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Thread: I did a thing.

  1. #571
    Ninja Messiah kung fu jesus's Avatar
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    OK, prepare your loins this will be a multi-part post.

    Lets start with the old seats...

    I landed a pair of black MSM seats with silver accent stitching a few years back. I had these in my NA, transferred them to my NB before I sold it off.

    They are nice. They sit higher, but firmer and comfortable. I condition them regularly, but even so, the leather is a bit on the stiff side. They also suffer the 'infamous' flattening bolster on the outboard side that some companies like Paco and IL Motorsport sell bolt on supports for. I was never a fan, so I decided the best course of action was to refurbish the foam.

    It's a pretty labor intensive job, but not difficult. I bought a $40 household steam cleaner on Amazon and went to work. I separated the seats into their components:

    IMG_1788.jpg

    IMG_1789.jpg

    Using snips and dykes, I cut off the perimeter hog rings that hold the upholstery to the base:

    IMG_1794.jpg

    I didn't touch the center sections. My goal was to restore the shape of the foam bolsters and re-align the seams. This top view shows how the the bolster foam compressed/collapsed and the seam slipped over the peak. It looks like a bloated tick.

    IMG_1799.jpg

    I lifted up the upholstery and and applied steam, using distilled water. Cue soundtrack:



    IMG_1814.jpg

    Here is a quick video, hard to shoot but you can see how much volume comes back with a few quick shots of steam. Repeated, I got quite a bit more and it sort of reminded me of a marshmallow in a microwave. ;)



    After allowing it to dry a bit, I reassembled, cleaned the leather, and moisturized. There was an indentation on the back, near the top where my rollbar presses into the seat. I pushed one of the steamer attachments under the cover, and a 5-10 second shot eliminated that sizeable 'dent'.

    Here is a before/after of the seat bottom:

    IMG_1802.jpg

    IMG_1823.jpg

    I repeated the process with the passenger seat (left below), completed driver's seat on the right:

    IMG_1827 (Edited).jpg

    Finished product:

    IMG_1831.jpg

    IMG_1834.jpg

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  3. #572
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    The leather seats were a trial run for the intended change; switching to cloth seats.

    I have considered re-upholstering a set to match the red carpet, but I have bigger fish to fry. I looked closely at the red & black cloth seats from an '04 Mazdaspeed Miata and I could tell those would be pretty close match. I underestimated how rare those seats are and I let a pair local to me slip away. I saw another pair pop up about 100 miles south of me and I pulled the trigger. These were by no means mint, but I knew I could restore them. The coverings were in good condition. This was the pic from the ad:


    73321661_3022714451077839_8319564734269489152_o.jpg

    I could tell there were issues, but I worked with upholstery before.

    I got them home and got to work.

    IMG_1842.jpg

    IMG_1843.jpg

    IMG_1845.jpg

    The passenger seat was in very good condition, just needed some cleaning. The driver seat was a bit haggard under the cover. Besides being very dirty, some of the foam on the outboard seat bolster had deteriorated. I stripped off the coverings on that seat, doused them with cleaner, and literally threw them in the washing machine (front load washer - much more forgiving than a top-loader with an agitator) set to "sanitize" I used Woolite in the washer and it was a bit of a risk to clean them this way, but they came out minty-clean! No, I did not throw them in the dryer. ;) Doing so would have been too harsh.

    While the coverings were being washed, I addressed the seat foam. Here is what I was working with:

    IMG_1847.jpg

    Looks horrible but it isn't. I sketched area I was going to cut out and replace, the outer line was for the blending layer.

    IMG_1848.jpg

    IMG_1849.jpg

    I've designed furniture for many years, mostly contract office furniture. Office chairs are very similar to automotive seats. I was able to find all I needed (surprisingly) at Walmart: an electric carving knife ($14), a 24x18x2" high-density quality urethane upholstery pad ($7), a roll of 24"x72"x1/2" of regular density foam ($15?), and a can of Loctite heavy duty spray adhesive ($7). Everything expect the carving knife was in the sewing/crafts section. I didn't need much of the foam, but who knows, I have dogs and they are tough on their beds.

    I cut the bad section from the bolster with the electric knife.

    IMG_1850.jpg

    IMG_1851.jpg

    Eyeballed the section I needed of the new foam.

    IMG_1852.jpg

    To be continued...

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  5. #573
    Ninja Messiah kung fu jesus's Avatar
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    Cut a relief in the back to encapsulate the form wire.

    IMG_1853.jpg

    Sprayed the perimeter of the new piece and the hole with the glue, gave it a quick blast with the heat gun to speed the cure, and stuffed the new piece in the hole. I leveled the new foam with a grinding wheel on an angle grinder. A word of advice, this is an aggressive tool for this job, so I was delicate and made a lot of light passes. It goes pretty quick.

    IMG_1854.jpg

    To blend the two pieces and add bit of buffer, I cut a piece of the 1/2" foam with scissors, added glue to both the seat and this piece, laid it over the bolster.

