Does anyone know the Correct procedure to install new upholstery on a Rear Seat of a '70 GS? I already have the new Outer skin covers for the bottom and the back cushions. Do I need to get new Cushion material, and if so, Where? o No: Without getting too technical, I'm already aware of the Hog Rings, etc. My main reason for asking, as I've never recovered seats before, and I was told to just install the new material Directly over the Old material, as new seat upholstery is made "oversized" for that purpose, so it fits more "snug". uzzled: Even if that is true, I would prefer to Completely remove the old material, and replace the new material on new cushions and hardware! I appreciate any help here, Thanks! :TU:
Scott, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of folks with more knowledge than I respond but in a nut shell it's pretty dang easy. I just did mine a couple of months ago and I just made note of where everything attached and went about cutting the old rings off. There has to be a better way than using wire cutters ou: then I just laid the new cover down and put the seat frame with the old padding still attached onto the cover and started attaching the rings. It was a pretty simple deal it all streched to where I needed it and I had no problems. If I can do it anybody can do it. :TU:
Thanks, Rick, but I may need to clarify my question more, for you to know what I'm asking. You say you did your own seat. You say you removed the old Hog rings, with wire cutters. Ok, I'm with you so far. :TU: Now, Let's say you had Brown upholstery on your seat, and you were going to change it to Black. Did you REMOVE the Brown cover, or did you just put the Black Cover right OVER it? In other words, do you have "2 layers" (Brown underneath, Black as new outer material), or just ONE (Black, and threw the Brown material away)? o No: I was told that aftermarket upholstery is made "oversized" so that it is supposed to fit over the original upholstery, without having to remove it! uzzled:
I get ya. No, I did not leave the old seat covers on, I removed them. My goal of course was to have a new looking, feeling and smelling interior. I didn't think that would all be possible with the old covers under the new. The cover I removed did have a backing attached to it but it wasn't needed as the new cover had padding built in. Mine fit tight over the remaining padding that wasn't attached to the cover that I removed. I'll throw up a couple of pics. Before........Ya I know, it's a Chevelle seat ou:
I guess that if the new covers are big enough to go on without over streching that it might be better to put them on over the old covers. I would think that they would just provide extra protection from things poking through the new covers. :TU:
That really helps a LOT, Rick! Thanks! :TU: I don't know if that's actually True, if the new covers are supposed to fit OVER the old material, I was only TOLD that, which is why I wanted to make sure before I did my own! Kind of like putting New Wallpaper over Old Wallpaper, how many layers can you get on, before you have to take ALL of them off, and put ONE new layer! :laugh: ou: I'll remove the old material, and see how it turns out. If it turns out even Close to how yours looks, Rick, I'll be happy with that! :TU: :bglasses:
Never use the old covers as underlayment for the new ones. Remove all old material and hog rings. To remove hog rings easily, get your self the smallest bolt/chain cutters you can find a Home Depot. They are a force mutiplier of 2 versus wire cutters. I have an article on bucket seat recovering on our site. The rear seats are the easiest. To make the job simple, let the covers sit out in the sun for a few hours to dewrinkle and become pliable. Helps to have an assistant hold the cover in position and while you apply the hog rings. Also, do not throw away your old covers until you are ready to install the new covers. Sometimes the new covers are missing the corrugated wire anchors and you need to reuse the old ones.
Thanks, George! I didn't think you were supposed to leave the old covers on, but I wanted to be sure, first! :TU:
i replaced the seat covers front buckets & rear seat 4 years ago. i used a new pair of nipper cutters to cut the hogrings. if your car was ever a home to a mouse or mice, they would have chewed off all the cotton filler in the seats. use dacron to replace the cotton. the rear seat is easy to replace covers on. i also placed the new seat covers in a pillow case & tossed into the clothers dryer to heat the vinyl material, thus helping to remove any wrinkles. allows u to stretch the material. remember to keep any/all the steel wires from the old seat covers as u have to install them in the new covers before any hogringing. u may also find documentation under the old covers as to the production date of the seats and covers. i did.
To remove or not to remove. I think it depends on the type of covers you use. I bought mine from JC Whitney(Yeah the cheap Covercraft type). A professional upholstery guy put mine on over the old covers. ou: Mine were so oversized he still had to trim them a bit. I think the fancy model specific reproduction stuff is designed to fit snug on your cushion with the old covers removed. Some people recommend a light spray glue for buckets with creases and folds. I parked mine in the hot sun for a few hours with the top down and that pretty much took care of the odors.
