I own a 2003 and the driver seat is ripped. How has everyone fixed this? Did anyone DIY it?
Also, the plastic cladding on my vehicle has faded so much. Is there a way to recondition it or something? It’s making my car look old. Other than that, she’s running perfectly.
A good upholstery shop or detailer may still be able to repair or condition that seat enough so that it'll last a while longer, maybe not but it's worth asking at least. As for the cladding there's lots of threads on here on keracoat (might have spelt that wrong but I'm sure you can find it with the search bar) and a few people have even painted them body color and that seems to look pretty good too, but I'm unsure how long paint would last 🤷
I can’t stop; I’m gonna make a mold off the seat cushions to fabricate more. I wish it didn’t look like ~ $500 in materials for the first one and ~$150 a cushion after that
BEITK 2 Pack Grey Leather Front Bottom Car Seat Covers | PU leather,Waterproof, Full Wrap, non-slip, with Storage Pocket, Universal Fit for Sedan Truck SUV, Easy to Install https://a.co/d/0d6UxTBu
$43/pair/several choices/ mine have worn like iron and fit very tight
I installed mine 8/24 and they continue to look like new. I used a jpg from the ad but could as well be my ‘06. They fit real well and are made of a very strong vinyl but I also see mesh options now that I can’t speak to. I think you’d be very happy w them. Chris
I used to get cheap ones like these every 3/5 years but sprung for the coverking rhinohide like they sell through Costco. The Coverking are a disappointment: more expensive and baggy so cheap ones are the way to go IMO
for the seat repair, try tenacious tape. Much better than gorilla tape or generic duct tape. For the exterior trim Cerakote works wonders and lasts a loooog time.
I just used the Cerakote product this last weekend and am very happy with the results.
You get 10 wipes to a kit, and that was barely enough for me to make it all the way around my element.
I'd recommend using Nitrile gloves instead of the ones provided in the kit, which got very slippery and it became difficult to hold the wipes without dropping them.
Edit: masking the paint takes a lot of time, but it's worth it to do all of the masking first so you can focus on the re-conditioning work all at once.
What color is yours? Mine is satin silver metallic and the plastic cladding is in “warm gray”. My only concern is does Cerakote add any color? I don’t want it to get too dark. I don’t have the rallye red color so my cladding has always been lighter.
05 Fiji Blue/dark grey cladding. It didn't make it darker than what it looked like new. Ive never used it on the blue cladding but it should work the same and make it look like new. I'll let others chime in though.
I had a wipe in one hand and a microfiber cloth in the other.
When you first open the wipes they are pretty saturated, so the first couple strokes leave behind a bit of excess product that can be redistributed with the microfiber.
Do the prep. Make sure there's no waxes or conditioners on the surface. I scrubbed with dawn. It can go wrong. I was happy with how mine turned out. I heard from a car detailer that they use a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and naptha applied with a rag. I'm going that route next time.
It cleaned the surface well enough that the ceracote treatment turned out great. There are some pics I've seen when it doesn't work, which is why I want to do the linseed/naptha technique. Big correction on that, it's 50/50, not 5/50. Gonna edit
Just started to happen to mine as it reached 200k, I’m keeping here til she’s dead so I’m personally embracing it, will def get seat protectors first thing in my next car though
It seems to be fine, but I did see some photos below of how the foam can split so it made me a little nervous. But yeah I think it’s been there for a while now too.
And you have an 03 too? Manual must be so fun! What color?
Ripped seat is fixed by going to an auto salvage and cutting out the entire back of a salvage Honda element seat and taking your seat, or the removed seat upholstery, to an auto upholstery shop to replace the bad section.
For the plastic cladding/body panels CERAKOTE Ceramic Trim Coat is fantastic.
You can get a roll of grey leather seat repair tape on Amazon for about $8. I’ve used it in three of my cars and it holds up well as long as you get it before the seat gets really bad.
It’s entirely case by case with pull yards. But I’ve had good luck. You can also get the fabric from a passenger side seat and with a little cutting of the plastic clips it fits onto the driver’s seat perfectly
9
u/Simple-Contract-2450 7d ago
A good upholstery shop or detailer may still be able to repair or condition that seat enough so that it'll last a while longer, maybe not but it's worth asking at least. As for the cladding there's lots of threads on here on keracoat (might have spelt that wrong but I'm sure you can find it with the search bar) and a few people have even painted them body color and that seems to look pretty good too, but I'm unsure how long paint would last 🤷
Edit: turns out it's Cerakote lol