I want to cut 1" off the seat foam on my L seat, what's the best method?

[gotjeepzj]

I'm going to narrow the seat slightly also. What's good for cutting the factory foam?

[earlfor]

A 12" long electric carving knife works pretty well.

Earl

I'm going to narrow the seat slightly also. What's good for cutting the factory foam?

[bwringer]

I use an ancient Sears electric knife that I bought at Goodwill for $1. It works great on seat foam, even if the old electric motor insulation is a little stinky when it runs.

Get the rough shape with the electric knife, then shape the foam by hand with course sandpaper in a sanding block. It goes pretty quickly, and is very controllable. Some advocate power tools for shaping foam, but I don't see the point unless you do it for a living. It's pretty easy to end up removing too much or making a gouge with a sanding disk.

[gotjeepzj]

So coarse sandpaper will shape the contours back? I bought an electric knife from wally world for $9.76

[Planecrazy]

...you learn something new everyday ... this forum rocks!!

Regards,

[Jethro]

If you're looking to over-analyze the whole thing, the best tool is a hot knife. My guys use them in the field to shape foam before application of stucco. It's basically a piece of wire that can be shaped any way you like, and the wire gets real hot.

Even though I had access to a hot knife, I still used a bread knife from the kitchen. Don't tell my wife...

[gotjeepzj]

mission accomplished although the factory seat cover doesn't fit perfectly. I removed the rear lip off the pass step seat and that caused the cover to fit to low in the back. It looks much better, but I'll know more when I ride it to work. Sitting on it it seems a little tough in the sides. This is probably due to me not rounding the edges.