retrim, what material??

[Loon676]

hi all, looking at doing a retrim project, picked up some sport seats with the intention of a retrim, then trim rear seat to suit.

however, i always thought the 'leather' wouldve been a fake/leatherette/vinyl, untill i had a look at the old sport seat and it looks like its real leather.

should i retrim in leather or the vinyl??

has anybody retrimmed in vinyl?? if so do you have pics and what advice or comments can you pass on?

many thanks.

[FinalD]

Having been in older cars with vinyl and been in old and new cars with leather....use leather!

[Loon676]

thats the way i was swaying, although, as youd imagine, theres a price difference in material.

leather does smell good tho!!!

[FinalD]

Leather feels and smells much better in general, but also on hot days...leather > vinyl. I have fond memories of sitting in the back of a Hillman Imp during the summer months, in shorts, sticking to the rear bench due to the heat of the vinyl whilst speeding around the lanes.

I was looking at doing a retrim myself (until I realised the hassle involved and that I can't sew leather) and was looking at rolls of leather only and it isn't really that expensive. If you have a machine capable of stitching it and are a dab hand with the machine, use leather for sure.

[Loon676]

i used to be an antiques restorer, during training we also had to do upholstery, im not 100% confident itl turn out great, but well worth an attempt i reckon.

ill look around at hide prices, bound to be somewhere doing a decent price.

just need a kick ass sewing machine!!!