Five Things Not to Do When Reupholstering Your Vehicle Seats

Posted on: 28 March 2017

If the upholstery on your vehicle seats is wearing out, you may want to reupholster it. If you've never done an upholstery project before, there are several mistakes you may want to avoid. Check out this list of things not to do.

1. Don't Use Regular Fabric

Theoretically, you can cover your vehicle seats with any type of material, but you should focus on materials that fight wear and tear. In particular, you should buy upholstery fabric, leather, vinyl or another sturdy material. In some cases, you can buy vehicle seat cover kits that come with the fabric you need cut to size for your vehicle, and then you just do the installation work.

2. Don't Just Recover the Seat

When addressing issues with your upholstery, you may want to check out if your vehicle seat has other issues. Check out the foam and the springs. If they are worn, you should consider replacing them. You can strip most vehicle seats down to the frame. Then you can clean and repaint the frame, replace springs as needed, add foam and finally put on the seat covers.

3. Don't Base Your Measurements for the New Foam on Your Old Foam

If you decide to replace the foam on your seats, don't use the thickness of your existing foam as the guiding measurement. If the seat is old, this foam has likely compressed over time. Instead, when cutting a new piece of foam or rubber, make sure that it is thicker than your old foam. This adds extra comfort to your seat.

4. Don't Assume Doing It Yourself Is the Cheapest Option

In many cases, adding seat covers on your own can be the most cost effective option, but it isn't always the cheapest option, especially if you have to invest in tools. Before buying a kit or the items you need to repair your car seats, you may want to get a few quotes from vehicle seat upholstery professionals.

5. Don't Forget to Consider Easy-to-Use Seat Covers

Instead of reupholstering your car seats, you may just want to slip a fitted cover over them. You can buy custom seat covers designed for your make and model of car. Many of these covers slip over the seat and cling to them. That can create a professional looking effect without the need to sew or spend a lot of time on this project.

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