Legendary Seat Covers

[rthrbfishn]

I'm a little concerned about my back seats, take a look at the pic. No matter how I stretch and pull I can't get rid of the wrinkles in the center panels. They might just be distorted from being folded and boxed up.

Fronts are turning out great. The front seat bottoms aren't done yet. The upholstery shop is fixing some broken springs for me first.

SEM Landau black is looking great, I hope it holds up. I power washed and scrubbed, degreased, bulldog prepped, then painted.

[bruce]

I'd bet more or NEW foam in the back seat would help that problem. I had to add foam to the center of the lower cushion to get mine to fit like I wanted it to...

[72RoadRunnerGTX]

I’ll second that, replace the sheeted foam rubber. Sourced mine from a local fabric supply store, fairly cheap IIRC.

[rthrbfishn]

I'll give that a try. How thick was the foam you added?

[bruce]

In my case I put about a 3" thick piece of foam BETWEEN the springs and the original foam. That way I let the original foam shape the cover while the added foam put pressure from underneath to fill out the cover. Trial and error. I was surprised it needed that thick of foam added, but I guess either the original foam or the springs just weren't what they used to be...

[rthrbfishn]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.
Here's some more progress I've made lately.

[72RoadRunnerGTX]

I went about ½” thicker than the original foam being replaced, 1 1/2” on the back and 2” for the cushion IIRC. The original foam wraps around the sides of the frames, the extra thickness tended to make for a tight fit for the covers on the sides. Personally I would rather not have the covers too tight as it tends to put too much stress on the seams. The original seat cover material always ripped at the seams prematurely.

[BuckNeccid]

There's an easier way to fix that. Without taking the covers back off, go to Wal Mart or a local crafts shop, get some quilt batting, angel hair, Fiberfill, whatever you'd like to call it, and tear pieces off it, stuff it in from the seat bottom, into the places you need the cover to be tighter. You can get a fairly large box for about$10, and it's what we would use at the Upholstery shop to fill little problems like that. If you put it in, then smooth it out with your hand so it lays flat, it won't show, you won't have globs in one place, and it fills.

[rthrbfishn]

I am not looking forward to taking the covers back off, especially the rear seat upper. It was quite a tight stretch, I was concerned about ripping it. Are you stuffing the fill between the springs and the origional foam then?

[BuckNeccid]

Nope, stuff it between the foam and the cover itself. That way you can put as much as you need, where you need it. You can sort of taper the levels if needed so there aren't any lumps. When I'm recovering a set of seats, I always cover the foam with a layer of the angel hair first, it also makes the vinyl slide easier when you're installing the covers. Once you start pushing the fill in there, a light will go on in your head as you see how it's working. Just kinda keep your hand flat as you smooth it out, use your fingers to push it around and then run your hands back and forth to help it smooth. It also makes it a little easier to ride, it's more cushioning.

Another little trick... heat. If you have something that's too tight, we have a steam wand to soften the vinyl to let it stretch some. I doubt you have that, but something like one of the Steam Shark thingies they advertise on TV may be helpful. A blow dryer will also soften the leather, and it will also SHRINK it a little, so some of the wrinkles might come out like that. Just be very careful not to overheat it or else you will end up with a hole or melted vinyl.

[72RDRNR]

I haven't tried it yet but I hear if you put a garbage bag over the foam its easier to slide the covers on. After the cover is on you can reach in and tear the bag out.

[rthrbfishn]

the heat gun worked best for me. I tried some loose fill, then a bit more padding behind the origional foam. that did work ok but it pushed everything out too far and the seat lost its definition and was too crowned in the middle. I really like how it turned out. The heat gun tidy'd up alot of other places too. Any seam or contour with a wiggle was fixed.

[bruce]

Cool, looks good!