Any upholstery experts on here?

I need to get a set of seats recovered for my targa. I've never had to get seats recovered before so I wasn't really sure what to expect as far as cost wise. I was bored yesterday and poking around I found a specialist advertising on a Porsche forum. I sent an email and got quoted $1800 to recover my seats. Yowza! Needless to say I don't have anywhere close to that to spend on seats.

After that I looked for the skins themselves and found them to be $695-1400 depending on what material I went with.

So do I have any other options? Will taking them down to a local upholstery shop result in the same cost? Will stripping the old seats reduce my cost at all? Is there anything I can do to make getting them redone cheaper?

I bought a pair of Hog Ring pliers and 2000 hog rings on eBay for about $40. You need these. Then, it's easy stuff.

Woody where did you get the new material from? I am looking at doing a set of SC seats.

Honestly, is it that easy? I scored a set of leather skins for my MX3, but am reluctant to try doing it myself, since I frustrate easily.

octavious wrote: Woody where did you get the new material from? I am looking at doing a set of SC seats.

I didn't need new material for my project. I just had an upholstery shop add a supportive batch behind a ripped seam.

And Lesley, you will be shocked at how easy this stuff is. The hardest part is removing the old rings. You can cut them or open them. Also, if you can find new foam, this is the time to do it.

Check ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1975-1983-PORSCHE-911-911SC-GENUINE-LEATHER-SEATS-COVER-/221325727674

Also, if you haven't already google it and do a search that way.

This is what 2000 hog rings look like:

Oh nooooooes - 2,000 of them? What do you estimate it would cost to get someone else to do it?

I don't think you need all 2000 for one car. My Honda had I think 8 per seat?

I definitely recommend getting the pliers and the rings. I did mine with zip ties instead because I had no idea what hog rings were. It worked for a while.

Also, if you're just doing skins, I don't think you'll need them at all. The rings hold the foam underneath to the seat frame.

Lesley wrote: Oh nooooooes - 2,000 of them? What do you estimate it would cost to get someone else to do it?

Too much. This is easy stuff. Do it once and you'll never pay an upholsterer again.

I bought 2000 because it was the minimum amount available at the time. The pliers are the expensive part.

Pretty much what Woody says. It really isn't as difficult as it appears. Does take patience and sometimes a little minor cussing but pretty much straight forward. No you don't need 2,000 hog rings. About 2 dozen for both seats at the most. If you get carried away. Decent hog ring pliers for installation makes the job go smoother. Good wire cutters for removal. I made the complete interior in my Opel GT. Took apart the old stuff at the seams, traced it into a pattern and laid it out on rolls of vinyl, cut it out and sewed it together with an industrial sewing machine. Under supervision of a friend that does interiors as a hobby.

I'm sure those prices include re-doing the seat foam as well - not just slipping some covers over 20 year old foam.

Replacing the seat covers is fairly easy, Making seat covers is the "hard part". Price out a set of covers and check youtube for how to do it. I've done several and it's not hard at all.

I've done 2 vehicles: The RN Truck and the Esprit (RIP). I bought a whole cow (OK, skin only) for $230 delivered on each, which was enough for each vehicle. If your P car seats are bigger than the Esprit (and they probably are) you'll likely need 2 cows worth. I bought the hides from a leather shop online. Don't have the link with me here. I've posted the link before. It's just a matter of taking the old stuff off, apart, cutting out new, sewing back together (I used my grandmother's hand crank Singer) and putting them back on with the rings pictured above. Here's the Truck: