Upholstery question from a novice

I'm building a simple little truck. My old leather couch needed replaced ( wife says it needs replaced I liked it just fine) anyway as I was hauling it to the curb I decided to harvest it's pelt for the hot rod. So now I got all this nice leather, a trip to the local odds and ends shop I find a bunch of med density foam. Is this what you make seat backs and cushions out of?? It's a lot denser than the stuff I saved from the couch but not as dense as some foam rubber I've seen. I'm hopeing it's right as it's about 1/2 of what I've seen it for sale other places. Keith

 

Personal preference. I have used 2" and 4" and combinations of 1" on top of of those sometimes...High density yellow foam and lighter density blue foam...it's just whatever will hold up and feel comfortable under you ****. save the leather! that stuff aint cheap.

 

While I understand what you did, the way you phrased it made me spit my coffee every where!

 

Did you field dress it right there in the driveway?

 

Now that there's funny. I dont care who ya' are.

 

No it isn't he got it free.

 

Here is how I built a seat for a little T bucket. I used 4" open-cell seat foam and cut it to shape. You need a base. I built the seat back from 1/4" rebar bent to shape and welded up, and a plywood base with seat-belt webbing stapled across the open sections. The webbing provides just enough give, like a spring. it is very comfortable.

 

Go to a junkyard and grab the foam from a simalar sized pickup . use that as a starting base. cut down until it fits your truck. When you get the foam positioned right. It should be as comfortable as your daily driver. Beaware how your daily driver seat sits, where the pressure points are on your back, and on your legs. The front part of the seat base needs to be kicked up since your cab is shorter. Try to get foam that has some thickness to it. Not just a couple inches thick. It gives you more le-way when sizingt to fit your cab. Why would you try to guess the right density of foam to use when the designers allready have done it for years. Use a turkey cutter and a heavy grit circular sander to shape the foam. Allways shave the foam from the backside as not to distort the basic design and outer shape of the seat. You might have to cut your seat lengthwise, widthways, highth and thickness. I do every vehicle this way when building a seat from scratch. When you want a seat with some style to it, use the back seat out of a 90`s style car. It will have more of a contoured look to it.

 

I have a S-10 frame and foam I can cut down looks like about 4" ought to do it. If I split it down the center, how do I rejoin the 2 halves? If I just **** them together and use contact cement won't the weight from me sitting on it pull at the seam and telegraph thru the leather? Keith

 

Re: Upholstery question from a novice
Did you field dress it right there in the driveway?

Nope I dressed it out on the porch. Did not want to lug it to the end of the lane only to carry it the 1/4 mile back. Keith

 

I use a foam glue called Camie, A commercial grade used by proffesionals. Made ONLY for foam to foam gluing. Comes in red or clear. The red will bleed threw some vinyls. Stays flexible and wont come apart. If done right, the foam will tear before the glue lets go, Depending how dense the foam is. I always glue a layer of 1/2 inch of muslin backed foam to the matarial before sewing. It hides the imperfections in the foam. ALSO, it holds the matarial together to keep it from scrunching up and wrinkling as you slide across your seat.

 

I'm gonna have to hit the local upholsterer shops and see if they have some. Thanks for the heads up on the muslin. Keith

 

Thanks-this helps give me some ideas to build the foam up for the '62 T-Bird seats I have. The repo shaped foam is available, but at a very high price

 

If you want to reuse old foams, then you can spray some 10% bleach on them to kill off any mold or mildew, then febreeze them to get any odors out. Since they will be worn down, you can use thin foam, like the large cell 1" backing foam cut to size and shape, then cotton batting (which is available in rolls with or without a jute liner, the jute liner is nice to have) over that to smooth it out and add some extra cushion. The cotton batting is what the factory used over the springs in most cases.

Also, if you are using vinyl upholstery, slip a plastic garbage bag over the foam. It keeps the vinyl from sticking to the foam.

 

If you use a garbage bag, try slipping it our afterward as they can keep the leather from breathing. I like to use an old sheet then leave it in. By the way, unlike vinyl where you can use a heat gun to soften it, you don't want to do it with leather.

 

welcome vintagebob-this site can always use some input on how to do upholstery right, and cheap if possible.

 

Reproduction foam for the most part-****S.

 

Remember, mice like cotton better than foam. I try never to use it.

 

most stock seats use a lighter density foam for the backrest. Its not really necessary but if you can find some lower density foam for the back it will make it a bit more comfortable.

 

Here's some info about foam from a post earlier this year:

The numbering system for polyurethane foam is very simple. The first two numbers describe the quality of the foam, and the second two numbers describe the density (ILD or indent load deflection) or firmness of the foam. The higher the first two numbers are, the better the foam quality is. The higher the second two numbers are, the greater the density of the foam, and the firmer the foam is. The first two numbers should be at least 22, with really high quality foam being 30 to 35. The second two numbers are as follows. 30 to 35 is medium, 40 to 55 is firm, 65 is extra firm, and 80 is hard. Back foam doesn't need to be really firm, or of very high quality because it gets very little wear. Seat foam, on the other hand should be higher quality and the density is a personal preference. 2235 would be good for back foam, and 3045 would be fine for seat foam. You can subs***ute a lower ILD foam for a higher one by making it thicker and wider and pulling it tighter. (BTW, the color of the foam does not mean anything, the only thing that matters is the numbering system).

 

Are there any web site like this one but just for upholstry? Kinda like metalmeet.com for for cloth, I guess a clothmeet.com sorta place? Keith

 

"Are there any web site like this one but just for upholstery?"

The moderator for this part of the hotrodders forum is very helpful.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/interior/

 

Thanks BigEd, I can see Iam not getting much done a work today