EOI: Leatherette Seat Covers

[Damo]

chuck...............yes now to fit them
damo ..............Just arrived
JD .................Yes, Arrived 2nd Feb
Zacob
Kace...............Yes, fingers now raw
CJ................... Yes
deepseadcs ......Yes, Arrived 2nd Feb
Muad_dib77 ..... Yes - Blisters all over hands! Ran out of cable ties icon_smile.gif
Saoirse ............Yep
msmorrisse.......yes arrived 2 weeks ago

[NobbyV4]

One word of ADVICE - the covers for the two front seats ARE DIFFERENT, I.E. there is a LEFT and a RIGHT so check them against the originals when you take them off.

JD

Now I did this, and could not see a difference, I even measured the stitching how did you tell?
Mine are on and I'm either lucky but they seem to fit fine, if a little tight on the zip.

Come to think of it, it's possible I recieved two of the same hand???

Max can you confirm if they are handed pairs?

[JD]

One word of ADVICE - the covers for the two front seats ARE DIFFERENT, I.E. there is a LEFT and a RIGHT so check them against the originals when you take them off.

JD

Now I did this, and could not see a difference, I even measured the stitching how did you tell?
Mine are on and I'm either lucky but they seem to fit fine, if a little tight on the zip.

Come to think of it, it's possible I recieved two of the same hand???

Max can you confirm if they are handed pairs?

There is an extra panel stitched into one side of each of the front seats to accommodate the mechanism for pulling the back of the seat down - if you check the covers that you remove there is one on each of them as well.

Here is the front passanger seat cover (the top section not the bit you sit on) - arrow points to the extra panel - you can see its different from the other side:



Here is where that panel ends up when it's on the seat (I'ts tucked in under the mechanism):



Hope this helps.
Cheers
JD

[NobbyV4]

Most helpfull JD, I've just been out in the garage to check and as luck would have it I have them on the correct way. Do you mind if I copy and paste this on the UK site?
Cheers
V

[JD]

. Do you mind if I copy and paste this on the UK site?
Cheers
V

No problem, paste away, glad I could help.
Cheers
JD

[deepseadcs]

JD is right I noticed this when I fit mine, luckily I pick the right cover for each seat

[chuck]

finished front seats ..i like them



will post a pic when back is finished and back in car

[Muad_dib77]

That looks deadly..

How long did it take you?

[Colin C]

Those seat covers look great. A hell of a lot better then the bog standard ones. Does anyone know are there any plans to get more made? I'm only new to this game and missed the boat last time.

[Muad_dib77]

Colin there's already been one of the new sets listed on eBay..

http://cgi.ebay.ie/FTO-Custom-leatheret ... dZViewItem

I'm kinda thinking that maybe others will do the same.. as for another bunch being made - I'm thinking that 's really up to max..

[CJ]

Colin there's already been one of the new sets listed on eBay..

The seller is going to make a fortune of out them by the looks of things.

Due to the popularity of the last group buy, I would expect there to be demand for another in the future...

CJ

[chuck]

That looks deadly..

How long did it take you?

It has taken approx 2.5 hours each seat i found if you dont try and tighten the tie raps to much you get a better finish i feel i over tightened the first one i did and got quite a few wrinkles so looks like i will redo that one very pleased with the covers slight difference in the red from what i was expecting
have to say feels better than my leather furniture i have in the house

[Muad_dib77]

I've done the rear seats..and I've mad sure that the material covers all the foam down the sides, back & front - I had to beat, massage, push and pull a fair bit to get the wrinkles out - but eventually they went..

I'd say I spent 4-5 hours in total...blisters are healing now..

Doing passenger seat this evening.

[Myfeckin FTO]

Someone on the UK forum suggested using a hairdryer to heat the material - that way when you fit it and it cools - it tightens up even further.

[Kace]

Results : I have fitted my rear seats but being my critical self (with everything except cleanliness of my car's paintwork) I think I could have done a better job with the fitting on the rear so far.

I still have some wrinkles on the inner portion of the seat on one of the sides which I haven't been able to get out by the normal massaging. It's not too bad looking but I would have preferred a better finish - pics to come.

I would be interested in seeing how everyone else has got on with teh wrinkle factor on the rear. I think I may also have over-tightened the ties a bit.

One other thing to note when fitting is that when inserting coat hangers into the long sleeve on the rear seat, a regular coat hanger opened out fully is not actually long enough - I had to use two hangers with an overlep somewhere in the middle of the seat

Finally, don't know whether anyone else noticed but the factory seems to have used some form of crayon on the material - probably when marking out the cutting pattern. Some of this crayon (orange) in my case is still on the outside of the seats. It's not immediately obvious but it is there and was annoying me trying to get it off. Has anyone else had this and if so, what can you use to get it off - that's also a question for you Max as this is probably something that can be avoided at production.

