One for the "How To" section, if the mods approve...

I had sagging velour cloth inserts in my VX Wagon, this would also apply to any VT, VY, etc with similar seats - the fabric had come away from the backing & was hanging loose. Motor Trimmers I had approached were not willing to undertake this repair (maybe labour cost?) and as for replacing the seats, there are so many variations in trim that it was very hard to find seats with matching inserts at wreckers, impossible for rear seats in decent nick, so I decided to have a go at fixing them myself. It worked well so I thought I would post this for anyone who wants to have a go.

The following is for the rear seat backs in a wagon, but could be adapted to any of the seats as long as you can dismantle the seats enough to get the foam pads & fabric off the seat frames. It helps if you have a bit of experience in pulling apart fittings, and a steady hand for the upholstery work but can be done & gives a pretty good result.

Rear seats were first removed - remove bench seat by using release handles, remove bolsters by pressing together top clip with pliers, remove centre seat belt mounting. I would recommend using locking multigrips on the belt to stop the seat belt retracting too far. With seat backs lowered, at the connecting fitting (now visible with the bolsters out), lever the plastic part of the fitting toward the seat to release the two pins, this frees the side of the seat - lift up & out, & remove seat back. With seat sections out, use a narrow blade screwdriver from below the long plastic covers across the back, push to release the clips, but be careful - they can break easily… replacement covers can be had from Holden if that happens, $50 & $65 so it's better to just be as careful as you can. Seat Release Buttons and escutcheons can be removed from the seat pads by finding & releasing the plastic tabs that hold them in - replacements can be bought from Holden if you do break them.

To remove the fabric at the top of the seat - it's connected to a black plastic piece, lever the whole black plastic retaining piece off the seat frame & then slide that off the plastic piece that's sewn to the fabric. On the side, take off & keep the circlip that holds the connecting fitting, then remove this so you can get the pad & fabric off the seat frame. Now unzip the fabric and the entire fabric & pad can be taken off the frame. You should be able to see how to feed belts & fittings through any gaps, just be careful & take your time and don't forget to clamp off the belt with a length left free.

For the base, you need to undo about a hundred eyelets by bending them apart (keeping them to put back on later).... very laborious.... Other seats will need a similar level of mucking around to get the fabric & padding off the frame, for the front seats, I just hunted down a replacement set as the padding was knackered also, but the same technique below could be used.

Now for the fun part. To get the fabric off the expanded foam padding, you need to first know how it is built. Originally, the foam rubber lining is bonded between the fabric and a thin "skin" backing, which is sewn to the fabric at the edges. The “skin” is then glued to the seat padding. To open this up - at the seam around the edges (where the skin is sewn to the fabric), cut very carefully, only through the skin & NOT THE FABRIC - but - on three sides only – leave one side attached to the seat padding. This will allow you to open it up & reveal where the original foam rubber has perished.

Leaving one side still attached to the expanded foam padding makes re-assembly so much easier (for the bench seat base, you would remove the fabric from the sides & leave the centre-most seams connected to the foam base). I left the side with the Seat Release buttons attached. Make sure you clean off all the old foam rubber - otherwise your new foam will just come loose down the track or any small "chunks" you leave may cause bumps. ( I used my hand to roll it off the seat and the fabric, then final brush off with a dustpan brush; time consuming, but it works. Don't use a wire brush or it will cause damage.)

From Clark rubber, I bought a length of 6mm foam rubber (any thinner will be too thin, 6mm is about right) a medium size pot of adhesive (small is not enough) to glue the foam to the seat padding, and a can of spray glue (~ $38) to glue the fabric onto the foam. (all up, around $60-70) If doing the lower seat bench as well, or for doing more sections, buy double the amounts above.

Make sure replacement foam is cut straight on one edge & larger than needed; Apply the adhesive evenly to the seat & the 6mm foam rubber (I cut up a 5L plastic container to use a length of plastic as a glue spreader) - be a little generous on the seat base, you want the stuff to stay put. Pay attention to the creases, where the fabric tends to loosen first. You don't need to glue right to the edges, use previous glue lines as a guide - you want some left free along top & bottom edges. When tacky, apply the straight edge of the foam along the still connected edge of the fabric - position the foam neatly into this edge, or the fabric here will wrinkle when glued to the foam - working from the centre out, paying attention to getting the foam into the creases. Use a very blunt piece of straight edging (about 6" long) to seat the foam into creases for a neat line. Allow to dry.

Fold the fabric into place across the foam to check positioning, work out where the foam meets the seams (where you cut the skin) & carefully trim the foam to size. To glue the fabric, work from the attached edge, from the centre out so that you can get back into the "free" bits with the glue to do the next section. I started with half of the centre section, with a "triangle" of glue on parts either side of the creases to make it easier to do in stages.

Use the spray glue & coat the fabric and the foam as evenly as possible - put a good line in the creases on the padding - but don't saturate the fabric too much as the glue will come through. This stuff goes tacky pretty fast, so CAREFULLY pull the fabric up & lay the fabric on the foam so that there are no wrinkles, work the fabric into the creases & seams with the blunt straight edge and keep the fabric spread as you work. Doing a bit at a time makes it easier to control wrinkles, If you need to, you can pull the fabric back off once or twice to reposition, but it can start to stretch so be careful.

Remember to invert the can & spray to clear the nozzle every 5 mins or so, or the jet will clog. When gluing the edges of the foam to the fabric, make sure you pull the fabric tight as you go to prevent wrinkles, and get it to adhere to the foam rubber right up to the seams. Where there is a crease in the padding that you need to work the fabric into, make sure there is good coverage of glue in the crease to give a good bond.

By now, it should look pretty good, it's just a case of letting it dry for an hour just to give the glue strength, re-assembling your seat and re-installing (if you've coped with the above, that bit's easy!!) Be careful when re-installing the retractable seat belt - mine went too far in & I had to remove it, take off the plastic cover that says DO NOT REMOVE.... and release the lever so I could get the belt back out (I'm used to small fiddly stuff, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're very confident) Keep a length of seat belt free & find some way to clamp it, it will save all the hassle.

Hope this helps a few people.Sorry I couldn't get any pictures, my hands were too sticky with glue to handle the camera..

I will happily edit to make it clearer if there are any questions - I just wanted to get it down before I forgot..
Cheers,
Brian