86 ATC200X seat covered for 3.50$

[Dirtcrasher]

I just finished recovering my 1986 ATC200X seat for 3.50$. This is Marine vinyl available at fabric stores for 7$ a yard. It is an excellant match for Honda Blue.

I used some 1/4 and 1/2 staples, some 1/4 inch foam to go over the old foam and it's done. Took about 1.5 hours with cleaning and all.

Run the grain of the fabric parallel from front to back....

[DixiePlowboy]

What a coincidence!

I was just pulling the old cover off my Tecate seat and planning to go look for some blue vinyl today. Seeing such good results as yours is confidence inspiring.

[Dirtcrasher]

You may have to try a few fabric shops for the right color vinyl. This vinyl also has a tough mesh like backing on it that holds staples real well. There is another type that has a cotton type backing that doesn't work very well. And there are about 3 blues but you'll recognize the correct one....

[82'185s]

lol i do the same thing to cover all of my seats i dont see the point in spending all the money on a cover when you can do it for 3.50

[oldred95]

It costs a chit load to get a seat recovered anymore and they never get it pulled tight enough so it ends up wrinkled where the front of the seat curves up. You did a hell of a job. Figure out somehow to paint 200X on it now and your good to go.

[Huffa]

Looks great DC, real nice, but two things that I can't quite tell for sure?

The sides seem not as defined (more rounded) as on a stock seat and how the heck is it that there are no folds at the rear corners? There must be and we just can't see it?

I did a fair share of seats in my time but never tried that route from a fabric shop. Geeez, if they turn out that nice I may just start buying ratted out seats and do em up and resell them!

I hate using a hand stapler though, no way, that's a pain I have found, a electric one is the way to go. All depends on the mold of the seat too I guess, you would have mentioned if you had troubles so I guess for you, using the hand stapler was smooth sailing?

[Dirtcrasher]

The electric stapler doesn't have the balls to get through it.

I spray adhesive a 1/4 layer of foam over the stock foam and tuck it around the plastic just a bit to keep from chaffing on the plastic.

There are no wrinkles or folds anywhere, you just keep stretch and stapling...

It is absolutely essential that you run the grain of the fabric the right way.

[brrcuda]

nice job - its nice to fix something without spending 50-100 dollars - isn't it.

My sister does my seats for me. She's really good at sewing and uphostery. I plan on doing similar to my 350x to save a few dollars. She only uses a hand stapler too.

I just bought a set of "ATC" stencils for my next one -just spray on white vinyl paint with an airbrush. Waiting for them to come in from australia.

I'll let you know how it turns out - you can borrow the stencils for that seat, if you want. It would be a few weeks til i get that 350x seat done though.

[Huffa]

The electric stapler doesn't have the balls to get through it.

I spray adhesive a 1/4 layer of foam over the stock foam and tuck it around the plastic just a bit to keep from chaffing on the plastic.

There are no wrinkles or folds anywhere, you just keep stretch and stapling...

It is absolutely essential that you run the grain of the fabric the right way.

A pic of the back, could you post that?

[nouseforaname90]

Yeah.. I did my SX seat and now I am redoing my 250R seat and the electric stapler simply does not do as well as the good old hand stapler.
Nice job on your seat.. I used the same kind of fabric (only black) on my SX seat.

[i58829]

I'm also curious as to how you keep it from folding over on the rear corners? Did you start in the front or the back when you were stapling it? If i had to guess i'd say the back to make sure you get the curve tight enough. Please share your secrets, thanks TC...

[Huffa]

Yeah.. I did my SX seat and now I am redoing my 250R seat and the electric stapler simply does not do as well as the good old hand stapler.
Nice job on your seat.. I used the same kind of fabric (only black) on my SX seat.

You guys must have wimpo guns then or something, because mine went through it no problem.

[Dirtcrasher]

Here ya go, here are some pictures off the back and corner of the seat.

You have to run the grain of the material the right way, pull and stretch.

There are no wrinkles or overlaps anywhere except underneath the seat where they can't be seen.

I start in the middle and work my way forwards and back, some of the staples get put in just to hold it while I work a certain area, then I remove those staples until I get that area perfect and restaple.

PIECE OF CAKE :beer

I recovered the SX seat 8 years ago and it is still rip and wrinkle free, so obviously this stuff holds up.

The 2 electric staples I tried didn't work - I guess ther Wimpos!!, my manual stapler worked the best.

[i58829]

Looks great i guess i'll give it a shot, i think i'll try to make a stencil of the honda and 350x lettering to paint on it also just for a little more of a factory look...

[Dirtcrasher]

Looks great i guess i'll give it a shot, i think i'll try to make a stencil of the honda and 350x lettering to paint on it also just for a little more of a factory look...


Sounds good, I shared with you my secrets....

I accept Visa, Mastercard, 350X OEM rear fenders or a 350X OEM rear fender garnish.

Thank you :w00t:

[team-red-rider]

would u cover a seat at cost + like a small fee for time?

