How To Repair Flexsteel Captain Chair Back

Topic: Reupholster captain chairs

Posted By: donnie d on 04/23/10 06:25pm Has anyone recovered their leather captain chairs. This is about the last thing I need to complete in my update. Either recover or replace.

2000 Monaco Diplomat

Posted By: Dick_B on 04/23/10 08:23pm Never have but I don't know why it would be any different than recovering any other chair. The trick is to find a good upholsterer.

Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
2011 3/4 T Chevrolet Suburban
Equal-i-zer Hitch
One wife, two electric bikes (both Currie Tech Path+ models)

Posted By: buzzman on 04/23/10 08:50pm I do this for a living, leather is not cheap,sometimes its better to buy new seats,check your prices,however its not a problem to reupholster

Posted By: Economical Handyman on 04/23/10 09:05pm We did not care for the so called "leather", so we had ours reupholstered with a cloth material. Saved many $$$ instead of buying new.

DeWayne & Judy
04 3810 Dutch Star
ISL 370
Frank's autoformer
01 Sahara Jeep-toad
Blue Ox Aventa II
F 374382
This is not the "GOLDEN-YEARS", it is the "RUSTY-YEARS" !

Posted By: twocruisin on 04/24/10 04:36am I did my driver's chair (Flexsteel Brand)........I bought five yards of brand name ULTRALEATHER on the internet......The trick is to make sure you get REAL, BRAND NAME ULTRALEATHER-TM (Trade Mark)......It cost me about 40 bucks a yard......

I went to an upholstery shop in Ocala, Florida and looked at some of the chairs he had done for customers.....He charged me 300 dollars to re-do the chair with my Ultra Leather.....I told him I wanted it EXACTLY the same as the factory job.........He matched the chair perfectly.......All I had to do was unbolt the chair (Four bolts under the chair) and bring it to him......

Total cost was under 550 bucks and he made extra slip covers for the arms and where my head hits the back of the seat out of the same leather......

A new chair would have been at least 1,000 dollars and my chair looks brand new.....

Do a google search for ULTRALEATHER TM (One word) and make sure you get BRAND NAME material......

John

* This post was edited 04/24/10 04:43am by twocruisin *

John
Crystal River
Florida
40 Foot Damon Diesel Bus

Posted By: Skylark on 04/24/10 06:39am Denny, I removed my captians chairs, recliner and and jackknife sofa and had them upholstered by a good friend with leather. She charged me $800. sky

* This post was edited 04/24/10 09:25am by Skylark *

Posted By: Daveinet on 04/24/10 08:29am Do not re-upholster or buy new, buy Surplus. There are several RV surplus places around, they are 3 good ones in Elkhart. I know of one in Northern OH. If you do an internet search, there are several throughout the country. 8 years ago, I bought my 2 captains chairs surplus - $200 bucks a piece for Ultraleather.

If you are buying surplus, you have to go there to shop. Surplus can be like new takeouts or scratch and dent. You just have to inspect the stuff and make sure you can live with it if there is any blemishes. In my case, there was a tare in both skirts. You can't see the tares, because of where they are, so it was a good deal for me.

IRV2

Posted By: Clay L on 04/24/10 08:41am DW recovered ours a couple of months ago with Ultraleather Plus which has the best abrasion resistance. She found it for $65 a yard. She also recovered the dinette cushions and the couch.

As stated by twocruisin there are a lot of knockoffs out there so you need to make sure you get the real stuff. The following is an example of the cost difference between the knockoff and the real thing.
"Ultraleather Fabric 54"
$79.00 new - Sailrite (real)

Khaki Tan Ultra Leather
$12.95 new - The Crazy Quilter (fake)"

Our total cost was about $2300 and two FlexSteel captains chairs would have cost that much.
We stopped at the FlexSteel dealer in Elkhart (Brad and Hall) and we were not impressed with the quality. I could feel part of the frame under the foam on the top of the arms and that is what caused the arms of the chairs belonging to some friends to wear through.

Clay (WA5NMR), Lee (Wife), Katie & Kelli (cats) Salli (dog).

