Repairing Knackered Bolsters

[M@tt 77]

I took the seats out of the CTI tonight so that i could take the carpet out to give it a clean and remove the sodden sound deadening.

 

Both seats had pretty knackered bolsters so i decided to strip them down as well with a view to replacing them

 

here's the progress so far

 

1) Seat as it stood

 

2) removed subframe simply by undoing the 4 securing bolts on the bottom

 

3)Worked my way fround the base of the seat with some needle nosed pliers undoing the metal hooks

 

4)Lifting the seat cover showed a pretty dire state of the side bolster

 

5) The seat base removed with the cover ready to go in the washing machine

 

so the next step is to get a couple of replacement bolsters and put it all back together

[cybernck 400 1 Cars]

thanks for documenting this .

 

i've done the same thing a month or so ago, but haven't got the time to finish it and post the pics up yet.

 

that's about the same stage i got to (and the same state of the side bolster ) before i ran out of time .

 

i am / was going to patch up and strengthen the bolster instead of replacing it though.

 

good luck and keep us informed.

[jeremy 68]

Whenever I repair/repklace a seat bolster I always try to reinforce the top of the bolster with duct tape.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Whenever I repair/repklace a seat bolster I always try to reinforce the top of the bolster with duct tape.

 

That's exactly what I did too

 

No idea what lasting effect it has, but in my mind at the time it made sense. Should help prevent the foam from cracking and crumpling apart.

Edited January 20, 2009 by GLPoomobile

[M@tt 77]

sounds like a very good idea and i think i'll adopt that once i've found some kind soul to sort me out with a couple of replacement bolsters.

 

i was thinking whether it would be possible to make a cast of some sort from an existing good bolster using perhaps plaster of paris. If you made the mounldin 2 halves and then filled it with some sort of expandible foam that should do the trick, whether or not you can get such suitable foam is another thing entirely. just a thought

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Whenever I repair/repklace a seat bolster I always try to reinforce the top of the bolster with duct tape.

 

Snap

 

watch them evil staple type things aswell, I did myself a mischief with one

[brian j 31]

I also use the duct tape trick on bolsters. I can't comment on the life of 205 ones yet, but I used it on my 306 (Ph1 GTI) bolsters after repairing the foam and the same on the ex gf's clio sport and neither ever collapsed again. The 306 has been like that now for around 4 years 100k miles with no noticeable wear since.

 

Personally though, I prefer Sellotape "elephant tape" to duct tape. It is stronger (you can't tear it at all), much stickier and in my experience it lasts longer before the adhesive breaks down.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Matt, when you said about making a mould and filling it with expanding foam, I thought for a minute you meant the stuff used for DIY filling holes. Clearly that's no good as it goes hard when dry. Would be interesting to find out what products are available to produce foam padding, as I'm sure there must be something. Could make a nice little side line eBay money spinner

 

Dunno if it was Duct Tape I used specifically (can never remember what it is!), but it was silvery grey, about 2 inch wide, decent thickness to it, and had strands like cotton running through it. Pretty strong stuff.

 

And those ring clip things are a pain. Worst part of the job.

Edited January 20, 2009 by GLPoomobile

[jeremy 68]

Dunno if it was Duct Tape I used specifically (can never remember what it is!), but it was silvery grey, about 2 inch wide, decent thickness to it, and had strands like cotton running through it. Pretty strong stuff.

 

Yeah that is what I meant but my tape was black, cos black is best. Just do not tell those Miami boys though LOL!!!!

 

As for the hog rings I use 1.5mm stripped electrical wire. Feed it through, twist several times with pliers then cut.

[skeggyrik 3]

If there was such a product could you not just fire it straight in to the bolster in situ? Pump up your bolsters, tyre weld style.

Edited January 20, 2009 by skeggyrik

[swinisskill 2]

nice set of pics there mate very helpful. have you completed it yet?

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

On a previous 205 XS, I repaired a bolster by fitting a piece of pipe lagging over the metal side part. This stuff is much stronger than the standard foam and hooks nicely over that sharp metal edge

[M@tt 77]

nice set of pics there mate very helpful. have you completed it yet?

 

not quite yet the seat base covers have gone in the washing machine and now smell lemon fresh

 

i wanted to chuck the backseat covers in as well but the zips on them are completely knackered and jammed solid. I plus gassed them and oiled them and left them overnight but they aren't budging and i really cnan't be arsed to break the zips and have to try and sewing in new ones so i'll clean them insitu, but tbh they're not really that bad. Rears never are.

 

I'm also waiting for AllanAllen to bring me my new bolsters the useless monkey!!

[Rom 0]

What would you do for half leathers ?

Not sure if washing machine would be ok.

 

Was thinking jet wash from a distance, then scrub, and rinse with jetwash. Thats how i did my carpet.

