ElkinsDIY.com Presents: The bench seats in my 1963 Aloha camper were flat and looking shabby. In this video I show you a simple technique on how I upholstered my new foam cushions.
If you're up for suggestions, Put a layer of PUL or ripstop nylon in-between the fabric and foam for waterproofing. If you spill something on these (or if it's a bed convert and someone pees in their sleep) it'll soak into the foam. A layer of protection will allow you to clean up easier and save you from having to buy replacement foam.
And this is why I love TH-cam I'm currently overhauling my boat and i'm not good with fabrics and this is great cheap way to get the job done. Thanks for posting.
thank you for jogging my memory and getting me out of my tunnel vision...I have covered so many regular dinette chairs, which is very similar but I was sooo tunnel vision thinking I needed sewing classes...great video
Brilliant idea, and nicely done video. Never thought of adding a thin backing board to staple onto, and you just saved me a whole lotta sewing... thx Paul!
Thank you for sharing this video, I have a project coming up that this will be perfect for. You sir are a genius, I would love to see what you could do with an open check book!! Paul is the man...
Great job on the video! This was very helpful ....I just finished making 2 custom matresses for a bunk house im retrofitting into our RV......STAPLE GUN 💪🏻
wow Paul, nice job! love our Washington rain, OK everyone we don't tan here we rust! beware California, before you leave your town to live here! Lol!!! :)
caravaning is big here in Denmark. My wife is great with a sewing machine and her father is a professional upholsterer! Could be a great business idea. He has more foam and textiles than you can shake a stick at. Nice video
Thanks for the video! Wow your handy! Let me share what has worked very well for me for FREE MATERIAL!, much of which I've learned from my brother who is a professional upholster, with making a new bench or van bench seat or boosting old car seat foam: For car seats that need boosting, most often they just need more foam added to be like new again, I find used carpet pad foam often in a neighbor's trash or dumpster behind a carpet store. Remove the car seat fabric clips and carefully peel the front and sides of the fabric to gain access under the seat foam core, which often requires the seat be unbolted from the floor. Place a sheet of it or two under the seat foam core, right on top of the spring wire deck(carpet pad foam is tougher than the core so this also stops the spring wire deck from cutting into the seat foam core bottom). Your second sheet can be cut smaller just covering the area the butt sits on. Also inspect the top of the foam core and add carpet pad foam or regular foam where might be needed like by the door, worn from getting in and out over the years. Spray adhesive can be used to bond the foam to the foam but is not necessary except for any top foam added. Your seats will be firm and new like for many years now, it's like free magic! The seat back usually doesn't need a any foam because it's the seat that gets the body weight on it from gravity. If you seat back should need a boost, you can add polyfill batting on top of the foam for free-see below. These methods can also be used on sofa seat cushions. I'll share below where to find FREE used good foam below! To make a bench- where to get free foam: there is so much FREE foam and FREE polyfill - in many soft pillow backs and polyfill batting often wrapped around foam cushions for the taken in people's discarded sofa's and chairs found outside dumpsters at apartment complexes and the back of thrift stores. Even though it's used, it has been well protected covered inside the upholstery. Of course in the event it's a cat lady's furniture and the cats happened to piss all over it, you'll smell it and know to move on lol Most apartments don't allow pets or make it expensive to have a pet so a lot of furniture is pet free. Use a box cutter to open the old furniture to get at the free foam or poly as you need or use the zipper you'll find on some pieces. Some foam in old sofas contain like a 1" thick panel of foam on top of other foam that is perfect thickness to add to your sofa foam to give it the new boost again. Foam can be cut to size using a hack saw loose blade only in your hand holding the end making a sawing motion. New foam looses some of it's firmness over a break in period, say after 5 years depending on how much it's sat on. But then the broken in foam lasts a very very long time at that softer level firmness before it really starts to break down. You might be able to buy complete new expensive foam cushion cores but they will sag after the break in period as well. This is why so often we love a new firm piece of furniture but then it gets soft and saggy on us. Now the sofa companies could to put super firm more expensive foam in their sofa's when new that might be a perfect firmness for us when broken after the 5 years break in period, but then we wouldn't buy the sofa if it's not nice to sit on from the beginning in the show room, so there's the dilemma when you fabric is still in great shape after 5 years but the foam is now sagging. The free fix: So just add more foam if you can firms it up to make it like new again, unzip and compress the foam as you slowly peel off your fabric from the cushion core. Then either add more foam to the top or bottom or hack blade saw through the center horizontal line of the foam core all the way from the back to almost through the front but not through, so you leave a good hinge of foam in the front. Then place about a 1" thick of used foam in the sandwich and holding it closed peel the fabric back over the foam cushion. You can also add more polyfill pad to the cushion core on it's outside to add more softness and support but adding more foam is the big boost. Spray adhesive is optional to bond the foam to the foam. People often think that when the seat sags that the springs under the cushions, have weakened but no, it's the foam, the springs are metal and strong, the foam is just foam. Discarded trash at a dumpster is free for the taking and your reducing what goes to our planet's landfill. This is win win, real free hard core recycling, helping to save our environment as well! Take care!
