Seat Foam for buckets?

Im down in San Diego area and get my foam from either Superior Foam or Keyston. Superior is a bit cheaper but either place will help you out with what sort of foam to use.

 

i know this guy that needed to re-do his seat cushions. his wife was bitchin about one of those temperpedic bed mattresses that she didn't like. he cut it up and redid his seats, said it's the best seat cushions and backs he's ever had.

 

In my searches I actually found that you can buy this stuff in small quantities... big bucks!

 

The foam I use for making seat cushions for cars and bikes has a density of 2.7 and ILD of 65#. My supplier calls it "extra firm". I have really had great luck with it. Spendy - yes, but good stuff. The denser foams like this can be cut with an electric knife and then buffed to nice shape with a small angle grinder/3" - 36 grit disc. Works great, but do the grinding outside...makes a mess.

Here's another link to an explanation of the ratings:

http://www.carrscorner.com/foam.php

Jake

 

Are you buying this locally or on-line someplace?

 

Check this out Scott
http://www.usafoam.com/

 

Awesome! For a 2" thick, 24" x 48" slab of LUX Foam HQ, it's only $26! That's plenty to do two bottom seat cushions for a couple small bucket seats. NOt sure what it costs to have 'em ship that, but that's a good price, otherwise.

EDIT! Just saw they have a flat fee shipping rate of $12.99. That's pretty decent!

 

A 1/3 sheet of their Rebond would be nice too, I bet:
http://www.thefoamfactory.com/opencellfoam/rebond.html

Little more money, but maybe it's worth it.

 

The internet is a wonderfull fad!

 

I get my foam from a supplier in MPLS. that only sells to shops. I see that LUX hq has an ILD of 55#. That's pretty close, but 10# makes a difference. I can also get one with 70#, but it is too firm.

I don't think you would be happy with that bond foam. It is actually toooo firm also.

I'd say check with a local trimmer and they should be able to help you get the right stuff.

If you start dealing with a co. online ask if you can get a sample of the foams they have. They will usually do that.

 

Good tip! Thanks!

 

Isnt that the stuff you pour down the gas tank to free sticky lifters and clear out engine deposits? Begin countdown to ass whippin 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

 

Being the tightwad I am, I was looking at an old couch that someone left on the sidewalk, and I was thinking to use it to make a seat out of. It was actually not bad..

I was going to build my own seat last time with plywood etc, and I went to price the foam, it was something like $9 or $15 per square foot!!

I ended up modifying one from the junkyard out of a shuttle bus. It was like $35 and it had springs and a decent cover that I was able to use as a pattern for the upholstery.

 

I'm not so sure about that, but I can almost guarantee they have been farted into a lot.

 

I double the motion on A-1. I used to live down the street from there. Also I don't know if any of you guys remember Tiny. He did alot of upholstery in & around Orange. His family's shop is down somewhere around first & bristol in Santa Ana. Can't remember the name of theshop thou.

 

The green is the densest, and u can shape it bitchin with an air grinder thats how ive done all of mine the electric carving knife sucks!

 

They are all polyurethane foam, and there is no difference in density or quality between colors of foam. The color doesn't mean anything.

Big Ed's answer is right on the button. Polyurethane foam is graded by a numbering system using 4 numbers. The first two are the quality, anything in the 30 range is very good quality. The last two numbers are the density, or ILD which stands for indent load deflection. The higher the number the stiffer the foam. 65 is very firm and 80 and up is very very firm.

You need something like 3065 to 3090 to produce a seat that will last and will support you. Firmer foam is especially important in a seat like you want that is not very thick. You shape it with a foam cutter like the Bosch 1575, or an electric fish filet knife. You can't cut the shape out of one big piece of foam, you need to cut the seat into manageable pieces, say 4" thick, and glue them back together. If your seat is 16" wide, you'd cut it in four pieces, shape the pieces individually by tracing a pattern of the seat's shape on each one, and glue the four pieces back together. If I was doing this, I would use 1 1/2" thick 7# or 8# bonded foam (very heavy, like carpet padding only thicker) as a base, and cover that with a single sheet of 1" thick 2865 conventional foam.

 

You are right about a numb ass, but gel pad that thick would cost $150.

 

Dan,
Thanks for the kudos, but to give credit where it is due, I found that information from your post on another forum.
Ed

 

I agree I just drove my roadster to the salt and back 500 miles each way.
Not only numb ass but dumb ass. I will fallow your post and will look for a better way.

 

Thanks Ed, I thought that sounded familiar!

 

Great thred,thanks .Ido disagre with one thing you said,being(Just figured anything they have wouldn't be appropriate for the wear and tare of automotive seats.)
I think its worth a hard look cause most sit at home more than there car.JMO,Thanks again ,lot of info here...............YG

 

Try a medical store that sells and repairs wheelchairs . Some neat padding has been invented for folks that are forced to be in a seat for long periods of time .

 

Here is a page from one of my suppliers catalogs. I usually use the Q51 for seats and Q21 for back foam. They will cut it in any thickness you want. Yes it is expensive because you have to buy a full sheet at 84" long. http://www.rexpeggfabrics.com/catalog/page77.html