Ok, I got the seat out of the truck, and semi-stripped down to take to class tomorrow night. As promised, I started a project journal to chronicle my adventures in upholstering a seat for the first time. I won't say that I'll be doing it myself, because my instructor, Bob, and his assistant, Renee, will be helping me along the way. Bob has given me permission to take pictures in class as long as I don't disrupt things with it, so I'll be sure to take pictures of every step I can possibly take pictures of.
I invite your feedback. If anyone has any questions, comments, suggestions, words of warning, pats on the back, or demands for payment, please don't hesitate to post something here or shoot me a PM.
As promised, here are some pictures of seat decking, also known as deck pad, flex pad, and insulator pad. The large roll is called flex pad which is 1/2" thick and comes in 20" and 24" widths in rolls 35' long. The other white pad has heavy vinyl on one side and a soft padding on the other side. It is about 3/8" thick, and is tough as nails. I got it on a closeout from one of my suppliers, and it was extremely inexpensive. The gray stuff is 1/4" thick, is a lot lighter, and is made of re-bonded felt. It's O.K. , but I prefer either of the other two. There are other types of deck padding, but these are the only three I had around the shop. Any one of these would work. The gray pad would be perfect over a seat-a-lator, and the other two would be better over springs.
Thanks Dan! I know exactly what you're talking about now, and in fact I saw some of the gray stuff at my supplier's store yesterday when I picked up my listing material. I'll grab some either this afternoon or tomorrow, then I'll put it in when I go to reassemble the seat. Depending on how the foam repair goes tonight in class, I might get the seat bottom cover sewn up. Then it's on to the seat back cover. If everything goes according to plan (HA!) I should have the seat done and reassembled in class on Tuesday, November 6th. If I have enough time left in class, I'll do the sunvisors out of the truck too.
It's a busy weekend, so I'm updating on the fly this time. Between building more fencing, attending a friend's Halloween party, marching in the Nevada Day Parade, renewing the registration on the wife's Jeep today, building the wife a warping wheel for her loom (don't ask,) and digging fence post holes, I'm doing things here as I have time. I'll get all of the updates posted today though - it just might not be done until later tonight.
As usual, if anyone has any comments, questions, threats, or demands, please, by all means post them.
Mark: You did a nice job on the seat repair. This is exactly why I save all my smaller pieces of thicker foams. It saves having to fabricate the right thickness. I'm curious why you think you only had one piece of polyurethane foam around? I would be surprised if you had anything but polyurethane around. About the only alternative to polyurethane is latex foam which is about 5 times more expensive.
Also, while contact adhesive will work for this job, dedicated foam to foam glue would have been the best choice to make your repair with, and spray grades of either one would also have been better because the formulations are adjusted to let them atomize from an aerosol can.
Thanks for the compliments, Dan! That means a lot coming from you!
I said "the only polyurethane foam we had," because that's true - it's all we had.
I should clarify, I guess. I took Bob up on his offer to repair the foam using the scrap the school had on hand. They had some closed cell foam that's about 1/8" thick, some scrap 1/2" open cell, the blue 2" open cell, and some scrap headliner material. I guess I could have said something about the closed cell foam, but I didn't want to get into talking about the difference between open cell foam and closed cell foam in a project journal, unless you think I should.
I think I'll change it to "the only usable polyurethane foam we had."
I used Latex foam when I upholstered dental chairs for a living. The state of California had different fire retardant standards than the other 49 states at the time (we're talking late 70's & early 80's,) so we used a fire retardant latex foam on all the seats we shipped to California. I know it cost the customer more, but I don't know how expensive it was for the company to buy.
As far as the glue is concerned, do you have a brand name you prefer? In class, all we have is that general purpose foam adhesive, which is basically very much like 3M 77 adhesive, and that 3-2-1 Contact adhesive I used on the foam repair.
