Bartlett Corporation Leather on Ebay - $150!

Well, my kit is on the way. Should be here Thursday. I found a pair of hog ring pliers today for $5 at Harbor Freight, they did not have rings. I live about 68 mi away from work, so on the way home i stopped at Tractor Supply, who I had called and they said they had rings, but not pliers. Got home and I was lookin through usbseawolf2000's posts and I think i have the same pliers and rings... and they don't fit. Rings are way too big. There is another ACE Hardware that I called today, they have both. I might have to go there tomorrow and see if what they have will fit my pliers or pliers for my rings... or whatever. I am going by a local upholstry shop tomorrow to try and get some foam to fabricate lumbar supports for both seats. Also, by NAPA to get some clips. Hopefully I can have it all together by Friday (my day off) ans start work on it.

 

You gonna start with the rear seats right? That's the easiest.

 

Definitely. I plan to start on the back late Thur night or early Fri. That way I can still drive it while I learn. As far as the air bags/ battery. All I need to do is undo the pos terminal of the 12V battery and wait 90s before unplugging anything else? And I don't have to do this for the rear seats because their aren't any airbags in the back. Right? I bought a heat gun yesterday too so I can GENTLEY heat the covers as I put them on to smooth them out.

 

Right on both air bag questions.

Here in the Denver metro we have an auto trade supply house that handles stuff for the upholstery shops and body shops. I bought my hog rings there. Is there anything similar in your area? Also, I believe I bought some at NAPA when I ran out.

Be sure to download the .pdf file posted earlier in this thread that shows how the seats come apart. It was invaluable to us when we did ours.

GOOD LUCK!

 

And you have a supply of bandaids handy, right?

 

LOL. Yeah, i am actually going to get me some of those mechanics gloves, they have them on sale at harbor freight. Going to buy them tomorrow.

 

I don't think we have anything like that in the area. There are a couple of upholstry shops on the area that I am going to check out to see what they will sell me.

I have looked at the pdf files, i am about to print them out to have as a reference so i can read them in the garage if i need to.

thanks

 

Did you get your kit today?

I started with the headrests and then the rear seat.

 

I haven't gotten off work, yet and been home. It shows to be out for delivery on UPS though. I will probably do the same, plan on taking out the back seat tonight and getting started there and with the headrests. Still can't find hog rings to fit my pliers, i think they are an odd size pliers. I went to an upholstery shop today and he didn't understand why the pliers were so small (opened only a small amt.) And I could tell he had done a few upholstery jobs. I have a store in town that said they have both rings and pliers I may have to go up there in the morning and just buy those, and take the ones that i have back to Harbor Freight.

I found plastic clips today at NAPA, they were out of rings and pliers. I bought 28 clips, will thae be enough if I break all of them. I plan on being gentle and trying to save as many as i can. I have skimmed over the pdf and will print it out tonight to have as a reference.

Thanks for all the guidance from all on this forum.

 

I forgot and maybe I missed it in the posts. Did you leave the fabric on the headrest and just go over it? I saw where others did.

 

So is there a recommended leather kit to get now?...I see that Barlett is still not on ebay but seems to have a website (Trimmasters) but no sales.

I have cloth and would love to do the upgrade but unclear where to get a decent leather set.

Curious, also, for the member who paid 350-450 for a professional install, how did you solicit help?...Craigslist?

 

Send a PM to GUNGUY05 and get the vendor he used on Ebay. Those are the last of the Bartlett leather kits from the sale that started this thread. Still a good buy at what he paid (if not quite as good as what some of us got at the end). Others like Katzkins better (you do get a lot better choice of colors and options - the Bartlett is strictly stock Toyota), but they cost a lot.

 

I put the leather over the fabric for the headrest. They were designed for it - judging from the size of it.

 

10-4. Thanks. I got them in the mail this afternoon. Going to inspect in a few minutes, possibly look at putting on the head rests, and the center console. Just removing the screws as the vinyl is already mounted to the cover on my set. You just have to replace the top.

Will post pics a little later.

The came from leatherseats.com on ebay. I paid 299 shipped.

 

FCBarca,

You have 2005 model. 2006-2009 leather kit will not fit in your Prius. Toyota lowered the rear seats to give more head room starting from 2006. I believe they also changed the dimension of the rear seats slightly.

So make sure you get the kit specifically for 2004 - 2005.

 

OK!! Got the headrests on!! I have to say upfront. There should be a mandatory 6 week hand exercise program before you begin this project. When I saw the holes each of the back headrests, I though "yeah right, that's not going to go on there" But low and behold it did. MAN! Those things are tight. I guess that is good though, don't want there to be sagging spots in it. Used a heat gun to soften things upa bit as i fitted the covers around the rests. Took me about 1 1/2 hours total to get all 5 headrest pieces done. Took the screws out of the console lid, but couldn't figure out how to get it off. Too dark out, will have to wait until the AM.

Overall I am highly impressed with the fit and finish of the headrests. I'm not real keen on the zipper on the back, wish it were on the bottom so as to be less visible, but not that big a deal.

Stlll have to get the hog ring situation worked out, need to either get smaller rings, or larger pliers... or both. I'm going to ACE in the Am, which supposedly has them both. So, hopefully I can get started a little before lunch.

 

Take it easy tomorrow. Your fingers may be sore. The effort was rewarding, wasn't it?

 

I went to quite a few after-market leather installers and looked pretty hard at their sample seats & kits. I had factory gray cloth interior.

I finally decided to go with Katzkin, even though they cost somewhat more than most other brands. I was impressed with the quality and style, and -- as you indicated -- the range of colors and options (which some, but not all, competitors offer). The only option not available for the Prius was "gathered" seat surfaces -- the sort of wrinkly sewing of the leather, often seen in upscale cars.

I cheated, and had the shop install them, including the arm rest covers. My hands thank me for that.

I'm very pleased with them, and am now working on deciding how to apply a combination of matching vinyl and matching paint to the door panels (and other areas, such as the console, the lower dash, etc.) to match the seat color, which is called "bone" and looks like an off white. (Yes, my kids are grown & gone, and the dog is never in that car. I simply refuse to let her drive it.)

 

Well. Day one if over. So far I have the back uppers, lowers, and all head rests done. One exception, i got the 40% upper bolted back in and realized that I forgot to put the backer under the carpet on the back. So... i guess I will pull that off in the morning before I get started on the front and stick it on there.

My hands are absolutely worn out. I have pulled and tugged and pushed and pryed, and crimped and cut,.... until I can't any more. The good news is. I am VERY pleased with what I have done so far. I made all the effort that I could to get them as tight as possible and to get all the wrinkles worked out. I was looking at the center console cover, and I can't figure out how to get it off to put the other one on. I took the screws out of the bottom, and the back will pry up a bit, but I can't get it off. I think I am missing something obvious, any hints???

Overall i think i have spend about 8-9 hours so far on. The smaller seat in the back was probably the easiest and the quicket, only took about 45 minutes to cover once I unbolted it. The other side was difficult because of the "cove" in it for the fold up arm rest. Trying to get the cover tight around all of those corners was tough.

I hope to get done with the front tomorrw... but we will see.

 

How did it go? Any pics?