[Muad_dib77]

I found the same with the hangers..didn't have any crayong marks though..

However I do have tiny tiny marks from where the zippers from the front covers touched the material... was kinda pee'd at first but then I realised that it wouldn't be visible when they're fitted in the car..

[JD]

Finally, don't know whether anyone else noticed but the factory seems to have used some form of crayon on the material - probably when marking out the cutting pattern. Some of this crayon (orange) in my case is still on the outside of the seats. It's not immediately obvious but it is there and was annoying me trying to get it off. Has anyone else had this and if so, what can you use to get it off - that's also a question for you Max as this is probably something that can be avoided at production.

Kace
Just use a small bit of Jif (or is it called Cif now) and a damp cloth and don't rub too hard - it comes off easy enough.
JD

[Muad_dib77]

Oh Dear god!

I fitted the rear seats first cause I had them out and I figured that since they were the largest they'd probably be the most difficult..

No such luck!

The Seat section of the front looks deceptive easy - it's not!
The Amounth of pushing - pulling - strecthing and bending I needed to do to get the material to sit properly..I was actually breaking a sweat!

The Upper back wasn't really difficult - just ..ehh.. un-handy - the head rest section takes a few attempts to get to sit straight - but once it's on it definately wont be moving anywhere.
I noticed some scruff marks on one of the black sections - no doubt from the way the material was packaged..tightly bundled up..
When I went to zip the back I noticed that the zipper itself was slightly bent - as soon as I started to zip, it broke. Darn!

Now it was difficult enough to zip the cover with half-a-handle on the zipper - but as I was zipping i noticed that the two parts weren't interlocking 100% correctly...In some spots the two parts would go 1-2-1-2 - where as the correct sequence would be 1-1-1-1...(I hope you follow as I can't think of any other way of describing it)..I'd made sure that there was plenty of material near the interlocking parts - so as not to stress it needlessly.

Just something to watch out for..

Stuck the seat back in the car this morning before driving to work... Looks Brilliant!

Still slightly bummed about the marks..

Oh - and those crayon marks I didn't have on my Rear seat - all over my passenger seats... Arrows and stuff... Must get hold of some Cif/Jif...

Piccies will follow..

[MaxFromAUS]

Hi all,
Those marks on the covers is actually soap,
They have to mark parts in production to make sure to use correct measurement, etc..
It should be easily removable by a damp cloth, or with a tiny bit of detergent.
Regarding to wrinkles, this is normal due to transportation. Leave it for a bit and it will be flat as attack.
Probably 1-2 week required after installation to fully get rid of the wrinkles by itself.
Alternatively, you can iron the covers. Mid heat, and make sure you iron from on top of a t-shirt. Not directly on the leatherette. This will give you instant results.
Just get the gf to do it.
Max Ungun

[Muad_dib77]

Thought I'd stick in a picture of my passenger seat..






For some reason the seat looks all wonky in the 2nd pic... I swear it doesn't look like that in real life! - Honest!
The marks I had a bit of a rant about earlier are visible in the picture as well..they don't seem quite as bad in real life..

I didn't fit the seat-belt holder-handle type thing as I wanted to wait untill the material has "calmed down"..If I'll fit it at all...I never use the things anyway..

[IrishPhoenix]

U should of got the Iron out, lad

[Muad_dib77]

I can't iron....I tend to make more creases than I smooth over...

I actually went to have a look at the seat in the carpark - cause that wonky picture is really freaking me out.. It looks fine in the flesh... madness.



EDIT:

All done now seats are back in car...

Drivers seat has exactly the same marks as my passenger seat - no impressed...

Made a terrible boo-boo when I was tightening the two parts of the rear seats..so I need to re-done them..

If you haven't yet done your rear-seat take care not to flatten the bottom part of the back support and the very back bit of the bum-section...
otherwise you'll end up with a back seat with gaps...

heh..

Look pretty cool otherwise - well worth the effort... very impressed with the feel of the material!

[JJ]

For some reason the seat looks all wonky in the 2nd pic... I swear it doesn't look like that in real life! - Honest!
The marks I had a bit of a rant about earlier are visible in the picture as well..they don't seem quite as bad in real life..

It looks wonky because the seat is shaped in order that when you put on the seatbelt guide it looks the same shape on each side. Once you fit the seat belt holder it will look right again.

I found this when I did mine