If you're up for suggestions, Put a layer of PUL or ripstop nylon in-between the fabric and foam for waterproofing. If you spill something on these (or if it's a bed convert and someone pees in their sleep) it'll soak into the foam. A layer of protection will allow you to clean up easier and save you from having to buy replacement foam.
And this is why I love TH-cam I'm currently overhauling my boat and i'm not good with fabrics and this is great cheap way to get the job done. Thanks for posting.
Top man. Now I can fit new cushions to my motorhome without a sewing machine.
thank you for jogging my memory and getting me out of my tunnel vision...I have covered so many regular dinette chairs, which is very similar but I was sooo tunnel vision thinking I needed sewing classes...great video
It's great watching your videos always a great go too...thanks for posting these Paul...regards from Ireland
I love the sound of the rain on the roof!
We just reupholstered our cushions in our vintage camper with your technique and they are beautiful. It's a 1955 Comet. Thanks so much for your video.
He’s adorable! I want to come learn everything he knows!
I am from india and I love your videos. Most important all the necessary fixing tools you have. Hiring someone to do is expensive. lovely video.
Brilliant idea, and nicely done video. Never thought of adding a thin backing board to staple onto, and you just saved me a whole lotta sewing... thx Paul!
you made it look so easy! Really love your trailer curtains - they match perfect!
Awesome and easy! Just bought a 1973 Camper and am restoring it atm, this will work great!
Awesome idea using ply to staple the fabric to! I was going to pay an upholsterer to make the cusions for my van, but I'll make them myself! Thanks
No hassle and really effective, many thanks!
this concept, minus the foam, is a great way to make custom door panels for older vehicles.
This is fantastic, I must give it a try. From Australia.
Paul, Thanks for the advice. It looks like I will be doing this in a few weeks for our camper cushions on our new to us Pop-up.
Thank you for sharing this video, I have a project coming up that this will be perfect for. You sir are a genius, I would love to see what you could do with an open check book!! Paul is the man...
Yes sir this is my way. No sew and easy. Thanks for sharing!
awesome job mate. it looks great
have a great day
mark
Looks awesome Paul!! I did some round bar stools the other day.. Haven't figured out the trick to circles but these look very nice!
Great job on the video! This was very helpful ....I just finished making 2 custom matresses for a bunk house im retrofitting into our RV......STAPLE GUN 💪🏻
wow Paul, nice job! love our Washington rain, OK everyone we don't tan here we rust! beware California, before you leave your town to live here! Lol!!! :)
Hah! Indeed Tom. True natives of Washington don't own umbrellas.
Thank you! Great video
was looking for this thanks
caravaning is big here in Denmark. My wife is great with a sewing machine and her father is a professional upholsterer! Could be a great business idea. He has more foam and textiles than you can shake a stick at. Nice video
Hey I have a caravan made in Denmark, MKP Smutti 1986, It's over here in Ireland!
Nice job!
I love this! No one ever taught me how to sew so this is a life saver
wow..very neat.
great video save me lot of hassle cheers
Thumbs up.
ENJOY....THE SIMPLE LIFE
How well have these held up over some time and use?
I sure hope you have 'children' an grandchildren ...that are/can learn so much from you : ) as well as creating/inventing.....!!!!!!
would be cool for one of your nomad stay ins
that is cool
Nice.
Thanks for the video! Wow your handy!
Let me share what has worked very well for me for FREE MATERIAL!, much of which I've learned from my brother who is a professional upholster, with making a new bench or van bench seat or boosting old car seat foam:
For car seats that need boosting, most often they just need more foam added to be like new again, I find used carpet pad foam often in a neighbor's trash or dumpster behind a carpet store. Remove the car seat fabric clips and carefully peel the front and sides of the fabric to gain access under the seat foam core, which often requires the seat be unbolted from the floor.
