How to Install Custom Seat Covers in Your Car

Installing custom seat covers in your car or truck doesn't necessarily require extensive experience working in an automotive upholstery shop. While making those seat covers yourself might prove a bit challenging, you can usually install a great set of covers in a single afternoon.

Aftermarket seat covers come in one of two varieties. You can either choose the type of seat covers that you purchase from department stores, those covers that slide over the existing seat cloth, or you can choose to install the higher-quality seat covers that require you to remove the original seat cloth. Either way, you're sure to find a seat cover that will quickly and easily spruce up the interior of your vehicle in no time flat!

Basic seat covers

Installing basic seat covers is simply a matter of sliding the new cover over the existing seat. They may be made of neoprene, latex, imitation leather or cloth. In general, these covers are relatively thin and have a series of stretchable parts that allow the seat cover to conform to the existing seat with no additional adhesive. To install these seat covers, begin by cleaning the fabric of the original seat cover completely. This will prevent any debris from damaging the underside of the seat cover.

When the original seat is clean, turn the replacement seat cover inside-out, and then line up the upper portion of the seat cover over the headrest of the vehicle. Note that if your vehicle has a retractable headrest, you may have to cover it separately. Turn the seat cover outside-in as you roll it over the existing seat. Fasten the bottom back of the seat underneath the seat's pivot point, and then stretch the cover over the horizontal part of the seat. An elastic band around the bottom of the seat cover will hold the seat cover in place.

Specialty seat covers

Specialty seat covers are quite a bit more difficult to install than standard seat covers. To begin, remove the seat from the vehicle by unbolting it from the chassis. Use particular care, as many of today's seats have air bags integrated into the shoulder of the seat. In addition, you will have to remove any wiring harnesses from between the seat and the chassis. These will be visible if you look under the seat.

Next, turn the seat upside-down. At the pivot point of the seat, you will see two flaps. These flaps cover the bolts that connect the seat to the backrest. Remove these bolts and separate the two parts of the seat. On the bottom of the backrest, you will see a series of round rings. These are called hog rings, and they are used to hold the original seat covers in place. Some auto manufacturers use zippers instead of hog rings, however. Remove these rings or unzip the zipper, and separate the original seat cover from the seat back foam. It will have a light upholstery adhesive to hold the cover in place, but this will tear easily away, leaving the foam and the seat cover intact. On the seat bottom, you will find still more hog rings connecting the seat cover to the seat itself. Remove these hog rings, and like the seat back, the base will pull apart.

The replacement seat cover will, for the most part, fit with the original seat foam with one exception. You will have to use a strip of Velcro to attach the seat's contours. Fortunately, this is easy, because the Velcro you need is already installed on the replacement seat cover. You just have to attach the other side of the Velcro strip to the creases in the seat foam to hold the cover in place.

Turn the seat covers inside-out, and then roll them down over their respective seat cushions, making sure that the Velcro strips line up. You'll have to work the foam into the crevasses of the seat cushions to produce a tight fit. When the cover is in place, turn the seat cushion over and reattach the hog rings to stretch the seat cover tightly in place.

After the seat covers are in place, bolt them back together at the pivot point and then reinstall the seat into the car or truck to complete the installation process.

"Custom Cars: Coupes, Sedans, Pickups; Alan Mayes; 2010