Automotive Upholstery & Interior Restoration. Fred Mattson
specific needs.
Regulator
This is my personal favorite tool of all. The unlimited uses of this long, needle-like tool are remarkable. The pointed end can locate and align trim screw holes in garnish moldings and it can make perfect holes in panels for accent trim to be applied. The flat end is useful for applying glue or tucking material into unreachable places.
The tool is called a regulator because it was originally designed for furniture upholstery. After the fabric was applied over the cotton stuffing on the arm, cushion, or backrest of a chair, the regulator was inserted into the chair from the backside so that the cotton stuffing could be moved and repositioned into the corners, evening out the stuffing. This brought on the term of “regulating” the cushion.
This 10-inch steel regulator is my personal favorite tool. It can be used on every job to help with assembly by locating hidden screw holes, aligning components, and tucking material into tight places.
Regulators are available in different sizes (ranging from 8 to 10 inches in length) and types. They can be found with a plastic or wooden handle.
It is easy to lose these when you are working on an interior because they seem to hide in the most unobvious places. They are not expensive, so I buy them four or five at a time. Once you start using a regulator, you will never be without this tool.
Scissors
Heavy-duty scissors are an essential tool for the upholstery shop. It is important to get the right size scissors for the task you are performing. Many types and uses for scissors exist and making the proper choices will save you money. The lightweight, plastic-handled scissors are not well suited for upholstery use. They fatigue your hand and the blades are too thin for heavy cutting. Maintenance is almost impossible due to the fact that they are riveted together and difficult to resharpen. Although they may be inexpensive, replacing them when they are worn out ends up costing more than buying good scissors in the first place.
Professional-quality scissors are a must for any trim shop. The variety of scissors makes specific jobs easier. From the top is an 8½-inch straight-handle industrial that is used for precision cutting, an 8⅛-inch bent-handle inlaid blade for the sewing machine, a 10-inch bent-handle inlaid for general-purpose cutting, a 10-inch bent-handle wide blade for cutting panel board and heavy materials, and a 12-inch bent-handle knife edge for cutting carpet and heavy materials.
The brand of scissors that I prefer to use in my shop is made by Wiss. The general size of scissors used every day is a 10-inch bent-handle. They work great for cutting leather, vinyl, and panel board. For carpet I use a bent-handle 12-inch knife-edge scissors. They cut through carpet like it was paper. At the sewing machine, I have used 8⅛-inch bent-handle scissors for trimming tread.
Overall I have a dozen or more scissors that I keep in rotation so that I’m always using sharp scissors. The professional-grade scissors last and can be repaired and sharpened to new condition many times. I have three scissors in service now that are more than 35 years old and they still work great.
Staple Lifter
Removing staples and tacks is not one of the tasks that anyone enjoys. Fighting a stubborn fastener only makes it more frustrating. A generic tack lifter is useful but not the go-to tool. The best tool I’ve found is the Berry’s staple remover. Ask anyone who has used one and he or she will tell you that it works. It lifts even the most difficult tacks, staples, and small nails. Its unique wooden handle design just fits into your hand comfortably and removes the tough staples and tacks with almost no effort.
If you ever replace a convertible top, you need a good staple lifter. Tack and staple removers are available in many styles and they all seem to work fine. The best staple remover in my opinion is the Berry’s staple remover. It fits in your hand perfectly and it removes the toughest staples with ease.
Hammer
A wide range of hammers is available, each designed for a specific job. Choosing the right one for the task at hand will give you professional results.
An assortment of hammers to handle any task that comes up. From left to right: dead-blow, interchangeable head, 32-ounce ball-peen, 12-ounce ball-peen, magnetized tack, soft-tip tack, split-tip tack, general body, and wide-tip pick hammer.
You just cannot do every job with a basic carpenter’s claw hammer, and no upholstery shop should be without a tack hammer. The C. S. Osborne Company makes about the finest tack hammer you could ever want. One end is magnetized for setting tacks, and the other end is for driving them in. They are also useful for setting trim pins on stainless and countless other tasks.
A soft mallet is handy for setting wire-on welt and persuading door panel clips into place without marring the surface of the panel.
A machinist hammer (ball-peen) is useful for setting rivets and hammering a hole punch through panel board. I have several sizes and weights of machinist hammers for these tasks.
Because you are working on cars, it only makes sense to have some body hammers for straightening and shaping metal. A wide-tip pick hammer is great for repairing flared-out screw holes in the tack rail of a convertible.
Pegboard
Pegboard comes in 4 × 8–foot sheets and is available in different thicknesses. I prefer the 1/4-inch thick because it does not warp and holds the pegboard hooks better. I also prefer the heavy-duty pegboard hooks instead of the standard hooks. The option is up to you.
Every room has some empty wall space, and by applying pegboard to a bare wall, you can conveniently store the tools that you use every day. This is a low-cost solution to free up floor space, allowing you to work more efficiently. Imagine what tools you would like to have hanging on the wall ready for use on that next project. The wall must be measured to determine the size to cut your pegboard. Make the pegboard as large as possible from the start. Don’t worry if you cannot fill it up right away; eventually you will.
Make a reference line for aligning the bottom of the pegboard by using a long level. This helps you when mounting the pegboard to the wall. Keeping the pegboard straight and even allows the tools to hang right on the pegboard hooks. The use of all-purpose screws to apply furring strips to the wall as a foundation for the pegboard is a good choice. The furring strips are cut from 1/4-inch plywood and they are 1¼ inches wide and run the length of the pegboard. The furring strip prevents the pegboard from sinking into the wall.
Use hot glue to attach 3/8-inch nuts to the pegboard to work as a standoff providing a gap between the wall and the pegboard. This way you do not lose any extra peg holes once the pegboard is on the wall. The location of the wall studs is transferred to the backside of the pegboard so that you know where to glue the standoff nuts. When the pegboard is set into position on the wall, the 3/8-inch nuts should land on top of the furring strip backer that is already on the wall.
Hot glue a 3/8-inch nut over an existing hole on the backside of the pegboard as a standoff so that it allows enough space for a pegboard hook to be inserted. The nut only blocks one hole as a furring strip covers up many. The pegboard is aligned to the wall with the nuts contacting the furring strips. A broad-head cabinet screw is inserted through the hole with the nut behind it to secure the pegboard to the wall. The screws are snugged up but are not overtightened.
Dust off the surface of the pegboard and give it a coat of primer and two topcoats of topcoat paint to protect the surface of the pegboard from wear. White is a good color because it