Introduction
Car Seat Covers provide valuable protection for your vehicle's interior from everyday wear and tear. They also offer a unique way to customize the appearance of your vehicle, though some extra work may be required to achieve the perfect look.
Wrinkled on Arrival
Seat Covers are typically folded and packaged in a small box or bag prior to shipment. Depending on the material used to make the cover and other factors, wrinkles may begin form while the covers are in-transit.
Fortunately, normal use and ambient heat from the Sun is usually enough to take care of most seat cover wrinkles during the first few weeks after installation. However, for persistent wrinkles or certain materials like synthetic leather, some additional attention may be needed.
Step-By-Step Guide
Removing wrinkles from your seat covers is most effective when done prior to installing inside of your vehicle. However, it is still possible to remove wrinkles from an already installed cover, albeit with more difficulty.
The first step would be to acquire a garment steamer to help remove these wrinkles. Be sure to use the steamer with distilled water only, as other types of water can leave stains on the covers.
Option 1: De-Wrinkle Prior to Installation
- Unpackage and unravel the seat covers. Place any accessories like headrest covers to the side.
- Once fully opened, flip the seat cover inside out.
- With the seat cover inside-out, place either back or seat portion over a large flat surface such as a chair back and gently pull down so that it becomes tight and the wrinkles begin to disappear.
- Using the steamer on a low setting, lightly steam across the entire surface of this portion until the wrinkles begin to disappear.
- Once the first portion has been fully de-wrinkled, remove this from the chair back or other support and switch this out with the second potion.
- With the second portion placed over the chair back or support, continue to steam on a low setting until all wrinkles have disappeared.
Option 2: De-Wrinkle After Installation
- Unpackage and unravel the seat covers. Place any accessories like headrest covers to the side.
- Once fully opened, install the seat cover like normal.
- With the seat cover installed, inspect for deep wrinkles that may need additional attention.
- Using the steamer on a low setting, lightly steam across the entire seat cover with special care on problem areas.
- After steaming, follow up with a small heat gun or blowdryer to remove any moisture and flatten out any remaining wrinkles.
Tips & Advice
You'll be glad you took the extra time to perfect the look of your new seat covers. Here are some tips and advice straight from our automotive experts to make this process as easy as possible:
- Certain materials, like PU leather, can be especially difficult to de-wrinkle. We recommend the user follow Option #1 for these types of materials.
- If you plan to de-wrinkle multiple seat covers, it may be worth the effort to create a special support/prop that can be used to place the cover over and stretch out any wrinkles prior to steaming.