Saddle Recover Material

BOXKARS
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Bike Wall
Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Put a new blade in your razor knife and take a drive on trash day.
:wink:
You might be amazed by how many vinyl and leather chairs & sofas get tossed out. While you are dumpster diving, keep an eye out for leather coats & purses.
 
pick and pull auto wreckers seems to have many chooses.
 
$5 will usually get you a leather thrift store jacket (head to the woman's section)
a. theres usually more jackets to choose from.
b. you'll find a lot more trench style jackts in the womans section
IMG_1054.jpg

IMG_1088.jpg

IMG_1090.jpg

even the seam in a sleeve can be turned into a nice little detail.
 
Also at the second hand stores and yard sales are old purses, the big ones have enough material for a seat cover and some smaller ones can make a good bike bag if they are the right shape.
 
icyuod2 said:
IMG_1090.jpg

even the seam in a sleeve can be turned into a nice little detail.
Click to expand...

Very nice effort!!!

That is the great thing about this site. I had that idea in my head, now
I can see it in practical application.
 
ive gotten vinyl scraps from upholstery shops and boat shops before. the small town fabric store carries a few different vinyls too.
 
I have Molds to preform leather skins for Pearson & some Troxel 2 -pc pans.
When I go to tandy leather I usualy pay about $25.00 to $30.00 for a skin big enough to do 3 seats. I think they call it No. 5 hide ?? anyway it ends up being about .100 thick.
When done you can dye your seat Black , Honey Ect or just give it a good dose of Mink oil to soften & darken it up.
you can also padd them with sandable open core foam for a custom fit set up or fit it directly to the tray with no padding for the primal type out there.

I have used both Large Chrome headed & Large Copper Headed Rivits like the Brooks come with to attach the covers.
After coninfg out of the mold theh usualy have a few prestressd marks that ad to that been around look ... Kinda like old furniture when all finnish except Brand New.
The inner pan gets jetisoned at this point. Its also used to Mold with so dont get rid of it yet.
Adam has seen the first prototype .... Its only been refined & gotten cooler on the last 4 seats.

LOl yea I know..... Pictures... Show us pictures

With the behive suspension & padding, They are Not the lightest saddles BUT, They are the most comfort my derierre has EVER seen with Atomic , DoubleThrowdown, throw back vintage looks.
I liked the re cycled material approch also. The tandy hides are about 3 to 4 times thicker & you have to dye, stain or oil them.
Just my humble opinion here

Stephen / Wingman
 
Thanks for all the ideas and info. I've never recovered a saddle from scratch so it's new territory for me. But I have so many saddles that I picked up on very used bikes just laying around with perfectly good hardware that I want to make use of. Thanks again.
 
Make sure you heat the vinyl/leather just before installing. It will mold/stretch easy and wrap around the pan easy too plus fit better. A hairdryer or on the car hood in the sun if it is warm out. I use Weldwood contact cement on the backside of the material; plenty of ventilation required or you will be really high.
 
I know that a seat skin is $3 or $4 at the Pull a Part. Next time I'm in there I'm going to get a tan leather one to do a few seats.

Seat backs are often in perfect condition and easy to work with.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top