This winter I reupholstered the pearl bucket seats in my wife's 71 GS. The new upholstery kit does not include covers for the headrests. Does anyone know if these are sold someplace, or will I need to make these from leftover old seat material? (or buy new material if the old is too mismatched in color).
Go back to where you bought seat covers from and see if they sell headrest covers as well. Would be your best match.
Legendary Interiors sells bucket seat headrest covers but they never really look right. I would find a nice set of headrests if yours are cracked and dye them to match. I did that with a set of bucket seat headrests for my '72 - SEM Super White is an exact match for the 1972 Buick white interior and my headrests came out fantastic.
Thanks for the replies. I did run across Legendary after posting and the photos they show make the covers look too big for the headrest. There should be no "slack". I have the old pair, but they're faded and stained and I think dying them a pearl color to match the interior would be nearly impossible.
I talked to Legendary just this past week about the very same thing for my 72 white interior headrests. He said they have the covers, or complete headrests in black only. His suggestion for the best look is to have the headrests professionally done with their covers by a upholstery shop. The dye never comes out right and it doesn't last. Yeah, maybe I agree. Covers are cheaper. But the sewing will cost you something. But maybe it's be the better choice. I'll be getting the covers for mine.
Stay away from the headrest covers. They are absolute garbage and look like S#!%. You can paint them. The word dye is overused. They are made of the same thing as the dash pad. it is a flexible urethane material. It takes very well to Lacquer paint. I would bet the SEM stuff is nothing more than lacquer. it bites into the material. I have painted several sets of faded headrests with lacquer and they all look brand new. You can get the exact color mixed in spray cans by APS Tower paints. To paint these get them very clean then just spray them. The upper parts need no primer but the bottom filler is Polypropylene plastic . That part only needs an adhesion promoter like SEM of Bulldog brand. If I were a judge at a show I would deduct points for those stupid looking pinned on head rest covers. Please don't do it. It really takes away from a car.
Here are my painted headrests on my concourse GSX. Besides the wipe smears from the wet rag I just wiped them with I would say they look more than right. Whoever is telling you they never look right is trying to sell you something. I wish you guys lived closer I would paint them in front of you in 5 minutes to show you how easy it is.
Hey, anyone who has that kind of car and recommends doing it, that's the direction I'll take. I also need to prep and paint the seat bases and backs. Is that the same technique?
Jerry, Yes. Just google APS Tower paints. ---------- Post added at 11:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 PM ---------- Jerry, the PPG paint code for 71 Ivory is 8850. Make sure you get Interior lacquer. Use a soft brush and scrub with simple green then wash them off. Get them dry them wipe with Prep all before you paint. Try the bottom edges first. One light coat followed by a heavier coat works well. I find painting around 65-75 degrees works best with this stuff. Don't forget to use adhesion promoter on the bottom plastic plates only.
Thanks Dave, I found that site and I'll be getting this together! My car is a 72 and I think it's listed as just "white" I'll be getting the rest of the interior from Legendary-(Seat covers, door panels etc) :TU:
Jerry, I just checked the 72 code for white on the Auto Color Library site and it looks like 8892(PPG). Verify this with them before you order. One can is more then enough but get a couple as you can use it on other interior parts as well.
^^^ I am with Dave on this. The covers are crap and look like it........ Spray a nice pair of headrest and never look back........... Nelson
Called APS just now and ordered the material. Super nice staff, easy ordering and I'll have it by the weekend probably. I'm very grateful for the advice from you guys!! Now to get cleaning and prepping!!
Jerry, To do the bottoms and sides hold them in your hand by the posts. Have a box ready with two holes punched for the posts for the tops. Use a box that will allow the posts to hit first on the table you use so where you painted does not touch the box. Just a little trick. Just make sure the box is stable. Test it before you paint. Good luck.
Thanks for the tip Dave, I'm going to be taking the seats apart (well, the plastic off anyway) and washing them this weekend. I'll keep that in mind and get a set up fixed ahead of time!
I called APS Tower Paint a week ago Monday. The woman was nice as could be and said she'd look into the pearl paint for a 71 GS interior. I never heard back, so I called again this past Monday. Again, the person on the phone was as nice as could be, asking about the car and said that the woman "must have gotten involved in another project" and that he'd have her call me back. Still waiting. Nice enough people, but not very efficient so far.
According to the assembly manual and also the ppg paint chart there is no Pearl white paint but Ivory paint was used to match the pearl interiors. I know whites are the toughest match there is but this is the info I have.