[Dirtcrasher]

would u cover a seat at cost + like a small fee for time?


Nope.....

Anyone with a means of transportation to a fabric store, a manual stapler and a razor blade can do what I did on any seat. You can't pay me enough to deal with the Post office etc.

It's a piece of cake to do yourself, give it a shot...

[team-red-rider]

got an idea how to fix missing chunks of foam?

[Tri-ZNate]

got an idea how to fix missing chunks of foam?


more foam and glue

[Dirtcrasher]

Use a sharp razorknife and cut it out in a shape you can duplicate - triangle, square, rectangle etc etc. Cut a similar shape out of foam. Squirt adhesive in the hole in foam, jam shape in foam.

[team-red-rider]

ok how about a chunk missing in a corner

[Dirtcrasher]

ok how about a chunk missing in a corner


Please, please, please tell me your kidding... don't you get the general idea yet?

Yes, there is a chunk of something missing alright....J/K LOL.....

[Huffa]

Here ya go, here are some pictures off the back and corner of the seat.

You have to run the grain of the material the right way, pull and stretch.

There are no wrinkles or overlaps anywhere except underneath the seat where they can't be seen.

I start in the middle and work my way forwards and back, some of the staples get put in just to hold it while I work a certain area, then I remove those staples until I get that area perfect and restaple.

PIECE OF CAKE :beer

I recovered the SX seat 8 years ago and it is still rip and wrinkle free, so obviously this stuff holds up.

The 2 electric staples I tried didn't work - I guess ther Wimpos!!, my manual stapler worked the best.


That looks great! I'm going your route next time instead of buying a seat cover.

In bold is exactly how I do it too except I start in the front and work back.

[toocheaptosmoke]

seat looks real good. :beer

I also make my own seat covers on sled seats, it isn't that hard, with a little practice and patience things can come out very nice.

[rt_linn]

Very nice work on the seat.

I was just wondering but you said you used adhesive, so what kind of adhesive did you use, and did you put it between the 1/4 inch foam and the seat foam to hold it together? also you said you used both 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch stapels is there a reason for this or could you just use one size? You said you run the lines on the vinal from front to back?

Thanks for the help, I would just like to get as much info as possible before I would try and do this on my own seat.

[Kryten]

I have seat stencils that I drew up in AutoCAD that are matches to the originals since I took the dimensions from original seat covers. I have the following: ATC, 200X, 350X, 250R, and HONDA. I have applied the stencils on two different seats and they turned out well. If anyone wants them, I'll email a PDF version.

[Dirtcrasher]

Very nice work on the seat.

I was just wondering but you said you used adhesive, so what kind of adhesive did you use, and did you put it between the 1/4 inch foam and the seat foam to hold it together? also you said you used both 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch stapels is there a reason for this or could you just use one size? You said you run the lines on the vinal from front to back?

Thanks for the help, I would just like to get as much info as possible before I would try and do this on my own seat.


In used super 77 spray adhesive beteen the 1/4" foam and the seat foam.

I used 1/4" staples for the one layer of material and used 1/2" staples when I had to overlap the vinyl material.

All paper, fabric etc has a grain. In one direction it won't strtch much, in the other it stretches quite a bit and allows you to pull the vinyl tight. I believe my grain was parallel to the length of the seat and would stretch most when pulled to the sides.

You just have to expirement a pit, don't go crazy stapling until you know you got it right....

[Erics350x]

I do my own also but i had a local sign shop make painters mask of the 350x and honda logo , then used white die to do the logo's. If you guy's need the stincles let me know I can get em made and shipped for about $10.00 a set . Mine turned out as close to OEM as you can get. I did the seat on the one in my sig.

[Dirtcrasher]

I do my own also but i had a local sign shop make painters mask of the 350x and honda logo , then used white die to do the logo's. If you guy's need the stincles let me know I can get em made and shipped for about $10.00 a set . Mine turned out as close to OEM as you can get. I did the seat on the one in my sig.


Does regular spray bomb paint hold up? Or what else has worked for ya???

[Dammit!]

Does regular spray bomb paint hold up? Or what else has worked for ya???

Duplicolor and VHT both make vinyl specific paint. I've used VHT to change the color of an entire seat and it worked really well. It's more of a spray dye than a paint.

I might try your method on my 200x project since I'm a little more concerned about the total I invest in that one than I am some of the others. Otherwise I'd rather pay someone so I can be really picky and they have to deal with making it perfect instead of me (right Rob? :lol: ).

I think I might try making a desert seat foam from scratch at some point too since I don't know of anyone making them other than Hi-Flite. I think the foam they use is a little too stiff which wastes some of that thickness of the desert seats. A desert seat is supposed to be SOFT. I'll probably have the Mosh's cover it when the time comes though because I want some cool custom stuff for it. They can't be beat when it comes to getting something custom done.

[Erics350x]

You can use spray paint if you put some clear over it, but fabric die looks more like OEM IMO.

