Bench seat reupholstery

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Dartswinger70

Dartswinger70

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I just received notification Legendary is shipping my bench seat upholstery, it should be here Saturday. I wont say how long I waited for it but, it is going to be one of my cold weather projects this winter, to redo both front and rear seats. has anyone done this project with Legendary's materials? any tips suggestions? I worked at a Ford Lincoln dealer 20 years ago and used to disassemble Lincoln seats to replace seat heaters, broken lumbar supports etc. I am fairly familiar with hog rings
 
Personally, I wouldn't do it as a "cold weather" project unless you've got a REALLY warm shop. Virgin vinyl needs to soak in the sun and relax and soften before trying to pull, stretch and tighten it up over the cushions and frames. The warmer the better. At least in my meager experience. My $.02
Good luck! You'll love them when you're done!
 
Professor Fate said:
Personally, I wouldn't do it as a "cold weather" project unless you've got a REALLY warm shop. Virgin vinyl needs to soak in the sun and relax and soften before trying to pull, stretch and tighten it up over the cushions and frames. The warmer the better. At least in my meager experience. My $.02
Good luck! You'll love them when you're done!
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Yes that sounds right. Thanks for your input.
 
Dartswinger70 said:
Yes that sounds right. Thanks for your input.
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done 5 mopar interiors all from legendary good stuff, all were winter projects cover the kitchen table and have at it, i use a heat gun to warm the covers up works well, start with the back seat those are pretty easy, then go to the front, take your time dont try to do all in 1 day.
 
I did the rear bench seat in a 1973 Dart. It was a legendary cover. I bought the hog rings and tool. I did it in my family room. I had no issues stretching the material, but if I didn't have the tool it would have been hard. I didn't have to use heat, but I could see using heat without the tool. Cover fit perfectly, and I've had zero issues in the past year since I did it. I'd get yourself a tool and have at it.
 
Still waiting for my set. I can't recall when I ordered them.....can't remember back that far! :rolleyes:
 
Dartswinger70 said:
I have the hog rings and tool , but with the zip ties, did you have to cut holes for them? Did you have to use a heat gun for wrinkles etc.?
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I poked holes for the zip ties with an awl. The only wrinkles I had was crooked front bead on the back seat. It is still crooked.
 
I used hog rings but I used zip ties to tie the springs together on the back side to give them more strength. They're probably worn out and will feel a million times better if you use a bunch of zip ties to tie them all together. It also helps with wrinkles afterward because if you sit on the seat for a while with worn springs, it'll make the vinyl on the bottom part of the seat look loose compared to the rest of the seat.

There's really not much to upholstery. It helps to have a helping hand here and there but you basically just get your foam in place and then put the vinyl on top inside out and fold it over like a fitted sheet on a bed. Then just make sure you're all square when you start hog ringing. Flip the seat over and check for wrinkles as you go so you know whether to pull the next portion a little tighter or not. I usually start in the center of the seat and hog ring left and right equally to ensure I don't get one corner of the seat so tight to where the other corner doesn't fit properly.

I've never had to use a heat gun but it can get pretty hot where I live. I just install the seat in the car and leave it outside with the windows rolled up on a warm day for a couple hours and it takes the wrinkles out. But honestly you shouldn't have all that many wrinkles when you're done with it anyway. If you do, then you probably don't have enough foam or you didn't have the vinyl pulled tight enough when you hog ringed. I'll use my body weight to compress the frame and springs down when hog ringing and it keeps the vinyl tight when the frame decompresses.
 
I finally got mine as well.

How many layers of cotton for the rear bench top/back rest. The legendary video says 3-5 layers. How about for my 66 B-cuda or another 66 a body?

Thanks
 
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