DIY car seat repair and hauling

In detail: do-it-yourself car seat repair and hauling from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

A clean and well-groomed car interior is always pleasant, and especially if its interior is too tight and does not look like a factory interior. Let's talk about the nuances of the banner, cost and different options.

The content of the article:

Selection of materials
Training
New covers
Padding
Price
Video

After the appearance of the car, its "inner world", that is, the interior, immediately catches the eye. Indeed, it is by the appearance and condition of the car's interior that one can safely judge the nature of its owner. At first glance, you can tell whether the car enthusiast likes cleanliness and order, or prefers disorder and dirt.

If the car enthusiast loves comfort, softness and cleanliness, then, first of all, the seats of his car interior do not take the last place for him. Often times, the seat cover is simply replaced to give the seats a fresh look. This process is best left to the masters who are familiar with it. But, if financially in any way, or if you want to experiment at home, then the "green light" for such plans.

Any sewing of clothes is not complete without the help of a sewing machine. So here, she will be needed. Since the whole job of updating the seat cover is to work with a sewing machine and in the ability to correctly cut future fabric or leather covers. It must be remembered that re-tightening the seat will take a lot of time and effort.

Before proceeding directly to the hauling of the seat in the passenger compartment of the car with your own hands, you will need to decide on the material for the seat. Such material can serve as suede, leather, velor, etc. The color and shades of the seat upholstery should be matched directly to the color of the upholstery. But, if your heart desires, then you can pick it up at will.

Video (click to play).

As a rule, strict motorists sheathe the interior of their car in one color, but the extravagant and extraordinary prefer a combination of several colors. This gives the interior and seats some exclusivity and fashion. This rule also applies to seats and their cover.

In all elite class cars, leather interior is quite common, which means that the seats are upholstered with this material. But, unfortunately, this has its own huge disadvantage of such material. It lies in the fact that the skin heats up quite a lot at high temperatures. And precisely because of this, driving a car on summer days can lead to a lot of negative statements about the car and discomfort from the driver. In the period of cold and frosty weather, everything is in reverse order: then it is twice as difficult as usual to somehow warm the seat.

When it is financially impossible to "make" leather seat covers, then such versatile materials as alcantara or velor will always come to the rescue. They have been popular among car enthusiasts for quite some time. Moreover, they are good for their qualities during their long-term use.

Starting the first stage of seat constriction, you must remember that in any repair work that is carried out on the car, you need to concentrate all your attention on all the details and in no case should you rush, but do everything confidently and according to the recommendations. So, first you need to remove the seats. They, in turn, are fixed with four bolts. First you need to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery, and also disconnect the electrical wiring terminals.This is in case they are present in the car, then this is only when the car has heated seats.

Old covers that were previously removed from the seat should be carefully cut at the seams. In the near future, they will come in handy as sketches for cutting new blanks for the seat cover. Then you need to outline these patterns on the material clearly along the edges. But, here is one point: during the cutting of these patterns, it is necessary to retreat at the edges of about 5-7 mm.

When you start the process of creating a new car seat cover, you need to have all the tools you need ready in advance. You will need: a marker, scissors, a hammer and foam rubber (its thickness should be no more, no less than 2-3 cm), a sewing machine and glue in a can.

Now to the point. On the material of the future seat cover, you need to put patterns from the old cover and fix them on top with a slight weight. This will keep the patterns in the same position when sketching and cutting out new parts of the future car seat cover.

Next, you need to circle the old part of the seat cover with a marker on the new canvas and cut out all the necessary details. But, do not forget that when cutting out these elements, you need to step back from the circled edges by 2-3 cm.

There is a material for car seat covers such as Alcantara. Special attention is needed here, since this material is fleecy, and, as a rule, in one direction. This means that during the pattern and sketching of old car seat covers, you must pay special attention to the fact that the fleecy surface of all parts of the future seat cover is directed in one direction.

When the car seat cover is almost ready, all its seam flaps will need to be glued. Initially, all unnecessary pieces of foam rubber and material are cut off. Then, after degreasing and cleaning the lapels of the seams, they need to be glued to each other.

