The Science of Protection: Engineering the Ultimate Seat Cover Material

Whether you are looking to protect your seats from mud, dirt from a work site, the daily wear and tear from being in your vehicle all day or you are the one who is footing the bill for damaged seats at the end of a lease, you want to know you are using a quality product.

At Town & Country Covers, we don’t just use the words ‘heavy-duty’ and ‘waterproof’ as marketing, we ensure our covers live up to those claims. It is both the combination of quality of materials and the design of the covers that ensures that every cover provides unrivalled protection for your seats, no matter the environment.

What makes our covers different?

All our tailored and universal covers are manufactured from high-quality, oxford weave, 600-denier polyester with a waterproof polyurethane backing. This gives us the best combination of strength, durability and comfort. The Polyester we use is PFAS-free and complies with UK REACH standards.

By designing our covers in the UK, we strategically avoid seams on critical "impact zones." Where seams are necessary, we use overlocked stitching for extreme strength and water resistance.

Our material is used across our full range of Car Seat Covers, Van Seat Covers, Truck Seat Covers, Tractor Seat Covers, SUV Seat Covers, Minibus Seat Covers, and more. Each product is manufactured to the same rigorous standard.

The Technical Proof:

We use independent testing facilities to ensure our covers live up to the quality claims we make.

Waterproofing: 

Tested to a hydrostatic head standard of 600mm as a minimum. For context Umbrellas are usually rated to 420mm.

Abrasion Resistance:

This measures how well a fabric can withstand rubbing and wear over time. In this test, the material is repeatedly rubbed under a pressure of 9 kPa to simulate everyday use. A result of greater than 100,000 rubs means the fabric is extremely durable and can handle heavy wear before showing significant damage or wear-through.

Tear Strength:

Elmendorf Tear Test - The test measures how much force is needed to keep a tear spreading through a fabric once the fabric has already been cut or damaged. This is done using a swinging pendulum machine that pulls the tear further through the material.

Colour Fastness to Water:

Measures how well a fabric’s colour resists fading or running when exposed to water.
A result of 4 - 5 means the fabric has very good to excellent colour resistance, with little to no noticeable colour change or staining after the test.

Seam strength:

This measures how much force a stitched seam can withstand before it starts to pull apart or fail. A result of 17.6 kg STB means the seam was able to resist a pulling force of 17.6 kilograms before breaking or showing failure.

UV Protection:

Rated 6+ for colour fastness to light, meaning your covers won’t fade or go brittle under the sun.

Oil repellence:

This measures how well a fabric resists oils and oily substances soaking into the material.
A result of 5.5 repellence grade means the fabric has a high level of oil resistance, helping to prevent oil-based liquids from penetrating or staining the surface.