Seat Recovering 101 with Cosmic Quads.

[Mosh]

*** All images and text in this article are sole property and protected under (2008) Copyright OF Rob And Tammy Mosher and Cosmicquads.com. 11-27-2008 ****
****Images and text are not to be redistributed or altered without express written consent of the above named.*****

1) The best tools for the job.
2) Repairing of simple foam problems.
3) The proper materials
4) Proper prep work
5) A tried method for getting a wrinkle free end product, while retaining the stock sharp line.

Let's get started.



Here are the basic tools for the job.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic1.jpg

These are the proper staples to use.You want use a plated staple or Stainless staple to cut down on rusting.These are shown next to a peny to reference staple depth.Too long of staples will ruin foam and vinyl as shown below.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/properstaplesize.jpg

This is a pic of foam that has been murdered, by too long of staples.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/longstapledamage.jpg

Lets get started then.
We will be doing a TRX 250R seat.
Here is what we have to start with

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/seatbeginning.jpg
notice the dingy pan with over spray from paint on it.
Remove the foam and use Super Clean or the like and clean the pan.
A brillo pad works good for removing overspray.
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/seatstep1.jpg

[Mosh]

After cleaning the pan, We will remove the old staples and inspect the pan for problems that may hurt the vinyl.
Staple removal. Use the flatblade screwdriver to pry up the staples then some pliers to remove the rest of the wire.


http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic2.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/seatrestoinfo040.jpg

These angled needle nose pliers work the best..
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/step3.jpg

Next,look the pan over for rough edges that may tear the vinyl.
This pan had some burs on the edges.
Lightly scrape them off with a razor blade, then hit them with some sandpaper to smooth the edges out.This will help prevent the vinyl from wearing thru the pan prematurely.
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/pandamage.jpg

Lets move onto foam inspection and repair now that the pan is preped.

[Mosh]

This foam is old and original, but useable for the guy on the budget.

Here you will see what the wrong staples do to the foam.
It will actually crater the foam on the outside, cuasing a bad finish on the product.
These are some economical easy tips,to repair the foam imperfections for a daily rider.
A restoration job should get new foam unless the stock foam is MINT.

STAPLE DAMAGE!!!!!!
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/seatrestoinfo034.jpg

Here is why Seamed aftermarket off the shelf Seat Covers suck!
The Seams actually indent the foam and cuase low spots and staining of the foam.
Anytime you can, if you care about your machine, you will want to use a one piece cover to avoid these lines from seamed covbers.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic3.jpg

Notice the denting of the foam form those seems.



Next lets attack the craters in the seat foam.


http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/foamfix.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m40/cosmicquads/seat%20how%20to/foamfix2.jpg

These are simple cost effective ways to re-use damaged foam.
Our restoration seats have more steps into making them Nice as possible.

Lets move on to covering the seat, now that the foam has been repaired to a useable level.
But you will loose the sharp lines of the factory seat style.

[Mosh]

First use quality marine grade vinyl.
Do not use the type with felt backing.It is week and will crack in cold weather.
Lay the vinyl over you seat,and cut out the sape of the seat leaving about a 3-4 inch over hang.
The more over hang of material you have, the harder it is to work with.
Once I have my piece sized, I center it and tack it in the middle of the pan at one side.

I use a East, West, and North, South method to tack my seats.Once you get these areas tacked properly, the rest starts to fall into place.
Working from one end or side of the seat at once is much harder and will warp the pan unevenly.
One front corner may be crooked if you do not use this method of East West,and North and South.
I start with the sides of the seat ,then tack the front and back areas last.

First tacks.


http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic4.jpg

Next flip the seat over and center your vinyl.
Use the hair dryer to warm the vinyl and pull it semi tight across the other side.


http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic5.jpg

Tack it in the same place,opposite of your first tacking.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic6.jpg

Next heat the center area of the seat.The vinyl should be heated hot to the touch, but not so much it melts the vinyl.
You will feel it stretch easier as the heat sets in.
Pull the rear of the vinyl so the center of the seat becomes smooth and tack in the center rear pan of the seat.
This will be the "South" Posistion of tacking.


http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic7.jpg

Next you will do the "North" Tack or the top of the seat.
Once again HEAT HEAT HEAT is your friend.
Heat the dip arear of the seat and pull the vinyl tight at the top.
Dont pull too hard or you will warp the front of your pan and it will hang up too high in the front of the machine leaving a gap.


http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic8.jpg

You can see how it starts to smooth out in this pic.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic9.jpg

Next tack that top of the seat in the center and pull the front edge corners up and around, and tack those, like this...

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic10.jpg

Now we will move on to the front dip area and the rear corners.

[Mosh]

Ok now we have the seat tacked,and we will wrap it up.

The front will have some major air pockest in the "Dip" area of the seat.Heat, HEAT, HEAT, these areas one side at a time and pull them tight down around the front side of the seat.Do one side,then repeat the other.
Grasp the vinyl after you heat it and pull it down around,while using your other hand to push the wrinkles down under the pan.Staple 3 or so staples.
Repeat with the oposite side.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic11.jpg

You always want to leave your self som areas under the seat not stapled,so that if you have a small buble or wrinkle you can push it out later where you left yourself some room to work.
Once you attack the front dip area, your seat will look like this and you are ready to attack the rear corners.The hardest part...
At this time I have maybe 15 staples in the whole seat, and it looks this decent.
Only staple what you have to to get to this point.That way you have room to work any wrinkles out later.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic12.jpg

Now we will do the rear corners.......

Most guys pull too tight at the back edge and it smashes the corners.
Seats with very soft foam will be hard to avoid.But you can minimize the squishing by using this method.

HEAT HEAT HEAT a baseball sized area at the top rear corner of the seat.
This will make the vinyl strecth better before it crushes the edge of the foam.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic14.jpg

As you heat the corner, gently pull around the bottom corner of the pan, minimizing the bunching.
Make it bunch even.
In other words, you want there to be an equal amount of bubbles,or wrinkles, on the back of the seat,and that back side of the seat.
This method will make it easier to smooth the bunches out after you get the corner done.Keep an eye on the top corner of the foam, to make sure you are not smashing it too much.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic13.jpg

Notice the EVEN amount of bunching I have on both edges in this pic below.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic15.jpg

Pull your edge down under the back corner of the pan, and apply 2 staples.
Make a fold under the pan in the corner area.
This will strenghten the vinyl as you staple it.


This is the pic of the bottom corner attaching.
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic16.jpg

Repeat these steps on the other back corner next..
And we are ready to finish the back and side panels.

[Mosh]

Now we will finish up...
Your seat should look like this after the corners are done.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic17.jpg

At this time,there may be some minor wrinkles around the seat that need smoothed out.
That is where using the minimal amount of staples in the first steps comes into play.
Heat all areas and work them smooth and finish stapling.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic18.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic19.jpg

Once you have the wrinkles out, remove your starting tacks and finish those areas off.

Trim you extra vinyl away.

Notice I dont use a million staples.
When I first started doing seats, I used to many staples.But after years of practice, I found less is more and gives a cleaner look.
The cover will be just as strong.
I leave about an inch or so between my staple points.


http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic20.jpg.

Whoala.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x420/otrovez/seatcover/cosmic21.jpg


Ok you can post now.I am done.:)

[atc vending guy]

thanks for the info mosh,your pics were great and very step by step instructions.after the turkey today ill be making my list to get tomorrow:headbang:

[Dammit!]

Excellent write up! I definitely need a lot of practice to get to where you are. The couple I have done look fine from the top but underneath there's no comparison. The first one especially was like Staple Hell. :lmao:

I did come up with one neat little trick though. Instead of using staples to tack the vinyl down in the initial stages I used clamps like this.

http://www.toolstation.com/images/library/stock/webbig/14106.jpg

I found 7-10 of these can make life a lot easier. Especially if you're stuck using a manual stapler.

Again, awesome thread. These boards need more if this type of thorough information sharing.

[X053]

Nice write up Mosh! :thumbsup:
I still say the best way is to box it up and send it to the pros! :headbang:
And I used to do upholstery, building massage tables. :slap:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/X053/DR_rt_800.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/X053/DR_lt_800.jpg

[wild200x]

i was trying to cover one recently. i got frustrated! heat HEAT HEAT! that is what i was lacking. i pulled and pulled and had my fingers realy hurting. i used some heat but was afaid i would pull the vinal apart if i heated as much as i can see you did. i will be trying again soon. Thanx. i still think i will send one to you this winter though! Missy wants a custom job.
i was gonna ask if you guys did tank covers. i kinda want to cover the white desert tank. it looks all wrong on the Alien. the seat you did for that trike is holding up as well or better than most anything else i have doen. thanx again!
Ted

[Mosh]

Tank covers we were going to do.
We still may do them,but not sure at this point.

One reason I posted this thread,Is honestly we have been too busy to take on any more Restorations.
I doubt we will be doing stock restorations much longer.
We probably will, but they will get restored and listed on Ebay, as we have time to do them.

The custom stuff,we will still do as custom orders.

I honestly cant say about the tank covers???
Even if we did them,I have stock patterns here,but no desert tank patterns.

Good to hear yours still looks good Wild.
Thanks

[mymint87]

WOW......excellent write up and unselfish contribution of :hail: valuble knowledge

MAJOR props:hail:



ever think about doing padded light covers to fit oem headlight housings?

I think they would look cool with a stencil on em and may serve a practicle purpose to those who ride in rocky terrain, cuz it may deter a roosted rock from shattering your headlight

make sense or an idiots rambling?

[Gdkarma]

EXCELLENT step-by-step instructions! Thanks for all the information, it will come in handy for many folks out there.:thumbsup:

[mymint87]

moving the awesome scoop and sticking the goo:hail:

[FlyingW]

Excellent.....Thank you very much. Now I know what I've been doing wrong

[NOS_350X]

Cool, Some good tips there, i have recovered several seat myself and they always come out like crap. Useable but like crap.

Now the foam is wasted on my 350x, where can i get foam that i can shape myself OR already done from you?

[Mosh]

Cool, Some good tips there, i have recovered several seat myself and they always come out like crap. Useable but like crap.

Now the foam is wasted on my 350x, where can i get foam that i can shape myself OR already done from you?
Well Hi-flite was the best for that,and we used them alot.
But he sold the company 3 months ago.
We placed a order with the new owners over a month ago,and it has not even been shipped yet:doh:

Needless to say, I am less than impressed.
Over 2 years or so, we used to order 10 foams a month from the old owner,and had our items in 7 days.

I have used other model foams and shaved them to fit.

Water cooled 250r foams will fit pretty nice on 350x pans.

[fire1]

so are you selling seat covers with the 250r writing on them .very nice work

[wild200x]

i just covered one! you are right about the back corners being the hardest. i do have some wrinkles at the bottom there. i will post a pic up later so you can look and give instruction on what i could do during the process to help stop this. i did it in white as i had some and real just wanted to try it. it is an 86 250r seat.

[wild200x]

Here's is my covered seat. What ya think for a first try?

18872

18873

18874

i tried but wasent to happy w/the one corner. the other is o.k. but not perfect. i realy did not need this cover. just practicing. but i would like to know where i made the flaw that caused me to not be able to get that corner.

[Stealthduner]

Well Hi-flite was the best for that,and we used them alot.
But he sold the company 3 months ago.
We placed a order with the new owners over a month ago,and it has not even been shipped yet:doh:

Needless to say, I am less than impressed.
Over 2 years or so, we used to order 10 foams a month from the old owner,and had our items in 7 days.

