Help with reupholstering seats (in leather)!

[AlfaRomeoGTV6]

Mate I'm really hanging out to see them fitted !!!

Cheers

[sirchAU]

Originally Posted by sirchAU

Just got a quote for $200 for installation from V.I.P Seat Covers in Oakleigh... Might just get these in before the new year after all.

Turns out this quote was for "fitting" and not for reupholstery. Seriously, who pays $200 to get a set of seat covers (throwovers I'm assuming) "fitted"? Still on the lookout for someone who'll put these on my seats for a reasonable price.

Pics up soon too, apologies for the delay.

Cheers,
Chris

[Mr Hardware]

Just a quick question, have you had leather seats in a car before?
Have you ever been in a car with leather seat covers fitted? Do you know that they're obviously different to leather seats?

[sirchAU]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Just a quick question, have you had leather seats in a car before?
Have you ever been in a car with leather seat covers fitted? Do you know that they're obviously different to leather seats?

Yes I have been in a car with leather seats. No I have not been in a car with leather seat covers fitted.

The difference I can imagine would be negligible if fitted correctly.

What is your point?

[sirchAU]

Originally Posted by SLO247

Lots of pics would be great, of the covers now and the finished product.

Can you tell a difference in material between the seat faces and the front seat backs for example?

A couple of pics of them taken with my phone. Sorry about the poor quality but i tried to get close shots to give u an idea of the fabric's texture etc. There isn't really any difference between the non-perforated part of the front face, and the back of the covers. The back is perhaps a bit smoother than the front. I'm not 100% sure if they are genuine leather or not, but they look, feel and smell genuine. They smell really leathery and have filled the room they are stored in at the moment with a distinctive leather smell.

They look quite creased and wrinkled at the moment as they arrived folded in packaging, but once stretched over the seats and heated with a bit of steam the creases will disappear.

[SLO247]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Just a quick question, have you had leather seats in a car before?
Have you ever been in a car with leather seat covers fitted? Do you know that they're obviously different to leather seats?

I can't see how different they are as long as they are fitted tight. The old trim comes off the foam and the new stuff goes on....

Never seen this stuff in person, always looks good in photos though.

Thanks for the photos. It will be interesting to see how it all holds up.

Fitted covers I assume means they are sewn on to the seats. I've seen it done with sheep skins.

[leonbray]

Did you end up getting these covers fitted. I'm interested in getting a set for the AU III

[GK]

I'm not considering this option for either of my AUs, however I am interested to hear how the installation went and indeed if you're happy with the outcome.

Pics of course are a must!

GK

[Magna]

Originally Posted by sirchAU

A couple of pics of them taken with my phone. Sorry about the poor quality but i tried to get close shots to give u an idea of the fabric's texture etc.

hey mate can u get a pic of the underside of the covers, do they have plastic edging to them? i did my seats on my EF a few years ago here is a pic of mine getting installed. if they have the plastic edging i might be able to give u a hand installing if they arnt already fitted.

[sirchAU]

Sorry lads.... still haven't got these installed yet. Times $$ are tough and work hasn't been going so well so im not exactly sure when it'll happen. Will be sure to post lots of pics when it eventually does happen though!

[sirchAU]

Originally Posted by Magna

hey mate can u get a pic of the underside of the covers, do they have plastic edging to them? i did my seats on my EF a few years ago here is a pic of mine getting installed. if they have the plastic edging i might be able to give u a hand installing if they arnt already fitted.

image

Thanks mate appreciate the offer. Yours look very nice!
Unfortunately the underside of the covers does not have a plastic edging. More of a soft mesh/foam kinda material. Will try and post a photo when time permits. Cheers, Chris

[MAD]

Why not have a go at fitting them yourself?
The seat base looks like it would be the easiest to begin with.

In a nutshell, there's not much more to it than slip them on, and pull them tight.

[Reaper8]

hows this going are they fitted yet ????? any photo's ???

[sirchAU]

UPDATE: I was able to pick up a cheap second hand AU interior from the wreckers last weekend and decided to have a go at fitting them myself last weekend. So far I have done the front headrests, back seat and the rear bolsters. I've been using nylon cable-ties to fix the fabric to the seats.

Anyway, I am having a bit of trouble getting them tight enough around the middle of the seats. I've heard from others and seen a few youtube videos stating that using heat from a commercial steam cleaner or even a hair dryer can help fix the sag and tighten out the wrinkles, but I haven't tried it yet. Unfortunately I injured my back yesterday and am pretty much bed-ridden, so it'll have to wait til I've recovered. Anyway if that doesn't work to tighten the seatbacks, I'll consider forking out the $$$ to get the front seat covers fitted professionally. I don't mind the back looking a bit NQR but the front seats have to be mint. You'll see what I mean in these pics, sorry for the poor quality though.

[sirchAU]

Was thinking perhaps velcro in the middle of the inside of the seats on the foam might help the centre of the covers stay fixed to the seat also? Especially if the heating method doesn't tighten them sufficiently.

[Bill M]

You will often find sections of the trim have to be anchored to wire stays moulded into the seat and back foams, this can help tighten loose centre panels.They are normally anchored with hog rings, a "C' type clip applied with a pneumatic gun or with special pliers. You can use a heat gun to tighten up loose wrinkly leather like is done in commercial trim shops but be aware it shrinks the leather and leather needs some moisture to remain supple.
I have seen some new retrim disasters in the trim shop from over enthusiastic use of heat!
cheers
Bill.

