Group buy for custom leather seats

[valenzul]

for the perforated orders

I called on Monday and Kim told me the perforated pieces were sent out. It will most likely get back to them Monday. I will call next week for an update.

-Val

 

[Jeff A]

Seat Cover Installation Hints

Hello -

Right about now everyone's probably deep in DIY land. How do you get these dang seats apart, anyway? It wasn't easy, but if you take your time and dig around, you'll find it. Here's some suggestions.

Start by removing the power seat switch cover, by removing the 2 screws. Undo the 2 connectors there.

Basically you need to locate all the spade head plastic fasteners that you can find (really the ones that you can reach the backside of), and pinch them with longnose pliers, and push them back thru. Right-angle longnose pliers work best. Some you can't get at till later in the process, and some you can't get to at all and have to break to remove. Unhook the rear J-Hook that goes into the 3 holes in the back of the seat. Reach up under there, and unhook the 2 long J-Hooks that are holding on the bottom of the seat back and the back of the seat bottom. Then you can start lifting up those pieces and undoing more fasteners. The seat bottom cushion is glued to the aluminum, you have to essentially work (tear) it off, I found that using a tool like a tack puller or screwdriver thru the holes on the seat bottom helped. You have to remove the 2 plastic fasteners first. The front of the seat bottom has that infamous flap held on by plastic fasteners, and 2 sheet metal screws. Remove those to get the bottom cushion off.

The large seat back piece has long velcro strips under the seat back cushion, you can probably pull off the velcro while the seat back cushion is still in place.

You have to remove the head rest before you can get the seat back off. I found you can merely rotate the 2 metal clips a quarter turn to unlock the headrest posts, you don't have to actually remove the clips (they are not easy to get back on). It's difficult to yank the headrest off, just pull hard and wiggle it as you pull. And I wonder what that extra long piece of leather hanging off the original headrest was for? Strange, huh?

Then you need to pull out the bottom of the side bolster leather on the outside bottom edge of the seats. Also pull out the bottom of the "pleat" (where the leather bends when you adjust the seat back tilt) on the outside bottom of the seats.

Once you get everything off the seat frame, you have to remove the covers from the bottom and back seat cushions. Earlier in this thread I presented some details on that. After you remove them, move the long wire pieces inside the attachment loops from the old covers to the new. Also remove (and replace) the covers on the headrests. That takes muscles, but it's a nice bit of instant gratification!

When you get the covers off, compare them to the new NW covers to make sure all is OK. If not, call Steve!

Now you get to put the new covers on the 2 seat cushions. This is the toughest part. Again, see a previous message from me earlier in this thread for details. Also cut the holes for the electric seat adjustment switches, using the old covers as a template.

Steve said that the (infamous) flap on the front of the bottom seat cushion in your new NW covers will not match the original flap basically because there is no way for him to buy that custom plastic piece with the elongated holes. So you get a shorter flap with a loop in it. I had an upholsterer move the original flap from the old covers to the new covers for an exact fit. If that's not an option, what I suggest you try is cut up a metal coat hanger to make a metal piece similar to those you find in the seat cushion covers (that the binding rings go around). Stick that thru the loop in the flap. Then fasten that wire (after piercing holes in the flap just behind the wire) to the seat frame somehow. Steve suggested sheet metal screws, going in to the aluminum seat bottom. I thought that heavy nylon tie-wraps might work, and you can cinch them down tight. If you come up with something good, let us know.

My guess is that for the same reason, you may have to improvise a bit on the connection flaps on the inside of the pleats. You should be able to trim it down and put a hole in it to use a plastic fastener there.

Other than that, reassembly is the reverse of the removal, pretty much. You'll have to come up with some replacement plastic fasteners for those you had to break.. Auto part or home stores have something that will work. Fold the flaps on the outside bottoms of the bolsters at least once, probably twice for a nice tight fit, before you instert them back into the metal seat frame. And cut the long rear J-Hook appropriately to fit the 3 holes.

Hope this helps. Good luck! Let us know what happens.

Jeff

 

[NetViper]

My order got lost and was never fulfilled

They are working on mine now. I hope to get them soon!

 

[Juice]

How many are still waiting? I have not seen anything yet.

 

[KGP]

How many are still waiting? I have not seen anything yet.

Nothing here yet.

 

[MJK]

Nothing here yet either...

 

[KGP]

Mine just got here.

 

[ISONSX]

Mine just got here.

