Reupholstering seats in cowhide

[barnaclebob]

The drivers side seat on my 2001 LE is starting to crack badly and I'm going to give a shot at a DIY reupholster job before the foam get too bad using cowhide.

Does anyone think this would look stupid? She is black with the tan interior and I'd probalby only do the cushions for now and the seat backs at a later date. I'm thinking something like this:

http://www.purerugs.com/media/catalog/p ... in-750.jpg

I've got a decent sewing machine and think it could work with the right needle and a walking foot but i'll try on some scrap first. I have done a few camping related sewing jobs on very delicate fabric but never tried leather.

[atraudes]

Well, as far as whether it's a good idea, that's totally on you to decide Guaranteed there'll be people that think it's a horrible idea. Also, this may not be a concern for you, but customizations like this will affect the resale value of the car too, and they rarely do so in a positive way.

I've been playing with the idea of reupholstering my seats too, and one idea I'd pose to you is to buy a driver's seat from a scrap yard and try on that so you don't end up without seat. Once you've got the hang of it and know you can and want to do the rest, you can pull them out one at a time.

Let us know how it goes and what you come up against!

[barnaclebob]

Yeah I'm not concerned with the resale value, this think will be driven until it craps out (But maybe shorter depending on if toyota immasculates the 2017 4runner since a new pathfinder is sadly not an option anymore). The current seat is 1/4 covered with duct tape that peels up so it couldn't be much worse.

I'll probably just dive right in since my pathfinder is a backup car and I may not need it much before ski season starts. Worst case is I have to sew together some fabric temporarily.

I'll for sure report back but it may be a month or two before I get around to it.

[atraudes]

lol, look forward to it

[rgk]

I think the car would sell great in Wyoming! But what happens when you spill coffee on them?

[zach7685]

I say if you like it then go for it. I agree that reselling it would be difficult.

[barnaclebob]

Well there is no turning back now. I pulled the drivers seat out, took the seat cover off and started dissecting it to make patterns for the new seat covers.

Removing the seat was straight forward but leave the battery connected until you get all four seat bolts undone so that you can move it forward and backward to access them. Recenter the seat before disconnecting the battery followed by the electrical connectors.

To get the seat cover off it was easiest to first take out the four bolts holding the seat pan which makes it easier to get your fingers around the plastic j clips holding the seat cover on. There are some hog rings holding the seat cover to the seat cushion, cut them with wire cutters. Once the seat cover is removed or partially removed you can get at some of the electrical "push keepers" with pliers to make removing the seat pan and freeing the cover a little easier.

Next steps are to get materials and start sewing a new cover. I've tested my machine with the gutermann ultra heavy duty thread and it seems to work well when I crank the thread tension up to max. The machine seems to be marginally capable and sewing through the plastic J clips as well.

[barnaclebob]

I'll also add that the seat control knobs and fascia pop off with some gentle force from a flathead screwdriver.

[barnaclebob]

I managed to make some better than expected progress today and finished the top of the seat cover.

Might have to get a cowhide rug to not cut up...


Top of the seat cover done:


I sandwhiched some foam between muslin cloth and sewed overhang to the leather because our sewing machine wouldnt be able to handle the full thickness of the foam and leather.

Next up is to order some vinyl for the sides and get it finished up. Then onto the back....

[Karona]

Wow, that's impressive, wish I could get you to do my seats :P Mine have been cracking and tearing also Fairly minor for now but it's only gonna get worse..

[atraudes]

Yeah, ditto. It'd be nice to be able to get the patterns to work off of so one could get everything assembled and then just put on the seat one weekend.

Looking good, barnaclebob! I can see why you tackled this; that seat was looking pretty sore.

[barnaclebob]

Thanks guys, we'll have to see how it stretches over the foam when I install it before the final verdict is read. I'll be willing to share the patterns too, you just might have to kick in a few bucks to cover materials to duplicate and mail them.

Also there will be some trickery with the airbag because I want to preserve the original seam. Some research on an auto upholstery forum has convinced me that at least modern in seat airbags have highly engineered and quality controlled seams (thread tensions documented with a calibrated machine, etc). I'm not sure if they were that advanced back in 2000 but I don't want to risk it.

I'm going to cut the original seam out and use it kind of like a permanent zipper while doing my best to hide it.

[rgk]

in seat airbags

I've never heard of such a thing. Care to elaborate?

[barnaclebob]

There are airbags just behind the outside shoulders in the seats in many cars, R50 pathfinders included. Look for a SRS tag on the seat. They deploy in a side impact to keep your head from hitting the glass, other car, or pillar as hard. There is a bit of a debate in the custom upholstery business on what is needed to be able to allow the airbags to deploy safely and not have a liability to the shop. Airbag systems can have many input variables (temperature, vehicle speed, g forces, etc) that determine how hard the bag will deploy. I don't think its a all or none explosion anymore. So if you change the seam stitching then you change what the engineers assumed the airbag will have to break through. A few milliseconds difference can really make a difference.

