How to Glue a Lawnmower Seat back on, step by step

Is a damaged seat disrupting your lawn care routine? We’ve got a simple and efficient solution for you. Our guide will provide a step-by-step process, making the repair task a breeze.

Remove the seat by unscrewing the nuts. Take off the vinyl cover fully. Replace damaged foam chunks or use adhesive. Apply adhesive to the seat pan. Carefully fold the vinyl over the pan. Stretch and adhere to vinyl with duct tape. Let the glue dry completely. Replace the seat with nuts, tightening securely.

A damaged seat shouldn’t stop you from taking care of your lawn. Our guide provides a simple and efficient solution that will make your repair task a breeze. Ready to get back to your lawn care routine? Read on!

Fix your lawnmower seat with glue in 7 easy steps:

Gluing the seat back on in a riding lawnmower is not a difficult task. Follow the steps, and you will have a great-looking seat in no time.

● Step 1: Inspect the lawnmower

Before removing the lawnmower’s seat and using your glue, you should remember that there are numerous types of riding lawnmowers. And their seats may come in various sizes and shapes. Some have seat pans that are made of fiberglass, while others may have metallic ones.

It helps if you know the specifications of your machine before starting. The following step may be modified depending on your device’s specification and type, although the general guidelines are pretty much the same.

In the case of a one-piece lawnmower, seats may be impossible to fix. In that case, looking for a replacement seat assembly is recommended. Check with your dealer or try to find one on eBay.   

● Step 2: Collect the needed equipment

Once you are getting ready to fix the seat on your lawnmower, it is good to check if you have all the needed equipment. It would be best if you had a wrench to remove the seat. The wrench size may depend on your lawnmower’s seat.

If your seat cover is made from vinyl, you need vinyl glue. If your chair is made from another material, like leather or some plastic, make sure that your glue can work with this material. Some glue can not work with certain types of plastic and can even dissolve it partly.

– Choosing the Correct Glue

So, it would be best to have the correct glue, a wrench set, a flathead screwdriver, a sharp knife or cutter, and strongly adhesive duct tape.

Moreover, depending upon the foam type and damage of your lawnmower’s seat, it is necessary to have replacement foam, Foam Lok, or a similar adhesive and a sharp foam cutter with you all the time during this process. This can be used to repair chunks of the foam.

● Step 3: Remove the Seat

After analyzing your lawnmower model and gathering the necessary supplies, the next step is to remove the seat. This step varies from lawnmower to lawnmower but should be easy to do.

The general method is to push the seat up and forward in the steering wheel’s direction. The seat is held to the seat mount with the help of two to four nuts. Once these nuts are removed, the seat comes off easily.

To make sure that you do not lose the nuts, screw them back onto the threads from which they just came off.

● Step 4: Remove the Vinyl Cover

Removing the entire vinyl cover, even if it is unplugged in a tiny spot, is necessary. Removing the whole surface is because it will continue to come unglued no matter how minor the place is. Once the seat has been removed, invert it on the workbench.

Depending on the seat pan type (fiberglass or metal), there might be staples or rivets. In both of these scenarios, the glue will be present. Now, with the help of a screwdriver, pop the pins or pry the staples until you have set the seat free.

– Cutting the Vinyl Around the Rivets

With your pocket knife, precisely cut the vinyl free from each rivet to avoid tearing it from around them. To deal with the factory set glue, carefully pry the vinyl up one inch at a time. Work your way around the entire seat carefully such that you get the vinyl removed without massive shreds.

If this is difficult, you could carefully try to use some glue remover with a small brush. In case of no glue, you could lift the vinyl off the seat.

● Step 5: Treat the foam cushion

Once the vinyl is removed, it’s time to analyze the cushion. The cushion can have missing chunks or bad spots. Fortunately, both problems are straightforward to solve.

Firstly, turn the seat over on the workbench. To cover the missing chunks, cut replacements from the substitute foam. These could be used to fill the damaged spots. If you can not find suitable replacement foam, you can use some from sources like an old patio or sofa cushion.

Spray some Foam Lok into the damaged regions and press the replacement part inside. Once the pieces are in the hole, press them inside and wait for 15-20 seconds to help them settle with the help of your palm.

● Step 6: Glue the vinyl back on

Lay the vinyl cover on your workbench by turning it inside out. Align the treated seat over the vinyl so the foam faces down on the resting vinyl. Once both are in perfect synchronization, slowly fold the vinyl up and over the seat’s bottom half. Make sure that it looks even and you don’t bump it.

After that, take the vinyl glue and squeeze a considerable amount on the seat pan’s bottom and from front to back face. Ensure that the vinyl covers the glue bead when folding it from the backside.

Squeeze the glue on the other side of the seat, from front to back. Fold and press one side of the vinyl firmly on the bond. Work around the chair carefully. Repeat this process for the other sides and ensure it correctly holds the right way.

– Balancing the Seat Cover

You must carefully pull the cover straight so it looks evenly spread around the seat. If it is uneven, pull the vinyl either way to balance the seat cover. Once the shape is ok, press the end of a duct tape piece firmly on the vinyl’s edge.

While pressing it down, stretch the other side of the vinyl towards the seat pan’s central position and press it with duct tape. This will stretch the entire seat cover back on.

The sides are now places. Repeat this gluing process for the front and the back, too. Once you are done with it, let the newly repaired seat rest overnight or according to the instructions of the glue you used.

● Step 7: Replace the Seat

Finally, with the help of rivets and nuts, attach the seat back on the lawnmower, just like you initially removed it. Make sure that the nuts and screws are firmly tightened.

Related Questions:

1. What’s the best glue to use?

The market has various brands all around. When searching for a good glue, make sure that you do an online search. Make sure it can be used for the material you try to glue. Check the product’s credibility by checking reviews from people who used it.

Loctite Vinyl glue is one of the most practiced and credible bonds all around the market, with good ratings and reviews. Flex Glue is another good product manufactured by the company Flex Seal.

The best glue is the one that has such a drying time that you could not only position the vinyl and the duct tape without the glue getting dried out but also not have to wait for an eternity for it to dry down.  

2. What if the seat cushion is flat?

Foam could lose its flexible attributes over time. In that case, measure the foam and look for a substitute online or on Amazon or eBay. Even if you don’t find the exact shape, you can cut it to the correct shape with a bread knife.

3. What if the seat cover is cracked?

UV rays from the sun can make the vinyl cover brittle and cause it to crack. If it is just a tiny part, you could try fixing it with some colored duct tape. There is a wide variety of colored duct tape, and if you can find one that matches the original color, you can hardly notice any difference between the original vinyl and the tape. If the damage is wider spread, there is no other option than looking for a new cover or a replacement chair.

Remarks:

Gluing the lawnmower seat back on looks like a complicated task. But if you follow the steps mentioned earlier, along with the instructions from the reference videos, you can do it without any problems. Ensure that you have the correct glue and replacement material if needed.