBitTwisted]

check and see what they are made of, then pick the one that will last longest, if your on a lake boat then does it relay matter?

[mitchbrown]

HI Kilt

you could check out the plastic ones sold at Sailrite, sailrite.com there supper easy to use, they look good and they seem pretty durable

Mitch

[aeventyr60]

Bought the cheap one's once, big mistake. Rusted after a year, fell apart later. If your buying Sunbrella and want to have the cover for many years get the good ones. Seattle Fabric also sells online a few different types of grommets. 2 grades, SS and a heavy brass/bronze alloy. The cheap ones are a shiny pot metal of who knows what...

[arf145]

I'm always looking to save, but I wouldn't touch a metal object obtained at Walmutt for a marine application.

[pdqaltair]

Pretty fast, too.

[hellosailor]

kilt, I haven't seen both to compare, but sometimes the "findings" at Walmart are crap from China. Grommets are not all the same, you want to try comparing the quality of the metal, see if it has been well formed or has rough edges, see how well the parts and die will fit. And whether it will seat nicely on your fabric, or need an extra layer to reinforce it, etc.

Working with some large plastic ones this afternoon actually, and while the supplier says "one layer of fabric" I've used three, and they seat very nicely and firmly without cutting anything. I figure, reinforcing can't hurt, grommets never need any excuse to tear out.

[genieskip]

NO, all grommets are not created equal. For marine use a non-rusting metal is imperative, not just the kind of plated steel that the cheap ones are made of. Also very important is to get "toothed" grommets, that have little spurs that hold the material better. Do yourself a favor and get good ones if you don't want to do it over in a year.

[junkrig]

Originally Posted by Kiltmadoc:765460

I am looking to make a deck/c0ckpit cover and I have nver tried to place grommets before. Are the taylor made's at west marine ($19) really 2x as good as the ones I can pick up at walmart ($9)?

Any advice is welcome....

No, they're not 2x as good. The Walmart ones aren't nearly that good.