I just finished dissecting the seat back and there is a piece of airbag material that is secured to a beefy metal bar on the back of the seat to direct the airbag to deploy in the right direction.

[atraudes]

I knew side airbags were an option on ours, but I thought it wasn't available until the 02 or 03 years Well, that's my learnt thing for today!

[barnaclebob]

Well I have an 01 LE, maybe the SE or XE didnt have them...

[barnaclebob]

Made some more progress last night. I cut the rest of my stencils and sewed the leather part of the seatback together. 3 yards of matching brown vinyl leather is on its way too. That should be enough for both front seats.



Things should hopefully line up better when the full cover is made vs. just draped on the back. Also there is no foam backing on the upper part yet so that will take up some slack as well.

[barnaclebob]

The vinyl arrived and I had some time to finish the bottom part of the seat which went pretty smoothly. A leather needle really helps with sewing the plastic j clips back on. The first time I put the clips back on they were upside down so I'll have to pay closer attention for round two. I also forgot to put the seat heater back in the first time so got to unclip everything again.

All in all it came out much better than expected...

[sroberts]

And now for the exterior - this one would probably get you a lot of free chickin sandwiches, at least here in Georgia:

[sroberts]

"Vengeance" would like to have a word with you

[Hawairish]

Haha, Vengeance.

But really, barnaclebob, that's coming along quite well! Keep it up!

[barnaclebob]

More progress. I'm almost done with the driver seat and the car is driveable again which is nice. The airbag light didn't come on either so the trick about unplugging the battery before the airbag works.

There are a few bulges but I'm really happy with how it came out. You can see my solution to the in seat airbag and I think it looks pretty good. I basically used the old seam like a permanent zipper. Hopefully I never have to learn if it works or not...





Next up is the back side of the seat. I think Im going to have to use spray adhesive and put the new vinyl right over the old since the staples that hold the old stuff in place are like 1/8" deep/long) and I can't find anyone that sells them. Let me know if you know where to buy odd sized staples.

After that is the headrest and then I get to do it all over again on the passenger side.

[04pathse]

Next, you can do the steering wheel and console cover LOL

[barnaclebob]

Next, you can do the steering wheel and console cover LOL

Yep those are on the list, the steering wheel is terrible and starting to disintegrate. The center console will depend on how much scrap I have left and how hard it is to take apart and get back together.

[barnaclebob]

Got the passenger seat finished and installed but I still have to finish the back map pocket. After new years is the arm rest and I have to do something about the steering wheel too.

If anyone wants a copy of the patterns I made let me know. It would probalby be like $4 plus shipping to cover the cost of the card stock paper (~$1 per sheet).

[barnaclebob]

Another update: I got the armrest finished and am halfway done with the steering wheel. The armrest was really straight forward and would be a good starting point for anyone looking to dabble in this kind of thing. The upholstery is actually secured by double stick tape so I had to go get some of that meant for doing seams at the fabric store and it worked great.



The steering wheel is also pretty easy with the main issues being the tediousness of marking, punching and stitching about 400 holes. The marking and punching only took an hour though, tape your leather punch so it only opens the minimum needed to save your hands from fatigue. I did a small test section first to make sure the 4" circumference of the steering wheel worked or if i needed to make it smaller and stretch it. 4" was good. I also took the machine sewed seams to the belt sander to reduce the leather thickness where it would be folded over. This will reduce the bumps at the seams. The seams were also hammered flat to help them lay down.

[barnaclebob]

This will probably be my final update for awhile since I think I'm done. I'll probably add some pictures of the whole thing once I detail the interior but that will wait for warmer weather.

Anyway the steering wheel cover went on pretty well with just a few bumps. i'd probably make the total circumference of the cover to be 47" if I could go back and then just stretch it around the steering wheel. This would probably eliminate some of the bumps.

Again, I want to stress that none of this was as hard as it looks so like any other part of car repair, don't be afraid to take something like this on. If you can draw lines and put the needle on them that's the main skill. A sewing machine is just a different looking stapler...

I can duplicate the patterns for any portion of the seats including the arm rest and head rests and mail them to you if you are interested.

Thanks for looking.

[EdBwoy]

Barnaclebob, I remember this thread. Please do share how the bovine seats are doing 2 years on.

[barnaclebob]

The seats are holding up great. One small corner of the console and some of the steering wheel have started loosing hair where there is the most wear. I think the steering wheel is loosing hair though because that was the leg area of the hide which was thinner and maybe not tanned quite as well. Still super happy with it and have gotten many compliments.

Patterns are still available if anyone wants to take the plunge lol.

[EdBwoy]

That is great to hear. I don't have my R50 anymore, but the patterns would have been handy for customization. Actually, what I really want is your skill so I can do this for any project I have.

And I figured there'd be some hair loss. As a kid I grew up around cowhide and goathide drums. It wouldn't take too long for the drums to go bald in patches in the areas that took a beating. A fully haired hide is for decoration, a patchy hide shows utility.
What is important is that the leather itself has held up with no holes.

Btw, where did you source the hide?