Fixed domicile after 1 year of snowbirding and eleven years Full Timing in a 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N, Workhorse chassis, Honda Accord toad

Posted By: sowego on 04/24/10 08:58am We had our chairs redone at the Flexsteel factory (a warranty issue with the fabric). Ours were originally woven fabric and we decided to keep a fabric but chose an ultra suede type. The fabric has held up well after 5 years. We had the option to go with real leather or Ultra Leather but we stayed with fabric and did not regret it. The cost to upgrade to ultra leather would have been an additional $400.

The Ultra Leather product is indeed durable if you have the true name brand (as another postered suggested). We just don't care for the the ride of Ultra Leather in hot weather. Our J-couch has Ultra Leather we have to cover with a blanket to keep the pet nails from making holes in it and help with summer heat situations.

I'd do a search to find a upholsterers who can do the job in your area - get several estimates and referals. Most likely it will be cheaper to recover rather than buy new unless the padding on the seats also needs to be replaced. Depending on the age of the seat and orginal quality...if the padding has become compressed, hard or lumpy...you'll also need new padding. A qualified upholsterer should be able to tell you what needs to be done.

Then get the cost for replacing with a new seat.

After you get a few estimates you should have your answer as to which is best for you to do.

I also think previous poster Dave had a good idea..check out surplus &/or used seats. Some used seats were replaced simply because people did not like the ultra leather so they are actually new.

After our warranty issues with Flexsteel -- we found you have to replace with the top of the line chair to get a decent product and even then...the seats compress and get hard within a few months of use. I wish it weren't so but if you are above average in size instead of weighting 100 pounds soaking wet -- most seats just don't hold up and will become hard in a few months.

Good luck - I hope you work out a deal that will make you happy and comfortable.

* This post was edited 04/24/10 09:07am by sowego *

2002 Tiffin Phaeton
2005 Malibu Maxx toad

Posted By: billsenick on 04/24/10 01:16pm twocruisin, John what is the name of the shop in Ocala, FL. We need both of our ultraleather captains chairs re-upholstered and are having trouble finding a shop we feel secure with.

Thanks, Bill

Bill Senick
2011 Newmar Essex 4524
2003 Newmar Kountry Star 3740

Posted By: twocruisin on 04/24/10 02:23pm Frances
Superior Upholstery & Design
352-502-8899
garcia.frances@rocketmail.com

They are in Ocala and operate out of a storage facility..........They have rented about 20 storage units and have made them into a big shop....I went there first to look at some of the work they did......I was impressed and they had the chair back to me in 3 weeks.....The Christmas holiday was in that time period so I imagine they could do a job faster than that if you needed it....
They were really professional and if you pay cash they will forget the sales tax.......

If you email her pictures of your chair she will give you a price and tell you how much Ultraleather to order....

I should have mentioned that they put all new foam on the arms and seat, so it's really a complete new chair.....

In the photo the right arm slip cover is twisted...I should have straightened it out before I took the picture.....The arm on the left in the picture is the way it looks when straight...I didn't want you to think they covered the chair funny, the slip covers move around...I take them off when I'm driving....

I got the Ultra Leather from: http://newtoto.stores.yahoo.net/ululul70br.html
it was even cheaper than 40 bucks a yard and it was shipped within 2 days on a roll...

The girl in the upholstery shop said it was real Ultraleather and she knows what she's talking about..........She wanted a little under 100 dollars a yard for the same material I got online..

The Old Color Leather:
[image]

The Re-Covered Chair with extra head and arms slip covers:
[image]
[image]

Posted By: Daveinet on 04/24/10 03:27pm One comment about Ultraleather brand. It is not as critical to get the Ultraleather brand as it is to make sure you are getting a Urethane product. There is nothing proprietary about Ultraleather other than some good marketing for a name brand. What makes it durable and comfortable is the fact that it is Urethane and not Vinyl. Urethane is very hygroscopic, which is why you don't sweat or stick to it as badly as real leather or vinyl.

Posted By: donnie d on 04/24/10 05:35pm Thanks for the quick replies. I have order some samples