I have used other model foams and shaved them to fit.

Water cooled 250r foams will fit pretty nice on 350x pans.

What all needs to be done to make the 250R foam adapt to the 350X pan?

[X053]

Good Job Ted! :thumbsup:
I would say just a little more streching and pulling and work those wrinkles to the other side before you staple.
I'm sure Rob and Tammy might have a little more advice! ;)

[wild200x]

i think i should have streached the back further on my first tacks there??i tried to streach them down th side but did not leave enough room i guess. idk why the other sidecame out better??

[Mosh]

Ok the 350x foam question...
I dont remember exactly the mods for putting R foam on the X pan.
but they are minimal. I want to say they go right on there.

This( Got balls silver seat on Our web page) has 86 R foam on a 350x pan,and I didnt have to add any.I just set the 86 R foam and shaved it out for the drag style hump in the back.
http://www.cosmicquads.com/8482.html

Wild, it looks good for a first attempt. Like I said in the post,it will take some practice.
It looks to me like you did not pull the slack around the corners of the pan evenly. You may have had too much slack on the side,making it harder to remove those wrinkles at the bottom.
Either that, or some vinyls are just hard to work with.So maybe it was the material you are using.

[Mosh]

so are you selling seat covers with the 250r writing on them .very nice work

Yes.
A restoration on your seat,if your foam is good is $135.00 shipped back to you..
Ship us the seat we do the rest.

A replacement cover (pre-fitted with seams) and logos you install yourself, is $75 shipped.

[ADW3]

GREAT THREAD! Thanks again Moshman! :thumbsup: :hail: :headbang:


and I couldn't agree more about Verde.

[wild200x]

thanx again. i realy learned alot. i could not even cover an R seat before this thread. i need a better stapler as it was hard in some spots to get the stapler in there and i tapped them in after the stapler.

[ADW3]

i need a better stapler as it was hard in some spots to get the stapler in there and i tapped them in after the stapler.
I'm with you on that Ted. I even bought an electric Stanley staple gun and still had some problems with them not fully penetrating the plastic base (and then having to tap them in or try again). :doh: Any tips on that Mosh?

[Mosh]

Air works the best ADW...

[ADW3]

Air works the best ADW...
Roger that - thanks again for the write-up! :thumbsup:

[Sacto-Rider]

This is a great thread!

I also tried the Stanley 1/2 crown electric stapler and it would not go through my 250sx seat pan.

I searched for a pneumatic air stapler and had a hard time finding one for a reasonable price. I think that the 1/2 crown staples are preferred, so I recently ordered the 1/2 crown stapler from Harbor Freight for $19.99 plus shipping.

Here's a pic of it. Hopefully it works and has enough "punch" to get through the plastic seat pan.

[wonderboy]

Can anyone recommend a good source for seat vinyl material? I've searched the web and the choices are endless. I'm redoing (or rather want to redo) the seat on my 85 350X. I'd like to hear what sources people have found for an accurate blue and durable material.

Thanks!

[crkdltr]

I'm curious if anyone has the original images saved and could rehost them for this article?

Thanks

[FlyingW]

send moshman355 and ask him. This was his writeup.

[ADW3]

I'm curious if anyone has the original images saved and could rehost them for this article?

Thanks
I've talked to Mosh about it and we're going to try and get them up soon.

In the meantime, well...I'm for sure no Rob or Tammy but I have to give a MAJOR high five to Mr. Mosh for helping me out with my 1st attempt at covering a seat the right way!

