Hey so I am beginning this project as of today. I got most of the materials I need for pretty reasonable price. I found someone to do the seem work. I try to take pictures of my repairs. Pics of the beginnings are coming shortly here.

Alright so here are my seats as is. They are pretty torn up as these always are. I got some black and grey fabric and some foam to rebuild the old worn down stuff. I will post more pictures tomorrow when I pull the seats and begin rebuilding them

UPDATED 3/26 !!! ~ Scroll down and check it out I provided alot of pictures. I have the before and after shots in this post and the tutorial is a few post farther down. sorry 56k grab a cup of coffee...

 

I've got to do something with my seats as well, just haven't figured out what or how.

Need LOTS of pics!

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I couldn't agree more. I was getting tired of jumping into my car and having my back slam into metal. Plus I see this as an opportunity to customize things a bit. Anyhow I didn't start on it today as my seem-tress can't start on the covers till Monday. Check back on Monday night as I will probably update by then

 

Alright guys I finally completed the seat restoration. I am not saying that the methods I used are the best but I feel that I did get pretty decent results. Its comfortable, holds you in the seat nicely & looks good. Only mistake a made was I over bolstered the left side on the drivers side so I will probably take that apart and pull a layer out.


Images are up. Ok so a few words about the process.

1) First off GET THE RIGHT TOOLS! lol I started out using plyers on the hog rings. This is the wrong way. Just cut them all off using a good pair of cutters. Buy new hog rings and get a hog ring tool. Once you get this tool the job is so so much easier. I added a couple pictures at the end showing this.

2) Now about the foam rebuild process. Get a good spray on contact cement. The best product was the Body Shop* Headliner and Carpet adhesive. Its got a great spray pattern and it will hold stronger than the actual foam! Another tip I also suggest is to use a vacuum to instantly dry the adhesive.

3) Getting the right shape; Aright this is the tricky part. When your foam is as worn away as my drivers side was then your gonna have a hard time getting the original contour. Best thing i found to do was layer the pieces. Start out by filling in the big holes with chunks of foam. Then once you have somewhat of a smooth surface to work with start build it up using traced pieces to get the right shape and layer it like a pyramid. Then once you get a good contour just cover it all up with one solid piece to smooth it out and hold it all in position. Honestly this process is an art. Just buy lots of foam and start playing with it until you get something decent.

 

in for this, i really need to do this also

 

Good job,I have yet to do a foam repair but its good to learn how

 

I should be a pro then because I repair cushions for Toyota Highlanders all day at work.

 

were you at in ca and what kinds of shops can i get all this **** at i have blue pleather in my hatch it needs some work

 

Honestly just open up the phone book and start calling or walking into local upholstery shops. I happen to know of a place my old work sourced out to since I used to be a mechanic. I am sure you could find all this stuff on the net too. I just searched and found 100 rings for 3 dollars and the tool you could find for less than 15 dollars. Main reason I brought this up is I saw other threads where ppl were using Zip ties and thats def more work & not a strong as hog rings. Hog Ring > Zip Tie x100 for Upholstery work.