Possible to soften vinyl seat fabric?

[Chief]

So, I'll be re-upholstering my seats fairly soon.

That is, removing the vinyl off some other seats, and putting it in place of the vinyl on the seats I have.

My original plan was to just put the replacement seats in and have done with it, but closer inspection shows my seat frames and webbing are in much better condition so that means I'll likely be going the material switch route.

One thing that concerns me is that, the vinyl seems a little hard. Not as pliable as maybe it should be. I'm concerned about the vinyl ripping at the stitches and wondered if there was anything I should try other than maybe making the room warm to make sure the vinyl was as supple as possible.

If it were leather I'd say it needed feeding, but being vinyl I have no idea other than warm air (it is currently in a colder part of the house due space limitations so maybe that's also why it felt like this) or possibly warm water, but I wouldn't want to end up with soggy horsehair etc.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

[mogbob]

I'd clean the spare seats , on their existing frames first , a small scrubbing brush to clean out all the crevasses ,
deep down ingrained stuff. Wipe off the surface and allow to air dry thoroughly.
Treat with Autogylm Vinyl and Rubber care. It claims to " restore and protect ". Don't expect leather like restoration results the Vinyl material is not as absorbent but it will make feel a little more flexible. A 2nd later application once you've moved it onto your original seat frames wouldn't go amiss before you press them into service.
I've always had good results with Autoglym products but other products are available.
Bob

[geoberni]

Basil had some ridiculous foam padding behind his door cards, plus the cards were fitted using brass screws.

You can see the effect here:

20180617_170226A.jpg (821.68 KiB) Viewed 1782 times

I was able to remove the foam backing and by warming the vinyl, by leaving it in the conservatory in the sun for a few hours, I was able to stretch the vinyl and glue it down, such that the screw holes went around the back of the door card. That's quite a bit of stretching.

If you were careful and didn't lay it direct on the oven shelf, I imagine you could get the same effect by warming it in an oven at the lowest setting, which is about 50 C usually.

[Chief]

Basil had some ridiculous foam padding behind his door cards

I take it this wasn't the original very thin padding the door cards have (or at least on '62-64 have) but some additional foam?

Don't expect leather like restoration results the Vinyl

The vinyl looks fine, sure a clean will be required but it's in good conditionf or the age, just feels a little dry, and leather was the only thing I could think of to describe it.

Thanks for the replies. I actually bought vinyl cleaner (not AutoGlym as I went for one that was meant to be very, very gentle) but have yet to use it, will definitely be trying it on the old seats first though for obvious reasons

[myoldjalopy]

"Basil had some ridiculous foam padding behind his door cards, plus the cards were fitted using brass screws."
Goodness! And what did they do to Basil's windscreen? Neither the rubber nor the surround are proper SII.............a most peculiar approach to 'renovation'

[geoberni]

"Basil had some ridiculous foam padding behind his door cards, plus the cards were fitted using brass screws."
Goodness! And what did they do to Basil's windscreen? Neither the rubber nor the surround are proper SII.............a most peculiar approach to 'renovation'

Basil has the original windscreen and rubber, but that's all.

Back in 2018, I experimented on a reasonable replacement for the missing chrome, which as most SII owners know is like the proverbial Rocking Horse Poop.

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=68690&hilit=windscreen+chrome

[geoberni]

Basil had some ridiculous foam padding behind his door cards

I take it this wasn't the original very thin padding the door cards have (or at least on '62-64 have) but some additional foam?

Basil was renovated about 20 years ago including the interior which included some non standard stitching pattern on the door cards and the rear side trims.
As you can see the padding is quite noticeable.
I cannot fathom why they did what they did. I've only had Basil since 2017.
As I understand it, Minor renovation wasn't as commercial then as it is now, with a lot more DIY panel and trim work.

[Chief]

I'd say it was meant to add on a look of luxury, like a gentlemans' club etc. Deep leather seats etc. etc.

20 years ago Newton Commercial were still doing the trim etc. as I remember the modern style seats they do/did at car shows.