Anyone ever redone their interior themselves? If so, how did it turn out?

[E30Kills]

My interior was absolutely ruined by the kids who owned it before me and it needs to be redone.

Initially I was going to find someone to do it for me, but I’ve also been seeing lots of upholstery kits online recently. Now I’m wondering, has anyone used a kit like this for their interior?

https://www.kasselperformance.com/product/bmw-e30-mtech-evo3-upholstery-seat-kit/

I’m torn because I feel like I should shell out the money and get it done professionally, but as the same time this looks like it could be a fun project to dedicate some time on…

[Panici]

I've seen it done.
Biggest issue for the DIY install seems to be getting wrinkles out. Perhaps heat/steam and working the material could improve fitup.

Personally I've swapped out driver's side seat bolsters, but my car is cloth, not leather.

[ZeKahr]

It would just be easier and less time consuming to find a good used interior and swap it in. Upholstery work requires quite a bit of skill to pull off correctly - this is something I’d let a professional handle rather than DIY. The only reason you want to reupholster the interior is if you want a custom interior

[Mike36]

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/appearance-cosmetic/interior/374426-lseat-com-leather-seat-covers

Bunch of us did it using Lseat. Decent kit for the price, way better than worn or torn seats. Installation is straight forward with the right tools, starting with hog tie piers and clips. Make sure to steam the foam before installing the covers for best fitment. Lastly, you may need to redo certain parts more than once to get it right, I had to do the rear seat back at least 3 times to get it right.

[reelizmpro]

I got quotes of $1000+ with unknown timelines so I decided to buy a hogring plier set and go to town. It was great experience and they came out awesome. Take your time and do it right. If you are confident in your abilities to take apart, recover and put the seats back together again then go at it.

[MrBurgundy]

I paid someone, way more than 1000, to do my front and rear seats..

They're perfect and I got a fast turnaround on it too. Worth every penny.

I went that route after researching outcomes of DIY upholstery jobs. Interior flaws bug the shit out of me lol.

[E30Kills]

Appreciate the feedback everyone. Seems like the jury is still out on this one…

Anyone rocking M cloth seats in their car? I’ve always loved the idea of getting the seats redone with M cloth. My only concern is that it would look a little tacky on a 318is

[reelizmpro]

I paid someone, way more than 1000, to do my front and rear seats..

They're perfect and I got a fast turnaround on it too. Worth every penny.

I went that route after researching outcomes of DIY upholstery jobs. Interior flaws bug the shit out of me lol.

This is great but of course it could go the other way. You can spend a mint and get subpar work or it could take months or even years to complete. It just depends on who you get to do it.

[kronus]

I’m currently DIYing an Alpina repro interior, making the rear covers from scratch. It’s not quick work, but I am having fun.

[E30Kills]

I’m currently DIYing an Alpina repro interior, making the rear covers from scratch. It’s not quick work, but I am having fun.

Woah, that looks fantastic! Any tips if I go a similar route as you?

[kronus]

There is a YouTube channel called Cechaflo where an upholsterer posts many upholstery tutorials. They’re not quite step by step, but after watching a lot of them I had a good idea of what tools are needed, what steps are done, and what it looks like to sew seat covers properly.

The rear cover is also a good place to start since it’s mostly just rectangles. Front seats have all sorts of curves, and curves are harder.

To get used to the sewing machine, I first did a bunch of shift boots and a couple steering wheel recovers. Also a walking foot machine is necessary, they can be quite expensive. I found an obscure one on eBay for $450 and had a local tech go through it. Commercial grade ones can go from 700 for a used Consew to thousands for a shiny new Juki. But, all you really need is walking foot, and reverse is useful too.

[ghrays]

I wanted a set of sport seats instead of the comfort seats my car came with. I bought a used sport seat set that needed refurbished, but the frames and hinges were rust-free and not broken. I looked into buying a pre-made set of upholstery, it ended up being cheaper and turned out better having a professional shop do the reupholstering, after I restored all the mechanicals. They used German vinyl that very closely resembles the original. It was $825 for both seats, including labor and materials. I got vinyl, as the rest of my interior is also natur vinyl. Leather was also available, but would have been about three times the cost.

[Panici]

I’m currently DIYing an Alpina repro interior, making the rear covers from scratch. It’s not quick work, but I am having fun.

Great work!
Seems like a steep learning curve.

[cory58]

Had John at Ninestitch make the seat kit for me. He is great to work with. Disassembled the seats myself and then brought the pieces to a local upholstery shop so they could install the new skins. Turned out great.

DSC04510 by cory58f5, on Flickr

[ghrays]

Had John at Ninestitch make the seat kit for me. He is great to work with. Disassembled the seats myself and then brought the pieces to a local upholstery shop so they could install the new skins. Turned out great.

DSC04510 by cory58f5, on Flickr

I love these.. The fabric pattern is well-suited to the horizontal design of convertible sport seats.