Not a priority really but I got tired of sitting on the seats in the coe and having chunks of mouse nest poof out the sides, so I decided it was high time to reupholster them.
Heres the shots of the process so farI took the passenger seat out. Tried unbolting the bottoms and broke most of the screws and bolts in the process. Went right ahead and started to pull the covering off the seat back. It was so old and decrepit that it just pulled right off. Pulling the 6,000 1/2" furniture tacks out was a real time consuming pain in the @ss!!!
Once I got down to the seat cushion itself it got really gross. A huge old mouse nest sat in the springs luckily its owners were long gone and it didnt have that characteristic p*ss smell. I took that out in the driveway and dropped it a few times to knock most of the nest out. Boy those coil springs sure bounce! I bet one drop bounced a dozen times and made it a good 20-30 feet away!
Most of the bottom frame was rusted apart so I just cut it and pulled the rows of springs out. 4 at a time they went into my electrolysis tank and sat for an hour each before I broke them down singularly and tanked them by themselves. After removing and scrubbing the rust off I then let them sit in a tub of metal ready.
The way the seat back fabric was attached by a groove that had a 7/16" strip of wood in it and the fabric had a folded seam and was tacked into that strip using furniture nails. Using a screwdriver and a chisel and tapping with a hammer I was able to work it out of the groove.
Next I picked up some 1/4" and 1/8" rod and bent myself some new frames using the rusty old ones as patterns. Brought them over to my dads who welded them right up for me.
Sandblasted the corners of the seat backing and used a disc sander to get all the flat spots (it was a rather humid cold day). I warmed up the metal and applied a few coats of primer.
After letting the primer set up I pulled out some 2" high density foam and made a cut out to fit the seat back. When I got it close by hand I applied a spray adhesive to the back of the seat and foam and worked the foam onto the seat back, effectively sticking the 2 together. Now time to work out all those darn corners on the foam. Using a 6-7" flat bendable 50 grit disc on the grinder I slowly worked off the corners a little at a time until I got it nice and smooth with a good soft edge. The trick here is to tap the power on the grinder and go VERY slowly otherwise the grinder catches the foam and gouges right into it. For the mess it makes I wore a set of coveralls and a respirator, youll be covered with foam dust from head to toe when your done. The next step involved using a piece of heavy duty carpet pad and installing it the same way as the foam. Glue, grind and slow.
Using the old seat bottom I drew an outline an inch bigger then it on a piece of 3" high density foam. I ended up cutting most of this off but always start with a little extra. If you have a big sheet it will try to go flying away when the grinder hits it so just tack a nail in the corners and you can use the grinder to cut the outlined shape you draw. Again I added a piece of carpet pad and ground her down to where I was happy.
I used 3/4" birch plywood for the seat bottoms and sent the old pieces over to my wifes dads house (hes a custom cabinet maker) and he just finished them up for me yesterday! How cool. They look great and FAR BETTER then I could ever do myself. Went ahead and reassembled the spring section using my frames and a bunch of cut to length springs I picked up from the hardware store for the Xs between the coils. Used a box of different sized hog rings for all the connections between pieces.
So that ends with a pic of the mock up of how it will look and work when Im done. Now to work on my patterns and see if I can get my wife to fire up the old industrial seweing machine, I have a funny feeling Im going to end up doing it though... Im going with a dark brown heavy duty vinyl. After talking with her dad I may try and use caning spline (used on woven chairs) to insert in the groove on the back of the seat and wrap around, but in reverse. As in the fabric will wrap into the groove and Ill install the spline down into the groove to hold tight the fabric with maybe a decorative fastener here and there. After that Ill probably repetitively wet the spline down with a sponge to get it to expand as tight as possible in the groove. Im planning on spraying the whole spring section down with a good coat of primer before actually putting the seat back together.
Thought someone might find this interesting for all the do-it-yourselfers! I guess its time to pull out the sewing supplies!
Jeff
