Upholstery kits

[IB6376CY]

Has anyone had any experience of fitting an upholstery kit?

[Brianmoooore]

Do you mean fitting new fabric to seats? If so, nothing difficult, but hours of fiddly fun.

[IB6376CY]

Yes, buying a leather ready cut kit. I am looking for a known supplier. I have seen some kits advertised in the US at silly low prices, but you get what you pay for. I take it you have done it, were you satisfied with the quality? Might I ask where you bought it?

[Brianmoooore]

No experience of aftermarket kits at all. My experiences are limited to swapping genuine good bits for bad and stripping off trim for frame repairs before refitting the same.
If the kits have been made properly, it should be much the same procedure though. As diable says - hog rings, although bodgers have been known to use cable ties.

[IB6376CY]

Noted, I was thinking a getting a local upholsterer to fit it, there are plenty here who do awkward marine cushions, it'll cost a bit but I think its worth it. Oh, and I replaced the failed window motor cut out following your advice, thanks.

[Cloggy Saint]

As diable says - hog rings, although bodgers have been known to use cable ties.

My semi-bodge involved using copper wire. Much easier to work with than the original hog rings and just as effective.

[pac1982]

Noted, I was thinking a getting a local upholsterer to fit it, there are plenty here who do awkward marine cushions, it'll cost a bit but I think its worth it. Oh, and I replaced the failed window motor cut out following your advice, thanks.

If you pay a local trimmer to fit it them you wont be far off the price of a bespoke retrim.

I used to fit these kits for a company called Autokit and the E30 seats are perfect for such kits due to there modular design, infact the rear bench is harder to get right perfect than the fronts.

as someone has already commented the hog rings are the pain, take note of where abouts the original hog rings are to get a perfect fit.

The trims its self is just like putting on a glove but the hog rings are what give the seat its tightness without them it will be a baggy trim.

Also be careful when cutting the holes for your headrests, get this wrong and you can really spoil the seat.

Done properly a kit will look more factory than a bespoke trim as the kits are all made by machine to original factory spec.

As diable says - hog rings, although bodgers have been known to use cable ties.

My semi-bodge involved using copper wire. Much easier to work with than the original hog rings and just as effective.

As long as you have hog ring pliers they are very easy to fit, plus copper wire wont last btw its far to soft and will break due to metal fatigue

[IB6376CY]

Found a full leather kit in US about 500 pounds delivered...BUT is there a difference between US, LHD and RHD........probably the same....but..you never know!

[pac1982]

Found a full leather kit in US about 500 pounds delivered...BUT is there a difference between US, LHD and RHD........probably the same....but..you never know!

#

the only problem I can see with that is the holes for the seat adjustment mechs, but with most of these kits the holes for the levers to pass through are not precut so just ask the supplier if they are supplied with pre cut holes for the mechanisms.

The reason most holes are not precut is the fact the locations of said holes may change depending on how well you have fitted the trim.

[Gert_8]

As diable says - hog rings, although bodgers have been known to use cable ties.

My semi-bodge involved using copper wire. Much easier to work with than the original hog rings and just as effective.

What are these hog rings. You got any pics Di?

[Cloggy Saint]

They're nasty and they're sharp but aren't used to keep the seat base/back material tight as Pac said. They keep the foam parts attached to the metal frame and also keep the bolster covers in place on sports seats. The actual seat base and back cloth is secured to the foam using push in staples.

[pac1982]

What are these hog rings. You got any pics Di?

These are hog rings......

They're nasty and they're sharp but aren't used to keep the seat base/back material tight as Pac said. They keep the foam parts attached to the metal frame and also keep the bolster covers in place on sports seats. The actual seat base and back cloth is secured to the foam using push in staples.

try fitting a seat without hog rings/copper wire and see what it looks like, i think you'll find its baggy

[Cloggy Saint]

I've re-upholstered 3 sets of sports seats in the past and I maintain that the rings don't keep the cloth tight on the foam . The only part they play in keeping things tight is holding the 3 loops in the centre of the base and back in position to create the "indentations".

[pac1982]

I've re-upholstered 3 sets of sports seats in the past and I maintain that the rings don't keep the cloth tight on the foam . The only part they play in keeping things tight is holding the 3 loops in the centre of the base and back in position to create the "indentations".

they give the seat its shape, take the base pad on a sports seat for example, if you dont put the hog rings in the right place it will sit wrong and not hug the bottom frame properly

Also what about the white sleeves with a metal rod in them, that hang from the seat fabric and hog rings are used to secure these to pull the seat closer to the frame?

still say hog rings have nothing to do with bagginess?

[Cloggy Saint]

I agreed in my previous post that they were used with the metal rod to give the 3 indentations but for the rest the fabric is held tight by being stretched over metal tabs on the frame at the top and bottom and by staples around the edge. Once this is all good I don't see what difference it makes to the shape of things if the hog rings, or whatever is being used, are placed anywhere as long as the base is secure.

[Gavla]

The metal tabs keep the covers in place and do to some degree assist in keeping the shape, however having recently stripped a sport seat, the hog rings keep everything tight and in the right place more so than the metal tabs.

Without the hog rings the covers would end up moving around too much and being stretched out of shape over time.

[singlezero]

Found a full leather kit in US about 500 pounds delivered...BUT is there a difference between US, LHD and RHD........probably the same....but..you never know!

I found similarly priced kits in the US when I was looking a few months ago and all of the ones I found claimed to be leather but upon further questions being asked were found to have synthetic bolsters.

The place I found which I thought was the best was in Germany. 100% leather and looks brilliant, but the kit alone is around £1000 (I can't remember the exact amount; email him as he has different prices on the website).

This is the rear bench (better images on the site):



This is a link to the site:

http://ledervision.de/

I have NOT used this vendor, I simply think the photographs he claims are his work are the best I've seen as well as claiming he supplies 100% leather kits. Don't take this as a recommendation, it's simply another avenue you may want to pursue. Expensive though!

[Gert_8]

I've seen his kits being advertised on ebay. Look very good.

[IB6376CY]

Single zero, those US kits, was there a reason they used synthetic material with leather?
Pehaps more wear resistant, or to keep the cost down. At about half the cost of the German kit it is quite attractive, I'm not that much of a purist. It really comes down to appearances.

[singlezero]

I don't know for sure, I would imagine it's for the reasons you've already raised, but you can always ask them. I thought I'd highlight it as I personally would only want the full leather set, but double check with them first to make sure you know what you're going to get. Post up some pics if you go through with it, would be good to see.