Upholstery / interior re-do’s. Cost?

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Llk

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My 4 seat Mooney is getting long in the tooth and I’m curious what people typically pay for interiors - be they leather or not.


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I did not go leather....summers in Colorado .... I was happy with AirTex. What I chose is now in the premium category, but not back then. I took the seats to the local auto upholstery shop, and they did the update with the AirTex stuff, I did the interior myself while the engine was down for overhaul. The headliner was ok, so that wasn't replaced. I had done the back bulkhead the year before, so that wasn't in the big price tag.

Numerous criteria you need to consider. In my case, a 50+ yr old Cherokee really didn't need a really expensive price tag for an interior. I did this back in 2011, so I don't remember the overall price, but it was definitely under $2000.
 
My dad just had his interior done for $6500 cash. That was the entire interior, door panels, seats, headliner. He has a 182.
 
I happen to have a used Airtex Mooney m20c interior available if you’re interested…..
 
Llk said:
My 4 seat Mooney is getting long in the tooth and I’m curious what people typically pay for interiors - be they leather or not.
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Depends on what route you want to take. If you personally want to remove your interior and take it to a local upholstery shop you can save a few nickels. You'll need an A&P to sign for the actual recover work and the W&B correction but all other work can usually be signed off under prevent mx by you provided you don't need to disconnect flight controls, etc. to remove/install the interior. It was the preferred method for my owner-assist clients.
 
Pictures of interiors would be awesome…


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$7500 years ago…

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That is a nice looking interior! How much were parts and how much was labor?
 
Did my Cherokee interior just over a year ago. Well, not the entire interior - the leather seats were (and still are) in "as new" shape so I kept them. Other than that, redid everything else. Spent about $2,500 parts and labor. The biggest ticket item was the "hat rack" bulkhead. I bought the side panels used from TAS but honestly, they looked like new and were the exact color I wanted (really modern looking blue/grey). I bought the matching blue carpet new from SCS. The white headliner was still good after cleaning it so I ended up not replacing it. Other little items here and there were plastics (arm rests, knobs, etc.) that didn't add up to much.
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
Did my Cherokee interior just over a year ago. Well, not the entire interior - the leather seats were (and still are) in "as new" shape so I kept them. Other than that, redid everything else. Spent about $2,500 parts and labor. The biggest ticket item was the "hat rack" bulkhead. I bought the side panels used from TAS but honestly, they looked like new and were the exact color I wanted (really modern looking blue/grey). I bought the matching blue carpet new from SCS. The white headliner was still good after cleaning it so I ended up not replacing it. Other little items here and there were plastics (arm rests, knobs, etc.) that didn't add up to much.
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I got my carpet samples from SCS from a year ago. How much work was it to install the carpet, if you did it yourself?
 
I just redid the seats in my Cherokee with Airtex leather. Full leather total cost was $3100. The quality of the material and stitching is really good. Very happy with what I got for the price. My carpet side panels and headliner were in good shape so I kept them.But I did refinish the interior plastics and arm rests to match. Took me about 10 hours to do the actual upholstery tear off and install. Still waiting on the embroidery for my headrests but here are a few pictures
 

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The gold standard for Mooney is Aero Comfort. A full up interior is around $20K - $22K

My FBO says they can do an Airtex interior, paint all the plastic, and fix/replace some things for about $12K.

If you remove everything and reinstall it yourself, you can save several grand.

There is a shop near me that get good reviews by people at my field.

FYI, I contact Oregon Aero about doing my seats, $4800. PER SEAT.
 
This is awesome - keep them coming !


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I did my interior 2 years ago at “Best Aircraft Interiors” located in North Houston, TX (Hooks Airport KDWH) and Jorge did an amazing job on a full interior install.

It came with the burn certs and A&P logbook entry. $16k for a 31310 with 6 seats.

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in my motorhome a few years ago (on a Ford E-450 chassis) I replaced the cab seat covers. I found some Ford OEM covers on e-bay brand new that some RV manufacturer has stripped from a new chassis to put whatever upholstery they use to match the rest of the coach. I had found companies out there that sold new aftermarket covers too, that were custom made to fit..... but I just went the e-bay route to get them.

Anyway, a few minutes on youtube university to learn a new skill, ordered a pair of hog-ring pliers, and not very long at all I had the covers swapped out. Would have been a bit more work if I'd needed to change the foam but that would have been doable too. I didn't get all the tucking perfect for a show quality job but 98% of 'normal' people would think it's factory.

Is that a thing for aircraft.....Getting pre-sewn seat covers and DIY install? IF you're at all handy it might be a way to save some costs.....

edit: I should add, the primary reason I did it was because there aren't many upholstery shops convenient to where I live...so with the inconvenience of hiring out comes low competition and higher price. If there would have been profession options for me I probably would never have gone down the road of learning the new skill.
 
Airtex sells interior kits. Carpet is precut, seats you remove the existing upholstery, and for many airplanes the foam, then install the precut foam and precut/sewn seat covers.
 