Place a sheet of it or two under the seat foam core, right on top of the spring wire deck(carpet pad foam is tougher than the core so this also stops the spring wire deck from cutting into the seat foam core bottom).
Your second sheet can be cut smaller just covering the area the butt sits on.
Also inspect the top of the foam core and add carpet pad foam or regular foam where might be needed like by the door, worn from getting in and out over the years.
Spray adhesive can be used to bond the foam to the foam but is not necessary except for any top foam added.
Your seats will be firm and new like for many years now, it's like free magic!
The seat back usually doesn't need a any foam because it's the seat that gets the body weight on it from gravity. If you seat back should need a boost, you can add polyfill batting on top of the foam for free-see below.
These methods can also be used on sofa seat cushions.
I'll share below where to find FREE used good foam below!
To make a bench- where to get free foam: there is so much FREE foam and FREE polyfill - in many soft pillow backs and polyfill batting often wrapped around foam cushions for the taken in people's discarded sofa's and chairs found outside dumpsters at apartment complexes and the back of thrift stores.
Even though it's used, it has been well protected covered inside the upholstery.
Of course in the event it's a cat lady's furniture and the cats happened to piss all over it, you'll smell it and know to move on lol
Most apartments don't allow pets or make it expensive to have a pet so a lot of furniture is pet free.
Use a box cutter to open the old furniture to get at the free foam or poly as you need or use the zipper you'll find on some pieces.
Some foam in old sofas contain like a 1" thick panel of foam on top of other foam that is perfect thickness to add to your sofa foam to give it the new boost again.
Foam can be cut to size using a hack saw loose blade only in your hand holding the end making a sawing motion.
New foam looses some of it's firmness over a break in period, say after 5 years depending on how much it's sat on.
But then the broken in foam lasts a very very long time at that softer level firmness before it really starts to break down.
You might be able to buy complete new expensive foam cushion cores but they will sag after the break in period as well.
This is why so often we love a new firm piece of furniture but then it gets soft and saggy on us.
Now the sofa companies could to put super firm more expensive foam in their sofa's when new that might be a perfect firmness for us when broken after the 5 years break in period, but then we wouldn't buy the sofa if it's not nice to sit on from the beginning in the show room, so there's the dilemma when you fabric is still in great shape after 5 years but the foam is now sagging.
The free fix:
So just add more foam if you can firms it up to make it like new again, unzip and compress the foam as you slowly peel off your fabric from the cushion core. Then either add more foam to the top or bottom or hack blade saw through the center horizontal line of the foam core all the way from the back to almost through the front but not through, so you leave a good hinge of foam in the front.
Then place about a 1" thick of used foam in the sandwich and holding it closed peel the fabric back over the foam cushion.
You can also add more polyfill pad to the cushion core on it's outside to add more softness and support but adding more foam is the big boost.
Spray adhesive is optional to bond the foam to the foam.
People often think that when the seat sags that the springs under the cushions, have weakened but no, it's the foam, the springs are metal and strong, the foam is just foam.
Discarded trash at a dumpster is free for the taking and your reducing what goes to our planet's landfill.
This is win win, real free hard core recycling, helping to save our environment as well!
Take care!
Would this be a good idea for a mattress for the bicycle camper Paul? Or do you think it would be too heavy?
My neighbor runs an upholstry business. She gets a lot of customers, seems quite lucrative.
I need to buy foam for couch/bed for RV. Where did you buy your foam. I have seen a place that will add a in. or two of "topper". thank you,
the foam store near you. He says at :32 seconds in
Where did you get your foam from?
0:31 "foam store"? I have never heard of such a place
saweet !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks like she also cut the fabric with pinking shears.
So what happens when you put plywood in the washing machine.
Hey Howyou find out for me yea
You should visit woodprix website if you would like to make it by yourself I think.
If you want to make your own woodworking yourself just look for woodprix website. There is all you need to make it :)
youre gonna get condensation and mold on that board.
Maybe coat the board with polyurethane first, then make sure there is ventilation underneath (ex. drill holes below the cushion).
Woodprix is a good solution for every woodworker.
I think you need to take some time and go to Woodprix website to learn how to make it.