Repair vinyl upholstery in your car

Does you car need it's vinyl seats repaired? Learn how to repair the upholstery in you car by yourself!


You cannot simply glue torn vinyl upholstery back in place; the adhesive will destroy the foam padding underneath. Make a vinyl patch from excess seat material or similar material from an auto upholstery shop or car dealer. Use an automotive vinyl or trim adhesive.

Cut a piece of vinyl larger than the tear from the excess material tucked up under the edges of the seat. For big tears, try to buy a matching material. Fold the patch and push it under the tear in the upholstery. Open it up and spread it out evenly under the tear with the finished side facing up, the backing facing down.

Carefully, lift the torn piece of upholstery and apply vinyl adhesive all around the underside of the tear. Apply adhesive to the surface of the patch material as well. Press the flap gently into place, keeping the edges as close together as possible. Do not press too hard or edges will part. If a gap remains, use a repair kit to fill it.

Fixing split piping on your seat requires a thin matchstick or piece of doweling and contact Tcement. Remove the match head. Apply cement to one end of wood and insert it part way into the split piping. Apply cement to protruding end of stick and work other piece of piping onto it. Let cement set thoroughly before using the seat.

Cuts, tears, or cigarette burns in vinyl roofs or upholstery can be mended so that they are invisible. If you use a vinyl repair kit sold by speciality mail-order houses. The kit contains patching compound in several colors, graining sheets, and a material for making your own graining sheets to match older patterns.

Fixing Carpet Burns-

Cut away the charred pile with curved cuticle scissors. Cut a few undamaged loops of carpeting from under the seats, behind a piece of molding for instance, or up under the dash where the carpet is hidden. Fill the charred depression with a clear-drying glue. Insert the undamaged loops into the glue with tweezers. Make sure the loops remain fairly upright and let the glue set and dry for 24 hours before stepping on it.

For vinyl roof rips and tears, melt the vinyl with the tip of a household iron to repair cuts that do not extend into the cloth backing. Set temperature at the lowest setting on permanent press. When the iron cools, clean it with a nylon scouring pad to remove any excess vinyl.

If the cut extends through the cloth backing, glue backing into place with the trim adhesive first, then melt the surface of the vinyl as above. Do not get glue onto the surface of the vinyl, solvents that remove the adhesive will also melt and mar the top.

Cover a bubble with masking tape, then pierce it a few times with a needle. Heat it with a 250 watt infrared lamp held 3 to 5 inches from the top. Press vinyl to roof with a wood block until glue rehardens. Remove tape and excess glue.

If bubble will not stay down, leave masking tape in place and inject more adhesive with a hypodermic needle, or cut an X through the vinyl with a razor and repair.

Keep the car out of the hot sun for at least 24 hours.



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It's not that easy but you can do it on your own car. Just follow the instructions and i bet you repair your car seats.

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