Hot Rods Learning upholstery

A good buddy of mine, Richard Gerwer, recently retired after 50 years upholstering. Over the years he has trimmed out some cool cars like the Ray Brown roadster and some others. He's been willing to teach me for years and this Summer I finally took him up on his offer. Been going over two days a week for the past month and am learning slowly. We have been doing traditional style roll and pleats..piping..modern Sid Chavers style flat hidden seam pleats,carpet binding, and some other stuff. Really proud of what he's shown me after just a short time. Here's some pics..would like to upholster my current project when it's ready down the road.




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nice work . I admire your zest for learning

 

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My buddy Richard and his cool 32 coupe



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Good on you Jerry and thanks for sharing this fine craft. Your work is fitting the bill to a "T". Practise is over... Those photos of the leather are so rich you can almost smell it. Nice to meet you Richard. Nice Hotrod and pretty wild helmet there too...

 

Looks rather nicely done, to me. Seams look straight, pleats look straight & even, as does the edging, & the piping doesn't look twisted. You're doing better than I was able to do, years ago. Are you going to do deep diamond tufting, too? So far, you're on a roll... no pun intended. .
Marcus...

 

looks great ! Im planing on trying to teach my self this winter so put up lots o pictures maby in a few years ill be as good as you on your second day !

 

Looks like you are a pretty good student with an excellent teacher.

 

Looks good

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Wow, wish I could do that. Amazing!

 

I am so jealous. I've been watching videos on YouTube and trying to figure things out on my own. It is a steep hill.

 

Great work indeed. You're learning quickly and sewing isn't easy for most. Does the Juki you're using have a servo motor or a clutch?

 

Beautiful work, nothing better than learning from a Master.

 

Wow, what an opportunity!!! You don't get that too many times in a lifetime. This is something I've always wanted to learn. Its not as easy as it looks! This winter I did the door panels and carpeting in my 41 Chevy and though it wasn't extremely hard it was tedious to get it right and looking nice, like a hack didn't do it. I still see all the flaws though. hahaha Good for you HH57!!

 

What did you say your address is I have a project car you can practice on.

 

This is some Beautiful work. Both of you should be mighty proud, but don't get cocky! Don't be afraid to show us more of this, Carp.

 

Dick has done a heck of a lot of great jobs over a lot of years, you could not find a better mentor, plus he's a really good guy. Your work is lookn' good!

 

I want to see more of Richard's 32.

 

That's a great opportunity. I wish I could learn that.

 

Youre getting it down, very nice work.

Is this something you plan on pursuing as a side job or a full time?

Consider it, youre good, pretty easy to trade upholstery work for anything you need in the hot rod world. Theres a lot more painters than upholsterers.

 

Nice work. I'm impressed.

Gary

 

That looks really nice.
How about showing us how you get the padding into them and how the backing is put on.
Nice of you to share some of what you are learning.
I'd love to have an opportunity like that.

 

I've watched my pal Dave do some beautiful work,and learned a lot when he was upholstering the Wagon,but I have not put any of it to practice with the sewing machine.HRP

 

Enjoyed the pics..... more......

 

Beats reading a book.

 

There's a real shortage of good auto upholsterers. Most guys won't touch cars because furniture is so much easier. If you are any good at all you should have all the work you can handle. If not, the boat boys will fill in your time. A round about way of saying you are onto a really good business with high demand, good pay, and low supply. And no danger of your job being "offshored".

 

Made an ass cushion for my buddy Tuki.. lots of flaws but having fun learning!

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Very cool stuff !! Its always a great opportunity when someone with a skill and talent is willing to share and mentor an individual and pass on the trade !!

 

Having some fun making a cover for one of my chairs for outside. Got the top cover made now working on wrapping it



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