My half-assed Seat Recover
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 10:57 am
This is a rewrite. What I wrote last night I "saved draft". However, after I found the area to control drafts, none was found. So I have started again.
I watched a few videos and went to JoAnne’s Fabrics so all set, right?
Wrong. I did not buy the best vinyl, and saw a half assed video.
The marine vinyl stretches only in one direction. For best results, order
Some four-way stretch vinyl. If you use the 20$/yd marine vinyl I chose,
Orient the vinyl so it stretches across the seat instead of end to end.
Second mistake. A video instructed me to stretch the vinyl tightly from end to end as a starting point. This will bow the base, and your seat WILL be lifted up on the front and the back. Some people indicate that such a job
Will correct itself after some riding and exposure to the sun. I have my doubts. Most of the stretching should be done laterally, from side to side.
Practice with a heatgun on a piece of scrap so you know how close to get and how long you can keep heat at one area so as to not scorch the vinyl. The video claimed that if the vinyl does not conform to the area behind the lip up front, all one needs to do it to remove a few staples and keep on stretching. But if you make it too tight, the vinyl lifts off the surface of the dipped area. Better perhaps to have adhesive under this area, to use some heat, and to do a lot of hand conforming and smoothing rather than to stretch the hell out of it.
Third. I did not use spray fabric adhesive. The video stated that this was
Used to keep the seat cover from slipping when riding. You don’t need it for that, but I think it would help with keeping the vinyl tight to the sharply curved area right behind the nose, and to a less troublesome area, the dip right In front of the pillion transition. I did not find it necessary to sand the top oxidized surface off; the foam was in good shape and plenty soft as it was.
#4. Wrong staple gun. I have three Bostich “heavy duty” mechanical staplers. NOT STRONG ENOUGH. Use a electric or air stapler. Smaller models will be easier to handle.
Five. Wrong staples. I used the right length, ¼ “. But the staples were very narrow. These hold as well as a wider staple, but invites on to shoot too many. These will be hell to get out when you decide you want to restretch an area or redo the saddle again. Best to do it as Yamaha did,
With a wide staples spaced about 1 ¼” apart. There were about 50 staples in the saddle originally.
Six and last. Improper stapling sequence. After the ends are secured with
2-3 staples on each end, work begins on the sides. I staples one side down and then went to stretch and staple on the other side. A better way might be to do a couple staples on one side, and then alternate to the other, going back and forth working down the length.
I hope that these tips will help someone do a better job. Mine did not turn out stupid bad, but it sure would be nice to have the vinyl tight down to the surface of the foam at all points.
I watched a few videos and went to JoAnne’s Fabrics so all set, right?
Wrong. I did not buy the best vinyl, and saw a half assed video.
The marine vinyl stretches only in one direction. For best results, order
Some four-way stretch vinyl. If you use the 20$/yd marine vinyl I chose,
Orient the vinyl so it stretches across the seat instead of end to end.
Second mistake. A video instructed me to stretch the vinyl tightly from end to end as a starting point. This will bow the base, and your seat WILL be lifted up on the front and the back. Some people indicate that such a job
Will correct itself after some riding and exposure to the sun. I have my doubts. Most of the stretching should be done laterally, from side to side.
Practice with a heatgun on a piece of scrap so you know how close to get and how long you can keep heat at one area so as to not scorch the vinyl. The video claimed that if the vinyl does not conform to the area behind the lip up front, all one needs to do it to remove a few staples and keep on stretching. But if you make it too tight, the vinyl lifts off the surface of the dipped area. Better perhaps to have adhesive under this area, to use some heat, and to do a lot of hand conforming and smoothing rather than to stretch the hell out of it.
Third. I did not use spray fabric adhesive. The video stated that this was
Used to keep the seat cover from slipping when riding. You don’t need it for that, but I think it would help with keeping the vinyl tight to the sharply curved area right behind the nose, and to a less troublesome area, the dip right In front of the pillion transition. I did not find it necessary to sand the top oxidized surface off; the foam was in good shape and plenty soft as it was.
#4. Wrong staple gun. I have three Bostich “heavy duty” mechanical staplers. NOT STRONG ENOUGH. Use a electric or air stapler. Smaller models will be easier to handle.
Five. Wrong staples. I used the right length, ¼ “. But the staples were very narrow. These hold as well as a wider staple, but invites on to shoot too many. These will be hell to get out when you decide you want to restretch an area or redo the saddle again. Best to do it as Yamaha did,
With a wide staples spaced about 1 ¼” apart. There were about 50 staples in the saddle originally.
Six and last. Improper stapling sequence. After the ends are secured with
2-3 staples on each end, work begins on the sides. I staples one side down and then went to stretch and staple on the other side. A better way might be to do a couple staples on one side, and then alternate to the other, going back and forth working down the length.
I hope that these tips will help someone do a better job. Mine did not turn out stupid bad, but it sure would be nice to have the vinyl tight down to the surface of the foam at all points.