Horsehair upholstery

[Guest mzaetta]

I am looking for a shop that will stuff seat cushions/upholstery with horsehair. I am/preparing to restore a horse drawn carriage and historically the cushions were stuffed with horse hair. I was told this was also done with early cars.

Thanks alot for your help.

[1940_Buick]

That's correct. Horsehair was used through at least the mid teens. The horsehair is available, but I'm told it's not cheap. Expect to pay as much for the horsehair as you do the leather. Some interior shops don't want to use it, because foam is easier to work with. But the finished product does look different with horsehair. Foam results in a "too smooth" appearance.

[Guest Noel Adams]

1940 Buick is 100 percent correct, Foam filled Upholstery looks great in Hot Rods and Motorhomes , Good Horsehair upholstery I like to describe as " Perfectly Imperfect " and is no problem whatsoever. If you want to cover the cost of getting me there , I'll come and do it in your own workshop.......Noel

[1940_Buick]

JV Group interiors does horse hair uplostery. They do more than just Model T interiors.

Here's their website:

http://mysite.verizon.net/viaccino/

[trimacar]

Hi- what you are looking for, if you plan to do it yourself, is curled horsehair. It is sometimes a mix, with hogs hair added, but I prefer the 100% horsehair. A typical buildup for a seat cushion or backrest would be; burlap, piled horsehair (pile much higher than finished product as it will compress), a thin layer of cotton, then leather. It takes time, as you have to go through the hair and make sure there are no burrs, chunks of skin, etc. Foam should never be used on early automobiles, it is just not correct. A good job of horsehair is very comfortable, too, and will spring back to original configuration another 100 years. One secret I have learned on sewed diamonds is to cut a large round hole (three quarter to one inch depending on how far your stitch is away from edge of leather) in the flat leather before sewing. Then, when you sew each of the seams, this hole compresses to a small opening, through which the button thread or connector can pass easily. David Coco Winchester Va.

[W_Higgins]

If you come up to Lancaster County, Penna. there are Amish upholsterers that do buggy seats. Though I've never used them, I've seen some of their work and am pretty certain they still use horsehair.

[Guest megarcia]

I am in California and I have been doing diamond tufting since I was taught 6 years ago and have also been doing total restorations. If you e-mail me some pics I could give you a quote. Of course this would mean you would have to ship the carriage here. I have had many other customers do this. My e-mail is mohrscarrestoration@yahoo.com

Bill Mohr

[Guest Gary Hearn]

Mike,

Are you certain that horsehair was used? A couple of years ago I shipped a Studebaker buggy to Australia and it was impounded in customs due to the upholstery and the unknown seat stuffing. I contacted the Studebaker National Museum and was told that they had used excelsior, also known as "wood wool". I am a participant at a local tractor show where they make it out of cedar logs.

Gary

[DavidAU]

You may be Interested in this site in England. I was looking for Horse hair a couple of days ago for a restoration project I am doing and I will probably try this.

Woolies Trim - Rubberised Horsehair

David

[Guest megarcia]

Yes I use real hair but now days don't even think you can get horse hair. Now we use a 50/50 mix of cattle and hog hair which is curled hair. I have taken vintage seats apart that had what looked like straw ha ha don't know who the h did that but was kind of nasty.

Bill

[MochetVelo]

There was a guy at Hershey last year selling new horse hair for upholstering. I tried finding it using Google, but no luck except in the U.K.

Phil

[Guest 31DH]

I have some horsehair that I have been saving when I comb and trim my horses.

How much do you need?

Glen

[Guest DeSoto Frank]

For what it's worth, GM was still using curled horsehair in the mid 1950's:

My Grandad's '54 Chevy pick-up still has the original seats (tattered), and they are stuffed with curled horsehair. Which was mighty prickly against my little 5-year old legs when I wore shorts !!!

In addition to creating a different "look" to the finished seat, horsehair also imparts a unique ( and wonderful) aroma to a closed vehicle; there's nothing else like it.... kind of a slightly sweet, "dusty" smell... ( I guess this is a moot point for an open buggy...)

Gotta still be available; lots of folks keep horses ...