We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Weingarth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Weingarth Customs was started by my husband, Chris Weingarth, as a custom woodworking business in Syracuse, New York. Chris built custom furniture, built-ins, custom cabinetry, timber framing, and much more. When I met my husband, I was a special education teacher at the elementary level. During nights and weekends, I began assisting Chris in his woodworking adventures. I gave my thoughts on design and assisted and watched in the fabrication process. This is where I gained knowledge of the processes of building, species of wood and finish work. This is where my interest in wood repairs began.

After much success in the residential markets in and around New York, an opportunity arose in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Chris packed up as many tools as he could and headed south. After working on yacht projects for a few months, the decision was made to officially move Weingarth Customs to South Florida. A year later, I packed up my classroom, the house and dogs and met Christopher in South Florida.

At Weingarth Customs, our touch-up service came about because my husband, Chris, saw a common need on the yachts he was working on. Often, when there was damage to a panel, wall, or cabinet, people would ask him about replacing the whole thing.

Chris is a master carpenter, so his side of the business would typically involve doing just that—replacing the entire piece. But Chris knew there had to be a better way, where a less invasive, more cost-effective repair could be done, which would save the yacht from a large, time-consuming project.

That’s when I started learning how to do touch-ups, which allowed us to repair rather than replace.

Doing this not only saves our client’s time and money, but also keeps the boat’s original integrity intact.
I’ve learned a lot along the way as each ding, divot, and scuff seems to require a unique repair from the last.

After many years specializing in touch up repairs, we expanded Weingarth Customs’ services by becoming formally trained in the application of Paint Protection Film (PPF). PPF is a virtually invisible layer made of polyurethane that is applied to the interior and exterior surfaces on yachts. It protects the originally yacht surface from wear and tear!

Introducing PPF applications into our services has been a popular request, enabling us to protect our clients’ boats even more.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We at Weingarth Customs are touch up repair artists and trained XPEL PPF installers.

That means we repair dings, nicks, divots, scratches, screw holes and water damage on interior surfaces on yachts. We repair wood, veneer, painted and composite surfaces on the interior of yachts. You can see our repairs on furniture, thresholds, door frames, walls, ceilings, cabinets doors, cabinet tops, tables, nightstands and floors.

We often tackle more unusual repairs too. Here are a few interesting ones:

-Delicate vases with chipped edges
-Chairs with rose gold armrests
-A luxury wooden body roller
-Faux painting a light switch
-A large silver-leafed dome
-A stool with gold accents

If a yacht has a unique piece that needs expert care, we’re here to help. We love a challenge, especially when it involves turning a damaged object back into something beautiful.

We are trained installers of XPEL Paint Protection Film and Ceramic Coating. We install the PPF to interior and exterior surfaces on yachts. PPF protections the beautiful yacht surfaces from wear and tear while maintaining the original aesthetics.

We apply PPF to:
-bar tops
-vanity tops
-counters in galleys
-coffee and dining table
-high traffic/high rub areas edges

We are very proud of hitting tight deadlines (even if that means working late and weekends), performing high quality repairs, maintaining a professional but also a personal approach when interacting with captains, crew and owners and helping our clients with anything we can (even if it is unrelated to touch up services).

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a friend was visiting us, we would be going for a sail on our Pearson 424 classic sailboat. We would enjoy what the ocean has to offer, we would be walking beaches, free diving and fishing. Anything to do with the water. South Florida has some of the most beautiful water, which wants to be enjoyed. South Florida has beautiful wildlife excursions that are available all year around.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A big shout-out to my amazing husband, Chris Weingarth! From the very beginning, his sacrifice and tireless dedication, has been the driving force behind Weingarth Customs. I’m so grateful for how he’s built our business and trusted me to contribute to its growth.

Website: https://weingarthcustoms.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weingarthcustoms?igsh=d2F1N2dndW1od3Ft&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/amanda-weingarth-50b426179

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AMqYWuoq4/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Image Credits
Weingarth Customs Team

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