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Seat button came off


Bdad

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17 minutes ago, Bdad said:

'63 Riv. White leather interior. Passenger seat. One of the buttons came lose. Have the button. Anyone every repaired? Do I need to go to an auto upholstery shop or is there a way to get it back on or do I need to glue or?

63_Riv_Button.jpg

 

Have had 3 different buttons pop off on my car. The top half will pop back on. Easier to do if you can get to the backside of the button where where it goes through the seat cushion and apply pressure from the backside while pushing on from the front. Not essential though. I applied some epoxy just to make sure they did not pop off again. Seems to have worked so far.

 

Bill

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There is a large push on metal retainer on the back side that FIERCELY holds to the button pin. I tried to remove these without damaging them in case I couldn't find replacements. I gave up until the time comes.

Professional help is recommended from me. The cover has to come off.

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  • 1 month later...
On 11/16/2018 at 10:29 AM, 60FlatTop said:

There is a large push on metal retainer on the back side that FIERCELY holds to the button pin. I tried to remove these without damaging them in case I couldn't find replacements. I gave up until the time comes.

Professional help is recommended from me. The cover has to come off.

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Bernie, I bought my buttons from Clark’s and numerous covers came off. The gent that installed my upholstery makes buttons himself and reinstalls them. After a number of Clark’s covers came off I’ve decided to have all Clsrks buttons replaced by my installer. 

Turbinator

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12 hours ago, Turbinator said:

Bernie, I bought my buttons from Clark’s and numerous covers came off.

 

The parts I showed hold the assembled button to the upholstery. I have never had the vinyl covered cap come off the base and pin. Those are pressed together with a special button machine.

 

There is a very friendly woman in Clark's upholstery shop and I bet she would know exactly how to make things right. The tension on that button press may not be right. OR something may have changed slightly in the material that has not been caught.

 

Bulk products have changed over recent times. A weaving machine can go from components using inch measurements to millimeters at the manufacturing plant and cause slight differences, especially with worldwide sourcing. A few years ago I found that fuel line and vacuum hose is sold in inch increments, but manufactured in millimeter tolerances. That happened when I tried to use my original 5/16" Corbin clamps on new 5/16 hose. The O. D. of hose is smaller than 10 years ago.

 

Little things like that happen in the purchasing department and the end user catches it. I bet the button press needs adjustment or the fabric has varied slightly. The boss wouldn't know, but that woman who knows her stuff has probably already told them. She's your go to person to resolve yours and future problems.

 

I like Clark's.

Bernie

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On 11/14/2018 at 9:48 AM, Bdad said:

'63 Riv. White leather interior. Passenger seat. One of the buttons came lose. Have the button. Anyone every repaired? Do I need to go to an auto upholstery shop or is there a way to get it back on or do I need to glue or?


Same thing happened to my driver's seat.  I took it to an upholstery shop who fixed it pretty quick. However, in my case the whole button came off, not just the 'top'.  In your case the back side of the button is still attached so I'd try gluing it back on with epoxy, which ought to do the trick.  Good luck.

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On 1/7/2019 at 11:12 AM, 60FlatTop said:

 

The parts I showed hold the assembled button to the upholstery. I have never had the vinyl covered cap come off the base and pin. Those are pressed together with a special button machine.

 

There is a very friendly woman in Clark's upholstery shop and I bet she would know exactly how to make things right. The tension on that button press may not be right. OR something may have changed slightly in the material that has not been caught.

 

Bulk products have changed over recent times. A weaving machine can go from components using inch measurements to millimeters at the manufacturing plant and cause slight differences, especially with worldwide sourcing. A few years ago I found that fuel line and vacuum hose is sold in inch increments, but manufactured in millimeter tolerances. That happened when I tried to use my original 5/16" Corbin clamps on new 5/16 hose. The O. D. of hose is smaller than 10 years ago.