As soon as all of the above has been done, the cuffs must be beaten off with a hammer (this is already directly as the glue dries). It is also recommended to sew them with a double stitch, and all other shreds that go beyond their edges of the future seat cover do not have to be cut with scissors.

Before putting new covers on the seat, you will need to make special straps. After that, it is turned inside out and pulled over the back of the seat. Then the cover is pulled over the seat itself. This is not difficult. The seat cover must be tightened with plastic straps, which are pulled through special holes, to the base of the seat itself. It is fixed by the knitting needle. If the edges do not become along the contour of the seat, then they must be well tightened.

Read also: Hyundai starex n1 DIY repair

When the leather seat cover is stretched like a drum after drying, it will indicate that it is completely dry. Next, you will need to treat each upholstered seat cover with a damp cloth and steam from an iron. If you follow all of the above tips, then the leather cover will have excellent elasticity and look smooth on the seat. Upon completion of the process of tightening the seat with your own hands, it is advisable to inspect and remove all fingerprints or remnants of glue from materials such as alcantara or light leather.

Overtightened seats at home will not only delight the eye, but will also become a source of pride for themselves, and from a practical point of view, they will also serve for a long time, and will perfectly preserve the seats.

The pricing policy of car seat upholstery at service stations is often not fixed for all cars, but rather individual. It all depends on the number of seats that can be covered, on the parts of the seat, on the material, as well as on the production of the car and its brand.

So, the hauling of four seats at the service station for a domestic car (such as VAZ 2101..112, NIVA, Priora, Kalina) from the customer's material will cost about $ 160, and if the material is provided by a service station, then the amount will start from $ 220 and then a lot will depend on the chosen material. When it comes to such cars as GAZ 24-01 .. 3110, 31029, 2410, 31105, then upon providing your material, you will need to pay from $ 165 for the hauling, and without the material, the amount is from $ 200.

In case if four seats for a car of a foreign origin of any brand and model with the presence of its own material are being hanged, the amount to be paid will start from $ 220. Without the availability of your material, the price rises and starts at $ 280.

There is also a padding of some parts of the seat. For example, for the constriction of two headrests, both for domestic and foreign cars, the price will be from $ 15 without having its own material. And for the installation of covers brought by the customer, you will have to pay from $ 30 for a car of the domestic auto industry, and from $ 35 for a foreign car.

And now about the cost of material and work on the covers. For four seats of such cars as VAZ 2101..112, NIVA, Priora, Kalina, a motorist will have to pay from $ 160 for sewing and hauling with any fabric material on a foam base with the presence of its own material. If the soul desires a more chic look of the car interior, then the service station will take from $ 400 for sewing covers for the above cars on leather material and together with eco leather. And for "clean" leather on a foam rubber basis, you will need to pay from $ 600.

For the GAZ 31-02, 31029, 3110, 31105 car seat covers made of leather and eco leather on a foam rubber basis, the price will start at $ 440, and for pure leather covers on foam rubber you need to pay from $ 640. This is subject to self-provision of material to the workshop for the seat upholstery. If the customer provides the material, then the amount starts from $ 200.

Prices for covers for cars of foreign origin are naturally an order of magnitude higher. So, for the manufacture and covering of covers with the presence of the customer's material on a foam rubber basis, the price starts from about $ 185. For four seats, a combination of leather and eco-leather on foam rubber for a foreign car, taking into account the material, will cost from about $ 470, and from pure leather, the cover will cost from $ 660.

At the service station, everything will be done correctly and best, but if there is a desire to dream up yourself, or simply finances do not allow, then you can make car seat covers with your own hands. While it will take a lot of time and effort to re-tighten the seat, it is well worth it. And if there is no desire to do anything on your own and the thickness of the wallet allows you to chic, then you can completely rely on the service station simply by indicating the desired color and material of the future cover for the car seat.

DIY seat upholstery video:

Do-it-yourself seat upholstering begins with the selection of material. Usually leather, suede, velor, flock and so on are used for these purposes. It is advisable to select the color and shade to match the interior upholstery. The easiest option is to make a constriction from a material of the same color. The use of inserts of a different color will give the interior of your car originality.

It is worth considering that it is necessary to choose a material that is designed for temperature extremes and is not subject to fading. The most budgetary finishing materials are velor and alcantara. They are distinguished by good performance and are popular with motorists.

