Reply To: Be On the Look Out (BOLO)

To all Interior Techs and Owners,

To continue the BOLO series, I found an easy fix to a problem that will mainly occur in the high temps of summer.

The particular model in question in this case was an Audi S6. However, this situation could present itself in other vehicles as well.

This week in my area temperatures were close to 100 degrees. The asphalt and the dark color interiors seem to make it even hotter. One of my dealerships called and sent me a picture of a car they had just sold which the customer was going to pick up in the next day or two. While they were cleaning and servicing the vehicle they noticed the entire back had released from the driver seat! They knew the customer would never except the car in this condition but had no way of getting another piece before it was to be picked up. They said they needed it fixed asap. I had never done anything like this before, but I knew I had to do it. The sales manager didn’t ask if I could fix it. He just said he needed it done immediately. I saw it more as a necessity to step up and perform the repair then an opportunity to impress. They were relying on me to make sure the sale went through. I felt a little bit of pressure, but mostly I just felt the extreme summer heat in a dark interior car. All you interior techs know what I mean. There is nothing quite like sitting in a black leather car in the height of the summer sun.

I have sent some pictures to Buster to try to insert with this article. I hope you can see what I am trying to explain.

The plastic back of the seat was separated from the all the mounting hardware that kept it attached to the frame. On the frame side of the seat were white plastic pieces, one large piece at the top and two smaller pieces at the bottom, that were perfectly attached to the seat frame. They look like they are covered lightly with black spray paint. However, this is the old glue Audi used to adhere the mounting hardware to the plastic back. Nothing was physically damaged in any way. It appears the heat had caused the glue to release. Like I said earlier, I had never fixed anything like this before, but I did come up with a plan. I opted out of removing the plastic pieces from the frame. I knew I would never be able to mount them in exactly the right positions if I did that. I decided to use the imprint the plastic back had made in the vinyl on the back of the seat as a guide to position everything when I put it back together. I was obviously going to have to adhere the mounting hardware to the back again using high strength adhesive. However, first I was going to have to figure out how to hold the back in place while the glue cured. I decided to use bungee cords attached to the springs under the seat at the bottom and the posts of the headrest at the top. This would keep plenty of pressure on the plastic back and allow the glue time to cure and bond.

After coming up with the plan to hold it in place, I used lacquer thinner to clean the old glue from both the white plastic pieces and the interior of the plastic back. When all the parts were clean and dry, I used 3M Hi-Strength Contact Adhesive (the green can) and applied several coats of adhesive to all three mounting surfaces and to the areas they would touch on the interior of the back. I allowed the adhesive time to get tacky as per the instructions on the can. Now for the moment of truth. I set the top of the plastic back first into the imprinted area on the seat vinyl I mentioned earlier and then applied pressure as I worked my way down the back until everything was in place and looked exactly the same as the passenger seat. While holding the back in place with one hand I pulled the bungee cords (already attached to seat springs) up and attached them to the posts of the headrest.

While the adhesive was bonding the salesman came up to the car to see how things were going. He thought the driver seat back looked great, and he started asking about the passenger seat which was perfectly fine. When he started to reach for the back, I stopped him. I said, “You don’t want me to have to fix that one. Please do not touch it.” The heat (you remember the heat) was still a factor with this car. It was still parked on the hot black asphalt. It was possible if someone touched the passenger side back it could also release and we certainly didn’t want that. So that got me thinking. Maybe we could ensure that this car wouldn’t have any more problems with the heat before the customer picked it up. I told the Sales Manager that the heat had mostly likely caused this issue in the first place, and it might be in his best interest if we brought it into one of their air-conditioned delivery rooms. He thought that was a great idea. I drove it inside and removed the bungee cords. When I left the dealership 7 hours later the car was all cooled off, the back was in place, and the unit was in pristine condition for the customer who would be coming soon. I hope this small informational tidbit helps someone in the field and maybe even encourages them to share something that might benefit others.

Be On the Look Out for other heat related issues that can be solved with a can of adhesive and some bungee cords and

Be On the Look Out for any other tidbits that can be passed on to others…

Mitchell Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost