The Upholstery Forum

What density / ILD of foam is everyone using?

I’ve been using 50... but.

I live in Alaska... shipping foam just is killing my projects (doing seats for some of my rides etc) and I can get some 1.8 44lb of prime with free shipping.

Will this be enough? Or do I need to pay 2x the product cost in shipping again.


No. There’s not one upholstery supply shops anywhere around me, SeaTac is the closest.

1.8 will probably be OK for the backrest but too soft for the cushion. I recommend 70lb 3371 foam for the cushion and 2555 55lb foam for the backrests.
Hopefully others will be able to weigh in on what they use for foam choices. @John Long ?

I hope this helps.

@John I think you are spot on John. I have not seen many places advertising 3371. That would be a very high quality, dense foam as well as being nice and firm for a cushion. Is there a good on line source for it?

John Long

I have been using a 2.2 density 50 lbs. foam for my seat cushions and a 2.7 density 35 lbs. for backrests. This seems to be a comfortable combination. I tried 2.7 density 50 lbs. for the cushion because the 2.7 is supposed to be a better quality foam, but I found it to be to soft. I spoke with the manufacture and the process to make the 2.2 vs 2.7 uses different chemicals and yields a different feeling product even though the 2.7 should be more durable. But the 2.7 would bottom out where the 2.2 held firm. This is what I have found works best for me. Check out https://usfoamcorporation.com/ they have been very helpful and have great prices on slab foam. Orders over $99 ship free, but I'm not sure about Alaska

That is why John ends up with 71 lb foam for the cushion instead of 50 lb. The 33 density he mentions is even better than the 2.7 but is requiring a higher firmness rsting to accomplish what he needs.

For any folks here who are not familiar with the designations for foam, the first two digits are the density (and generally the quality) of the product, and the last two digits are the firmness.

John Long

@John Long To be honest I rarely buy foam from online. I usually go to a supplier and feel the options my self and make a decision. The #s I gave were just a general idea and also meant to show that you want firmer foam on the cushion and softer on the backrest. I guess I should have explained better. Thanks for helping me clarify.

@Mikesimpson Thanks for the great input as well! This is a great topic for people as it can be difficult to decide.

@John Even though I have been around the auto trim business through much of my life, I am not licensed and my local jobber will not sell directly to me. I always bought through my good friend until he retired about a year ago. It is frustrating to not have an available jobber handy but, it is what it is.

I have been utilizing the on line suppliers more the last year than ever before. It is particularly aggravating when you need a small purchase. For example, I needed a couple pieces of edge wire a few weeks ago and had to go buy some locally or pay three times it's value in shipping costs.

John

@John Long Yeah I totally understand. If there is any way to file for a sole proprietorship business or a resale license in your state (usually its very easy) you can get any supplier account you want.
Shoot me an email and I can give you some better advice on making that happen.

You guys are lucky. My closest upholstery supply is 2k miles away in Seattle...

Have you tried the foam factory? I buy other products from them, I have yet to buy a slab of foam. I did some price checking and their foam price is good, free shipping around 100 bucks.

@levi.lanning where do you live??

Big Lake, Alaska.

If you watch Road kill, I live about 400 yards from where they raced the Ranchero on that frozen lake, when they finally got to Alaska

Oh yeah I can imagine its difficult to find supplies there in AK