The most expensive material for car seat upholstery is leather. Leather upholstered seats look elegant, but remember that they are uncomfortable in hot weather. The problem is solved by using an air conditioner in the car.

In the work on hauling a car seat, you will need: needles, strong threads for sewing (Exstra Strong or for shoes), adhesive interlining (3-5 m), foam rubber, a marker, scissors, a sewing machine and glue.

Working on the banner requires perseverance, patience and following the recommendations.

Before starting to upgrade the seats, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work:

dismantle the seats, which are fixed with four bolts.Before doing this, disconnect the battery terminal and the wiring terminals.
remove all fragments of old covers, sign them. In addition, it is better to write the name of the material that will be replaced in this place.
remove the standard cover from the seat, first bend the metal clips from the back.
cut the cover at the seams, it will be used to cut a new one.
calculate the material. Measure each part of the old cover. Make a pattern, leaving a margin of at least a few centimeters along the edges.

Put a pattern from an old cover on the selected material and fix it. This will allow the pattern and material to remain stationary while tracing and cutting. Also, be sure to leave a 2–3 cm margin from the outlined edges.

If you have chosen Alcantara for sewing covers, it is worth remembering that this material is fleecy, so you need to make sure that the pile is in one direction. You can strengthen the selected material with foam rubber on a fabric basis. The foam itself is connected to the fabric with glue, which is best sprayed with a spray can.

At the next stage, the flaps are sutured. The edges of all elements are sewn neatly with a sewing machine. Then you should cut off all unnecessary strips of foam rubber. All seams must be glued to each other from the wrong side. After the glue is dry, beat off all the cuffs with a hammer and double-stitch.

The straps must be threaded before installing the new cover on the car seat. Then turn the product out and pull it first on the back, and then on the sitting place. With the help of plastic clamps, which are threaded through special holes, pull the cover to the base of the "seat" and fix it by the spoke. Pull the edges of the new trim evenly over the seat.

If leather was used as upholstery, after stretching the seat cover, it must be warmed up with a stream of hot air. A hairdryer is good for this, but don't overdo it.

At the final stage, the seat covers of the overtightened seats must be steamed with an iron (through the fabric). The technology is simple.

If there is an urgent need to upgrade the car seats and allow funds, it is better to pull the covers in the studio. The main advantage of upholstering car seats in a sewing workshop is that the service is performed by experienced professionals.

In addition, the workshop will offer you proven material and help you make the right choice. Also, a guarantee will be provided for the service. If necessary, the order can be completed in a short time.

From this video you will learn how to properly pull the salon with your own hands.

During operation, not only the technical parts are worn out, but also the interior of the car itself. Most often, car owners have to deal with seat upholstery repair or replacement of covers. Let's figure out how to rehabilitate the seats with our own hands and save not only money, but also time.

If your seats are made of leather, see our material on the professional repair of leather seats, in our other material.

Situations and reasons why you have to restore seats in a car can be very different - from physical wear and tear of the device to serious damage to the structure due to accidents (RTA). It should be remembered that using a vehicle, even with damaged seats, is fraught with dangerous consequences. Aged upholstery or sagging seats can cause maximum inconvenience and discomfort for both passengers and the driver himself.

In addition, the dilapidated upholstery of car seats does not look very aesthetically pleasing. With the help of modern finishing materials, it is quite simple to reconstruct the coating and return it to its former appearance.

The most common car seat problems are:

erasing armrests, upholstery and cushions;
breakage of gaskets and the base of the car seat structure;
damage to special springs;
discoloration of the skin and its cracking due to temperature changes or ultraviolet radiation;
mechanical flaws not related to the operation of the device - burn-through, rupture, breakage of the bases or cuts due to inaccurate handling or exposure to external factors.
deformation of the seat structure due to the activation of the car safety system as a result of an accident.

The choice of a way to solve the problems of car seats is made taking into account the type and nature of the damage. Tools and materials are also determined according to the situation.

When changing the upholstery of a car, it is important to take into account the type of coating used and working tools. The complexity of the process itself and the quality of the final result depend on this. In order for the car interior to look harmonious after the seat constriction, the color scheme of the upholstery must be precisely matched to its main shade and not be out of the general picture.

