Seat recovering techniques

[chuck hahn]

I guess this is a general question..I have seen upholsetery shops use a spray on adhesive that secures the seat cover to the pan..anyone have any idea as to what it is..or who may have had sucess with spray adhesives.

[bonanzadave]

3M General spray trim adhesive.

Available at your finer auto parts stores...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRM-8088/

[FreshStart]

I would only use it when stretching... a more solid approach to attaching it to the pan is needed really. I like pop rivets myself.

[Nessism]

Suzuki didn't use glue under the cover. Why should an aftermarket cover be installed differently?

[sedelen]

I finally recovered my seat ('79 GS1000E) with a Pit Replica cover. It wasn't as hard as I expected. I used door guard trim on the seat pan edge, I wanted something that wouldn't come off and show up under the seat cover like so many stock seats I've seen with the stock rubber seat pan edging. I used "gorilla" glue on that door guard edging as additional insurance to keep it from coming off. The best advice I can give is to get that cover hot. I put mine on the dash of my car with windows rolled up in the hot Florida sun. Makes it very supple and easy to work with, I put the cover on the front first, then the back then worked the sides. I didn't use any glue, just used those hooks on the seat pan, just enough pressure to get it to grab initially while I stretched on the cover in place, once I got it in place, then I punched them through the vinyl cover. The hardest part was getting the holes for the grab rail on the back in the right place. And if your not done and your seat's cooled off too much to work it, just stick it back in the car. If I were to have used glue I'd probably use contact cement or vinyl floor glue in which any excess comes off with lighter fluid.

[Octain]

Chuck's gonna use glue anyway. No matter what anyone says, Chuck's gonna use glue.

No glue Chuck!!

[Billy Ricks]

This is what most upholsterers use, http://www.pack-n-tape.com/cart/3m-s...FYrs7QodBCGigQ. I've recovered mine a couple of times over the years. I just used marine grade vinyl. It stretches more in one direction than the other so choose what will turn the corners and stuff best. I have a plastic seat pan so I staple underneath. If yours is metal then rivets would be best.

[veedub]

I have recovered a few seats in older cars and on motorcycles, both custom covers I handmade myself and store bought replacement covers. I am in the middle of a custom cover for my GS850 right now. 3m Spray adhesive works decent for attaching a cover to foam so it doesn't slide around however to attach it to the seat pan as said before you want a stronger attachment point if your seatpan is anything like the one on my 850 you have nice metal spikes just pull the material tight punch it through the spike and then bend the spike over. Otherwise I have used poprivets very successfully.

[sedelen]

I have recovered a few seats in older cars and on motorcycles, both custom covers I handmade myself and store bought replacement covers. I am in the middle of a custom cover for my GS850 right now. 3m Spray adhesive works decent for attaching a cover to foam so it doesn't slide around however to attach it to the seat pan as said before you want a stronger attachment point if your seatpan is anything like the one on my 850 you have nice metal spikes just pull the material tight punch it through the spike and then bend the spike over. Otherwise I have used poprivets very successfully.

I would be very reluctant to use glue of any kind to attach the seat cover to the foam, possibly the foam to the seat pan but that would be it. I do have in my possession a GS1000E seat pan that absolutely won't rust, it's made of plastic. I was going to use it for my main seat, but it doesn't have the holes for the grab rail or do I think it would support one if I drilled for them. I have all the parts necessary to make a seat but I just haven't figured out what to do with it yet.

[7981GS]

Use NO glue Chuck!
Just stretch it tight.

Daniel

[1_v8_merc]

Yeah my padding is flat too.

My seats have rivets, but I don't know how to do it, or where to buy them.

(I guess I sorta never thought about where to get rivets....)