Here's a few picttures of the rear seat from a 1970 Cadillac. As you can see, the leather on this one is not too bad. But once turned over, the foam is hard as a rock and the burlap is dry rotted. The foam breaks apart when you touch it. So what would be the best type of foam and thickness to use to replace the original? And what should I use instead of burlap in order to protect the foam from the springs? I plan on having the frame and springs sandblasted as well.
That old foam was latex. Latex foam was and is great stuff, but it has two drawbacks. It is very expensive, and when exposed to air for any long length of time, it gets hard as a rock and turns to dust. Polyurethane foam lasts forever without getting hard, but you need to buy the best quality foam you can get so it holds up without distorting its shape. Burlap is just a place for mice to make nests, there are much better things to cover springs with as you'll find out when you read the thread on padding an old car seat.
I ordered some foam online. Its 3270 Conventional Foam - whatever that means. So I'll see what happens. I've also purchased some 1/2 inch sew foam to place directly in the panels. Evey bit of foam and burlap is dryrotted.
Latex foam gets hard and dried out and turns to powder over time. Polyurethane Foam does not get dry rotted, it just loses its ability to recover from being compressed and fails. This is the type of foam that has been used in car seats and furniture cushions since the mid 1960s. 3270 conventional foam is fine. It is slightly better quality and slightly firmer than 2665. "Conventional" means it is open cell polyurethane foam, and not closed cell, neoprene, latex, memory foam, re-bonded, fire retardant, or HR (high resiliency).
I'm looking foward to doing this job. Once I strip the seat down to the frame I will have the frame sandblasted
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