!969 Vinyl Seat Cover Restoration Shops?

[Keith M.]

Still plugging away at my 69 restore project. About a year or two ago I bought all the foam and covers to restore my seats from Al Knoch. Coming around to tackling this and being a slave to originality got to thinking maybe I will reuse my original seat covers. Overall IMO they are not too bad off except for a few tears in the vinyl which result in the bits of foam embedded in the covers leaking out dust. So I got to thinking I could DIY a repair with something like silicone or a commercial leather repair kit but then also wondered if there are any shops that might be able to do a better job than I. Al Knoch does not do seat cover repair. I am not trying make them look new...just stop the foam powder leakage more than anything.. A few blemishes that might remain are to me just character. I abhor kit car corvettes. I don't want my car to look new...it is not. Anyone know of a shop that might be able to help?

[Richard M.]

Re: !969 Vinyl Seat Cover Restoration Shops?

Keith I'm thinking you could repair those yourself. I have done leather and vinyl cover repairs by gluing in repair patches from the backside, then used a Speedy Sticher
71JeEeulqCL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


...to replace the threads, with colored threads.


I can talk you through it with photos via email, or here.

Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: !969 Vinyl Seat Cover Restoration Shops?

Keith, There are some posts on the TDB outlining the repairs I made, but the old "photobucket"-of-crap links don't work as I cancelled those idiots.

Here is a sequence of photos I did to repair two 1965 vinyl seats. I've also done leather, but on Jaguars, but I won't post those photos here as they won't fit our protocol.....lol.

So my friend's '65 coupe(Chuck-RIP) was getting ready to be judged at the Fl Regionals in 2010. I helped him do a body-off restoration. The car used to be a dragstrip racer in it's early days in Chicago. It had about 37,000 original miles. Original interior, etc.

He called me in a panic about a week before the event. He got in the car and kneeled on the driver seat to do something. Chuck was a big guy, and was so mad at himself when his seat seam split from kneeling on it. I told him to pull the seat and I'll come get it, bring it back to my shop and repair it.

Here's the sequence of the repair process I used. I had done this type of repair in the past and told him it'll be fine when I'm done. It came out fine. He got no deducts at either the Regional, or later at the Charlotte Nationals. Original seats, zero deducts for Originality and Condition. The judges at both events loved the seats. Chuck and I looked at eachother and did the "eye-wink" both times....lol. After I did the driver seat, I noticed something odd about the passenger seat. So we pulled that one as someone did a prior repair and it looked obvious from the back edge of the seat bottom. I repaired that one too. No split seam but the bottom foam and rear edges of the seat were unacceptable.

Here's the driver seat, split seam repair. The center seam wire loop fabric was also deteriorated when I took it all apart. My wife is a seamstress and had some perfect fabric to repair that too. That's the blue-gray fabric in the photos.

Here's a play-by-play sequence of the repair photos, starting with the split seam at the center of the seat bottom.

The repair mainly consists of a piece or stretchable repair vinyl. Using contact cement on both surfaces, and after a "kickoff" time(about 5 minutes), the repair patch is set over the split seam. Then the wire-loop fabric is placed, then both stitched together by hand.

Note some of the photos may not be in order, but you'll get the idea.


The split.
PC300001.jpg

I remove the old threads.
PC300009.jpg

PC300022.jpg

Taking it apart. Note the separate batting piece folded over to the left. This gets folded back after the patch is glued in.
PC300010.jpg

PC300017.jpg

Here is the patch piece trimmed for the repair. It's a slightly stretchable vinyl. On leather seats I use leather or vinyl. The contact cement doesn't care, it works on both.
PC300019.jpg

PC300020.jpg

After gluing in the patch on the backside of the split seam.
PC310025.jpg

PC300021.jpg

Wire Loops:
This is the heavy duty wire loop fabric I used. I recall it was canvas. My wife used her special binding machine to do the edges. I forget what it's called. She has so many.... about 20 iirc. I lost count! From a early 1900's German Hand-Crank machine, several treadle machines, portables, to a 16" throat computerized long-arm quilting machine, carriage'd on a 12' long roller table. I sold my '62 Corvette project car to get her that one.
PC300015.jpg

PC300014.jpg

The new and the old rotted wire loops.
PC300013.jpg

Taped the seam on top in preparation to glue the patch piece on the backside.
PC300016.jpg

In process after the glue sets and tape removed from the topside to prepare for stitching.
PC310037.jpg

Stitching by hand.
PC310031.jpg

You want the stitch spacing to match the original spacing.
PC310038.jpg

PC310039.jpg

Speedy Stitcher backside view. You push through the material, then back off a bit, then loop the end thread through, then pull needle out, snug the stitch tightly, then repeat.(it comes with instructions). It's basically the same stitching as a sewing machine, only you are the machine.
The stitching assembles the wire loop piece and the patch piece at the same time. This adds strength to the repair.
PC310029.jpg

Here is the backside of the repaired seam showing the stitches capturing the repair patch and going through the wire-loop capture fabric
PC310035.jpg

My home-made hook tool from 40+ years ago when I started repairs of my own car seats.
PC310048.jpg


Reassembly with the wire loops and hooks.
PC310041.jpg

Ready for foam reinstallation.
PC310043.jpg

After burlap backing is placed, all the hooks get pulled through and snagged by the zig-zag wires.
PC310045.jpg
Closeup of repair.
pc310024.jpg


The finished product.
PC310052.jpg

PC310053.jpg

PC310054.jpg

P1090004.jpg

[Patrick H.]

