How far gone before seats aren't usable as cores? Options

[Tdskip]

As the title says - is there a tipping point where seat are too far gone to be worth holding on it? I know that you can rebuild just about anything but is there a point where it's just not worth it?

To be more specific - how torn/missing chucks can be bottom seat cushion be and still be usable?

[Tdskip]

Thanks for the discussion.

So how about this one as a real example - that foam to my eyes needs repair before being recovered, no?

[mepstein]

Thanks for the discussion.

So how about this one as a real example - that foam to my eyes needs repair before being recovered, no?

Mikey sells new foam seat bases or go to the craft store, buy the dense foam and cut with an electric carving knife $15 on ebay/amazon.

Save the seat base board. It has a little metal clip you need and it makes a good pattern to make a new base. Make sure you save the 2 angled wires in the bolsters and the one short straight one in the bottom of the backpad.

I recovered a pair and they came out great. It will take more time than you expect. Always wait twice as long for the contact cement to dry as what's on the directions. Trial fit each part before glue. Gently use a heat gun to remove wrinkles. Do one seat at a time so you can refer back to an assembled one.

[bbrock]

Thanks for the discussion.

So how about this one as a real example - that foam to my eyes needs repair before being recovered, no?

Mikey sells new foam seat bases or go to the craft store, buy the dense foam and cut with an electric carving knife $15 on ebay/amazon.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) For that one, I would replace the foam completely. Even if you patch it, that foam has to be saturated with farts so it has to go. I actually wound up completely rebuilding my seat bottoms. The press board was shot so I cut new panels from some 1/4" birch plywood I had left over from a cabinet project.

BTW, there is a nice article in the classics forum on seat re-upholstery that is worth checking out. It doesn't cover trussing down the seat bottom to create the front kick up but I covered it in the thread I linked above. It's a PITA but adds a nice touch and improves thigh support.