25/08/2026
🔧🪡 McDonald Motor Trimmers – Our Most Asked Questions!
We thought it was time to answer some of the questions that pop up ALL the time in our workshop – and save Cherry’s fingers from typing the same answers over and over 😂
❓ How long have you been doing this?
Quite a while! 😂
Three generations long, in fact! McDonald Motor Trimmers is clocking up an amazing 76 years this year. 🎉
That’s three generations of learning the trade, passing down the tricks, solving problems and probably saying “Who designed this bloody thing?” more times than we could ever count. 🤣
There’s a whole lot of motor trimming knowledge behind our little family business – and we’re pretty proud to still be doing what our family has been doing for 76 years. ❤️
❓ “How much will my job cost?”
Ahhhh… THE question. 😂 And definitely one of our most asked!
We need to actually know what we’re dealing with first.
As much as Cherry enjoys her tarot cards, 🔮 we have yet to master the crystal ball!
Price depends on the condition of the job, materials, design and how much work is hiding underneath. Good photos are a fantastic starting point, but sometimes we really do need to see the job in person before we can give you an accurate price.
❓ Do you only do cars?
Definitely not! If it can be trimmed, covered, repaired or sewn, there’s a pretty good chance we’ve had a go at one. Cars, trucks, boats, motorbikes, campervans, tractors, machinery, dining chairs, couches, squabs and all sorts of weird and wonderful things find their way through our doors.
Basically, if it has fabric, vinyl, leather or foam involved… we’re interested. 😂
❓ Do you work outside of the workshop?
Our preference is to work in our workshop.
That’s where all our sewing machines, tools, materials, foam, glues and the million other bits and pieces we seem to need are! 😂 It makes life much easier and means we have everything on hand to do the job properly.
❓ Do you make car seat covers?
No, we don’t. We’re far too busy repairing and recovering the original seats underneath them! 😆
If you’re after removable car seat covers, Rubber Tree can most likely help you out there.
❓ Do you repair or recover steering wheels?
Nope, steering wheels are one of the things we DON’T do.
Even motor trimmers have to draw the line somewhere! 😂
❓ Do you customise motorcycle seats?
🏍️
YES – and this is something we have years of experience doing.
A motorcycle seat doesn’t just have to look good – it needs to be comfortable too, especially if you actually like riding your bike for more than 20 minutes without losing feeling in parts of your anatomy! 😂
Over the years we’ve learnt a lot about reshaping foam, changing seating positions, adding support and making seats more comfortable while still keeping them looking great.
Whether you want a different shape, a custom look, a fresh cover or you simply want to make your bike seat a whole lot nicer to sit on, come and have a chat with us.
Your backside may thank you for it! 🍑😂
❓ Can you repair just one part of my seat?
Often, YES! 👍
If the rest of your seat is still looking pretty respectable, we may be able to repair or replace just the worn or damaged section.
No need to throw the whole cow away because one bit of leather has had enough! 🐄😂
❓ Can you fix sagging roof linings?
Absolutely – we do LOTS of them!
Unfortunately, once the foam backing has deteriorated, sticking the old material back up isn’t really a fix. It needs to come down, be stripped properly and recovered.
And yes… once it starts sitting on your head while you’re driving, it’s probably trying to tell you something. 😂
❓ Can you make my seat more comfortable?
In many cases, yes. We can repair collapsed or damaged foam and rebuild areas that have lost their shape and support.
If you feel like you’re sitting IN your seat rather than ON it, it might be time to come and see us!
❓ Can you match the original material?
We’ll certainly try!
Sometimes, particularly with older vehicles, the original material disappeared off the face of the earth about 30 years ago. But we’ll normally find something that works well with what you already have.
❓ Can I supply my own material?
Please talk to us FIRST.
That bargain fabric you found might look fantastic, but not everything is suitable for automotive or upholstery use. We’d much rather check it before you buy 10 metres of something we can’t use. 😬
❓ How long will it take?
How long is a piece of string? 😂
A small repair might be fairly quick. A complete retrim or restoration can involve many, MANY hours of pulling things apart, repairing foam, patterning, cutting, sewing, fitting… taking it back off… adjusting it… and fitting it again.
We’ll give you an idea once we know what we’re dealing with.
❓ Is my job too small?
Definitely not!
Sometimes fixing the little problem now stops it turning into the big expensive problem later. And we do plenty of those little oddball jobs that nobody quite knows who else to take them to.
And finally…
❓ “Can you just quickly stitch/glue this?” 😆
Possibly!
But we’ve learnt over the years that anything beginning with the words “Can you just…” has a suspicious habit of not being quite as “just” as it first appears. 😂😂
That’s the fun of motor trimming though – after all these years, there are still jobs that come through the door that make us look at each other and say…
“Well, that’s a new one!” 🤣
If you’ve got something that needs repairing, recovering or bringing back to life, send McDonald Motor Trimmers a message with a few good photos and we’ll let you know what we can do. 🪡✂️🚗
