Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Recovering older seats

This is topic Recovering older seats in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Glenda Cockrum (Member # 542) on 11-22-2002, 04:33 PM:

I am going to bite the bullet and attempt to recover the very worn 1940's seats on my own [Eek!]

Has anyone else out here attempted this? I am looking at recovering 140 seats, row by row, over hopefully a month. Any ideas, hints or suggestions? Or I am taking this refurbishing too far? The seats are in the pictures of the "Ambridge Family Theatre" in the pictures section. Thanks, Glenda

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-22-2002, 06:48 PM:

Glenda,
Anything to do with seating is a pain in the ass! Thats really putting it mildly too. Before you really dive into it I'd reccommend that if you have a spare back and seat bottom around that you try to do that first and get a feel for it. You need to be sure that the foam cushions are also in top shape, don't smell and are not collapsed. If they are old they are probably bad! Also use only some type of really high grade fabric that will really last a long time. The Mona Loa fabrics that are used on new Seating Concepts seats is a good example of a really long wearing fabric so try to get some of that type. Any lesser quality fabric are you are really wasting your time doing it as they will fall apart. Used seating is another route you might want to explore but there are trade offs on recovering vs. re-seating.
Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 11-22-2002, 07:44 PM:

Your seats shouldn't be a big issue to recover since it appears they probably hav a plywood backing to staple too
Invest in a good air stapler and a good compressor.

Posted by David Favel (Member # 1125) on 11-22-2002, 09:49 PM:

I looked at this, however approx half the cost of a new seat is made up in the fire proof fabric. Do laws allow you to use non fire proof? or would it be easier/cheaper to buy some second hand?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-22-2002, 10:07 PM:

The real drawback to second hand seating is the hassle of first getting the correct seat for the slope at hand, getting the correct width seats for the length of the rows, and then installing them. There are drawbacks to both re-seating and rebuilding whats there. If these seats did indeed come from Radio City Music Hall then there is a bit of history behind them and restoring them might be worthwhile. Its not quite as sinple as Gord said.....Youahve the back and the seat bottom to deal with, and then there is a cushion even on the back. Cushions this old tend to be pretty trashed out.
Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-22-2002, 10:20 PM:

I've recovered about 300 seats (with foam cushions) but not the backs. The 'bottom' of the seat wasn't too hard to do but you do need (new) good foam and an air stapler.

Are those seats indeed foam, or are they spring cushioned?

Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 11-23-2002, 12:07 AM:

Glenda,

Undertaking this will be more of a pain than you expect. The pans will be the lesser of your two evils by far, as they're easier to fit new covers and cushion padding to.The backs, however, could be a bit of a problem. I remember trying to recover an older (early 70's era) Haywood/Wakefield (?) or Massey.. I forget which it was now, with covers supplied my our home office... Yeah, ok.

Seat backs that are wooden and have exposed stapling/fastening system may prove to be much easier tho. If it's a newer Irwin and the seat back needs replacing... hang it up. I've not found a feasible way to do this. Again, the pans OTOH are a breeze! [Confused]

Posted by Glenda Cockrum (Member # 542) on 11-23-2002, 09:11 AM:

Well these seats are old enough that they have springs!Which is why I am fairly sure of their age. The floors here are not sloped so no problem with the bases. I pulled out a set of the 10 or so spare bottoms and backs, and yes it seems the bottom will be easy, but I am beginning to understand the problems with the curve of the back [Roll Eyes]

I did a web search, spent about two hours reading through pages and found good "contract" upholstry, a plush velvet, through a "jobber" at very good price, and in a nice rich burgandy color, they will ship it this week. I already have a good electric staple gun, I hope it will be strong enough. I have enlisted the help of a few family and friends to help with the cutting out [Big Grin]

and then start recovering the spares as time allows, replace and pull more. I will try to take photos as this progresses. Total cost to recover existing 150 seats will be apx. $900 for materials and no labor costs thanks to family and friends [Wink]

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 11-23-2002, 03:24 PM:

Make sure the fabric is inherently flame proof

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-23-2002, 07:34 PM:

Glenda,

We are in the middle of a very large refurbishment project -- after lots of research we discovered that the age of our seats gives us a big advantage -- the frames in those days (and I imagine your seats are the same) were made to withstand lots of abuse. We found that it was cost-effective (by a wide margin) to have the seats refurbished rather than replacing them with new ones. But that's being done by a contractor who does this routinely; it is not something we are tackling in-house. As Mark pointed out, a real advantage of using the original frames is that they FIT the slope and the anchor points which eliminates many hassles. The companies that are in the bidding took seats and presented refurbished samples -- the one the won did a fantastic job -- they are as plush, comfortable and beautiful as any new seat, but without the hassle of matching the odd sizing that was used to keep staggered sight-lines -- a calculation headeache if ever there was one.

I can get you details of the specs if you want -- that might be helpful to see what exactly it is that needs to be done. I can also get contact info for the companies that bid, in case you want to go outside to get them done.

Then, again, the guys at the Loews Jersey refurbished their seats in-house, with much of the work being done by volunteer workers, so maybe Bernie can give you some pointers on the subject of do-it-yourself seat refurbishment. But bottom line, as we found out in our project and as everyone here has already stated, doing it on your own is one royal pain in that part of the body which the seat holds up. [Smile]

Frank

Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 11-23-2002, 09:34 PM:

The Kodak Film Notes publication 50-45 here on the manuals section has an excellent picture article on seat repair/covering.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 11-23-2002, 09:59 PM:

A link to the Kodak article on seats: [Cool]

http://www.film-tech.com/manuals/H5045.pdf

Posted by Glenda Cockrum (Member # 542) on 11-25-2002, 07:48 PM:

Thanks, printing it out now!! Glenda