Horse hair seat pad insert repair

[Rocket]

Hi all,

I was wondering is there any technique for repairing the existing horse hair seat pads inserts?

I was thinking maybe removing the pads, rinsing them and prying the horse hair apart slightly.

Once dry could they be dipped or sprayed with some kind of adhesive to hold the hair together?

Has anyone tried this or can recommend a technique for restoring them?

Thanks,

Rob

[Haasman]

Rob- Interesting idea. I would not bother. I would simply buy a new one. The time and effort is not worth the effort. I say this because it is more than just breaking down. The fibers also compress and no longer retain their form.

Years ago I tried this with another make's seats and it didnt work at all.

[CDOUGLEHMAN]

I got mine here
https://cabrio.de/en/interiors-khm/p...9;65-73-detail

[Rocket]

i think its worth a go. i like repairing everything.

[rdelmendo]

Hi Rob-

I, like you, wanted to try to refresh the padding of my seats rather than replace. Here’s what I did:
- After removing the pads from the seats, I rinsed them with water several times
- Brushed on several coats of Weldwood Water-Based Contact Glue, letting dry between coats. It drips all over, but gives the brittle horse hair some body again
- For the seat bottoms, I cut some 3/8” jute to cover the springs and give the original pads some support
- I used new potato sack material and re-tied the cords that give the seat bottom that crease and then covered with Autos seat covers

To me, the seats look and feel great and are not overly stuffed like ones I’ve seen using the foam replacement pads. Sorry for the poor pictures, my daughter accidentally deleted most of the ‘69E restoration photos from my iCloud account...

[uai]

BTW that's rubberized Coco fiber no Horse in that game. It ages & gets brittle - get a new cover.

[Rocket]

Hey Ron,

That looks great. Exactly what I was thinking. I am trying to repair just the rear seat cushion pads.

There is already some Jute bonded to the back of the cushion fabric.

I have washed the horse hair pads several times.

I was thinking some kind of rubberised contact glue or PVA glue could do the trick. Going to try - nothing to loose.

Thank you

[gruen911]

uai is correct. It's coconut fiber. If you have difficulties finding a source, I know a guy in Europe who sells it.

BTW that's rubberized Coco fiber no Horse in that game. It ages & gets brittle - get a new cover.

[911T]

Hi Doug,

Thank you for providing the link to the company that build the padding; it looks to be a pretty faithful reproduction. I agree with all those who note that foam padding can give the seat an overly stuffed look. Can you tell us if you are happy with their padding? How do your seats look? - I’m at the padding and recovering stage in the restoration of my seats from my Conda Green 71T. Seats are a LOT of work ... ��

I got mine here
https://cabrio.de/en/interiors-khm/p...9;65-73-detail

[CDOUGLEHMAN]

Well I started restoring my car in 2013 I thought I’d already be at the Doing the upholstery stage. I open the box a couple of years ago they look awesome . I got a whole bunch of stuff from them including new seat Springs. I save about $100. Each compared to the ones that porsche sells. The box of stuff from Germany is sitting in my air-conditioned shop Waiting for the time when I actually do my upholstery. The overall appearance is they feel and look like to what I have in the original seats.
Before they sent the padding to me ,they had me take one of my seats apart and get true measurements of the width of the metal back frame . Near the top and near the bottom. When I asked them why they told me that there were a couple of different measurements between the top and bottom and they needed to know which style I had.

It has been a couple of years ago I am getting close to working on the restoration process on the seats I should have them
Ready before the end of the year.
I have found some biege German vinyl that’s pretty close to what my Newley acquired original door cards rear top and bottom seats . I have even bought a set of front drivers seats in Beige I was hoping that I could have used them but I believe the vinyl is past useable. I am also missing the rear wheel well covers and the door pulls which pretty much are the hardest ones to come by in good shape
I’ve really been struggling with not using new vinyl but I have not been able to get a hold of any front seat in beige vinyl that have been acceptable for what I’m trying to do. My biggest problem is is if I have to use the new vinyl I’ll probably have to do all of the car in the new vinyl. struggle is real when it comes to the How I’m going to actually approach the interior
my car was originally beige and all the material in my car was dyed black.
The seats were tattered anyway so it really didn’t matter even if They weren’t black.
Anyway if you’re really curious I maybe could go and take a couple more shots do a side-by-side comparison I still have the old padding in that came from the seats perhaps I should do a side-by-side comparison if anybody is interested.