Re: Seat upholstery - Damaged original or redo?

Posted by HH56 On 2014/2/18 20:28:36

Ultimately I think we'd all agree replacement is the answer but -----

As to Kanter's seat covers, I have the same question. I had considered them but, like you, was not satisfied with the generic information. Some other companies also seem to sell a similar "custom made" covering for other cars -- or at least they use the same outlines and descriptions. I'd be interested as well in what others have to say. I did buy one of Kanter's headliners. It is an excellent color match to what I had but the fabric was cotton and a totally different feel to my original wool. It also cost less than half as much as the proper one would have so no complaints here.

If another aftermarket slip on cover has been ruled out and seat repair is the plan, other questions might be: If the fabric is removed, could it be successfully reinstalled back in the same spot with any repair method or is it too deteriorated and would fall apart. If reinstallation could be done then is the fabric actually missing or is it there but just spread far apart by the padding.

Too bad it's in such a noticeable spot but if it is just spread or only a minimal amount is missing, you might be able to make a serviceable repair. I would carefully remove the material and using some iron on mending patch material get the fabric back into decent alignment as much as possible. Once aligned, tack it with the iron on from underneath. If there is a missing piece then use the close match material to fill that area and iron that in as well.

If you could do that getting a decent alignment, then sew a strong reinforcing panel under the entire area and several inches around and reattach to the seat. It might work for a pinch until a real replacement could be done.