Re: Re: Leather for Audi's? Any aftermarket kits?

["Smith, Kirby A" <kirby.a.smith@lmco.com>]

Todd Young <tyoung@wamnet.com> wrote:

	Are you any good at upholstery?

	My dad owns a canvas shop, so I learned a bit out there.
	He has recovered some snowmobile seats that were pretty torn
	up, he would just cut out a section to make a smooth joint to glue
	in new foam. Then glue in a piece that is bigger and trim to the
	right size.

	I would think you could take the upholstery material off to expose
	the foam and then seperate the side bolsters from the rest of the
seat.
	Take the bolsters in to a foam dealer (we have one here in the Twin
	Cities, I can get you the address/phone number if you need) and see
	if they can recommend a good replacement foam. Then just cut the
	block to the right size and reassemble. I know that foam comes in
	different stiffness ratings, so you could get something a bit
stiffer
	than stock if you wanted more support.

	HINT: An easy way to cut thick foam is with a long serrated (and
	sharp) bread knife. Use a short sawwing motion.

The problem with the bolsters is not just the foam, which is somewhat torn;
it is the plastic "groove" molded into the foam that rides on the metal wire
of the seat structure.  This breaks, and then the wire starts working its
way through the foam.  It would be fairly time consuming, I suspect, to
build a new bolster with a proper embedded wire support.  Last I heard, a
new foam cushion for my 90q was $110 list.  With a discount, a replacement
might be more cost-effective than building one, depending on one's sense of
time value.  When I last had my seat apart, I couldn't afford to have the
car down for long, so I just inserted some material to keep the wire rail
apart from the leather.  If you go the rebuild route, I recommend that
something be added to the wire to increase the area the bolster rides upon.
Perhaps spot weld on a piece of curved sheet metal.

                .... Kirby   (Kirby A. Smith)
                              2 x 1988 90q
                          New Hampshire USA