 

Little things like that happen in the purchasing department and the end user catches it. I bet the button press needs adjustment or the fabric has varied slightly. The boss wouldn't know, but that woman who knows her stuff has probably already told them. She's your go to person to resolve yours and future problems.

 

I like Clark's.

Bernie

Bernie, I talked to the GM at Clark's. I requested to talk to Mr Clark, but got blocked. I said ok. I told the GM the button. machine or the button maker needs some adjustments. The GM said do you want more buttons. I said no, after 3 or 4 tries with what you've sent I'm finished. The GM offered a $25.00 store credit. I politely accepted his offer, but reminded him I'd rather have better buttons. No response. 

So, I'll have my upholsterer make the damn buttons.

In 1976 I sold a electro mechanical lister. The lister would imprint information from metal plates on forms. The lister Pitney Bowes had was made in Germany by a wholly owned subsidiary and a very fine machine. The lister moved in mm. The forms the customer had in Baltimore were lined off in inches. I told the customer to have those forms made in mm the next time they ordered. They did not like that solution. And the beat goes on. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Good, my experience with foreign applications wasn't totally lost. It reminds me of the purchase of a compressed air drier for an explosive fuze assembly line some decades ago. I walked into the project manager's office just in time to hear him say "What do you mean its 50 cycle". Still smiling.

 

It is always something to be aware of when bulk items fall short of our expectations on 50 year old cars. In the case of my hose diameter I could have used a worm clamp, but I had some fresh old stock in a cabinet and was able to keep the Corbin clamps.

 

Well, you got me to look up the name of Clark's general manager.

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On 1/7/2019 at 2:05 PM, telriv said:

Her name is ANNA.   Another knowledgeable person is MARK.  I told them about it. Ended up making my own.

 

27 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

Good, my experience with foreign applications wasn't totally lost. It reminds me of the purchase of a compressed air drier for an explosive fuze assembly line some decades ago. I walked into the project manager's office just in time to hear him say "What do you mean its 50 cycle". Still smiling.

 

It is always something to be aware of when bulk items fall short of our expectations on 50 year old cars. In the case of my hose diameter I could have used a worm clamp, but I had some fresh old stock in a cabinet and was able to keep the Corbin clamps.

 

Well, you got me to look up the name of Clark's general manager.

Bernie, you are first friend to take the time to call Clark’s. Did they happen to have s suggestion that might correct the problem?

Turbinator

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Bob, I have called Clark's in the past, but, no matter where I call, I try to avoid the upper levels of the food chain. I didn't call about the button. I just looked up the general manager's name so I will recognize when I call again.

Bernie

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/9/2019 at 1:59 PM, KongaMan said:

In my experience, those buttons are a constant source of aggravation.   They are forever catching on your pants, etc. as you get in or out of the car.  The best solution is probably a seat cushion.

Mr Konga Man, you have a good solution. I"d like to get all the buttons on at one time, once and for all. Then I'll put in seat cushions. Attachment of the buttons in upholstery jargon is called "tufting". You have to take the seat out and sit the seat on a table. To Tuft the seat back you have to open the seat cover on the side and do your tufting through that "window" in the seat cover. The tufting does not appear to be hard. I have made my own buttons for replacement and that takes patience and a person with time on their hands.

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I never had any of the original buttons buttons loose their covers.  Perhaps when seats are being reupholstered, the buttons are not being sunk deeply enough into the foam backing.  If they're not sunk down far enough, the seams on your jeans will rub across them and scrape them off.  Bury them so your butt can't touch them. 😎

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  • 6 months later...

Gents, having the button covers deep enough in the upholstery so clothing does not pull the button covers off makes plenty of sense. As a boy I remember seeing my pals’s get “ button tuck” upholstery done in Tijuana Mexico. I have not seen “ button tuck” in a long time.

 

I tried 63Riviea’s solution of trying two part clear epoxy. Of course you don’t want any epoxy on your seat so make a mask. My epoxy is holding the button covers on.

Turninator

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