DIY Husco recovering by RagtopE30

By diyauto
( 2 )

10 minute read

DIY Husco recovering


Compliments of RagtopE30 @ r3vlimited.com


1-26-2013


Ok I am a noob at recovering the Husco armrest but after some inspiring words from Kevin Chinn over at Creative Options I decided to tackle it and take pics. So as you read through this thread keep in mind that there are a million ways to do any task and that this is just my humble take on recovering the arm rest. I know it isn't perfect and before you tell me the best way to do it please remember that I have already finished it and there is no way I will take it apart to do it your way. But that being said please post helpful hints and tips that will allow others to avoid the mistakes that I am sure members are going to point out.


First:

Find a Husco armrest. Go ahead I will wait.... Oh and order a nice new cover from Creative Options, once again I will wait.....

Now that you have your armrest I assume it is in bad shape otherwise you wouldn't have searched for the how-to recover thread. So lets proceed. 


Second: Completely disassemble the armrest. It is pretty simple and if you are having a hard time with this step please stop now.




Third: Test the slip cover and see if your original cushion works well, it very well may. If it does just skip to the re-gluing part of this DIY you lucky SOB! 


I thought I could just slip the cover over my existing cushion and dry rotted vinyl cover but the foam was shot and the peeling vinyl would have shown through the nice new leather cover. I even tried cutting away the rot but it didn't make it any better.




If you find yourself in this situation proceed to step 3.


Step 3: I then purchased some 2" thick high density foam and 1/8" batting to rebuild the cushion. Also in this picture you will see various tools I used to make this happen including the extremely precision tool, the Electric Turkey Carving Knife! You will also need some type of upholstery adhesive. 





Step 4: Once I had everything ready I then removed the original foam from the metal backing plate that it is bonded to, a razor comes in handy here.




Step 5: With the original foam out of the picture we have to make a new cushion. using the plastic tray that the original foam and metal tray attached to, make a pattern on the foam. I recommend using the existing straight edges of the foam and also repeating the pattern on the opposite side so that you keep the foam somewhat square.




Step 6: Once you have your pattern use that bad ass turkey slicer like the foam jigsaw it was meant to be! Take your time and play with the knife to get the nice curved corners. Yes curved corners, that sounds ridiculous. 




Step 6.5: Test fit in cover!


Step 7: Cut a piece of batting material large enough to wrap the cushion on all except the bottom. Use spray on upholstery adhesive to glue it to the foam. Why did I do this? Because the batting will hide any imperfections that the turkey carver left behind and it will also fill out the cover a little better.




Step 7.5: Test fit again! And remember that it doesn't have to be fat girl in spandex tight because you will pull it tight when gluing later. 




Step 8: If you are satisfied with the fitment place the metal bracket back on the foam. Remember that the 5th screw hole is the rear of the cushion where your seam should also be if using Creative Options cover.




Step 9: Re-gluing! This is the most tedious part of the entire thing. I choose to use Weldwood contact cement for this. It worked well for installing my convertible top so I figured it would handle an armrest. Just be sure to follow the directions on the can.




Start with the long sides and apply the glue to both surfaces and allow it to "set" according to the manufactures directions or use a hair dryer if you are impatient like me! Pull the long sides evenly and gently. Don't pull them to tight or you will end up with a wavy seam. Once you are satisfied with your seam placement bond the two surfaces and allow them to set up. Don't be upset if you have to pull the cover free again to make small adjustments, once again why I use Weldwood it is doesnt set rock hard and allows you to make a few mistakes before it sets up permanently.




Once I was happy with my sides I placed my cushion in my custom glue setting press. If you need one I will happily ship mine to you for a small rental fee of $450. If you make your own be sure to use wax paper between the press and the cushion it will prevent sticking.




Step 10: Glue the short sides down. You will need to cut wedges out of the material in order to round the corner (once again ridiculous). I will leave the size of the wedges and the amount of wedges you cut up to you because I feel like I did mine wrong. I just cut one big wedge per corner and it worked decently. According to Kevin Chinn the wedges should form star points in the corners which point inwards.

DO NOT CUT YOUR CORNERS LIKE I DID!!!


Here is my corner screw up!



And here is what I should have done, directly from Kevin Chinn himself. 

This view is looking down at the bottom of the cushion as if you were working on gluing the cover down. The white line is the edge of the metal plate and the black triangles around the corner is what the cuts should look like to avoid any bunching at the corners.




When done correctly the corners and sides will be very close to smooth. I think if I tackled this one or two more times I can have it perfect but I am happy with this.




Step 11: Use a new razor and trim the excess material off of the bottom of the cushion. Leave approx 1/2" or a little more all the way around the metal plate on the bottom and it should resemble the original rubberized glue that you removed.... I think I explained that clearly.... Maybe not.

TEST FIT TEST FIT TEST FIT!

I then applied the contact cement to the bottom of the cushion especially on the part of the cover that I just trimmed and I applied it to the plastic base that we used as a template earlier then I put it together and tightened the screws. 






Step 12: Reassemble and admire your handy work!

Here is a few shots of my handy(ish) work.








So as you can see mine is not perfect by any means but it is a hell of a lot better than what I originally had to look at. This project took me about 2 hours after I had everything to get it done. And it only took me that long because I had to stop for dinner half way through, the glue was setting while I ate.


I hope this helps someone or at least gives them the confidence to tackle this. Don't worry yours cant look any worse than what I did!


^ Nope because it isn't on the wrong side. If you look at early literature on the Husco it is installed with the cup holders to the rear. Every Husco I have come across that has been mounted in the car has been flipped around. Just look at the "legs" that go down to the center console. The legs-armrest holes are drilled in the metal offset so that when they are put together they only fit flush one way. If your legs are not mounted square with the bottom of the armrest, they hang over one side or the other, yours has been flipped.


This image is from Pelican Parts and if I am not mistaken this is one of the images that was on the original box when the dealership sold them.






Comments