New seat upolstery?

[powder1742]

Anyone know where you can get kits to reuposter front seats? Mine are shot and I've got too much work in the exterior of my ho to put the stock torn up seats back in!

 

[ChrisAU]

I'd like to know also.

 

[1993GMCSierra]

I really would like to find someone who could as well, I've been to several shops who said they couldn't match it. I have a small spot in my seat where the fabric is worn away that I'd like to get fixed, or at least get that section of the seat replaced. No luck so far.

 

[chevyman0191]

ive found these on ebay look like they would fit exactly like the seat. Prolly more of a seat cover than upostler kit.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/95-96-97-98...Parts_Accessories&hash=item35b9701821&vxp=mtr

 

[stroker52]

http://katzkin.com/

kinda high but they do nice chit..

 

[ChrisAU]

I can find new leather upholstery all over the place, I want cloth though.

 

[sewlow]

Do you guys not have an upholstery shop around you that is at least half way near competent? I mean, really. How can these guys hang their sign out there for everyone to see, yet not be able to meet a bare minimum basic level of competancy? Have you been consulting furniture upholsterers, or real actual auto trimmers? Most furniture upholsterers have no clue when it comes to vehicle interiors. Their patterning & cover fitment does not have to be as precise as it is in vehicles. They have a larger margin of error that they work within. I can't get away with that. Auto interiors are much more detail oriented & precise. Closer to tailoring a fine suit.

1993GMCSierra, Without seeing your seat, I'm gonna take a guess that it's the outside edge of the driver's side of the seat. If the damaged area is not too big, that seam can be taken in to eliminate the problem area. Probably have to do a bit of foam repair & gluing. This is a simple fix. I learned how to do stuff like that before I had 2 years experience. A basic for a used car clean-up at a car lot.

Chris. Does the material have to be absolutely stock & original? Are your seats all cloth, or are they vinyl on the sides? If they are cloth faces & vinyl bands, then you would just need the faces recovered. For that, you could pick out any automotive fabric you like, in any color you like. Contrast it, or match it to as close as possible to the original. In my shop the material doesn't make a whole lot of difference. It's all the same labour rate, with the variable being the cost of the material. I have fabric available that costs $20/yard or $200/yard. That's a choice up to the customer. Doesn't matter to me. Either/or takes the same amount of time to stitch.
If the seats are all cloth, & you can't get the original material, then you're talking a complete recover. Again, you could choose any material you want, but the time involved to do that is obviously greater. If you're needing a complete recover, then the seats are like a blank piece of paper. A bit of a restyle, maybe a different design. a bit of personalized embroidery somewhere. Anything is possible at that point. But the more time I spend redesigning or sitting behind the machine to do custom stuff can add up.
If both of you guys could post up a pic or two of what you're needing, then I could give you a better idea of what's required or what's possible.

 

[Horns]

Sewlow, just a question. What's the average you would charge to recover a set of GMT400 seats. Front buckets and rear extended cab bench seat. Just one color of leather. ???

 

[sewlow]

Well there is a couple of things you should know about leather seats. From the factory, & I don't care if it's a Lincoln Towncar Limo, a Corvette, or a truck, if it came with leather originally, with the exception of the exotics (Ferrari's, Lambo.'s etc,) the leather is only on the faces. The part you sit on. The rest is vinyl. I can do that, too. Makes the job more reasonable, dollar wise. Or, like most Hot-Rods or customs that I do, the whole seat is leather.
If you want them done in the factory method, I would need to use a leather that has a vinyl match to go with it. This can be a bit limiting in the choice of leather or color.
Leather is sold by the square foot, whole hides at a time. I can only buy whole hides, & have to pick out hides that are close to the total amount that I need.
There is a lot of waste, when compared to vinyl. Certain parts of the hide have to be used for certain parts of the seat.
A yard of fabric/vinyl is 36" X 54". The material comes in at 54" wide. Usually in the $20 - $30/yard range.
Leather is usually in the $10.00 to $18.00 a square foot range. It takes 18 sq. ft. to equal a yard of vinyl/fabric.
Even at $10/ft., you're looking at $180.00 a linear yard.(!) Hides average around 50 sq. ft a hide. So...$900.00 a hide.
I can sometimes get the 'good guy' deal if I order up 2 or more hides. I can get black for less, as it's the most common.
If you'd like them in the factory style/method, for what you are looking to have done, I would need to get 2 hides, plus about 3-4 yards of vinyl.
Yea! Ouch! Already at close to 2 G's for materials alone!
My labor time would be around 20 hours. Another 'G'.
Now you may (probably!) think that that's a lot, and it is! But there are advantages to leather. It breathes. It doesn't get sticky hot. It will mimic body temp. It's cooler than vinyl in the Summer. Warmer in the winter. And...it will last 3-5X longer than all other seat materials.
If I was to do this in vinyl or fabric, the cost would be about a thousand less. But it would have to be replaced at least 3X before the leather would. In the long run, leather is a better option. Both in performance & comfort. It's just that initial outlay that creates sticker shock

 

[Horns]

Wow, I never realized it was that much. At first I thought katzkin was nuts about their price. Now I think differently.