So the burning question is
How do they look?

I spoke to Steven today about mine and they are waiting on the perforated leather to come in. Mine should be done late this week. Steven indicated that several people ordered perforated leather.

 

[KGP]

They look fine. Mine are just an OEM reporoduction (so to speak). Quality loooks very good. Yes, I did check the seat back attach piece, and it's correct. Unfortunately, my car won't be back here for a month, so they won't be installed any time soon.

 

[MJK]

Still no seats here, anyone else still waiting?

 

[sjs]

The quality and workmanship seem to be first rate, though of course fitment will be the acid test. Unfortunately there is something I don’t particularly like about them. The leather parts have quite a bit more grain than the OEM parts and even slightly more than the vinyl sections. By contrast the OEM leather is nearly smooth (more like “glove leather”) and grain is visible on the vinyl. Stretching them on the seat may reduce the grain a bit, but a quick test suggests that the leather will change very little while the vinyl may smooth out somewhat, ending up pretty much the reverse of OEM. I’ve never like the phony grain look so I was hoping for the leather to be smooth like the OEM and the vinyl match the leather better than OEM. As it is I’ll probably just hang on to them in case I decide to sell a car and install them for that.

 

[ISONSX]

The quality and workmanship seem to be first rate, though of course fitment will be the acid test. Unfortunately there is something I don’t particularly like about them. The leather parts have quite a bit more grain than the OEM parts and even slightly more than the vinyl sections. By contrast the OEM leather is nearly smooth (more like “glove leather”) and grain is visible on the vinyl. Stretching them on the seat may reduce the grain a bit, but a quick test suggests that the leather will change very little while the vinyl may smooth out somewhat, ending up pretty much the reverse of OEM. I’ve never like the phony grain look so I was hoping for the leather to be smooth like the OEM and the vinyl match the leather better than OEM. As it is I’ll probably just hang on to them in case I decide to sell a car and install them for that.

quite a bit more grain

White94 - Now you have me WORRIED. I too ordered black with black perforated inserts. I did do red stitching and a tone on tone "NSX" on the headrest. I do NOT like grain in the leather, but like you like to glove leather. I went to Northwest's web site to look again at the NSX seat covers and fro mthe pictures I can't see anything that looks grainy. But when I went back and looked at the picture of my headrest "NSX" again that they e-mailed me, now I'm concerned. What does everybody else that recieved thier covers think of the grain? I hope I didn't just piss away $500+ on some grainy seat covers. even if they are made good.

 

[MJK]

sjs, post some pics when you get them installed? Maybe a before/after pic.

ISO, I got all black w/black stitching with some parts perforated (not as many as the earlier pics). It seems we are all waiting on the perforated leather to come in. Post if you get it, I will.

My CC has been charged, I've paid it and am just waiting now.

 

[NA1/2-R GT]

I have some pictures of the installed inserts on my seats. I received it last week and finished the DIY in 4 hours.
I can't post the picture on here, I can send them pictures to someone that can post so everyone can see? Please PM me.

 

[painlus]

I just taked with Steven on the phone last week while I was in Vancouver. Seems that the ivory sample I sent in from the existing car seat was darker than he expected and thus had to order a different shade lot of leather for the ivory folk. He stated that some orders had gone out already from the GB and others were still in the works. He did invite me to come by the shop and explore which I declined...

 

[ISONSX]

[
ISO, I got all black w/black stitching with some parts perforated (not as many as the earlier pics). It seems we are all waiting on the perforated leather to come in. Post if you get it, I will.

My CC has been charged, I've paid it and am just waiting now. [/B]

My CC was charged about three weeks ago as well. Mine was charged about $20US more than I expected even with $35 for freight costs included. No big deal - it's $20. I talked to Steven this morning and he indicated that your's (Mark's - White94) is scheduled to go out at the same time as mine - Wednesday 3/24/04. I talked to him about my concerns that SJS raised about the grain in the leather. He indicated that the leather that he is using does indeed have more grain than the factory NSX leather. He said that it will subside a bit when installed and will become less pronounced over time. Steven indicated that most 10+ year leather in our cars probably has a "polished" look that occurs over time from wear. It was clear to me that this will not be "glove soft" leather.

Steven said to condition the leather with Lexol a week or so after install and again in another 3-6 months. He mentioned that this is the same leather that is used in every Mercedes since 2000. So, if you want to see how much grain it has, go to the local M-B dealer and look at the seats. He was confident that we would like it once on we get it so we'll see.

 

[MJK]

ISO, thanks for the update!

FWIW, my CC charge was a little more than the GB price. I chalked it up to exchange rates varying - no biggie.

 

[NetViper]

It was clear to me that this will not be "glove soft" leather.

Steven said to condition the leather with Lexol a week or so after install and again in another 3-6 months. He mentioned that this is the same leather that is used in every Mercedes since 2000. So, if you want to see how much grain it has, go to the local M-B dealer and look at the seats. He was confident that we would like it once on we get it so we'll see.

Hmm... I wish they had said something about that before. I might have just got non-perf if it was going to be an issue.

 

[KGP]

Here are some pics of 96blknsx's seat inserts. Honestly, the pics don't do justice to the grain, at least not as far as what I see on my covers. Maybe the pics are not high enough resolution, or maybe the grain just can't be captured effectively. With that said, the grain is not troublesome to me. Keep in mind, these are inserts only.

So that the pics don't spill over on this page, go see the other high res pics here.

 

[NetViper]

I can see the grain on a couple of those pics.

So is the perf leather a lower quality than the rest? Why is it grainy??

 

[KGP]

So is the perf leather a lower quality than the rest? Why is it grainy??

I am going to take a guess at this. Not that I'm a leather expert or something, by I have been given a basic understanding once or twice. I suspect that the leather used for our new seat covers is top grain, which if a remember correctly means that it has not had to be treated in any way to remove imperfections from the hide such as barbwire marks. While the leather could be treated to remove to grain (personal preference), I suspect it is high enough quality that it need not be done. That's my guess, and I'm sticking to it because it makes me feel better about my purchase. Seriously though. I'd like to hear from someone else that might have a good handle on it.

 

[KGP]

Some of my searches seem to indicate I was right. A few relevant excerpts:
---------------------------------------------------
Cowhide comes from standard beef or dairy cattle. The hides tend to be thick and strong. The grain is more uneven because of the size of the animal and the longevity in the environment. Cowhide is very abrasion resistant and stiff. It is an ideal leather for motorcycle wear due to it's abrasion resistance. When the hides are split, a thinner piece of leather can be used to make fashion clothing. Normally, the top side of the grain (top grain or the side that the hair was on) is used for finer fashion clothes because of the pattern of the grain. Cowhide tends to be the most expensive leather. The natural variations in leather patterns will let you know what if the leather is top grain or if it is the inner split and processed to look like top grain. Processed leather is often stamped to make a false grain. You can tell this by the uniformity of the grain. Good Top Grain Leather is uneven in pattern.

A-Aniline-Also known as Natural, Pure, Naked, and Unprotected

These are Leathers that are colored with transparent dyestuff. This means you are able to see the actual surface grain markings. These Leathers have very little or no protective treaments applied to them. Because these leathers do not rely on a Finish or sealer to smooth blemishes like in Protected Leather, the grade of the hide must be much better to produce a quality piece of clothing, hence, a higher price.

P-Protected - Also known as Finished, Semi Aniline, Everyday, Pigmented and Painted

These Leathers have combined the best aspects of a natural product (Leather) and have utilized tannery technology to create a product that is more uniform in appearance and color. The leather is also sealed so that water or other liquids are less likely to stain and the apparel product is more easy to clean and maintain. Most leather clothing is made of this type of leather.

N-Nubuck - Also known as Chaps, Distressed, Bomber, and Suede

These are actually Aniline Leathers that the surface has been brushed, and have created a texture similar to velvet on Leather upholstery or fabric. Suede is the "flesh" side of a piece of Leather and NuBuck is an effect that is done to the grain side. Because NuBucks and Aniline Leathers are alike, it's sometimes hard to tell them apart. The quality of the hide, like a naked leather, is also of higher quality. These "brushed" fabrics look very good but can be harder to maintain and clean because of
the velvet texture.

Patched Leather

Bascially small pieces of leather sewn together to create a large piece of leather fabric. Quality, Type and Grain of the Leather is unknown and grain is interrupted by stiches. Prices are usually much less and should be much less.
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Now whether I'm right about the covers being top grain or not is a different question.

 

[NetViper]

Gene... call them up and find out which of your theories is correct.

 

[KGP]

Gene... call them up and find out which of your theories is correct.

No, I don't want to let myself down.

 

[NetViper]

No, I don't want to let myself down.

I think more than a few people are a little worried by this post about the grain. I know I am..