Interior Fabric Question

[kupde]

Starting on interior fabric. See attached pic from the fabric library posted on Bearhawk Resources. This shows some fabric around the seat rails. The question is, how is this done. The weldment that the seat rail is attached to is a good quarter inch below the tubes above it and below it. In other words when you pull the fabric tight it will not be sitting down on the tubes with the rails. I guess i’m missing something but any inputs would be appreciated.

[Battson]

The exact technique isn't a very critical matter. I did a fairly agricultural job of that exact fabric penetration, and it's been a non-issue.

Here's a brief summary of what I did:

Cover over the seat rails, shrunk the fabric tight, put a tape over the rail for strength, and then used a hot wood burning iron (any hot soldering iron will do) to slice open the fabric and allow the rail to protrude through. This wasn't particularly elegant, but it has lasted for 13 years of heavy use and shows no signs of wear and tear.

I see they have put some tapes around the cut, to glue the fabric in place. This is a tidy addition, but mine didn't stay adhered for very long - I think I ended up cutting that part off - as the seat did rub against the tapes. But as you can see, mine is a 4-place and the seat works a little differently, so your mileage may vary.


Before ironing to shrink fabric:
Loose fabric.jpg

Tape patch applied:
Tape patch.jpg

If it turns out looking less than beautiful - don't worry - you never see that area once the seats are installed.

[kupde]

Thank you for the response! I also just noticed that in a prior pic they show glueing to the seat rail before shrinking the fabric, so that may work too.

[Untainted123]

Mine is all done in sheet metal, painted with what is essentially truck bedliner first. I can get pictures if you want to see how it was done.

[kupde]

Thanks for the offer, but i’m pretty committed to using fabric at this time.