[200x350xtriz250]

I love these threads. I tried this about a week and a half ago and had trouble with the staples penetrating the pan. is there a certain size you use (not length, I know that was already covered)? I tried #t50, 1/4" long in a manual gun. is there some other size that would be better or do I just need a new gun?

[Dirtcrasher]

Hmmm.... Ya definately have to hold it real tight to the pan. And the type of stape may plat a role also. I just have 2 crappy old staple guns.

I'll see what brand of staple I use.

[monstertruckr81]

so i just did my seat and it turned out ok heres what it cost me lol

blue vinal 9.99 for a yard(got extra incase i fudged it up )
staple gun 16.99 (cause i didnt have one)
and staples 3.99 (cause i didnt have them either) lol

so im set up for seats in the future my buddys coming over with his 185s seat and were gonna tackle that one


one other question do you think i should take the duct tape off his seat or go over it with the vinal
his seat is pretty beat up

oh yeah and i had a pile of staples almost as tall as the seat by the time i was done getting the staples through the seat pan was a mofo.
just kidding but there were alot of casualties

[82'185s]

if its a 185 seat i would take it all apart and make sure its all dried out and paint the pan if its rusting, all of mine have been pretty rusted.

[200x350xtriz250]

with my wife's help I got mine done yesterday...it was still a pain to get the staples through the pan and alot had to be redone. I'm still curious as to what others are using for staples, the #t50's are 2 or 3 times as thick as the oem's, so if someone has found a better staple, I'd like to know for next time.

[Dirtcrasher]

with my wife's help I got mine done yesterday...it was still a pain to get the staples through the pan and alot had to be redone. I'm still curious as to what others are using for staples, the #t50's are 2 or 3 times as thick as the oem's, so if someone has found a better staple, I'd like to know for next time.
:pics: not close up, but...
43013


I see a wrinkle....:rolleyes:

I wonder if you ran the grain the right way??

Looks good though.

[200x350xtriz250]

the wrinkle is actually a bump...the pad had a chunk out of it and the piece I put in was too big :eek: so I wasn't able to get it totally flat. some of my thinking was that over time the "new" chunk will shrink since it isn't the same padding - a little softer. we'll see.

[monstertruckr81]

does any one have a pic of a 185 seat and how it attaches to a metal pan this ones totally different than mine and its rusted out too but he just wants a seat that wont absorb so much water when we go riding so i figured wed put a cover on it as it dosent have one now but where do i start

[Erics350x]

i dont remeber what staples i used but i do recommend using a stainless steel staple or some other rust protected staple.

[monstertruckr81]

any one help me?????

[Mosh]

Most of the steel pans have Daggers,Or shark teeth that bend up out of the pan.They are very tough To cover.The way they work is you stretch your vinyl just to the perfect amount,then wrap your vinyl on to the teeth and then bend the teeth over for the final fit.They are very tough and I cant begin to explain how to do it.You just have to go at it alone.Sorry I cant help you anymore than that.I dont know if your 185 seat is like that or not.But most of the steel Honda pans are like that with the teeth.

[Dirtcrasher]

Hey Tank - thanks for linking this back up. Hopefully some people who haven't seen this post can give it a shot!!

[tanks350x]

No problem, Just doing my best not to see threads that have already been covered(pardon the pun) get it?? covered!! :lol:

[DeePa]

tanks leave the puns alone

[WIkid500]

Hey good thread. I will be recovering the seat on my 200x. I like how you pulled it over the sides instead of having sewn sides. Looks more like the new Honda seats. Good stuff!

[tanks350x]

tanks leave the puns alone

I know it was bad mike, but I couldn't resist lol.. DC tell ya about my frame?

[DeePa]

yeah its junk LOL hahahahah jk

[rdlsz24]

Does anybody have or can anybody make a trace of the 200X on the side of the blue seat? I want to make a stencil for a new seat cover. I see they sell them on eBay but they go for darn near $20 and have to ship from Italy. :rolleyes:

Edit: Actually I was able to "borrow" it from the eBay auction site. So now my request is simpler: Can anybody tell me how tall in inches these letters are when on the side of the '85 seat?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/rdlsz24/ATC/200xStencil.jpg

Rob

[Kryten]

I have seat stencils that I drew up in AutoCAD that are matches to the originals since I took the dimensions from original seat covers. I have the following: ATC, 200X, 350X, 250R, and HONDA. I have applied the stencils on two different seats and they turned out well. If anyone wants them, I'll email a PDF version.

Send me an email and I'll send the stencils.

[rdlsz24]

Oops guess I should have read the whole thread huh? PM sent.

Rob

[Blown 331]

So, I tried this out and find it to be impossible. lol.

[FireboyTwister]

I covered my '83 200 in Blue Marine Vinyl. Turned out really sharp. My pan has the metal teeth. I simply used the old seat cover to make a pattern and sewed it together then stretched it over the foam and pan. I should have painted the pan though, it was pretty rusty.