Commando Seat Rebuild Advice

I'm looking for advice on what the best and most durable preparation & paint(?) system is for a Commando seat base - including any tips on work that may be necessary on the foam to improve the result.
Is the stock method of attaching the cover to the base still the way to go or is there something better?

Thanks in advance
Rob

Hi, will do the same , and I will sand blast the steel base , paint it (primer plus top coat), then before fitting the new seat cover ( Leighton or RGM ) , I am just wondering if it's a good idea to wrap up the foam with cling film (from the kitchen !) ...???

The cling film allows the cover to move easier when pulled over the foam, Also keeps the foam dry, nothing worse than a solid foam after an overnight frost and the bike parked outside and the drive to work.

I had the seat base powder coated since I feared that the glue for the upholstery may dissolve the paint.

The base itself is fairly thin and a bit flexible. Make sure before you paint to fit it on the bike and ensure that it sits tight to all points where it touches the frame. Put the rubber cushions on too of course. Look for any weak areas due to corrosion or age. Sort all this or you will be sorry.
Naturally, DAHIK. :-(

Rustoleum black epoxy rattle-can paint is what I used on the Titanic's seat base. There was surface rust, which I took off with 3M scuff pads, but little actual deterioration. GPZ posted pics of a seat base he had a complete new flange welded to. The clips that secure the upholstery are available if yours are gone or hopelessly rusted. You can even get a new silver mylar trim band.

My early seat pan was in pretty rough shape. Cracks and all. I cleaned it up as much as possible, brazed all the cracks, got it to sit properly on the mounting points and at that point I took it to my powder coater and he did the job on it. Then I covered it with a Leighton cover from Walridge. The pleats were not like the original, larger, but close enough and what are you going to do? I wish I'd gotten new foam for it. I think if you look up foam, you can find all kinds of info on the best type foam and I think it's a mix of different styles in the same pad. It looks like a mish-mash of foams, but that's what I read. Instead of buying a real expensive Norton foam that fits, you can cut your own pretty cheap. Get an old electric knife from a dollar store, they cut foam great. My seat cover had that clip on 'silver' edging that is a one time install with the clips. They're a bit strange to figure out, but they work. It's not hard.

I used POR 15 on my seat base

https://www.por.co.nz/collections/rust-preventive-coating/products/rust-preventive-clear-pint

Regards Mike

As mentioned, the (metal) seat base is thin to start with, rust ravages those that got wet. I sheared 20 gage strips 1/2” wide, MIG tacked them on to recreate the flange. Also, I created 14 gage “doubler” plates 2 x 4” to reinforce the area near the side brackets, welded them to the top of the pan, out of sight.
Rattle can black to finish.
New foam & cover from http://www.rk-leighton.co.uk/
The new beading supplied has kept everything intact, 30,000 miles.