    IMG_1855.jpg

    Some more shaping with the grinder and sand paper, and it looked spot on.

    I steamed the remaining parts, including the seat back, reinstalled the covers.

    IMG_1846.jpg

    IMG_1856.jpg

    IMG_1857.jpg

    After a little more steaming, I assembled the driver seat.

    IMG_1859.jpg

    Then I applied cleaner to the passenger seat, steamed spots and stains, repeated. Pretty gross.

    IMG_1874.jpg

    IMG_1865.jpg

    After dirt stopped coming out, I let them both dry a little, and reinstalled them in the car.

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  7. #574
    Ninja Messiah kung fu jesus's Avatar
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    I was a little worried the colors might mismatch too much. The lighting in the garage wasn't helping, but I was pleased.

    IMG_1862.jpg

    IMG_1863.jpg

    IMG_1867.jpg

    IMG_1869.jpg

    IMG_1872.jpg

    Then I was relieved when I got it outside in the (overcast) daylight.

    IMG_1876.jpg

    I totally dig it.



    First impressions, and I'll take a measurement later, but I DEFINITELY sit lower and further back. I'm 6' with a 34" inseam so I can use all the extra headroom I can get. The seats are more soft and springy, it reminds me on an NA cloth seat. The fabric is faaaaarrrrrr grippier too, so I'm not bracing with my legs as I corner, which will take some getting used to. All in all, super happy.

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  9. #575
    Super Moderator Bryan's Avatar
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    So you sit lower? Even without a foamectomy? Is it just because the foam has expanded and now compresses more easily?
    Quote Originally Posted by DazedAndConfused
    I dont know a word you just said, but that **** sounded COOL.

  10. #576
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    Cloth sits lower.

    I had to readjust the mirrors and the gauge cluster sits lower through the steering wheel from my POV. Replenishing the volume does make the foam larger, but you sink into more volume.

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  12. #577
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
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    I'm curious to see how long your newly-fluffed foam maintains that shape.
    '00 SE, intercooled BRP MP62, Reverant MS2, Ohlins DFV, Konig Flatout (now X 2)
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    Same. In furniture it usually lasts quite a while.

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  15. #579
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    Nice work, Steven! The color scheme looks fantastic!
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  17. #580
    Super Moderator Bryan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kung fu jesus View Post
    Cloth sits lower.
    Oh, I know that for sure. I was wondering if you meant that all your work yielded similar results back-to-back on the same seats. Didn't realize you were comparing leather to cloth.
    Quote Originally Posted by DazedAndConfused
    I dont know a word you just said, but that **** sounded COOL.

  18. #581
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    I did a thing.

    Bryan, that is a good question! I didn’t think to test that.

    Pumping up the volume on the foam is an old upholstery and detailer method to fill out loose fitting upholstery. It’s really simple.

    I see a lot of people buying upholstery kits for Miatas but not doing this, and the seats look baggy. Usually this is from both collapsed foam and bad alignment.

    Leather upholstery is trickier to install because the material doesn’t move or give like cloth. I usually lay a garbage bag over the bolsters to ease installation, then pull the bag out when the cover and foam are aligned.

    Judicial use of steam on leather relaxes it temporarily, then shrink/tightens it. It opens the pores too, for cleaning/moisturizing.

    On cloth, it is really effective for cleaning and removing wrinkles. I have removed really bad stains by applying cleaner, agitating with a brush, steaming, and wiping with a clean cloth. Repeating as necessary.

    Some of the upholsterers I worked with over my career were true craftsmen. They could grade hides just by touch. Some of these hides were 4 and 5 figures each. Their skill and knowledge could make designs sing and they felt like sensory candy by the touch and smell.

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  20. #582
    Super Moderator Bryan's Avatar
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    For the record: in photographs, at least, the red on the seats matches the carpet enough. I'd be more than pleased with the result.
    Quote Originally Posted by DazedAndConfused
    I dont know a word you just said, but that **** sounded COOL.

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  22. #583
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Wow, excellent work and write-up! So much that I wanna dig mine out of the storage.

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  24. #584
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    I did a thing.

    Thanks, Harry.

    Foam work is actually very easy and forgiving. I may go back and try sculpting custom lumbar support, but I want to see how these fit me over a little more time.

    The foam shaping is subtractive, so it’s important to get the pieces adhered to each other, then rough out the shape with the knife and sanding discs, then using a rasp or sand paper to smooth the edges.

    Foam comes in different thicknesses and densities, the 1/2” stuff I used wasn’t what I wanted, but I knew it would be fine for the end result. Ideally, I would have preferred 1/4” denser foam. I considered putting the 1/2” foam over both seat bottom bolsters, but looking at the upholstery pattern, I didn’t think it was needed.

    The shape I cut out was so I had enough reference from the original to judge the curves, the first plunge cut also gave me reference to determine if the deterioration was localized or had spread. Just underneath the foam looked great so that was actually a nice surprise. I was preparing to re-make the majority of the bolster from glued-together layers, if needed.

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  26. #585
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    Looks excellent. Great work Steven!
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