Citroen DS seat cover replacement part 2

Today I made good progress replacing the seat covers in the DS.  In part 1, I had removed the old cover from the bottom of the back seat.    Today, I was able to fit the new seat cover.   I’m really happy with the result – it looks great!

I found that using lots of small bulldog clips to get the cover in the right spot was a big help – I could position it and check it before I used the hog rings to actually secure the cover.   I had purchased a set of hog ring pliers for the install and having the right tool made the job much easier.    I also decided to purchase a bag of new hog rings, so I didn’t have to worry about having to re-use all the old ones.   The previous seat covers had holes cut (by the installer) to allow the mounting tabs to come out of the cover, and the new covers did not come pre-cut.   I could not see how to install the coves without cutting similar holes, so I did, although I was rather nervous with a Stanley knife cutting into my seat cover!  Luckily it all seemed to work out.

Next step was to start on the upper part of the rear seat. This is a bit more complex, as it includes the folding rear arm-rest.   The arm rest assembly can be removed with four screws, and then then an additional fabric piece is held on to the seat frame so you can’t see through into the boot of the car.

The upper part of the seat is different using springs and foam instead of just foam.  I found the foam etc to be in worse condition than the bottom of the seat.   Hog rings are used along the sides, but at the top of the seat, there are some metal teeth that you hook the seat cover into rather than using hog rings.

In the end I was able to get half way through the back part, and start on the disassembly of the arm rest.