Can anybody tell me how to do it? I know how to do everything except seats.
2004 Ecotec Cavalier 9.9 in the 1/8th mile. 15.7 in the 1/4 mile.
i dont think this is quite something that can be taught over the internet.
when you say you know how to do everything except seats....what does that mean? what can you wrap?
wrapping somethng like a headliner or rear deck, etc is completely different
Goto this site and watch the slide show of my car and it will explain what I can do, and why I need my seats done.
http://www.myspace.com/extreme_measures
2004 Ecotec Cavalier 9.9 in the 1/8th mile. 15.7 in the 1/4 mile.
well i cant see the pics from work, but the abridged version......pull your seats apart, trace the current fabric sections and make templates for the new material, cut new material, sew together, and slip on seats
Joey Baggs (Eazy716) wrote:well i cant see the pics from work, but the abridged version......pull your seats apart, trace the current fabric sections and make templates for the new material, cut new material, sew together, and slip on seats
In which sounds a lot easier than it actually is
^^absolutely....idk about you, but i cant sew, lol
heres a little something for ya that i grabbed from one of the other forums im on
Quote:
Ok, when I get a chance I will post a sticky tutorial on some upholstery techniques. It will be a-while I am going nuts with work.
Upholstery work is not difficult, it takes a-lot of patience, practice & the right Sewing Machine/Motor set-up. If you have the machine/motor combo you can sew faster, better and more consistently.
I have 9 machines @ my shop, "a little weird" I know but they all do something different compared to the other machines, etc.
I have 1 Adler, 4 Pfaff's 4 Consews. In this list of machines 2 of the 4 Consews are long arms one is a 30" and the other a 25" Long arm machines are worth every penny ! Ask and upholster about a long arm machine and if they don't own one the will tell you they wish they did !
These machines are expensive, even the cheaper ones. But this is the most important piece of shop equipment you can purchase, and they hardly loose their value.
I can go on forever about this topic but it boils down to the type of machine, depth of machine, a.k.a. "the throat" how deep you can sew. And the motor that drives the machine.
The motor is the most important part of the machine for control. The hardest thing to learn is controlling the machine. Once you have mastered this your seams and stitches will look beautiful !
There are basically 3 types of motors used:
1.) Clutch Motor
This is old school technology, very hard to control and well just "old school" All-though it is cheap around 125 bucks it sucks for precision when stitching.
Works like this: The motor consantly spins a pressure plate and when you push the treadle down it engages a clutch disk that is connected to a pully that connects to the machine via a v-belt. So you have to feather the treadle all the time. Or you will sew max speed real quickly.
2.) Servo Motor
This is good, much more control. It is a DC motor that is electronically controlled and you can set the max speed via a switch on the side. These are replacing the old clutch motors Cost is around 125 to 250 dollars.
3.) Servo Motor with Needle Positioner
This my friends is the Mack-Daddy of them all
Works like the servo motor above. But the machine has an encoder on the hand-wheel and it knows where the machine is at, at all times. Ok so what does this mean, well if you want to sew 1 stitch you can. When you let you foot off of the treadle the needle stays down until you want it up. It is completely programmable you can sew as fast or as slow as you want. 1 stitch at a time or 1000/min whatever. Now this is not cheap around 1000 dollars just for the motor and controller but it is worth every penny.
With this set-up and little practice you can sew exactly the way you want too, in a very short time like hours not weeks or days.
Ok, I got to get to work but here are my favorite upholstery books, they are a must have
AUTOMOTIVE UPHOLSTERY HANDBOOK
DON TAYLOR ISBN 1-931128-00-6
CUSTOM AUTO INTERIORS
RON MANGUS/ DON TAYLOR ISBN 1-931128-18-9
CUSTOM AUTO UPHOLSTERY
JOHN MARTIN LEE ISBN 0-87938-323-2
HOW TO RESTORE AUTO UPHOLSTERY
JOHN MARTIN LEE ISBN 0-87938-948-6
sndsgood wrote:there are something just worth paying a pro to do. seats is one of them.
Amen.
There are companies that sell covers pre made, you need a tool to remove and install clips on them, but the end result is professional quality. I dont think they make them for cavs though, so we are all sol.
Mark wrote:sndsgood wrote:there are something just worth paying a pro to do. seats is one of them.
Amen.
There are companies that sell covers pre made, you need a tool to remove and install clips on them, but the end result is professional quality. I dont think they make them for cavs though, so we are all sol.
they actually do. Katzkins(sp?) makes factory replacement covers in any materials you choose. super high quality stuff, but alot of $....but in the end its worth it for a quality product
how much?
Im searching but not finding anything.
I know somebody that put them in an eclipse, front and back in leather was 675 or so.
Mark wrote:Nvm, found the site (i spelled it wrong... heh)
http://www.katzkin.com/05/FC/mainFS.html
You can't purchase through that site. They really only sell directly to professionals and resalers.
Here is a site that sells them.
http://www.shopsar.com/v/LeatherStep1.htm
A set for my '04 Fire is roughly $800 after s&h for the skin. Another site has them for close to $900 before s&h. Minus the tools I need to properly do it. There are reupholsters shops near me that sell and install Katzkin. So I would much rather contact them and have them do it. If it costs close to $800 for the skin, I really don't want it to look like a$$ if I mess up somehow, especially if it might cost a shop to do it for maybe $1000? They are pre-made kits that just need to be applied. At least it is on their hands if it doesn't come out good.
Just my thoughts though. I think someone here did Katzkins one time themselves. Can't remember who, but it looked pretty BA.
Here is a site to plan out your Katzkins if you go that route.
http://www.autoleathers.com/HTML2/AL.MAIN.FS.html
I agree, and personaly, I would rather not have leather in my Cav. Its an econo box, it just wouldent seem right.
It would be pretty unique, as not many jays have full leather stockers.