It's a 1984 200X seat that was in pretty rough shape. Here's a couple of "before" shots:

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0080640x480.jpg

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0081640x480.jpg

The foam was pretty rough:

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/SDC10122640x480.jpg

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/SDC10123640x480.jpg

So I patched it up with some scrap foam pieces and masking tape:

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0148640x480.jpg

Then I got some 1/2" foam from the local Jo-Ann, etc. store (boy, did I feel weird in that place!) and cut it to a basic fit:

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0149640x480.jpg

Next I stapled the new foam to the pan (over the old foam):

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0150640x480.jpg

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0151640x480.jpg

Then it was time for the vinyl (again, from Jo-Ann):

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0152640x480.jpg

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/SDC10124640x480-1.jpg

Trying my best to follow Mosh's instructions step by step I started to make some progress:

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0153640x480.jpg

Mosh is definitely right about it taking some practice, though. Man, this is freakin' HARD! But listen to Mosh and remember that heat is your friend! Also, the pneumatic staple gun is the ONLY way to go!




After a couple of hours or so and more than a few golf words it was finally done:

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0154640x480.jpg

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0155640x480.jpg

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0156640x480.jpg

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0157640x480.jpg


Nowhere near as nice as the ones that the Mosh's do but not too bad for my 1st try, I guess. Total investment = $16 for 1 yd. of vinyl and $5 for 1 yd. of 1/2" foam (it was on sale.) I won't count the cost of the staple gun since I know I'll use it for other projects, but it was only $40 shipped off of Amazon.com. Thanks again to Rob Mosh and Cosmic Quads for their help with this!!!

[RapidRick]

I believe I've got the original thread. If he can't I'll try.

[thefox]

ADW3, what stapler do you have?

I looked up this thread a couple of weeks ago and tried to recover one of my zinger seats but the Stanley electric stapler from Lowes wouldn't cut it. I returned it and have yet to get an air stapler.

[ADW3]

ADW3, what stapler do you have?

I looked up this thread a couple of weeks ago and tried to recover one of my zinger seats but the Stanley electric stapler from Lowes wouldn't cut it. I returned it and have yet to get an air stapler.

It's actually on sale now for $30 - :doh: - still with free shipping :yup:

CLICK HERE (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EOJPC6/ref=ox_ya_oh_product)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000EOJPC6/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=228013&s=hi

It works great and it uses standard T-50 staples! :headbang:

[ADW3]

Here's the seat mounted on the fender:


http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/DSCN0165.jpg



Yeah, the fender is a real POS, especially now that it's got that shiny new seat on it, but it's all I got. :shrug:



Note the Frankentrike sutures:



http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd347/Vol_Fan/Trike_and_Bike_PICS/SDC10083640x480.jpg

:doh:

[fordnut79]

looks real good

[Speedway73]

Very nice work guys.

Mosh....What about us guys that have the notorious metal pans like on the '83 Honda ATC 110's?? If the pan isn't rusted out...the little barbs that hold the seat cover on are.

Nobody makes a replacement pan for the '83-'85 110's.

PM sent.

[nut]

wheres the pictures from the original write-up???? :wtf:

[mmartin]

:lmao: :thumbsup: :chuckle: I cant believe how good my seat turned out. Not one wrinkle. This was definitly one of the more challenging projects that I have taken on in the process of getting my trike the way I want it. But definitly worth it:)

[wild200x]

very nice! you did better than i have.

[mmartin]

Thanks man that means a lot coming from you. It took a lot of heat and a lot of stretching especially in the corners. I should have took some pics through out the process but I never expected it to come out that good. I used the pics from ADW3 as a template to follow. even the 1/2" foam sheet wrapped around it first and took my time I think start to finish was about 3 days (a couple hours a night). It was a lot of work but definitly worth it

[FlyingW]

Very well done. That did turn out good... I have my seat to do this weekend.

[ADW3]

WOW! :shocked: You're right, that turned out GREAT!!!! :headbang:

[mmartin]

Thanks to fire1 helping me out with the stencils I'm finally done with it. And it looks awesome
:thumbsup:

[wild200x]

very nice Mike.

[ADW3]

:hail: :hail: :hail: Mr. Honda himself couldn't have done any better!!! :hail: :hail: :hail:

[fire1]

looks good nice job