Foam Mattress topper for seat upholstery?

[koosh]

Was thinking of giving this a try to upholster a Charger rear seat. (Ive Never upholstered anything), I read somewhere a guy bought a twin size 2” memory foam topper, and used it on top of cotton batting, then installed the covers? Indicated was much cheaper than upholstery foam and very comfortable.
Anyone tried this?

 

[Davefinan]

A couple of times I laid one and a half inch layer of foam over the existing foam BUT the existing was in decent condition and I was just looking to make up the difference of wear and compression over the years of use. I could not have asked for better results.

 

[Bird 426]

I don't think that you would want memory foam, maybe. If you have a JoAnn fabric store near by, they have foam. While it lasts, they are in the process of closing their stores. Or you can buy a universal foam kit from one of the upholstery suppliers, you will probably need parts of that. You are in for an education doing this yourself on the cheap. Nothing about upholstery is cheap. Well, maybe a real pair if hog ring pliers and rings from a farm supply store.

 

[fine69]

I’m thinking that mattress foam won’t be dense enough.
Never tried it though so who knows?

 

[T2R9]

I use 1/2" high density, really helps with original foam.

 

[WileE]

Yup. Not mattress-topper foam, but high density foam I've used to "pad-up" a seat bottom. The best way I've found is foam that seems almost impossible to fit inside the cover.

A couple of times I laid one and a half inch layer of foam over the existing foam BUT the existing was in decent condition and I was just looking to make up the difference of wear and compression over the years of use. I could not have asked for better results.

 

[koosh]

I don't think that you would want memory foam, maybe. If you have a JoAnn fabric store near by, they have foam. While it lasts, they are in the process of closing their stores. Or you can buy a universal foam kit from one of the upholstery suppliers, you will probably need parts of that. You are in for an education doing this yourself on the cheap. Nothing about upholstery is cheap. Well, maybe a real pair if hog ring pliers and rings from a farm supply store.

i do have a Joanns, but what thickness/ density to i buy?

 

[Bird 426]

First of all, what shape is your old foam in? Does it need help? Are any springs broken? Sit on each side, does one seat side feel weak? Rear seats usually don't see a lot of use. The back of my rear seats in my 2 Darts doesn't even have foam, only the bottom. It can be really difficult to get the seat envelope over the frame with too much foam. I would do the sit test then open them up and take a look at what you have. I am not an upholstery expert, but have done all 3 of my cars. It's just another learning curve.

 

[RJ Squirrel]

Exactly what I did, 1.5” mattress topper over 3 layers of Harbor freight moving blanket material hog ringed on. The seat will probably never get used by humans, dogs maybe.

 

[koosh]

First of all, what shape is your old foam in? Does it need help? Are any springs broken? Sit on each side, does one seat side feel weak? Rear seats usually don't see a lot of use. The back of my rear seats in my 2 Darts doesn't even have foam, only the bottom. It can be really difficult to get the seat envelope over the frame with too much foam. I would do the sit test then open them up and take a look at what you have. I am not an upholstery expert, but have done all 3 of my cars. It's just another learning curve.

I have bare metal frames/springs, no fabrics.

 

[koosh]

Exactly what I did, 1.5” mattress topper over 3 layers of Harbor freight moving blanket material hog ringed on. The seat will probably never get used by humans, dogs maybe.


View attachment 1817090View attachment 1817091View attachment 1817092

So, 3 blankets on seat, and seat back, with 1 layer of 1.5” memory foam mattress topper on each?

 

[bandit67]

koosh, it will be difficult for anybody to tell you the final thickness that you are going to need. That is why we home doers reuse the original foam if possible, or at least as a guide to get you back to the thickness as needed. Our fifty plus year old foam has condensed, and will need at least an 1/2 inch or more to restore back to original thickness. If not , when you stretch the new vinyl cover on, you will have wrinkles. I buy and use a lot of jute backing on my replacement jobs. You can glue it on top or use on the bottom of your foam as in T2R9 pic.
For your base bottom, you first need to secure something solid, a blanket, jute or burlap will work fine. You then will have to do trial testing with your cover to determine how much foam is needed to fill out your cover.
Watch some U tube vids, they is a lot of them, and you will understand the basics. I really do enjoy doing my own upholstery work, even as the rookie I am at it.

 

[AR67GTX]

Memory foam will probably work but I would use high density upholstery foam instead. I think HD upholstery foam is better for holding defined seat cushion contours and profiles which is important especially for bucket seats as you don’t want them to look like a shapeless bag. For a rear bench seat that is less critical and they are basically slab surfaces, then memory foam might work out.

 

[koosh]

koosh, it will be difficult for anybody to tell you the final thickness that you are going to need. That is why we home doers reuse the original foam if possible, or at least as a guide to get you back to the thickness as needed. Our fifty plus year old foam has condensed, and will need at least an 1/2 inch or more to restore back to original thickness. If not , when you stretch the new vinyl cover on, you will have wrinkles. I buy and use a lot of jute backing on my replacement jobs. You can glue it on top or use on the bottom of your foam as in T2R9 pic.
For your base bottom, you first need to secure something solid, a blanket, jute or burlap will work fine. You then will have to do trial testing with your cover to determine how much foam is needed to fill out your cover.
Watch some U tube vids, they is a lot of them, and you will understand the basics. I really do enjoy doing my own upholstery work, even as the rookie I am at it.

I get what you’re saying, but as mentioned, i have no material to start with, just metal frames/springs

 

[Bird 426]

Google a how do I recover the seats in my ,................ Legendary does them. I wouldn't buy your supplies from them directly, I would go to a vendor that carries their products, say for instance, Dantes. You will get it faster, Legendary takes care of their vendors first, not you as an individual. You need an upholstery kit anyway, and you can get the universal foam kit that has most of the other materials. Get your hog ring pliers and rings from a farm store. Get going!

 

[koosh]

Google a how do I recover the seats in my ,................ Legendary does them. I wouldn't buy your supplies from them directly, I would go to a vendor that carries their products, say for instance, Dantes. You will get it faster, Legendary takes care of their vendors first, not you as an individual. You need an upholstery kit anyway, and you can get the universal foam kit that has most of the other materials. Get your hog ring pliers and rings from a farm store. Get going!

I don’t know…. With no experience/knowledge of doing this, im still on the fence. Dont want to ruin a brand new Legendary cover!

 

[440 4 speed]

First of all, what shape is your old foam in? Does it need help? Are any springs broken? Sit on each side, does one seat side feel weak? Rear seats usually don't see a lot of use. The back of my rear seats in my 2 Darts doesn't even have foam, only the bottom. It can be really difficult to get the seat envelope over the frame with too much foam. I would do the sit test then open them up and take a look at what you have. I am not an upholstery expert, but have done all 3 of my cars. It's just another learning curve.

Once in awhile when the back seats were used, I have heard that the whole seat was used. Therefore you wouldn’t have any particular sections that were worn.