headrest construction

[DeWitt Harrison]

A headrest from a 200 has given its life in the interest of science,
allowing my to see how it was put together. It's really an
amazing achievement of the upholsterer's art.

First, there is a strong cast plastic core which provides the
backbone of the headrest and provides the means to
attach the mounting posts. This framework is completely
surrounded by a urethane foam pad which looks cast in
place rather than wrapped on. Also cast into this foam
surround, and thereby held in place by it, is a plastic U-channel
about 1/2" x 1/2" which runs around the outer perimeter of the
headrest just under the prominent seam in the leather covering.

This U-channel is open outwards and accepts the edges
of the leather covering. The bottom of the channel also
has slots every so often to receive corresponding tabs
as follows. The edges of the leather are stitched flat plastic
rings. There are two such rings one to anchor the leather
on the front side of the seam and on to anchor the rear.
These rings have barb-tipped tabs which, as the cover
is assembled onto the foam core, engage the slots in the
U-channel. The design of the barbs and slots is such that
it's a one way operation. Removing the barbed tabs from
the slots is difficult, possibly destructive. Additionally, the
rings clearly must be stretched some to clear the tops of
the U-channel and snap down into place.

To fix a sun-warped headrest, I think it would be necessary
to remove the leather cover with it's reinforcing rings,
somehow disengaging those barbed tabs and stretching
the ring to clear the U-channel. (The leather would need
to have been softened considerably beforehand to keep
it from tearing.) Then some means of gently heating the
U-channel to close up the gaps at the corners where it
has sagged open would be needed before the cover
was reinstalled. Too much heat would destroy the
urethane foam. It would be a real challenge.

DeWitt Harrison
'88 5kcstq