f355 airbag cover upholstery repair recommendation in the L.A. area

The airbag cover on my car looked pretty good but you could see it wasn't 100% perfect.

On most of these cars it seems the top corners of the airbag actually overlap the hole in the dashboard and do not fit correctly. (which bothered me)

I removed the airbag and leather cover and noticed the plastic underneath had sharp pointy corners on top and didn't seem to fit the hole in the dash correctly.

I took a 90 degree air grinder and re-contoured the plastic and test fit it into the dashboard until the shape of the plastic fit the hole in the dash.

Once it fit correctly I used a hair dryer and put some heat into the panel as it was slightly warped. I didn't bend it back perfectly straight, I actually over-bent it so it was slightly canted towards the dashboard.

Between the tension of the new leather (replaced by local upholsterer) and pushing it into the dash as I tightened the bolts, it ended up back to perfectly straight.

It fits great now and should have less tendency to dog ear since the corners are shorter/rounded as opposed to longer/pointy so the leather has less leverage on the corners. Also, since the corners are no longer overlapping the top of the dash, the dash is not trying to bend the corners.

I know this isn't an answer to your question but thought I would throw this info out there in case you wanted to do the same before having it recovered.
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The best interior work I have ever seen.
Prestige Auto Upholstery
6159 Vineland Avenue,
North Hollywood, CA 91606-4913(818) 753-9606‎


I don't personally know him, but my good friend Hanksound (a member here) knows him well.

I recently went to look at a Ferrari for someone and the interior happened to be redone by Fernando at Prestige.
Absolutely AMAZING!!!

I have seen his work on a 308, Mondial T, 328, 348, and a 355, they have ALL been perfect.
I am very picky.. I live and work in a micro world

Here are some pics of the 308 I recently looked at.
The entire interior was done by Fernando.
Notice there is ZERO ripples in the leather, TIGHT fit! Pictures don't do it justice
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Actually, I searched this forum to find out how to remove it

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176453&highlight=airbag

First photo in that post illustrates what I was saying about the airbag not properly fitting the shape of the dash.

 

Bring the car around We need more 348/355's at the shows

www.SuperCarSunday.com

 

He recovered my dashpod and did a rear leather shelf for my 550 and the results were excellent.

 

Dear colleagues Ferrari owners,
I disassemble the airbag and covered it with new skin, as indicated. It is very nice now.
However, the air bag light indicator doesn't turn off now.
Do you know what can I do, to solve this problem, or I need go to a Ferrari dealer to reprogram the electronic sensor of air bag ?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Best regards.

 

Digging up this old thread after the current airbag thread mentioned it....

Your airbag cover looks great, much better rounded like that.

What I would like to know is, who did the red stitching on your center gauge surround? That looks incredible! Did you have any other areas done with contrasting stitching? I know it wasn't a factory option at the time, but I really like that look on newer cars and it is something I may consider doing to my 355 at some point. Did they disassemble the pieces and sew them back together with new thread, or somehow just add red thread over the old stuff while everything was assembled?

 

The Factory offered colored stitching on 98 and 99 355 ...all areas with colored stitching just like on newer cars...

 

I'll bring this back from the dead once again since I noticed I never answered your question.

The car is a 99 (regretfully no longer in my possession) and the red constrast stitching was a factory option. I've seen it done from the factory in yellow as well but don't recall any other colors.

 

I'm also looking for some leather restoration (airbag, handbrake, seat) in the LA area.