General Panda Seat Bolster Repair?

[Bonefish Blues]

Hi everyone, I'm planning to come back to the Fiat fold in the near future (last seen in a Sedici petrol in 2014/15, and before that an Uno FIRE - late 80s I think?)

I've got the option to buy a 2013 4x4 diesel at sensible £. All looks well apart from the driver's seat rh bolster, where they all seem to crack & break up, as has happened with this one. I've searched, but can't see any threads on this, but I suspect others may have effected a repair and have some advice to offer, because I'd like to sort this if possible.

Welcome any advice, thanks.

 

[porta]

If you mean the foam then bonding some half inch foam onto the existing works well, have used it on daughters 2010 cross
If you mean the fabric, which is a bugbear, a simple fix would be to get a patch from some hidden excess, I used some from behind the rear seat back and just used copydex and trimmed the worn bit back

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Yes, it's the vinyl that's cracked away in an area of the bolster - the foam underneath looks ok to me. I'll have a look-see if there's any excess I can find when I'm having a more detailed look at the car.

Anyone using anything like Armor-All protectant on these areas to keep them supple?

 

[Panda IIs]

Yes, it's the vinyl that's cracked away in an area of the bolster - the foam underneath looks ok to me. I'll have a look-see if there's any excess I can find when I'm having a more detailed look at the car.

Anyone using anything like Armor-All protectant on these areas to keep them supple?

Yep, mine's gone too; it's faux leather so I don't think you'll be able to "feed" it so to speak. There was a thread on here somewhere where someone found a local vehicle upholsterer who dismantled the seat cover and sewed in a new piece of vinyl. There's a guy in North Herts who I could recommend (AR Pound Baldock) - not sure where you're based? He did a great job of switching some old X1/9 seats to leather for my Minari.

 

[porta]

Yep, mine's gone too; it's faux leather so I don't think you'll be able to "feed" it so to speak. There was a thread on here somewhere where someone found a local vehicle upholsterer who dismantled the seat cover and sewed in a new piece of vinyl. There's a guy in North Herts who I could recommend (AR Pound Baldock) - not sure where you're based? He did a great job of switching some old X1/9 seats to leather for my Minari.

There’s a guy in baildon West Yorkshire as well, not the cheapest, but bloody good

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Thanks both. I'm near Bicester so I'll have a scout around here too.

Re 'feeding' vinyls, no not in as many words, but I understand the reason that vinyl cracks is that the plasticisers leach out over time, allowing hardening and ultimately cracking. I'm a flyfisherman and the same thing happens with fly lines so many people use protectant/replasticisers to keep them in good condition, hence the question.

 

[Panda IIs]

Thanks both. I'm near Bicester so I'll have a scout around here too.

Re 'feeding' vinyls, no not in as many words, but I understand the reason that vinyl cracks is that the plasticisers leach out over time, allowing hardening and ultimately cracking. I'm a flyfisherman and the same thing happens with fly lines so many people use protectant/replasticisers to keep them in good condition, hence the question.

Mmm, well you need to be careful there, choose your treatment carefully. My observation is that the material is not up to the service condition, it seems the driver's side is the one that fails none of the others are showing any distress - so more a fatigue/wear issue and I think mainly in the beige coloured trim. Can anyone report failures in other colours?

Out of interest are we talking nylon fly lines?

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Pvc fly lines, so a very similar material, and yes, pale colours are more susceptible to damage* so that correlates also. Aerospace 303 and Armor All have been used on these materials for many years, with good results

*Being less resistant to UV damage, which is the main cause of deterioration aiui.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

My 2013 car had beige ‘plastic leather’ and cracked there. Both its successors have had dark green fake leather and have been fine. Interesting to note Fiat dropped the vinyl side bolsters in more recent revisions with all-cloth seats on all models.

 

[timmycm850]

the side bolster issue is common on vans of all makes, bigger van drivers drag themselves over the seat edge as they get out causing stress on the seat fabric/vynil and foam. As Fiat used faux leather in this area its very easy to get proper upholsterers to replace them without the material having to be a perfect match.

The key here is to replace the fabric/vinyl before the foam is damaged. Often you can swap driver/ passenger seat bases over to reduce the wear on the drivers seat alone.

 

[Panda IIs]

Pvc fly lines, so a very similar material, and yes, pale colours are more susceptible to damage* so that correlates also. Aerospace 303 and Armor All have been used on these materials for many years, with good results

*Being less resistant to UV damage, which is the main cause of deterioration aiui.

