Tech Talk

Amelia Brooker

Hi all,

I've been asked to give a "Tech Talk" on the auto upholstery business for a local Jaguar club. It's nothing too formal as I'm told, the group just meets at a local pub for an evening.

I plan to focus on antique car upholstery in general as that is my specialty, I don't have as much experience with newer cars or Jags. I have no idea how to structure the talk or what topics I should cover. I don't want to bore them with details they don't really care about.

This is what I'm thinking so far:

Leather vs. Vinyl
-how to tell the difference between the two
-value
-longevity/performance
-different types of leather

Sourcing NOS Vinyl
-suppliers
-detroit books

Tools of the Trade

Tuck & Roll vs Top Stitched Pleats

Cleaning/Maintaining your Interior

Is there anything you think I should cut out or add, or other topics I should cover? Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated!!

Joseph Bennell

↪Amelia Brooker

I think that sounds great not to overly detailed but most common areas covered, you could always do a Q&A at the end.

Good luck let us know how it goes.

Nadeem Muaddi

↪Amelia Brooker

This sounds awesome! I wish more auto upholstery shops and car clubs collaborated on events like this. It has the potential to educate the public and promote your business.

Your program looks great. The only topic I would consider adding is DIY vs Pro work. I assume a lot of these guys are mechanically inclined, so may think they can handle an interior project themselves. That’s probably true of headliners and other simple projects, but not of the more complex and technical stuff we do.

Maybe talk to them about why it’s important to have a pro do the work. Besides the obvious repair/installation stuff, they may not be aware of other important factors we take into account: fabric stretch, clearance, weight of materials, etc. With all our years of experience, we also have an eye for aesthetics that they may lack.

Fred Mattson

Several years ago, I did a hands on demo of stripping down a seat and installing a seat cover for the Classic Corvette Club in Minneapolis.
A husband and wife watched very intensely from the front row and through out the demonstration the wife kept asking her husband if he had that tool, did he understand what I was doing and so on. After I had the new seat cover on and everyone applauded at the result of my effort the wife turned to her husband and asked him what he thought. His reply was " I think that I am going to have him install the seat covers."
As some people may be able to do the work themselves, It is important to remember that many just do not have the skill to accomplish the job on their own.
This will be a great opportunity for you. I wish you well and support your efforts.

Amelia Brooker

Thank you very much everyone for the input! It went pretty well! I ended up having a lot less time to talk than I expected, so I ended up mostly talking about leather and how to maintain it, and then answered everyone's questions.

Was a good experience, but hopefully I'll get another opportunity in the future to give a broader scope on the auto upholstery industry.

@Fred Mattson I really like the idea of demoing a seat cover install! It's a great opportunity to show upholstery in action and you can answer questions and explain what you're doing as you go. It would also demonstrate how much easier and more professional the final product is when you have the right tools and materials and know what you're doing.

Fred Mattson

Local car clubs are always looking for activities for their meetings. The seat demo is easy and only takes about 45 minutes. The members remember you and will call you with help on their next project.

If any one is interested, I would be happy to help outline what goes into a demo and how to schedule one with a local car club. Just message me and I will get back to you.

Tech Talk

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