Where to find skins/upholstery?

[wheelerd]

Originally Posted by Jorski

A major issue is getting just the right amount of tension or stretch on the skins so that there aren't any wrinkles. There was a lot of staple pulling and adjustments on the first few cushions. By the end of the job, I was pretty fast.

My major tip, is to leave the skin you are about to work on out in the sun, and get it really hot. Then when you install, you want it tight, but don't over do it, that creates its' own wrinkles.

Good point to emphasize. When I first slipped the skins over the base I was disappointed -- What the hey! These don't fit. But gradually stretching (I used a blow dryer on low setting), adjusting, stapling and restapling, making sure the raw inner ends of the seams were all turned the same way, etc., the result was as good as any pro shop I've seen. Just be patient.

When you disassemble the seats you'll notice thin plastic between the skins and the cushions. It's really important to either save and reuse these if they're not damaged in the process, or just use some very thin poly plastic when you reassemble. This is to allow the backing of the vinyl to slide over the foam of the cushion when you are doing the stretching. You can just let it hang over the edges and trim it when you do the final trimming of the vinyl.