Hi, you've touched on my "specialist subject", polymers, (although I shy away from the word specialist since there's always something new to learn out there in the world). What you say about pale colours is true to a certain extent (UV and associated heat, chemical, ageing is controlled by the additive packages for the material). The addition of carbon black is a recognised mitigation for UV damage but dictates that the material will be a dark colour (I am using the word material in the sense of the material or substance from what something is made not as a fabric if that makes sense?). Titanium oxide can be used for lighter colours but is probably less effective, as you say many of the solutions (plasticisers) tend to leach away from the material changing the mechanical properties as they go. UV will be filtered (eliminated) by the vehicle glass so any ageing will be due to heat/chemical effects which, again I think is changing the mechanical performance and this shows on the drivers side since this sees the most fatigue/abrasion.

On fly lines etc, I know from my work that nylon for example (PA6) will uptake moisture quite rapidly (sometimes up to 2% by weight) in a relatively short space of time, this comes with a change in mechanical properties since the water acts as a plasticiser so greater extension and lower physical strength. While PVC is not the same base polymer similar effects are likely - all interesting stuff and not really relevant here!

Good luck with finding a solution and have a happy New Year!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Interesting stuff, thanks I knew about carbon black in the context of wellies where trad black ones, whilst being much less fashionable are way more durable than green ones, which tend to crack over time.

Part of me wonders if a smart move might be, whilst we're at it, to get both the bolster covers on driver's seat replaced with leather.

Anyhow, haven't bought the darn thing yet, so am leaping ahead, as always!

 

[Panda IIs]

Interesting stuff, thanks I knew about carbon black in the context of wellies where trad black ones, whilst being much less fashionable are way more durable than green ones, which tend to crack over time.

Part of me wonders if a smart move might be, whilst we're at it, to get both the bolster covers on driver's seat replaced with leather.

Anyhow, haven't bought the darn thing yet, so am leaping ahead, as always!

Haha, no harm in thinking ahead and having a plan! I would use the damage for negotiation leverage on the price - take account of the proposed repair! If the seats are coming out and the covers off (which will be the bulk of the effort - read time) then why not add leather; it would be more durable with the right care.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Haha, no harm in thinking ahead and having a plan! I would use the damage for negotiation leverage on the price - take account of the proposed repair! If the seats are coming out and the covers off (which will be the bulk of the effort - read time) then why not add leather; it would be more durable with the right care.

Indeed - depending on whether the leather's coated or not, of course.

I do giggle when people feed leather that's coated and can't benefit one jot from it (and yes, I used to do it myself ) beyond a wipe-down with a damp cloth to keep dirt at bay.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Quote to fix is £90, which is very fair, I think.

 

[Panda IIs]

Quote to fix is £90, which is very fair, I think.

If that's a sewn repair (remove seat cover, remove and replace) then that seems very fair. For a glued patch, OK, but I'd be concerned about the durability.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

If that's a sewn repair (remove seat cover, remove and replace) then that seems very fair. For a glued patch, OK, but I'd be concerned about the durability.

Proper car upholsterer's repair

 

[XINEOHP]

the side bolster issue is common on vans of all makes, bigger van drivers drag themselves over the seat edge as they get out causing stress on the seat fabric/vynil and foam. As Fiat used faux leather in this area its very easy to get proper upholsterers to replace them without the material having to be a perfect match.

The key here is to replace the fabric/vinyl before the foam is damaged. Often you can swap driver/ passenger seat bases over to reduce the wear on the drivers seat alone.

I have exactly the same problem with my driver's seat and wonder if it is possible to source the exact colour vinyl in the UK. My local autotrimmer has hundred of samples but nothing near enough. My car is a Twin Air Turbo Panda 4x4 which is fantastic! I previously had a classic Panda 1989 which I converted to LPG at 40,000 and the original engine finally expired at 182,000. I managed to get the last FIRE engine form the factory and after 1000 miles, it was stolen from outside my house and torched which left no forensics. A sad day!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I have exactly the same problem with my driver's seat and wonder if it is possible to source the exact colour vinyl in the UK. My local autotrimmer has hundred of samples but nothing near enough. My car is a Twin Air Turbo Panda 4x4 which is fantastic! I previously had a classic Panda 1989 which I converted to LPG at 40,000 and the original engine finally expired at 182,000. I managed to get the last FIRE engine form the factory and after 1000 miles, it was stolen from outside my house and torched which left no forensics. A sad day!

What colour is it? We'll be going to see the Man later this week I expect, so will keep thread posted.

 

[XINEOHP]

What colour is it? We'll be going to see the Man later this week I expect, so will keep thread posted.

Thanks for your very prompt reply - it is the green vinyl - luckily I think there is only one green and in Interior Trim section of the original brochure it is 222. I bought it new January 2017.
If you are able to get some it would be sensible to have a metre or something like that incase something else happens!!

Again many thanks and hope to hear positive news!

Elisabeth Edge