Vinyl Seat Repair Issues

[kapejo]

Hello,
I have a 66 Convert with a very good interior...except for a tear in the center of the bottom cushion of the front passenger seat. Trim #27 Aqua. After 51 years the vinyl is still supple, but the sun,wear,dirt, etc have given the interior a patina that does not match any of the available replacement seat covers. I want to reupholster the bottom center section to match the rest of the seat and interior.
Does anyone know of a supplier/manufacture of auto vinyl that can match my current color if I send in a swatch with the aid of a computer. I'm thinking like Home Depot/Lowes duplicating a color when you bring in a piece of painted drywall.
Also, if anyone has a serviceable seat cover of that age and color, I would be interested in buying.

- Thanks, John

[abaucom21]

As an Interior Designer I have some experience dealing with conservation of very old textiles on high-end antique furniture (but no experience dealing with 1960s vinyl which is not the same chemical makeup of 21st century vinyl). You will have some issues just replacing a single panel. To re-stitch (re-sew) a new panel your upholster will need to reinforce the underside of both new and old vinyl panels so the new stitches will hold.

To perfectly match patching in a new material with an aged material, think you might need to do a national search for a firm that specializes in furniture textile restorations and that is going to be expensive.

After your time / effort, & material / labor expense to "Conserve" your original 51 year old vinyl upholstery, it might be best in the long term to reupholster both front and back seats with a more cost efficient upholstery kit. What would be your next move if a year from now your 51-year old vinyl tears at another seam? Start the process again to replace one degraded seam panel at a time? Rear seats on our autos where typically not used. So if you have an upholstery seam fail over time on the back seat, shortly you might have front seat upholstery seam failure. Yes, the seam threads do degrade over time.

I bought my 1966 convertible a few years ago, granted it has black interior and the black color is not as exacting as yours. The interior was reupholstered in 2001, still looks factory fresh and vinyl still soft 16 years later.

Think long term: A patched interior will not necessarily add value to the auto unless the rest of the auto is 98% factory original, correct from 51-years ago. Do you intend to enter your Bird in a 'Survivor Class' at national shows or do you want an exceptional looking Bird that you can drive on weekends?

[Terry64HT]

I have to agree with the points made in the last post, however, I have seen some very good vinyl repairs. It's a bit of a dying art though. If it is a tear that doesn't involve a seam, it can be patched from the back. But it will still show to some extent. It means your seat has to come out and the cover removed. Unless you can do it yourself, I expect the cost would be close to new vinyl covers since there are not many of these types of craftsmen still around.
Just my thoughts
Terry
64HT