The interior of my 1931 Sedan Special was re-upholstered in the recent past with the correct mohair material before I took ownership. My problem is I want to do much more restoration work that requires removing the upholstery. Am I kidding myself to think that I can remove the upholstery without destoying it in the process? I would like to re-use it. Does anyone have advise?
Thanks

I would think the seats, door panels and kick panels could be removed without much trouble. Not sure how to remove the headliner without damage.

I agree that the headliner will probably give you a problem. Some guys like to steam the rinkles out of it after installation. That causes it to shrink a little. Getting it back in place could be a problem.

You might be able to remove the weather stripping and door panels without too much trouble. The body panels could also be trouble if they were also steamed to remove rinkles.

Yep, the headliner will be a problem as the others have posted. If you do remove the headliner you might want to look and installing a new headliner instead of reinstalling the old unit....if you can get the right color match.

Thanks for the helpful advise. I thought the headliner could be a problem. It's slightly different in color (slightly reddish tint) than the beige door panels and seats anyway, so if I have to replace it I don't think the color will be an issue. Thanks again.

Well, I got one dooor panel off and it was no problem. Just took some time. Most of the nails and staples pulled out without too much difficulty.

Ralph just remember when you re-install any of the panels to first mark the metal edges with white chaulk so you don't try to put a nail thru it like I did. I marked the door sides where the metal bend starts and ends.

Also try to use a slightly longer nail if you must use an existing nail location.

It's a good idea to practice "blind nailing" before you begin.

Thanks. That's good advise. It will be some time before I get around to reinstalling everything, so I'll make sure I write that down so I don't forget.
When I took the upholstery piping off from around the window, it seemed that the person that installed it originally used some type of glue in areas. It wasn't strong glue, because the material came off of the wood and metal easily. What type of glue should i use to reinstall the material?
Thanks again.

Ralph,

By "piping" do you mean the outer 1/4" weather strip attached to the door edges?

Mine also seemed to be stuck in places. I thought that was due to age and didn't think of glue. Most of it on my car was dangling and came off with just touching it. I did have to remove plenty of nails so that I didn't hit any of them when installing the new material.

I tacked mine in place before installing the door panel.

Anyway it's not a bad idea to apply a light coating of glue. I know Goodwrench Parts counters sell spray on upholstery cement made by 3M. I would think they also carry a brush on type. You might try that, but I would test it first for color run and drying time.