[mr_exe 1]

Very impressed with what you have done Matt. I stripped our spare passenger seat for the cover to use on the drivers seat and injured myself several times and have lost interest. Can't wait to see the results when its done

[bunji 2]

What would you do for half leathers ?

Not sure if washing machine would be ok.

 

Was thinking jet wash from a distance, then scrub, and rinse with jetwash. Thats how i did my carpet.

 

 

Use a vacuum that has the wet and dry facilty. Jet washing may be a bit extreme, and possibly knacker the leather?

 

[M@tt 77]

right i've pretty much sorted the old bolsters.

 

Took delivery of my new bolsters from AllanAllen, cheers pal

 

The first job was to just straighten up the cut edges and cut the old bolsters off

 

 

then it was a case of protecting the new bolsters with duct tape

 

 

 

and then finally refit the cover

 

i used a combination of the original metal clips and some solid wire from some twin and earth cable i had lying around

 

 

 

it was pretty dark and cold by the time i finished so i forgot to take a snap of the completed seat but i will get one tomorrow

 

but rest assured it looks spot on and feels really nice and firm

Edited February 11, 2009 by M@tt

[calvinhorse 870]

Demon tweeks sell a 2 part expanding foam, specially for making race seats, just like the F1 boys

[Tesstuff 222]

I took a couple of seats apart and cant put them back together now LOL

 

It's those complicated metal parts that confuse matters

[M@tt 77]

I found needle nosed pliers worked best when trying to refit the original metal loops and also wear some thin gloves to protect your fingers. The trick was to open the clips slightly before trying to fit them, it made the process a whole lot easier.

 

Also trying to push the metal hooks back through the bottom of the seat cover was quite hard in parts so i took my drill and a small drill bit and make a couple of small hole to aided the feeding through of the metal hooks

 

It probably took about 35 mins to refit each cover

 

HTH

[Rom 0]

Tess you dont need to rebuild your seats !

 

You need to send me a good nick complete passenger foam and leather 1.5 cover !!

 

I got my car back today, so will start putting it back together....i can see me driving round with just the foam sat on the drivers seat with a Snap on cover on it

 

Good effort Matt, those rings can be a pain. Ive had to do a few at work, though we normally get a guy out to do our seats if we can

[Tesstuff 222]

Tess you dont need to rebuild your seats !

 

You need to send me a good nick complete passenger foam and leather 1.5 cover !!

 

I got my car back today, so will start putting it back together....i can see me driving round with just the foam sat on the drivers seat with a Snap on cover on it

 

Good effort Matt, those rings can be a pain. Ive had to do a few at work, though we normally get a guy out to do our seats if we can

 

LOL i have a perfect one here with your name on it

 

I didn't know you wanted a leather cover though, i only have my Gentry interior and that is in use

 

I have a full and perfect STDT set , surely you want nice warm velour in winter

[Bogsye 22]

What would you do for half leathers ?

Not sure if washing machine would be ok.

 

Was thinking jet wash from a distance, then scrub, and rinse with jetwash. Thats how i did my carpet.

 

I've just stripped the half-leather covers from the seats I'm rebuilding and steeped them in kitchen sink with some washing powder. I made sure that only the velour was submerged in the water, and rinsed them carefully. I did get the leather wet on the final rinse, but leaving them to dry naturally, away from heat, seems to have worked.

 

The steeping worked a treat - the seat bases didn't look that dirty, but two soakings and the water looked like coffee each time!!

 

Just need to clean the leather, touch in the scuffs and re-feed with the Gliptone kit I've just bought.

Thursday evenings task.

 

Brian

[Rom 0]

I got a donor set of seats the other week.

 

Ive now made 2 good seats out of them. But not put the covers back on yet.

Going to the GFs mums tomorrow, to try and get her to unstich a centre fabric from one base, and stich it into another. Has a small fag burn (not from me!) but has the best condition leather, so dont want to not use it.

 

Then i was going to try using the fabric cleaner the valeters at work use with a brush to agitate. Then use thier wet vac to suck out the dirty water. Apparently it only sucks

Getting the marks off wont be a problem, as the cleaner is really good, but i want to get the dirty water out after. But not sure about rinsing it.

 

Whats steeping btw ?

[Bogsye 22]

I got a donor set of seats the other week.

 

Ive now made 2 good seats out of them. But not put the covers back on yet.

Going to the GFs mums tomorrow, to try and get her to unstich a centre fabric from one base, and stich it into another. Has a small fag burn (not from me!) but has the best condition leather, so dont want to not use it.

 

Then i was going to try using the fabric cleaner the valeters at work use with a brush to agitate. Then use thier wet vac to suck out the dirty water. Apparently it only sucks

Getting the marks off wont be a problem, as the cleaner is really good, but i want to get the dirty water out after. But not sure about rinsing it.

 

Whats steeping btw ?

 

Steeping = Soaking. I only left the cover in the water for about 15 minutes or so. Without agitation, it was amazing how much dirt came out.