C2- 1965 vinyl seat preservation (w/ pics)

[Brian Monticello]

Hello,
I have two small imperfections in my 65 seat covers. One is a small (but growing) tear at one of the seams and the other is a small hole. I'd like to stop the deterioration at these points. While I'd obviously like the seats to look perfect I'm more instered in preservation than repair. I bought a permatex vinyl repair kit but am leary of using it.

Please take a look at the pictures for an idea of the problems.

General Condition

Seam Tear

Small Hole

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
Brian

[Philip Whitaker Member# 2024]

Re: C2- 1965 vinyl seat preservation (w/ pics)

Brian,

I'm not an expert on upholstery, but a friend had a split in the seam like yours and an upholsterer removed the cover and was able to restich and reinforce the tear at the seam. As for the hole in the seat cover, you might go to one of the local used car dealers in your area and see if they have a person that comes to thier lot on a regular basis to make such repairs. I know there used to be such individuals. Kind of like the people that repair stone chips in windshields.

Phil

[Wayne K.]

Re: C2- 1965 vinyl seat preservation (w/ pics)

Brian,

I've had some experience with this and from the pictures I feel there is a good chance that repairs can be done. The hole I would recommend you find a vinyl repair specialist as this is something you don't want to learn on. I had a hole in a visor that I had the vinyl repaired and was very pleased with the results. The tear I'm afraid you would be best to have the seat cover removed and have a patch glued from the backside for reinforcement bringing the tear together and then having the the vinyl repair to the front side if you feel that is still necessary. Another thing going for you is that you have black seats. I had to dye my visor to have the correct color after the repair was made. Ask to see some of the repairs the person has done before giving them the go ahead. Good luck.

[Mark S.]

Re: C2- 1965 vinyl seat preservation (w/ pics)

The hole and seam are repairable. I also have black vinyl 65 seats. One of my seams split; and an upholsterer sewed it together, for the repair(which can't be seen). I was told that 65 seats were more prone to tears by the seams, due to the larger seat panels. 66 and later seats had smaller and a greater number of panels.

[Grant M.]

Re: C2- 1965 vinyl seat preservation (w/ pics)

Brian,

I don't know if they're still in business, but 11 years ago I used a franchisee from a company called 'Doctor Vinyl' to repair my 65 dash pad. he did the job right in my driveway, including re-dying the pad (black). Good quality work at a very reasonable price (I recall about $40-60 (Cdn) total). Good luck!

grant