Questions For First Seats

[flyingcuda]

hello, i am asking for some help. i am working on this project, first time for me involving motorcycle seats. there is carving and tooling involved. asked to shave seat foam down as well. i have done a lot of research and it has left me more confused. do i wet mold the large seat? some suggest oiling the leather before dying and antiquing, others don't. some suggest assembly first then dying and antiquing, others don't. some suggest the mexican braiding, others suggest double loop. i am also dying by hand, rather than airbrushing...don't know how to yet the customer also wants the darker edges and coming to the center lighter. any help would certainly be appreciated.

[ikewineb]

I'm interested in the responses here. Are you going to be making the cover with pannels or just one piece? Where are you going to braid? I don't know if you would mold the leather over the seat, but I imagine it would have to be damp to stretch it and get the cover tight. I'm not sure how well the transition dye job would come out without the airbrush. I've seen some where it has been dry brushed with good results, but it's beyond me. I hope you get the answers you are looking for.

[flyingcuda]

pretty much going to be lacing where the stitch line is in the photo (where the black joins with the white) i'm planning on lacing the top piece to a side pannel that will go underneath the seat. i would much rather do it all one piece, but customer wants the lacing

[shadowryder]

I did this seat with black soft calf skin,aprox 2mm thick I mexican weave braided all the seams on this.

[David]

If that is the thickness of the padding you are using then by all means read Roger's tutorial in the pinned portion of this Motorcycles and Biker Gear.

Dave Theobald