I've got a set of new-to-me seats for my Miata arriving tomorrow. They're in decent shape (see photos) but I want to at least fix the tear in the vinyl before I bolt them in. Is the Permetex kit what I should use? Also, does it look possible to fix the little damage to the seat bottom without replacing the whole panel?
Since its out of the car I would take it to an upholstery shop and have them fix it.
Since its out of the car I would take it to an upholstery shop and have them fix it.
That's a good point, I actually hadn't considered calling a shop. Gets me thinking it could be cool to do a custom fabric on the seat centers. Some kind of fun pattern maybe? I'm a sucker for the 90s JDM seat styles.
Let's say the shops I call end up costing more than I'd like to spend. Is that permetex kit the best option on a budget?
The upholstery on Miata seats comes off quite easily, and I know several vendors used to sell new upholstery for them. That would be the deluxe option.
I saw some covers from the likes of Moss, CarbonMiata, and rev9. Seems like the options are like $100 or $600+. Kinda nuts for just a cover. I found one option for new upholstery and it was Katzkin for $700. That's pretty steep.
My local upholstery dick would fix that for $100-$125. Not even worth thinking about other options IMHO.
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
I'd talk to a dick for that much. $100 ain't bad at all.
I did pull the seats out the box just now. It looks like no one has ever sat in the passenger one, and the little scuffs on the driver's seat bottom are just through the mesh stuff. Not the underlying fabric. So I see no reason now to overdo it and get custom inserts instead of just fixing what's there.
Well, I emailed four shops almost a week ago and got one reply. He's quoting $225 to replace the panel with the tear. Looks like I'll be trying the permetex repair kit. Spending almost 2/3 the cost of the seat to fix a 1" tear seems excessive to me.
Apparently upholstery shops around here have too much work.
If you feel $225 is too much, just take the seat apart yourself and take the cushion cover to the upholsterer. Then decide if you want a small patch or the panel replaced.
thatsnowinnebago said:In reply to 93gsxturbo :
I'd talk to a dick for that much. $100 ain't bad at all.
I did pull the seats out the box just now. It looks like no one has ever sat in the passenger one, and the little scuffs on the driver's seat bottom are just through the mesh stuff. Not the underlying fabric. So I see no reason now to overdo it and get custom inserts instead of just fixing what's there.
If they are as nice as you say, just pay the man. You will be much happier than working with a Permatex kit. The suggestion to remove the cover is also good but my time and frustration isnt worth trying to save $100.
Can you get the complete cushion cover new from Mazda or swap a passenger side cover to the drivers side?
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
Maybe, I haven't checked Mazda. I did buy the permetex kit today and started the fixing process. With the cost of a new panel, I figured an $18 gamble was worth it. Worst case my repair sucks and I'm out less than $20.
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