I had so much to do today that I didn't get to work on the seat any more at home this weekend, so other than the edit I mentioned above, I don't have any more updates to post. I'll be sewing the covers for the entire class tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. It's getting colder here with every passing week (we have another storm blowing through tonight) so my time sewing out in the garage is going to be limited to daytime on weekends (if it's warm enough.) Seven classes to go - plenty of time to do this seat - and hopefully the sunvisors.
Back then, the only fire retardant foam was available in latex which was more expensive, but not nearly as expensive compared to polyurethane as it is now. Now days Californias rules are still different, as are the rules in New York and Boston. There is fire retardant polyurethane that meets all those standards and California 117 standards as well.
Latex pincore (it has holes that go all the way through it, hence the name) foam used to be the gold standard as far as comfort goes, and still is, it's just so expensive no one uses it.
As far as glue goes, I like K-Grip spray grade (in gallons) foam adhesive for foam to foam applications, which I spray with a simple Critter 118 siphon sprayer. The contact adhesive I use in bulk is DAP landau top and trim adhesive (spray grade) which I use in a pressure pot. When I have a small area to glue, I like Performance high temp spray contact adhesive in an aerosol can. I do not like, and have never had good results with any 3-M aerosol products. They have other spray grade products that are very good, but DAP is just as good and is only $56 for a 5 gallon container.
The seat-a-lator's original intention was to lay over furniture springs and keep cotton batting from being forced through the springs as the furniture was sat on. That was the normal seat construction of its day. Its purpose was to isolate the springs from the next layer above it, and prevent damage to that layer.
Here's the construction I was talking about. This is the rear seat back from a 66 Mustang convertible. You can see the seat-a-lator which is embedded in burlap. This is the buffer between the seat springs and the cotton batting above it. Having the seat-a-lator embedded in the burlap was an attempt to eliminate one step in the original process. This advancement made it a 3 step process instead of a 4 step process, which would have been springs, burlap, seat-a-lator, cotton.
Last Tuesday was a short class - Renee was out with the flu and Bob wrenched his knee pretty bad on Monday, so he cut things short. His doctor told him to take it easy for a few days, so we shut down an hour early and he took some time off of work. Hopefully everyone is healthy and ready to go tomorrow evening.
I was so busy this weekend (I got a new radial arm saw, which I had to move into my my garage and assemble/tune up, then dig more fence post holes, and then assemble the wife's warping wheel for her loom) that I didn't get any sewing done. That's the price for having a million projects going at the same time.
Hopefully I'll get a lot more time tomorrow evening to make up for the lack of progress.
Mark: I just looked at your weekly post. You don't need to make relief cuts on the corners, especially big sweeping corners, if you can sew the pieces together without them, they are not a necessity. If you want to draw a 1/2" seam allowance line on the back of the fabric to follow, or staple the parts together, that's fine. Do whatever it takes to sew the pieces together properly the first time, and you will save yourself a lot of grief in the end. Your insert looks like you did a nice job of sewing it, keep up the good work.
Thank you very much, Dan. This whole thing has been a major learning experience for me, and all in all I've had a blast doing it. It's getting down to the wire now - only 5 more classes to go. Next semester is going to be even more fun.
Weekly updates are posted. Between work, colder weather, getting home after dark, and numerous projects around the house that had to be done before freezing temperatures really set in, I didn't get as much done as I wanted to. I'm finally all caught up though, and ready to start sewing the Lap Fell seams in class tomorrow night. I'm going to get the plastic dye today and I'll dye the plastic pieces here at home during the week. Hopefully next weekend's journal update will be a big one.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. They really do help!
I hope you're using SEM to color your plastic pieces. They have a whole system of products set up to clean, prep, and color that would make this a very simple project. SEM Scuff and Clean #38338 is the first step followed by SEM plastic/leather prep #38853, followed by a SEM Color Coat aerosol. If you have any questions, just ask.
Got most of the SEM stuff yesterday, Dan. They were out of the #38338 Scuff & Clean, but expect some in no later than Thursday. I got the #38853 plastic/leather prep, and picked up 2 cans of #15243 Satin Black to do the plastic parts. I'm gonna do a journal entry on painting these plastic parts when I actually do them. That should be sometime this week - depending on the weather.
