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Common
fabric upholstery problems include cigarette burns, rips and general wear and tear on fabric seat covers and carpets in cars
and vans. These burn holes and tears will affect the look and value of the vehicle, but can be quickly repaired
to very high standards.
First
of all I carefully prepare the damaged area keeping this as small as possible. A mix of small fibres is then carefully
blended to match the surrounding fabric of the vehicle seat cover or carpet. The repair area will be filled with
one of many suitable compounds, then the area will be built up with the fibres and a bonding solution applied, until the repair
is level and complete.
Often
it will be difficult to spot where the original cigarette burn or fabric tear was as I endeavour to ensure the repair closely
matches the surrounding fabric.
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Cigarette Burn - Repair Example 1
This Nissan seat repair was made easier by the pattern in the seat.
The rule of thumb being - the busier the pattern, the easier the repair.
The first task, as always, was to fill the hole with a durable but flexible compound. It is imperative that
the compound is flexible as the seat constantly moves with use therefore the compound has to move with the seat.
Once the fibres had been mixed to the correct colour I glued them to the compound with an industrial strength adhesive.
Then I replicated the pattern by masking out the different colours, placing a mesh over the affected areas and dropping
the fibres over the mesh (rather like shaking flour through a seive). This builds up the different shapes of the pattern.
A clear adehsive was then sprayed over the affected area and dried. This seals the
area and ensures the repair will stand the test of time.
Cost - as above £ 50
plus VAT.
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Cigarette Burn - Repair Example 2
This Ford C-Max seat repair was made easier by the straight
lines in the pattern on the seat.
The first task, as always, was to fill the hole with a durable but flexible compound, as above.
Once the fibres had been mixed to the correct colour I glued them to the compound with an industrial strength adhesive.
Then I replicated the pattern by masking out the different lines, placing a mesh over the affected areas and dropping
the various coloured fibres over the mesh (rather like shaking flour through a seive). This builds up the different lines
of the pattern.
A clear adehsive was then sprayed over the affected area and dried. This
seals the area and ensures the repair will stand the test of time.
Cost - as above £
50 plus VAT.
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Cigarette Burn - Repair Example 3
This seat was the rear seat of an older BMW which the owner was
going to advertise for sale. To replace the entire seat cover was going to cost £ 190.
I had been recommended by one of the owners work colleagues and agreed
to repair the burn for £ 50 plus VAT.
The first task, as always, was to fill the hole with a durable but flexible compound, as above. Once
the fibres had been mixed to the correct colour I glued them to the compound with an industrial strength adhesive. Then I
replicated the pattern by placing a mesh over the affected areas and dropping the fibres over the mesh (rather like shaking
flour through a seive). This gave the raised bobble effect that existed within this pattern. A
clear adehsive was then sprayed over the affected area and dried. This seals the area and ensures the repair will stand
the test of time.
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Cigarette Burn - Repair Example 4
This Citroen C1 seat was quite a straightforward repair. The process
was the same as the seat above but instead of trying to replicate a bobbled pattern I had to replicate a smooth finish.
This is achieved by 'puffing' fibres over the repaired area then flattening them prior to sealing the finished
repair. The cost was the same as above ie £ 50 plus VAT.
The thumbnail photos don't do this repair any justice, if you click on the 'after' photo you will see the finished
repair and the smoother finish in a larger format.
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Cigarette Burn - Repair Example 5
This Ford Focus seat was a straightforward velour repair. The only
concern was the 'singe' mark around the hole. Normally I try to keep the area of repair to a minimum, in this instance
I had to blend out the velour to cover the singe marks.
This was achieved by
'puffing' fibres over the surrounding area until the repair and surround all blended together. The cost was the
same as above ie £ 50 plus VAT.
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