Today I just happened to go with my wife to a fabric shop to pick up some material for our sofa. While there I noticed some very nice leather hides for $90 each. They varied from 47 sq. ft. to 70 sq. ft. and were in a variety of colors. I was certainly tempted to pick up a couple but my truck is a long way from getting upholstered. When I got home I called a buddy of mine and told him about them and he said that leather for autos and leather for home upholstery is treated differently. Apparently, auto leather is treated with something to help withstand the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Have any of you guys heard of such. Those hides sure are tempting.
The dyes are pretty much the same, it's how they are processed and what they put in them while they're being dyed to protect them that's different. Auto upholstery leather that the factories use is generally stiff because of the protectants applied to them. This makes sense because without some form of protection, the abuse a daily driver would get would damage the leather very quickly. Also, most cars with leather seats only have leather on the seating areas. The rest of the seat is matching color vinyl.
You can use regular upholstery leather in a car with no problem. The secret, like with most things, is just to maintain it properly. Beware of closeout or bargain leather. Leathers and the way they are processed are vastly different. Good leather costs more than $1.25 to $1.80 a square foot. Buy from a reputable dealer that only deals in leather and suede so that you get the best quality and value for your money and don't end up re-doing your seats two years later.
Another thing that my upholstery friend pointed out to me was that hides can have imperfections like holes from barbed wire and anything else that cows or pigs run into. A perfect textured hide is not worth much if there is a hole right in the middle.
My buddy had to get 7 hides to get enough to do a Model A last year.
That is very true. Scars from barbed wire, insect bites, injuries, and branding are all part of leather hides. That is why having good reliable sources for the leather is so important, because good hides have fewer imperfections. Just because it is leather doesn't make it good leather. It's like the difference between two engines..........one that's perfect and another with a blown piston.... they can look exactly the same on the outside.
7 good hides would be equal to about 20 yards of fabric, and far less if the leather is poorer quality.
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