You can also start with SEM Soap #39362 instead of the Scuff and Clean. Use a gray scuff pad with the soap. It's very easy, you won't have any problems.
Thanks Dan. I'll look for the soap today. Class was canceled last night, so this week I'm going to concentrate on the plastic parts, getting the pad cut for the seat frame, and just generally getting everything together to sew my Lap Fell seams, and assemble the seat.
Went to my supplier's today and found out the #38338 Scuff and Clean isn't something they usually stock. He said they could order it, but it might take a week to get. I picked up a pint of #39362 SEM Soap instead. You said you use a gray scuff pad when applying the soap, Dan - do you mean a gray abrasive pad like a Scotchbrite pad? I know where I can get them, I just want to make sure that's what you meant.
Also, the #38353 Plastic/Leather Prep says to spray the part, then follow with a clean dry cloth. Am I trying to wipe this stuff off or just buff it dry? How long should I wait before wiping it down - meaning, do I have to let it sit a minute to let it work before wiping it down?
The instructions on the can are pretty vague, and of course I didn't think to ask them of they had any data sheets on any of this when I bought it. I'll go back and check it out in the morning on my way to work.
Go to the SEM web site for specific instructions on using these products. http://www.sem.ws/tech_sheet/rap-1.pdf Yes, after you spray on the Plastic/ Leather prep, you let it work and then wipe it down later. Yes, a gray Scothbrite type pad. Sem uses two kinds of pads, gray and green. You should be able to buy them where you bought the other SEM products.
I know I haven't updated my project journal in a while, but rest assured my hands haven't been idle. We have 2 people out with injuries at work (one dislocated his shoulder and the other blew out his knee for the second time this year,) and that's messing with my work schedule. Between that, canceled classes, and having family over for Thanksgiving, I just haven't had time to sit down and type out the updates. I have been chronicling everything with my camera, so it's just a matter of getting time to sit down and type descriptions. I'll get on it either this evening or tomorrow morning.
One thing I can say without hesitation is that SEM Color Coat really reeks!
So much for making plans. I started updating the journal today, and will keep going until I'm all caught up. It might take a couple of days to do. Still a lot going on here. A sudden windfall has also kept us busy spending money on things we've really needed and paying bills. We're getting a new living room set delivered tomorrow, so today is a combination of moving out old furniture, vacuuming and shampooing carpets, and just tidying up the living room in general.
For those of you who are keeping score, I have 2 more classes this semester. The seat WILL be done in time - I plan on taking the completed seat in this Tuesday night. I'll add the finished plastic corner caps in class so that the final touch will be done there - kind of a symbolic thing, but hey...
I enrolled in the Advanced Upholstery class next semester, and I'll tackle the interior of my boat then. I'm also taking welding classes, so my time is going to be split between getting dirty in the metal shop and cleaning up to upholster my boat. Classes start January 22nd.
Another thing that has been keeping me away from the computer is assembling my new table saw, which took a full day to do. I'll need a table saw to cut out new plywood pieces for the boat interior, and the motor burned out on my old one. I got a new Rigid model #3650 10" contractor's saw, and so far I love it!
I also ordered a Sew Quiet servo motor for my Juki, and it should be here Monday or Tuesday. I also have a couple more back-cut welting feet ordered, and they should get here next week as well.
All in all, it's been a busy month. I'll be posting here and there as I have time, but for now I'm off to move furniture.
Ok, the seat is done! I'm updating the project journal as I have time, and I'm writing as fast as I can. Everything turned out pretty well. I made some mistakes, and learned a LOT in this class. I'm already registered for the Advanced Upholstery class, and have plans on doing my boat upholstery for the class. It's not very big job - it's a lot of small jobs that equal a big job.
Again, I'll update as I have time, and I'll try to have it done in just a few days.
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