Seat bolster repair

[Oldcarguy]

Originally Posted by KevinH1990

Thanks for the tip. I picked up some used seats to put in a 2005 Mercedes that I use as a daily driver and the driver's side bolster needs a repair.

There is also a small tear in the passenger seat bottom and a gouge in one of the headrests.

It looks like Magic Mender can handle the bolster repair, but do you think it can help with the gouge and tear?

By the way, if you need parts to repair your seat base, I have two seat bases in my garage that are left over from a seat upgrade project. One is powered and the other isn't. Let me know if you need anything and I will send you pictures.

You’re welcome. The toughest part for your bolster will be the seams, stitches and area between the stitches. I was lucky that I only needed to repair up to the stitch and not in the area between the stitches. Both the repair compound and the colorflex will obscure the seam, seam ditches and stitches (not reversible after the products take a set). Also, the colorflex is not suitable for redying the stitches. There are some videos on u-tube that show how you can deal with this (basically shave the fuzzies off of the stitches, tape them with a good pin stripe painting tape, apply repair compound, smooth, remove tape before the compound sets, re-smooth, retape, apply colorflex, remove tape before colorflex sets, redye the stitches with fabric dye). Practice first, then practice some more!

The gouge and the tear are actually easier than dealing with the bolster seams. Just check the how to videos online. The technique is the same for many of these products so you’re not limited to Magic Mender videos. You will not be able to match other than smooth leather textures without locating some leather impression pads which are made specifically not to bond with the repair compound. IIRC, the M-B kit used in-house has these texture pads. Sorry, I don’t have a lead for these kits. Again, practice is the key.

Thanks for the offer on the seat base. Unfortunately I won’t be able to tackle that project until next spring. I’ll check with you then to see if you still have anything available.