Secrets! Most of the materials for the constriction, you can buy in China at the Aliexpress site! For example, artificial horse skin https://ali.pub/2jm5ix or alligator skin https://ali.pub/2jm6ii

Car seat upholstery can be made of leather, fabric, leatherette or Alcantara. The latter is a material with a short pile, somewhat reminiscent of natural suede. It is necessary to work with Alcantara very carefully, taking into account the direction of the fabric hairs during cutting.

To replace leather coverings, artificial or synthetic leather can be a good alternative to a natural surface. It is more convenient to eliminate defects in velor upholstery or leatherette using special compounds that are available in any automotive store.

In addition to the coating material, the following tools must be available:

a set of hand needles;
awl;
chalk or a bar of dry white soap;
thick silk threads;
glue;
hammers;
keys and nuts with washers;
cold welding;
towing belt;
pliers;
hacksaw;
screwdrivers;
machine vacuum cleaner.

Also, do not forget about the foam rubber for the lining of car seats. All this can be found on the Internet, including on your beloved Ali.

Do-it-yourself car seat repair is completed by connecting the pillow to the back of the chair and attaching the hinges with screws.

Any constriction of car seats should be accompanied by reinforcement of the upholstery material with foam rubber. This is an important nuance without which a high-quality car seat upholstery repair is impossible. A prerequisite for the pillow is the fabric base of the synthetic backing and its thickness equal to 5 mm.

Minor scuffs, scratches or cuts are best repaired with small pieces of upholstery. The main thing is that the quality and color are in complete harmony with the main surface.

The material is sewn along the edge of the parts, strictly following the labels. Deviation or violation of the outline of the sketch will ruin not only the material, but also the whole result of the work done.

Glue foam rubber to upholstery fabric better with spray glue and before connecting the elements of the case. In this case, it is important to glue the foam rubber with the side opposite to its base, and in the case of Alcantara, place the flaps of the material with the pile in one direction.

The cuffs of the back seam should be finished and smoothed. For this, a hammer is used, with which it is easy to beat off scars, and sewing needles with threads to secure the cuffs.

It is always necessary to finish the restoration of car seats by steaming the overtightened parts and drying them with a technical hair dryer and a hot air stream. This procedure should be done carefully so as not to burn the surface.

To make a new upholstery for the chairs, you will need the following material and tools:

scissors;
hammer;
gel pen;
sewing machine;
foam rubber having a thickness of at least 5 mm;
glue.

The sequence of work looks like this:

Installation of the cover on the car seat is carried out in the following sequence:

Before you start putting on new seat covers, you will first need to thread all the straps. Turn out finished products and straighten them. The cover must be pulled over the back of the chair.
Next, we dress the seat. Basically, this stage does not create any problems. With plastic clips that are inserted into the holes, you need to pull the cover to the base of the seat and fix it to the spoke. Along the entire contour of the chair, the edges are evenly pulled.
The final stage is the heating of the material with a stream of hot air. A regular electric hair dryer will do just fine. It is important not to overwork and not burn the cover. Drying slowly, the fabric will stretch and become like a drum. Immediately, all the chairs must be steamed with an iron and a damp cloth. With the help of such thermal actions, the upholstery of the chair will be taut and smooth.

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The last and important stage of car seat upholstering will be cleaning from glue, fingerprints and abrasions of Alcantara and light leather.

Carefully tightened car seats will delight the owner of the vehicle for a very long time. During the renovation procedure, you can slightly change the design of the car seat and update the upholstery on the doors, panels and ceiling. Comprehensive tuning can change your tired interior beyond recognition, adding elegance to your car, and, plus, will raise its value. Before deciding to carry out a constriction of the car's interior, read and study some of the recommendations for this work.

