Hog Ringing Hassels

November 13, 2010

Hey there.. I am in need of some tips/help recovering my 69 Camaro seats please.

I have a new vinyl kit (by Distinctive Interiors) that so far appears to fit OK on the one seat base that I have done so far.

I am also fitting new foam buns (by American Cushion Industries) and adding batting along the sides of the cusions as per OE.

Getting the hog-rings in the seat base was "fun", but I was able to do it and I'm reasonably happy with the result as they are a vast improvement over the previous "professional" result.

However.

I am now attempting to cover the seat backs and am having a very hard time trying to get the hog-rings in and here is the motivation behind this thread.

I have bought various types of (Osbourne) pliers to gain access,

I have tried hog-ringing from both the front and rear of the cushion,

I have tried sewing with a heavy fishing line to bring the welting and spring wire together for hog ringing,

I have tried making a hand tool that pushes the welting down to the spring wire for hog ringing,

I have tried supporting the spring wire with blocks of wood to hold it in place while I attempt to hog-ring the welting from the front side,

..but it doesn't matter what I do, I just can't get any of the hog rings to secure the welting to the spring wire through the new seat foam's grooves as they have been done from the factory.

Can some please give me some tips on how to do it and/or where I might be going wrong..

I have included pics so you can hopefully see better than my descriptions. I am totally new at this and please forgive if I have used the wrong terminology.

I am simply trying to recover these seat exactly the same way as they have come apart.

Lame seat back finish before stripping. You can see the location of almost every hog ring.. Bad!

Seat back stripped.

Rear of seat back showing difficult access.

New foam in place with batting/padding.

OE material was unwoven cotton with a cheesecloth covering to prevent balling. I have used 4 layers of cotton batting with muslin on top to do the same.

Welting hog ringed to spring wire.. This is what I am trying to do!

tint_detective · November 13, 2010

The new cushions should have a welt or some type of wire or cord to hog-ring to.

You should not have to go all the way through to the springs to secure the cover, it attaches to the cushion itself...

Looks perty good so far though... :beer

November 14, 2010

The new cushions should have a welt or some type of wire or cord to hog-ring to.
You should not have to go all the way through to the springs to secure the cover, it attaches to the cushion itself...

Looks perty good so far though...

Thank you Shady..

Are you suggesting to simply hog ring the cover's welting to the cushion? They simply have a groove that the welting slots into, with a fabric backing on the cushion to prevent the hog-rings ripping out.

Do I then need to separately hog-ring the foam to the wire along the same "welt-line"?

The reason why I am trying to go right through to the wire is because it was like that when I pulled it apart, -mind you, these seats have been re-covered once before, so maybe they were done incorrectly.

Anyway, I would expect the cover's fit to be a little loose if it was just secured to the foam.

Thanks a heap for your response. :lol2

tint_detective · November 14, 2010

Yes, from the way you are describing, it Was done incorrectly..

Ring the cover to the welting in the foam....

Then.

Just ring the foam to the frame in a few key places....

Once the cover is installed, it's not going anywhere...

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get it figured out, you seem to have a grasp of it... :thumb

November 14, 2010

Thanks a heap Shady.. :beer

I'm really quite relieved now, because I want to do it all myself. (I have a satisfraction craving disorder!)

To me, if I have the tools to do the job, then out-sourcing = giving up, and I was just about to.

Thank you! I'll post some pics when I am done.

If you are at all interested, here is a thread of the Camaro's restoration I am doing. It's up to page 41.

I'm in Australia and the car is now right hand drive. Well, it has been for the near 20 years that I have owned it, but the original conversion was an extremely poor job and I have re-done it completely. I hope it to be convincing enough to make it look as though it was made that way by GM.

http://www.usmuscle.com.au/Forum/showthread.php?t=2840

Thanks again for your help. :thumb

November 14, 2010

Most seats do have a wire embedded in the foam bun to hogring covers too. These are seats from later model vehicles. However, first generation Camaro seats don't. If you look in the pictures you'll see a U-shaped wire hogringed to the zig zag springs. This is the listing attachment for the seat covers. Same with Corvair seat covers, Chevells, most seats from late 60s, early 70s. Corvette seat covers also attach to a backing wire, but there are different length S-shaped wires that bridge the gap.

When I first get premade covers to install, I pull out the poly cord in the cover listings and replace it with wire, like the originals. This eliminates the "pulled" look at each hog ring point along the U in the seat. I also like to replace the poly underneath with wire as well. It tends to pull hard enough the hog rings can cut through the poly and make the cover weak.

I notice in the pics that you have the covers already hogringed to the backside. I'm not sure about others, but this is my last step in attaching. Since they are in proper position, take the hogrings loose and pull the outer bolsters back up, keeping the inner listing in place. I do this to mark cover alignment so the pleats are level and there is no bunching of the cover.

I used curved-handle hog ring pliers. Spring-loaded are nice because you can load a hog ring and it won't fall out as you're placing it. I cheat. I use a razor blade and make a small (maybe one inch long) slit down in the groove where the listing fits, through the material so the hog rings have a clear shot attaching to the back listing wire. This ensures the ring gets solidly around the back wire. When I'm installing the ring, I put my hand behind and use a finger to push up the attaching wire. you can feel the point of the hog ring going around the wire and making a secure connection. I usually put three across the top and four down each side. This makes it lay nice and smooth and gets a nice deep look to the cover.