Brad W said:
Is that a thing for aircraft.....Getting pre-sewn seat covers and DIY install?
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Yes. But not all providers are equal. In my experience, you don't always get a 100% fit with pre-made covers due to the variances in seats and in some cases the underlying foam. If its your only economical option then its the next best thing. However, in the past we've removed all the seats, headliners, etc. and brought them to a shop for a "custom" fit. If you take them to a CRS shop then all the work can be signed by you per prevent mx except any EWB changes if applicable.
 
Different aircraft have different levels of skill required, and different expectations on fit and finish. A Citabria or older 172 is going to look fine with fairly elementary DIY products. A 6 seat twin deserves a professional job.
 
Talking to the shop on my field, the AirTex can vary how they fit. But with some work, they look quite good. He said they did one recently that was the most effort to get it looking good, but they managed.

Having them do AirTex and painting the plastic pieces is about half the price of a high end job with everything covered in ultra thin leather.
 
FlyBoyAndy said:
My dad just had his interior done for $6500 cash. That was the entire interior, door panels, seats, headliner. He has a 182.
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I'm thinking about having the interior of my 182P done, can you tell me where your Dad had his done? Thx!
 
FWIW - finding an interior guy who knows his stuff is the key. It’s an art form as much as technical experience.

We found a local guy who knows how to do upholstery, paint plastics, and outright fabricate and repair parts.

These guys are found word of mouth. Ask your local FBO, ask your mechanic, paint shop, etc.
 
For those with a discolored vinyl headliner that is in otherwise good shape, I used a product called RubnRestore. It is a vinyl dye, super simple to use and works great. My headliner was originally white but looked as if people had smoked in it for years. I cleaned it with their cleaner and applied three coats of the dye. It’s now a really light gray color and looks brand new. They have all sorts of colors. Not affiliated with them, just a good product at a good price.

rubnrestore.com

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Plastics. What a journey to find replacements. Got to match via serial numbers vs model. And everything has to be trimmed to fit. And the right painting used.

And things like headliners may not be available. We had to have ours repaired and then covered.
 
WDD said:
Plastics. What a journey to find replacements. Got to match via serial numbers vs model. And everything has to be trimmed to fit. And the right painting used.

And things like headliners may not be available. We had to have ours repaired and then covered.
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I haven't used 3D printers (I've want to play around with them, but...). Wouldn't this be a nice thing for various model clubs to help others out with (providing 3d drawings that an owner can use to fab their own part)?
 
Do they have ones that will print a 4x3 foot panel.
 
Bob Noel said:
Wouldn't this be a nice thing for various model clubs to help others out with (providing 3d drawings that an owner can use to fab their own part)?
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Another option is to custom fabricate your own using Kydex or Boltron sheets. Can be heat formed to what you need with a little practice. Might not be able to replicate a VIP type interior but have seen a number that looked real good. If simplicity and useability are more of a priority definitely would recommend that route having used those products myself. And while you still need the services of a mechanic to install it, you can fabricate it on your own and wouldn't need to obtain/copy any approved data like needed for a Part 21 owner-produced part.
 
Is an A&P necessary to do upholstery? It comes under preventive maintenance, and the seats don’t count as primary structure, or do they?
 
ateamer said:
Is an A&P necessary to do upholstery?
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No. But the install of a Kydex fabricated trim would be considered an alteration which requires the A&P. However, store bought trim or Part 21 OPP trim would be considered a "replacement" which is allowed under prevent mx provided it has the required part approvals.
 
Ditto and let me add. A&P is not needed, but materials (even the glue) has to (EDIT) meet FAA standards.
 
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WDD said:
Ditto and let me add. A&P is not needed, but materials (even the glue) has to be FAA approved.
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I’ve read elsewhere that it has to meet FAA standards, not necessarily be specifically approved. Also that many, if not almost all, automotive upholstery products do meet fire resistance standards.
 
Yes - meet standards.
 
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ateamer said:
I’ve read elsewhere that it has to meet FAA standards, not necessarily be specifically approved. Also that many, if not almost all, automotive upholstery products do meet fire resistance standards.
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The main FAA standards that need to be addressed for any interior work are related to the flash/flame/burn requirements applicable to your aircraft certification. One way to simplify things is to use only Part 25 burn test materials, however, most auto fabrics meet some sort of ASTM flame resistance limits which would be acceptable for most CAR3 aircraft. For example, the Kydex and Boltron materials above all come with Part 25 burn certificates when requested.

As to what glues, adhesives, paints, etc. to use, there is no hard fast rule except the general Part 43 performance standards that the final product will be equal to its original condition. The only exception would be if a specific glue or paint is called out in an approved process like a STC, however, there are also routes to legally substitute those materials. Common practice in the industry is to use material/products from name-brand, commercial level companies like 3M, Bostik, Permabond. For example, a popular spray adhesive used by a wide-range of aviation shops is 3M Super 77 for interior recovering applications.
 
For my interior redo, the shop supplied burn certs and an A&P signoff of the install and materials.
 
Llk said:
My 4 seat Mooney is getting long in the tooth and I’m curious what people typically pay for interiors - be they leather or not.


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I do upholstery for a living. You can check out my Facebook page at TheFlightBoxLLC. I do custom interiors and custom embroidery. I’ve done them for as little as $4000 or as much as $8000. Just depends on what material and complex stitching you choose. I’m competitive to airtex pricing, but whatever design you choose!
 
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