Re: !969 Vinyl Seat Cover Restoration Shops?

It's a challenge to fix the Basketweave areas.

To fix the foam dust issue, you will have to make surgical slits to remove the thin foam padding from the seat covers, and slide new foam into place. It's not the thick foam that causes this issue, it's the thin foam built into the covers. Most often a slit at the top and/or bottom of each piece is the best way to do it.

[Paul Y.]

Re: !969 Vinyl Seat Cover Restoration Shops?

Keith, There are some posts on the TDB outlining the repairs I made, but the old "photobucket"-of-crap links don't work as I cancelled those idiots.

Here is a sequence of photos I did to repair two 1965 vinyl seats. I've also done leather, but on Jaguars, but I won't post those photos here as they won't fit our protocol.....lol.

So my friend's '65 coupe(Chuck-RIP) was getting ready to be judged at the Fl Regionals in 2010. I helped him do a body-off restoration. The car used to be a dragstrip racer in it's early days in Chicago. It had about 37,000 original miles. Original interior, etc.

He called me in a panic about a week before the event. He got in the car and kneeled on the driver seat to do something. Chuck was a big guy, and was so mad at himself when his seat seam split from kneeling on it. I told him to pull the seat and I'll come get it, bring it back to my shop and repair it.

Here's the sequence of the repair process I used. I had done this type of repair in the past and told him it'll be fine when I'm done. It came out fine. He got no deducts at either the Regional, or later at the Charlotte Nationals. Original seats, zero deducts for Originality and Condition. The judges at both events loved the seats. Chuck and I looked at eachother and did the "eye-wink" both times....lol. After I did the driver seat, I noticed something odd about the passenger seat. So we pulled that one as someone did a prior repair and it looked obvious from the back edge of the seat bottom. I repaired that one too. No split seam but the bottom foam and rear edges of the seat were unacceptable.

Here's the driver seat, split seam repair. The center seam wire loop fabric was also deteriorated when I took it all apart. My wife is a seamstress and had some perfect fabric to repair that too. That's the blue-gray fabric in the photos.

Here's a play-by-play sequence of the repair photos, starting with the split seam at the center of the seat bottom.

The repair mainly consists of a piece or stretchable repair vinyl. Using contact cement on both surfaces, and after a "kickoff" time(about 5 minutes), the repair patch is set over the split seam. Then the wire-loop fabric is placed, then both stitched together by hand.

Note some of the photos may not be in order, but you'll get the idea.


The split.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122673[/ATTACH]

I remove the old threads.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122674[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122683[/ATTACH]

Taking it apart. Note the separate batting piece folded over to the left. This gets folded back after the patch is glued in.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122675[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122680[/ATTACH]

Here is the patch piece trimmed for the repair. It's a slightly stretchable vinyl. On leather seats I use leather or vinyl. The contact cement doesn't care, it works on both.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122701[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122702[/ATTACH]

After gluing in the patch on the backside of the split seam.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122686[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122682[/ATTACH]

Wire Loops:
This is the heavy duty wire loop fabric I used. I recall it was canvas. My wife used her special binding machine to do the edges. I forget what it's called. She has so many.... about 20 iirc. I lost count! From a early 1900's German Hand-Crank machine, several treadle machines, portables, to a 16" throat computerized long-arm quilting machine, carriage'd on a 12' long roller table. I sold my '62 Corvette project car to get her that one.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122678[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122677[/ATTACH]

The new and the old rotted wire loops.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122676[/ATTACH]

Taped the seam on top in preparation to glue the patch piece on the backside.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122679[/ATTACH]

In process after the glue sets and tape removed from the topside to prepare for stitching.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122689[/ATTACH]

Stitching by hand.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122688[/ATTACH]

You want the stitch spacing to match the original spacing.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122690[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122691[/ATTACH]

Speedy Stitcher backside view. You push through the material, then back off a bit, then loop the end thread through, then pull needle out, snug the stitch tightly, then repeat.(it comes with instructions). It's basically the same stitching as a sewing machine, only you are the machine.
The stitching assembles the wire loop piece and the patch piece at the same time. This adds strength to the repair.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122687[/ATTACH]

Here is the backside of the repaired seam showing the stitches capturing the repair patch and going through the wire-loop capture fabric
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122693[/ATTACH]

My home-made hook tool from 40+ years ago when I started repairs of my own car seats.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122695[/ATTACH]


Reassembly with the wire loops and hooks.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122692[/ATTACH]

Ready for foam reinstallation.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122694[/ATTACH]

After burlap backing is placed, all the hooks get pulled through and snagged by the zig-zag wires.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122696[/ATTACH]
Closeup of repair.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122685[/ATTACH]


The finished product.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]122697[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122698[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122699[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]122700[/ATTACH]

Richard, that is stellar, informative presentation. I have been using that stitcher for forty years repairing back packs and hiking equipment. Appreciate you. Paul