kcr357
Active Member
I bought a 1997 Challenger last summer, good mechanical cond., needed cleaned and new seats. I took them to a local upholsterer after finding out the factory pieces are d/c, they could only tell me that it would be a minimum of 12 hours at $65 an hour, then proceeded to ask me if I could just get pre-cut pieces from Seadoo. Kind of like your accountant asking you if you would be able to just get tax software and do your taxes yourself because the job was too difficult. At this point I decided the hell with it, I'll figure it out myself.
Anyone thinking about the same route, I will share what I have learned so far.
1. After removing all the parts to be recond., remove all the staples and keep all the original parts intact as much as possible.
2. Cut the original stitches (all of them), so you can see how the factory sewed them together. (very tedious, but remember, $65 an hour from a shop)
3. Approximate how much material you will need. Marine nylon ( I use a special type that is extremely flexible, much easier to work with.) comes by the yard. It is 54 inches high by however many yards you order long. I needed 5 yards for my boat @ $19 a yard shipped.
4. Buy a sewing machine and practice. Antiques 1950's and older use all metal gears and stand up to sewing through 3 layers of vinyl, and are cheaper too. Plan on $75 and up.
5. Cut out the patterns and sew them like the factory. Measure twice and sew once...
6. You will need a heavy duty stapler, either elec. or pneumatic. They can cost a lot, but I found one from Surebond for $35 shipped. Use Monel or marine grade staples.
So far I have only done the bottom part of my seats, the top part is going to be MUCH more difficult. I will post more pics and info soon. If all goes will I am going to get licensed and do this to get through school, lots of demand in Ft Laud for this type of work :hurray:
Most importantly, you will need a lot of patience if you are not good with your hands, and if you are not patient you better be good with your hands.
Below are the bottom butt cushions and the part that spans the bottom cushion. The bottom looks like hell because I used a home depot elec stapler. I've since upgraded.
Anyone thinking about the same route, I will share what I have learned so far.
1. After removing all the parts to be recond., remove all the staples and keep all the original parts intact as much as possible.
2. Cut the original stitches (all of them), so you can see how the factory sewed them together. (very tedious, but remember, $65 an hour from a shop)
3. Approximate how much material you will need. Marine nylon ( I use a special type that is extremely flexible, much easier to work with.) comes by the yard. It is 54 inches high by however many yards you order long. I needed 5 yards for my boat @ $19 a yard shipped.
4. Buy a sewing machine and practice. Antiques 1950's and older use all metal gears and stand up to sewing through 3 layers of vinyl, and are cheaper too. Plan on $75 and up.
5. Cut out the patterns and sew them like the factory. Measure twice and sew once...
6. You will need a heavy duty stapler, either elec. or pneumatic. They can cost a lot, but I found one from Surebond for $35 shipped. Use Monel or marine grade staples.
So far I have only done the bottom part of my seats, the top part is going to be MUCH more difficult. I will post more pics and info soon. If all goes will I am going to get licensed and do this to get through school, lots of demand in Ft Laud for this type of work :hurray:
Most importantly, you will need a lot of patience if you are not good with your hands, and if you are not patient you better be good with your hands.
Below are the bottom butt cushions and the part that spans the bottom cushion. The bottom looks like hell because I used a home depot elec stapler. I've since upgraded.
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the way I look at it, if you got a factory look (like I did only after hrs of tweaking)... it's a gratifying job that you probably won't want to tackle again.
