started auto upholstery part time

[stumpy1972uk1]

 some pics of the work ive done so far , doing it partime at the moment after work , the purple seats are the current projects





























ade

[SteveMoke]

Nice work Ade, Lurve the purple  8)

[Peppy]

Indeed! Jazzy quilting! Love the purple!

[Mojo]

Very nice. :)

Chris

[hdflame]

Ade,

That's some nice looking work!

If you have a heat gun, try using it on the bottom of the black seats to remove the wrinkles.  I had some wrinkles on my first bench seat that I covered, and the heat gun did wonders for removing them.  Just don't get it too hot or you can melt the vinyl.  Try using it on a scrap piece first to see how much heat it will take.  Keep moving it back and forth while you rub them out with your hands.  Your hands will help you feel if you're getting it too hot.

The purple seats are really coming out good.  Be sure to post more pics as you finish.  Great job! ;D

[stumpy1972uk1]

hi bobby , thanks for the comments , i have been using the heat gun on the wrinkles when ive smoothed the seats out for the customer to collect. the black wide cushion the guy wanted a old used effect on the seat so it didnt look too new in his van. . i will post more pics when i can figure out how to make them bigger , i use photobox and a hosting forum on rods n sods website. cheers ade

[hdflame]

hi bobby , thanks for the comments , i have been using the heat gun on the wrinkles when ive smoothed the seats out for the customer to collect. the black wide cushion the guy wanted a old used effect on the seat so it didnt look too new in his van. . i will post more pics when i can figure out how to make them bigger , i use photobox and a hosting forum on rods n sods website. cheers ade

With the quality of work in the pictures you had posted, I figured you had probably already been using a heat gun. ;D  You're doing some excellent work for part time!

[Saddleman]

Nice, looks like you are a natural!

Loren

[ymbre]

When you will need to use heat gun then there is something wrong, final result will not lookin good and I know what I´m talkin about.

[stumpy1972uk1]

When you will need to use heat gun then there is something wrong, final result will not lookin good and I know what I´m talkin about.

sorry but i dont see how you can say that , when you work with vinyl with sewfoam or scrimfoam as its called over here in the uk and you have to turn the seat cover inside out and stretch it over said seat for fiitting then there WILL be wrinkles which Will need smoothing out. No a heat gun wont remove wrinkles or puckering due to incorrectly stitched items . So if you have to use a heat gun then somethings wrong ? So i take it Ron Mangus , Don Taylor , Gabe ( american hotrod) and a guy i take advice from off hotrodders.com dan twolakes are `doing` something wrong. All the research i have done have shown proffesional time served upholsters using steamers which correct me if im wrong is a form of heat ( im a refrigeration engineer by trade so i know a thing or two about heat sources ). a steamer on leathers great as the moisture hepls the leather stretch , but steam only wiorks on the back of vynil on the cloth backing. . after all we all have to learn somehwere. ade

[stumpy1972uk1]

Nice, looks like you are a natural!

Loren

thank you , im learning all the time and striving for a better finish each time.

[stumpy1972uk1]

purple ones finished , done some in blue too ,

[hdflame]

I have a local shop that I stop by on occasion.  Your work already looks better than much of what I see that comes out of their shop, and they've been doing it for several years!

Like Loren said, you seem to be a natural!  Keep it up, and keep sharing your work.

[stumpy1972uk1]

I have a local shop that I stop by on occasion.  Your work already looks better than much of what I see that comes out of their shop, and they've been doing it for several years!

Like Loren said, you seem to be a natural!  Keep it up, and keep sharing your work.

thanks , i appreciate the comments

these are the latest ive just completed , theres two fronts and two rears , ive taken a pic of one front on the right and the rear on the left.
 






and these are the blue seats i did a few weeks back






ade

[Peppy]

Really looks great! I'd be more than happy making any of those!

I hear what your saying with the heat gun. I used to view it as cheating, not sure why. Now I use it any time I'm feeling a little lazy. Same with thin plastic over the foam. A very helpfull tool to get everything tight and looking good. Heat guns won't make miracles happen, but they sure make it easier. I was sold on my steamer till it broke, now I only have  a heat gun. I liked the steamer more since it was less likely to melt the vinyl and it had the bonus of 'poofing' up the foam. But hey, even a hot ray of sunlight helps.