I threw this together yesterday for a 1.5 build that had me dreading more body work. I actually remembered to take pictures, and thought there might be someone out there who found it helpful.
This is how I like to make my upholstered seats. They've got a vintage style, but I tend to build vintage style rides, so it works for me. The basic method could be used for any type of seat though, and I've been thinking about trying to do a few bucket seats just for fun.
Anyways... I use vinyl for this, for a few reasons.
1) It's tough, and easy to clean. Lets face it, they'll get drowned in mud sooner or later.
2) It's easy to work with. It has a bit of stretch to take out wrinkles, and it glues very nicely without the glue soaking completely through.
3) It looks good (at least I think so).
First, I build my seat frame. I build mine out of styrene, with really excessive strength. Extra internal braces, thicker-than-you-think-you-need material etc. You'll need to put some substantial pressure on this thing when you're gluing on the fabric, and large unsupported faces will buckle very easily. Keep in mind, you'll need a bit extra clearance between your seat and everything else in the interior. I usually subtract 1/8" or so to make room. You'll see in my picture down at the bottom, the fit is very good on this guy.
Then I decide on the shape of the cushioning. For this old school VW, I'm starting with something very simple, because that was always the beauty of these old rigs. If I were to do it again, I'd use thinner foam, but it'll work fine for the little bit you can see.
FYI, my glue of choice here is Loctite 416 superglue. This stuff is the tits, and it's about the only superglue I ever use.
Next, cut out your foam, space it evenly, and glue.
Start with a piece of fabric substantially bigger than you need. 1-2" excess on either side works well. It's easier to cut fabric than put it back together!
Starting in the middle, I laid a (rather generous) bead of glue between the 2 pieces of foam. Use a flat biece of styrene/wood, or a properly sized allen to hold the vinyl down for about 10 seconds and it should be totally set.
And work one side, then the other until you're all finished. Remember to keep plenty of vinyl tucked all the way to any seams you have, if you get off square and glue it it can easily become a big problem!
Cut out some triangles and glue the vinyl down tight all the way around your edges. When you've got little bumps, trim as much as you can away, add some glue, and squish it down real hard with, say, the butt end of an exacto. It should only take about 15 seconds for it to be good and stuck. The vinyl actually compresses and soaks up the glue very nicely.
Take a nice even strip of vinyl (again, bigger than you need!) and fold/glue a nice straight fold into it. I usually clamp mine (excessively I might add) to a ruler to make sure my edge is straight. I let the glue set for about 3 minutes here.
Once it's set, glue that sucker all the way around the edge. Then you can fold the extra fabric on the bottom around the edge just like you did on the other piece. This should be nice and flat, but doesn't have to look good, no one will ever see this.
I did the backrest just the same as the seat. The only tough part can be making sure you get it folded in behind the first piece so there are no gaps. I also gave the backrest a bit of an arch when I built the styrene frame. I think it helps, even if you can't barely tell it's there.
And there ya have it, a super simple seat.
Don't get frustrated if there's a wrinkle or something you don't like. That's WHY we use fabric instead of paint, because it looks real with wrinkles!
And don't forget, when they're tucked inside your rig, you can't hardly see them anyways :ror: Look at that nice tight fit 8)
Hope this helps somebody.
This is how I like to make my upholstered seats. They've got a vintage style, but I tend to build vintage style rides, so it works for me. The basic method could be used for any type of seat though, and I've been thinking about trying to do a few bucket seats just for fun.
Anyways... I use vinyl for this, for a few reasons.
1) It's tough, and easy to clean. Lets face it, they'll get drowned in mud sooner or later.
2) It's easy to work with. It has a bit of stretch to take out wrinkles, and it glues very nicely without the glue soaking completely through.
3) It looks good (at least I think so).
First, I build my seat frame. I build mine out of styrene, with really excessive strength. Extra internal braces, thicker-than-you-think-you-need material etc. You'll need to put some substantial pressure on this thing when you're gluing on the fabric, and large unsupported faces will buckle very easily. Keep in mind, you'll need a bit extra clearance between your seat and everything else in the interior. I usually subtract 1/8" or so to make room. You'll see in my picture down at the bottom, the fit is very good on this guy.
Then I decide on the shape of the cushioning. For this old school VW, I'm starting with something very simple, because that was always the beauty of these old rigs. If I were to do it again, I'd use thinner foam, but it'll work fine for the little bit you can see.
FYI, my glue of choice here is Loctite 416 superglue. This stuff is the tits, and it's about the only superglue I ever use.
Next, cut out your foam, space it evenly, and glue.
Start with a piece of fabric substantially bigger than you need. 1-2" excess on either side works well. It's easier to cut fabric than put it back together!
Starting in the middle, I laid a (rather generous) bead of glue between the 2 pieces of foam. Use a flat biece of styrene/wood, or a properly sized allen to hold the vinyl down for about 10 seconds and it should be totally set.
And work one side, then the other until you're all finished. Remember to keep plenty of vinyl tucked all the way to any seams you have, if you get off square and glue it it can easily become a big problem!
Cut out some triangles and glue the vinyl down tight all the way around your edges. When you've got little bumps, trim as much as you can away, add some glue, and squish it down real hard with, say, the butt end of an exacto. It should only take about 15 seconds for it to be good and stuck. The vinyl actually compresses and soaks up the glue very nicely.
Take a nice even strip of vinyl (again, bigger than you need!) and fold/glue a nice straight fold into it. I usually clamp mine (excessively I might add) to a ruler to make sure my edge is straight. I let the glue set for about 3 minutes here.
Once it's set, glue that sucker all the way around the edge. Then you can fold the extra fabric on the bottom around the edge just like you did on the other piece. This should be nice and flat, but doesn't have to look good, no one will ever see this.
I did the backrest just the same as the seat. The only tough part can be making sure you get it folded in behind the first piece so there are no gaps. I also gave the backrest a bit of an arch when I built the styrene frame. I think it helps, even if you can't barely tell it's there.
And there ya have it, a super simple seat.
Don't get frustrated if there's a wrinkle or something you don't like. That's WHY we use fabric instead of paint, because it looks real with wrinkles!
And don't forget, when they're tucked inside your rig, you can't hardly see them anyways :ror: Look at that nice tight fit 8)
Hope this helps somebody.
