Making upholstery more durable

[Asolepius]

10 years ago the car went back on the road with newly restored seats etc. Now they are starting to look 10 years old. The design of the metalwork doesn't help at all. There are lots of sharp edges. The cushion slots into lugs at the back of the frame, and the vinyl gets effectively cut through at those points. The seat back rests on the same lugs, and again the vinyl gets cut through. I am now dismantling the seats and repairing the cut vinyl. I have found that soft plastic glue is excellent for this - the sort of thing used for repairing punctured beach inflatables. But I want to prevent, or at least slow down, the ravages of the sharp edges. I have some ideas on this, but what do you guys think?

[Asolepius]

OK, I have done one seat. I couldn't think of much by way of a solution, but I have added more padding round the edges of the frames. I also stuck rubber pads on the lugs on the base frame, where the backrest sits. These were made from old inner tube. I noticed that the vinyl tears and abrades at the pivot points, and wonder whether the big washers should be stuck to the vinyl so that they rotate against the frame and not the vinyl. I'll try that and see what happens.

[CaptRandy]

Think about cutting a small diameter hose lengthwise to place over sharp edges.