Typing 2 Ink - by Jim Bryant
Chapter Eight: Needles and Pins

What are the chances that anyone else out there has ratty upholstery?  I have to be the only split window bus owner with stuffing hanging out of the driver's seat, right?  After all, a towel tucked in around the corners or a cool VW T-shirt takes care of it.  No problem.  That stain where the kid spilled an unknown sticky concoction can be covered with a poncho.  Oh, but remember that trip with the dog . . . what to do about that?

If you're into leather and steel, keep reading.  When I ventured into the upholstery territory, the black letters on the yellow sign read Masochism Ahead.  The shiny new paint on my '67 Deluxe must have blinded me as I forged on through the software part of restoration.  Actually, there's no leather involved at all, unless that's your fabric of choice.  As I wrote in the last chapter, I found the fabric, vinyl, piping and tread I wanted at a good auto upholstery shop.

If you're going to reupholster yourself or have something custom sewn, do right by VW.  Don't scrimp on materials.  And don't let the shop people steer you to that excellent Toyota stuff that looks just as good.  They're just trying to get rid of their bad investment.  I have to admit it.  I had sewn before: chair upholstery, a Lazyboy for my daughter, even tried my hand at flags and capes in wilder times.  My point?  Cheap material looks cheap on the roll and in your bus.

Like computers, upholstery falls into two categories: software (cloth, vinyl, etc.) and hardware (frame, springs, etc.).  All you handy folk out there can deal with stripping and painting the hardware.  Don't put new seat covers over dirty, rusty frames.  A little black spray paint works wonders and won't stain the fabric.  One word of caution, though.  If you’re going to strip your hardware, don’t strip the springs.  Just hose them down so they’re good and clean.  I found out the hard way that they were coated with something to keep them from creaking when you sit on them.  Whatever that stuff is, don’t strip it off.

The software is another thing altogether.  The nice thing about a VW bus is that you have the pattern right in front of you.  A seam ripper or Exacto knife in all the right places leaves you with a pile of pieces.  Do not be fooled into thinking you can keep track of them all without marking them for later reconstruction.  The driver's seat alone has three metal rods, two lengths of piping, a length of wire, three pieces of fabric, seven pieces of vinyl, plus all the padding underneath.

The short version of this upholstery lesson is easy.  Use the new material to sew it all back together like it came apart.  This is not a Home Economics course.  You have to know how to use a sewing machine and do some hand stitching (or you have to know someone who loves you very much and is dying to sew for you).  I can provide some tips, having been through it myself, so I'll try.

Hint One: As with any sewing, keep the direction of the fabric oriented in the same direction at all times.

Hint Two: Sew all pieces of like material together first.  That is, sew the vinyl pieces (that wrap around the sides and back) together to form a unit.  Then do all the sewing for the fabric part to form another unit.  Finally, sew the two units together with piping in the middle.

Hint Three: For that original look, quilt the seat and back part of the fabric.  Original upholstery had a quilted effect molded into them using a heated press.  The best method with fabric is to sandwich 1/2" foam between the finish fabric and a backing material to sew the quilting in first.  Sewing machines do not like to sew directly on foam (it doesn't advance right).  The backing material is one area where you could scrimp, but it must be there.

Hint Four: Don't leave any loose threads.  There must be a good square knot at the end of each pass of the machine.  They don't have to be cut off if they won't be seen, but they must be tied.  If they're not, you can look forward to watching your seat covers fall apart as you drive.

Hint Five: As I suggested for interior panels, seat fabric should be treated with Scotch Guard.  It’s an extra step now, but you’ll appreciate it later.

In the first draft of this I wrote these as rules instead of hints.  That sounded far too much like math class for my taste.  Remember we’re supposed to be doing this because we like it. Keeping with the segue from upholstery to math class, invariably some math teacher would finish up a long proof on the chalkboard with AQED@ and I would scratch my head in wonder.  That was supposed to mean Quite Easily Done because the hard part was over.  Not so with math proofs.  Not so with upholstery.

After all the cutting, quilting, joining and knotting, the finished product has to be installed over the frames and springs.  Whether you ordered a new set of seat covers from a specialty shop, had some custom covers made, or made them yourself, fitting the finished product is not QED.  Between the fabric and the springs VW put a molded, stiff-spongy padding and cotton batting.  The stiff-sponge padding pieces fell out under each seat.  The cotton batting stuck out when the seams fell apart or the material ripped.  Some suggest 3" foam padding as a substitute for the stock padding.  Foam gives an entirely different character to the seat.  Use it if you must.  I wouldn’t.

Your frames and springs are clean.  Your covers are ready.  Your padding is salvageable.  Toss the cotton batting if you want.  Polyester batting (like the stuff in pillows only it comes in sheets) is cleaner and can easily be cut to the proper size.  One more helpful Ahint@ as you begin the reassembly: before you put the padding over the springs, put a layer of canvas or denim (something durable) between the springs and the padding.  This will prevent any deteriorated padding from falling through the springs.  You know what I mean, that brownish grit under the driver’s seat and in the tool space under the passenger seat.

Installing the covers takes a lot of pull, literally.  With canvas, padding and batting over the springs, position the cover and begin pulling the edges of the cover down to fasten it to the frame.  VW didn’t use Ahog rings@ to hold the material in place like American cars do.  Triangular clips are spot welded to the frame to hold the covers in place.  Your covers need to have a piece of wire through the bottom hem.  When the cover is stretched to the frame, the triangle clips puncture the material and catch on the wire.  After the cover is properly positioned, carefully bend each triangle point over to hold the cover in place.  They’re sharp!  They’re also susceptible to breakage.  If any of yours broke off, you should have replaced them in the hardware phase.  Once the seat cover is in place and all clips bent over, the wire should be pulled tight and wrapped around the frame to hold it.

I’ve concentrated on the driver’s seat for these instructions.  Installation for the rest of the seats is similar.  In a few spots a cardboard strip is sewn to the material and slides in a slot on the frame.  The middle and back seats have a board on their backside so cargo doesn’t puncture it.  The basics I highlighted here give you the general idea.  With seats and interior panels done, particularly if you’ve done it yourself, you can really appreciate that it took a force of artisans to make those buses come together at the factory. All you have to do is sit on it.