Seats/console

[KReePiN]

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Finally got the new seats and center console installed today......the person who i purchased the seats from said after a couple months of usage......the fabric on the seats will begin the get kinda loose.....so im going to need to steam them to "puff" them back up.....is this something im going to have to constantly do?.....ive never had freshly wrapped seats before so im just wondering what to expect

 

[Vortec Lover]

looks awesome!

 

[KReePiN]

Thanks man.....i waited almost a year before i was able to find some clean seats....everything is just so expensive....especially when your married with 2 kids still in diapers lol!

 

[sewlow]

Fabric on the seats should not loosen up over time, when the proper material is used. If that was the case, I'd be spending most of my time re-doing previous projects. Is this a home job or done by an upholstery shop? If a shop did it, I would think that something like the material 'loosening', would be covered under their workmanship warranty. I garuantee my work for a year. I would cover that kind of stuff under that warranty, but I've never had this prob. I've never heard of this before.
Steaming will puff up the foam, but when I steam seat foam, the foam is old. A good steam job should last at least a couple of years. It's a temporary fix.
Did they use new 1/2" foam when they recovered the seats, or did they cheap out & use the original stuff? (a backyard, cheap, quick shortcut.) That would be the only reason I can see that the covers would get loose. That, & poor pattern making. I think that someone is trying to cover their own ass, by feeding you a line of B.S.

 

[KReePiN]

Well i found them on craigslist for 250 bucks.....so im pretty sure they used the old foam ......my seats were shot so i couldnt complain about 250 dollar replacements.....it sounded funny when he explained it to me as well....never heard of steaming

 

[sewlow]

Commercial upholstery steamer. What I use. $350.00 - $450.00. Made by 'Jiffy'. Can't run an upholstery shop without one. Has a thousand or more uses. Steel & cast construction.

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Household steamer. Around $100.00. Home stores, builder marts. Sears, etc. They work just as well as the commercial units. Smaller H2o capacity, longer heat up. Plastic. No 'Stand-by' circuit, which keeps the water @ just under boiling, when not being used, which the commercial ones have.

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[KReePiN]

Looks like might have to invest in one!....what other uses have u found for a steamer im curious?

 

[sewlow]

I use a steamer when I install carpets, suspended style headliners, new seat covers, (especially headrest covers) tonneau's, motobike seat covers, conv. tops, vinyl roofs, & many other things. Most materials can be stretched to form fit the project with a bit of heat. Wrinkles can be removed from things like conv. tops or headliners that have been folded up in a box for extended lengths of time. Just because those things are new, doesn't mean that they were made the day before they were shipped. Some of that stuff could have been sitting on a shelf for a very long time, in the box, folded up. The moist heat of the steam will remove that without worry of melting or burning the material.
When I do camper cushions that are to be recovered only, I can steam the foam to bring it back to it's original shape. After all this time doing this, I still find it fascinating to watch the foam 'grow' back from all the places it's been compressed for years, such as all the edges & corners. Makes the new covers I just made, fit oh-so-well!
I can use a heat gun for a lot of this stuff, (not on foam, though.) but they can cause probs. I've had an employee install a nice new conv. top on a '62 T-bird. Beauty job, but it had a couple of minor wrinkles in the sail panel on the driver's side. Instead of using the steamer, he was using a heat gun to get those out. One moment of inattention, (not concentrating, talking to someone, or whatever) & he had melted the grain in the top's material about the size of a fist. It's phukt & I can't have that go out the door! So I had to work all night to remove the top, & install another one. I had already told the customer that he could pickup his vehicle in the A.M!
I've also used the steamer to clean floors! I don't always remove my boots to run in the house. The steamer helps to remove glue & grease from both tile & carpets. Works excellent to remove mildew in shower stall grout.
I've also used them for their original intent. Drapes outa the wash, hung up, then hit with the steamer makes them hang like new! (yea, I'm that domesticated!) I have a collection of about 120 silk Hawai'ian shirts. I don't have an iron, (I refuse to own one!) but with the steamer they can look like they just came from the dry-cleaners. Absolutely no wrinkles! Works great on jeans left in the dryer overnight too.

 

[KReePiN]

Ahh man thats awesome.....so its actually worth spending the money on a nice unit....cause its something that can honestly be used in numerous ways....thanks man!

 

[sewlow]

I have one of the $100.00 ones in the house. They work fine for that stuff.
And, no problem. you're welcome!