The Upholstery Forum

Hi guys,

I'm looking at redoing some motorcycle seats. I have the upholstery side down, but I'm just looking for suggestions on materials to use as a base layer on top of the original seat foam, to "smooth" it out before putting the cover on. As can be seen in these pictures, this guy uses a 1/4" scrim foam or headliner material as a base:

Before:

After:

Does anyone have any ideas on alternatives that I could use instead of scrim foam? Maybe some polyester type fabric? Scrim foam is very very hard to come by where I live, and I'm almost out of it. Just looking for something else I could use that would work. Also thought of maybe some lycra type stretchy material...but not sure.

Is it just scrim foam that’s hard to come by? Or all foams in general. If you’re not planning on sewing to the foam, any foam would work. It just has to be thick enough to hide any imperfections that may be in the foam after the repair. Plus a regular foam can be sanded to smooth it out more. I don’t think a material will work here or be thick enough to hide imperfections. I could be wrong though.

Thanks. Mostly all foam in general is quite hard to find, especially thin stuff. I've been able to buy 1" foam before, but that's way too thick for this purpose. I'm in Montreal, Canada. Someone else suggested quilt batting...not sure if that will work but worth a try I guess...

Hey @Sugarkryptonite Welcome to the forum!
In a city as large as Montreal there should be plenty of places to find supplies especially foam. Do a google search of Upholstery supplies Montreal. I did a quick search and found this place. Rémi Carrier Inc www.remicarrier.com/en/

Also side note, What a great city to live! I have been there many times and loved it!

Hi John

You're right I have heard of Remi Carrier, they are one of the only suppliers in Montreal for those types of foams, unfortunately they are over an hour away from where I live (I know I said Montreal, but just as a general area, I live off the island), that's why I was hoping to find something that was similar I could find at a regular fabric type store. Or maybe even something completely different I wouldn't have thought of using.

I know a Joann fabrics by me, and I’m in small town Iowa. Has black headliner foam. I think the foam isn’t meant for the abuse of a seat. But maybe in a pinch it would help.

Thanks! We don't have Joann's here in Canada unfortunately.

I cant think of any substitute materials for foam that would work well. What is the town you live in?

@BigRig & @Revv Up Do you know any Canadian based suppliers with reasonable shipping to Montreal? similar to albrights in the US

@torriec What are the costs for you guys shipping to Montreal ,Canada?

John wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:00 am I cant think of any substitute materials for foam that would work well. What is the town you live in?

@BigRig & @Revv Up Do you know any Canadian based suppliers with reasonable shipping to Montreal? similar to albrights in the US

@torriec What are the costs for you guys shipping to Montreal ,Canada?

Hi John,

Well I don't specifically need foam, just a material to help smooth out a seat that has some old foam (maybe with some foam repairs here and there) before putting the cover on. I wasn't sure if other people here used something different to scrim foam or headliner material, figured I would ask.

Thank you for your help!

J Ennis or George N Jackson are Canada’s biggest suppliers and they both sell sew foams. Trouble being you have to set up an account to buy from them and I think they will only do that if your a business.

There must be someone in your area that does automotive interiors you could buy from?

@John It depends on how much we're shipping. We usually recommend they email us with their information and we can see how much it will be!