Worn car seats with defects in upholstery bring the owner no less inconvenience than a faulty engine or transmission. Because of the wobbly back, the squeezed chair, osteochondrosis develops, there are pains in the back, lower back. If you do not take action in a timely manner, if you are driving for a long time, you can earn curvature of the spine, disc hernia, and a number of other serious diseases. Many car owners prefer to do their own seat repairs.Foreign car manufacturers have long paid special attention to the quality of driver's seat upholstery. Torn seats distract a person driving a car, make it difficult to concentrate on the road. He is constantly fidgeting, nervous, trying to get a better position. Comfortable seats give confidence, allow you to drive comfortably, having fun, enjoying life.Carrying out repairs of car seat upholstery with their own hands, each car owner should be able to handle a needle, thread, have an idea of the cut of the material. You can give the car to experienced professionals. They will dismantle, agree with you on the choice of material, carry out all the work, repair, and install a brand new plating in place. If you want to save money, do what you love - repair the seat upholstery for your car with your own hands.Signs of worn-out car seats that require upholstery repair:

abrasion of the cladding;

seizure, cracked armrests;

breakage of internal springs;

torn threads, piping;

broken frames;

breaks in gaskets;

oil, grease stains.

All these defects are striking, the driver and passengers feel discomfort on themselves. This means that the moment has come when it is necessary to start repairing all the upholstery for the car seats with your own hands. The lesson is difficult, time consuming, but the result is amazing. Increases the driver's self-esteem, confirms his authority in the family, in front of colleagues, fellow motorists. After all, he did it himself.First of all, you need to make a decision: you need to dismantle the seats or perform work on the seats fixed in the cabin. Considering that the front seats are secured with only two bolts, it is not difficult to remove them. But this operation will greatly facilitate all further repairs. The next step is the choice of material for car seat upholstery.The modern market offers a wide variety of upholstery materials.

Repairing leather car seats is rightfully considered the most difficult type of work, since it requires the greatest amount of materials and efforts. The materials used are:

First of all, the irregularities are sanded with a sandpaper, after which a thin plastic mesh is applied in an even layer, filled with liquid skin. After completing these steps, you must wait until the repair material dries up, and only then put the car into operation. Car seat leather repairs may take longer than cloth repairs, but the exterior will be pleasing to the eye for a long time.

Note that if it becomes necessary to restore a chair equipped with a heating system, then after disconnecting the loops, the on-board computer will give an error that cannot be eliminated with your own hands. In such cases, it is recommended to contact a specialist.

The repair of the fabric upholstery of the car seats is carried out in two stages, the first of which is the application of the patch. Before repairing, special attention must be paid to the choice of fabric - it must match the color of the car interior. It is also recommended to stock up on a repair kit. To restore the seat, a patch is cut out in the shape of the affected area, and a thin layer of special glue is applied to the gluing site, on which a cut piece of cloth is applied.

The second stage - heat treatment will help to eliminate irregularities at the edges. A heat-resistant film is fixed on the restored area, which is ironed with a heated iron. The result of these operations, as a rule, is a perfectly flat upholstery, which, with careful use, will last for many years.

If a rubbed hole has formed on the seat, then repair the fabric car seats as follows. First, you need to carefully trim the loose edges of the upholstery, and also clean and degrease the surface to be repaired. Next, you should moisten the upholstery and let it dry a little. This is followed by the process of preparing the repair material - it must be clean and free of foreign particles. Then the patch is glued and heat treated.

One of the most important points in the restoration of a car seat is to keep clean those areas of the seat that have a satisfactory appearance. To ensure that the repaired part does not differ from the original material, the adhesive should be applied as carefully as possible.In addition, the adhesive must not be allowed to extend beyond the repair area by more than one millimeter. For this, a piece is usually used, along the edges of which a border is drawn with chalk, due to which there are no difficulties with the exact application of glue.

Read here how to repair the trunk lock of a car with your own hands. The principles of bumper repair without special tools can be found here.

Repair of burned-out car seats is carried out using a specific chemical composition. The cleaned surface is filled in layers until the flaw is completely closed. This mixture can be purchased at many auto parts stores. It is worth noting that special attention should be paid to the color and structure of the composition, so that the subsequently restored area does not catch the eye. If velor seats are installed in the car, then the top layer of the mixture should be covered with fibers that imitate pile.

When repairing burn-throughs on leather car seats, the hole should also be filled with a chemical compound, and for shine, a special gel should be applied on top, thanks to which the chair will regain its former gloss. The final stage is painting over the restored surface.

Video (click to play).