[Uncle_Ken]

Originally Posted by Bill M

You will often find sections of the trim have to be anchored to wire stays moulded into the seat and back foams, this can help tighten loose centre panels.They are normally anchored with hog rings, a "C' type clip applied with a pneumatic gun or with special pliers. You can use a heat gun to tighten up loose wrinkly leather like is done in commercial trim shops but be aware it shrinks the leather and leather needs some moisture to remain supple.
I have seen some new retrim disasters in the trim shop from over enthusiastic use of heat!
cheers
Bill.

The front do, I used cable ties to re join them. Good call on the heat gun (but me carefull !!)
UK

[sirchAU]

I've used cable ties to anchor them to the wire stays, as well as velcro straps in some of the looser areas (seat back centres on the beak 60/40 folds) instead of hog rings. I had some hog rings supplied with the covers when i bought them, but was having problems with bending them down and fastening using regular, pliers so decided cable ties were easier.

Unfortunately, i think the seat cover pattern is just a bit big and loose for the 12-year+ old foam which may be a bit compressed/not once big and 'puffy' as they were from the factory. Not as tight as I'd like them.

Interestingly, i tried to tighten them using a method i'd seen on youtube (like this: http://youtu.be/pX2BAr5CHwo), using steaming hot wet towels placed over the wrinkled and loose areas, and that actually seemed to make it worse. So then I got the hairdryer out on it, and that tightened them up back to how they were prior to the hot towel treatment.

Anyway, got the back seats in last night, will take some photos soon. Updates will be in my build thread.

Cheers,
Chris

[Bill M]

There is a foam that is used in trimming and upholstery that is very good for refoaming seats and backs, light blue in colour about 12 mm thick and it has a very thin polyester skin on the outside. Comes in about 2.0 m wide rolls but you should be able to buy by the metre. I used this with 3M 74 foam adhesive which is excellent and added an extra layer of thickness to the seat pad and it filled out nicely, easy for me I used to be an upholsterer.
cheers
Bill.

[sirchAU]

Just a quick sample of hey they look so far.

Will be uploading more pics in my build thread later.

Cheers,
Chris

[Nic302ef]

Seats look top notch for the price. been considering using this group for awhile

[sirchAU]

Photo updates uploaded in my build thread HERE:

[Mr Hardware]

I suppose you'd say the points I was making earlier in the thread about the foam condition being really important and that leather seat covers will never quite be the real thing are being manifest in the minor issues you're finding out now. Best of luck getting it how you want it.

[sirchAU]

Yep, you were right...

[Magna]

leave them as they are in summer they will shrink and tighten up if they are leather. the sun will shrink it all evenly. mine did and all the creases are now gone!

[sirchAU]

Finally got a chance today to finish up the front seats, and I must say... I'm very impressed with the final result. The fit of the front seats is just loads tighter and better than the rear.

Here's a small sample. Will upload more better quality photos to my build thread when i get my hands on a better camera.

[leonbray]

Do you leave your original covers underneath? What did you do with the drivers seat foam?

[FOCUSonTHIS]

You remove original cloth covers and reuse the foam you already have

sirchAU, front seats look a heap better than the rears. Hopefully with the rear seat sitting in the sun will help pull it together better. Great work!

[sirchAU]

Originally Posted by leonbray

Do you leave your original covers underneath? What did you do with the drivers seat foam?

The old cloth trim is removed as FOCUSonTHIS mentioned above.
The covers are factory-fit style, which are a direct replacement for the OEM factory trim. The seat pattern fits perfectly.

The fitting process requires the seats be dismantled completely, then re-trimmed, then put back together and re-fitted into the car. I used Uncle_Ken's guide to changing front seat foams as a guide, which was VERY helpful (Thanks Ken ).

I reused the original foams, sort of. The passenger-side seat back was still really good, although the drivers-side, not so. I bought a full set of seats as a donor from a wrecker for $65 and I used the passenger side seat back off of that for ther other seat. Just had to cut a new hole in the foam for the lumbar support knob. In the end I didn't have to use either of the driver side seat backs which were both well worn on the outer side bolster. It also helped to have 2 of everything in case I made a mistake or broke something (which i did with a couple of plastic bits).

The seat bases I had weren't in great condition either. All 4 of them had one side-leg-bolster (outer) that was stuffed and one (inner) which was in great nick. As you can imagine, the outer edge which gets constant use from passengers getting in and out of the car. Most people's outer leg bolsters are pretty flat these days, 10+ years on.

So i had an idea...
With all four seat bases having this problem, I decided to cut off the worn outer leg bolsters from one side, and the good bolsters from the opposite side and glued the together using spray foam adhesive, tarzan grip flexible glue and a bit of masking tape to hold it all together while i left them to drive. Using this method I ended up with 2 seat bases that were firm with really nice, supportive leg bolsters, and 2 left over spare seat bases are absolutely shot.

Once they dried i put them back on the seat bases, trimmed em back up. The result is the firm, full looking seat cushions you see:






I think they look great, couldn't be happier with the way the front seats turned out! Money well spent, and the satisfaction of knowing i did it myself and saved $500 on fitting along the way.

[Uncle_Ken]

Well done, its great when you are happy after trying something yourself and it works out.
UK