86 replies to this topic

[toppop52]

With properly applied, correct high temp glue and a heat gun used with judicious skill and care, virtually any vinyl is heat-form able. I use to cover car dashboards in my upholstery shop, most with no seams. I don't know how the Bolens seat came, whether it was 1 pc or 2 pc foam, but often it's easier to fit the foam in 2 pieces, bottom and back, or two layers of thinner foam, glued carefully to the pan.

 

I'm going to step back, because 29 Chev doesn't need my help, he does beautiful work! I just thought someone might get a bit of help from my experience.

[29 Chev]

With properly applied, correct high temp glue and a heat gun used with judicious skill and care, virtually any vinyl is heat-form able. I use to cover car dashboards in my upholstery shop, most with no seams. I don't know how the Bolens seat came, whether it was 1 pc or 2 pc foam, but often it's easier to fit the foam in 2 pieces, bottom and back, or two layers of thinner foam, glued carefully to the pan.

 

I'm going to step back, because 29 Chev doesn't need my help, he does beautiful work! I just thought someone might get a bit of help from my experience.

Always great to get input and advise from some one who has worked in the trade - appreciate the input.  I may try and use the heat gun and experiment with it when I get to the stage.  It will probably be warmer when I am ready to make the cover and I can also set the vinyl out in the sun and see how pliable that makes it.

[toppop52]

Start at the lowest point and work out the edges. I'll be watching, because I can learn stuff too!

[29 Chev]

Start at the lowest point and work out the edges. I'll be watching, because I can learn stuff too!

When you say the lowest point are you talking in a wrinkle in the material or at the bottom part of the seat where the pleats would be?   I am also curious as to what tool was actually made and used to spread the outer lip apart where the material is held - did it look similar to what I used or was it a different design? 

 

Thanks

Edited by 29 Chev, April 26, 2016 - 09:47 AM.

[WrenchinOnIt]

Stew, maybe these will help, if you want dimensions of that center embossed area let me know

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[toppop52]

I should have said deepest point not lowest. What you want to avoid is stretching the cover tight over a low spot then having to stretch it into the low area, no matter how much heat and glue, it's likely to come loose there. I line up my cover, then heat, and glue the butt spot as I call it, first. Hope I'm being clear, you have better classroom manner than me. LOL
That looks like a great tool you made! I've had those where the ring was bad and couldn't be reused, in that case I made the cover as usual then added band with a shock cord to pull over the edge and if needed short pop rivets through the band from the outside in.

[29 Chev]

Stew, maybe these will help, if you want dimensions of that center embossed area let me know

Thanks for the pictures - if you could advise the width, length and spacing of the pleated area that would be great.

[29 Chev]

It was cold and damp here today so I postponed cleaning up the yard and did a little bit on the seat pan cleanup instead.  Got rid of most of the rust with wires brushes and found out the pan has a screen door look which I suspected it would.  I spread the lip apart a little bit more so I could get down into the through with a wire brush.  Then I set the heat fairly low on the mig welder and played fill in the dots - got most of them but missed a few.  My intention was to make the areas with the holes solid and I find that the mig welder will find any weak spots as you weld the material.  Once I had welded the rusty area I then filled in the holes around the outer lip area and then started to grind the welds to see what sort of mess I had created.  It didn't turn out too bad in my opinion - will have to weld in a few more pin holes and straighten a few area that distorted with the heat.  Once I get things solid and the outer lip area cleaned up I hope to give the front and back area a light coat of automotive body filler to fill in the imperfections - I want to keep the area where the lip is free of any body filler as it would just crack when I crimp the lip closed so any imperfections in the lip area will be welded and then sanded.  

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[29 Chev]

Welded some more holes, ground the welds, repaired a few holes that showed up when I ground the welds and ground the new welds.  Finally got the seat pan outer lip looking pretty good where the bolt holes were and the rest of it solid with only a few pinholes when I cleaned it up.  Then I used the hammer and dolly to smooth out most of the ripples that occurred from the heat of welding the seat pan  Filled the pitted areas on the front lower section with body filler to smooth them up and hopefully stop the area from rusting again if moisture gets in that area.  While the body filler was setting up I gave the outer edge a light coat of self etching primer.  After the filler hardened I levelled it and sprayed a coat of self etching primer on the front side of the pan - this should stop the rust and provide a reasonably smooth surface to glue the foam to when the time comes. 

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[Chubien]

Glad you're making good progress but too bad the pan was is such bad shape, hopefully the other one will be better!

[29 Chev]

Glad you're making good progress but too bad the pan was is such bad shape, hopefully the other one will be better!

The condition of the pan is making it a bit of a challenge to stay within budget but since they are not overly plentiful we will use it - like you said hopefully the other one will be better  - it appears to have some rust in spots as well - hoping to leave it intact until I see how this one turns out.  I am hoping to get the back of the seat smoothed out and primed this week end - then comes the fun part of gluing the foam in place and then trying to make and fit a cover to all those curves.  May need one of these by the time I am done -

[blackjackjakexxix]

Looking good Stew,nice job

[29 Chev]

Did some more work on the seat pan today - gave it one more wire brushing on the back side in preparation for the body filler.  I decided to go with a metal reinforced filler made by Bondo - it is stronger and cures harder than regular body filler - more money but in my opinion worth it as it feathers nice and does a good job of adhering to less than perfect surfaces.  I applied a light coat, sanded it, applied a second coat, sanded it and applied a third coat and sanded it which made the back of the seat look pretty good.  Gave it about three  coats of sandable primer to fill in the scratches and let it dry for about an hour.  Then I sanded it and gave it another coat of primer and filled in a few imperfections with a light coat of the filler - I use it in place of spot putty as it dries faster and doesn't shrink.  Will let that set up overnight and see how it looks in the morning.    

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[29 Chev]

Sanded the filler and then applied a light coat of gray primer and let it dry.  While the primer was drying I checked out the other seat to see what thickness the original padding was and came up with 1" in most spots.  I took the advice of poptop52 and decided to make the padding out of two 1/2" thick pieces of foam by gluing one to the pan and then gluing the second piece on top of the first piece to create a layered 1" thick cushion. Did some measuring along the curves of the seat pan, cut a piece of foam, marked the centre of the pan and the foam and did a test fit to see if it would form to the curves without having to slit it - it puckered at the two sides near the back so I marked the areas where it was fitting up to on the foam and seat pan and applied glue to them.  I folded the foam in half, clamped it and centred it on the pan with a little overlap at the front.   

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[29 Chev]

I started to stick the foam to the pan by pressing the foam to the pan (using hand pressure) working back from the front at the centre and then out to the edges until it was glued except for the puckered areas.  I tried forming the puckered areas by hand against the seat pan and with a bit of work they looked like they would mould ok so I glued them and the seat pan, let the glue set up and stuck them to the pan with very little puckering.  I then trimmed the foam along the outer edge with a pair of scissors and it looked pretty good in my opinion so I cut another piece and laid it on top for a trial fit.  Things looked good so I marked the outer edge of the seat pan on the foam and applied glue to the second piece of foam as well as the foam glued to the seat pan, folded and clamped the second piece after I marked the centre and stuck it to the foam on the pan starting at the front in the centre and slowly working my way to the back and sides to avoid any major puckers.  Trimmed the edge of the second piece to match the first and took some pictures - the clamps are just sitting there to provide a contrast to show how the foam is formed to the seat pan shape.  The outer edge will need to be smoothed up a little bit but I think it looks not bad.  Then I drew out a pleat pattern and tried it on the foam to see how it would look and give me an idea of how the vinyl will shape to the curves of the pan. 

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