[deuce_454]

ok ive desided upon sewing my own seats for the deuce, i plan to build them from upolstered buns and mount them on the plywood seat frame, (i am copying the seat geometry of a recaro seat and plan to use a combination of closed cell foam close to the plywood, and open cell foam just under the upolstery.. now to the tricky part, what do i cover it with. ive found a polyester alcantara (fake suade) that the sales person said was reasonably waterproof, and it had a wear rating of 100.000, so i figured it will keep me from sliding and still be ok even if i catch a light shower. now is that a wise choice for fabric? (its really a furniture that i can get it at 40% off which is 50 bucks per yard x 1,6 yards wide)

can i use silicone shoe rainproofing on it, or should i invest in real leather.. which i find a tad spendy in the nice qyality..

 

[kristkustoms]

Alcantara is a type of UltraSuede. It is a durable fabric, seems to clean easily. One thing to note is that the stuff is NOT UV resistant, it fades pretty easily. We use it alot, but use it mainly as an insert material and on headliners (areas that dont receive direct sunlight). That is a good price for the stuff. There isn't an automotive grade of faux suede, it is all residential stuff. Hearing it direct from someone at UltraFabrics (the manufacturer of UltraSuede and UltraLeather), that UltraSuede (or any man made suede) can't be treated for UV resitance. When I heard about this, I cut a piece of the stuff I had in stock and put it in the window sill of my office for about a week in summer, and it faded pretty bad for just one week in the sun. I wouldnt use leather if you might get it wet. Leather can be formed by using water, so if it gets wet when you are sitting on the seat, it could take the shape of your butt. Leather can also get hard after it gets wet and dries.

[ December 26, 2002: Message edited by: kristkustoms ]</p>

 

[Kevin45]

Yea, just ask O.J. what happens to leather when it gets wet and dries. HAHA!! Sorry just couldn't resist.

Kevin

 

[Chumpy]

I'm sure the little Meyers Manx
I restored isn't as nice as your roadster but
I had the same problem choosing what to
put in the interior of a car that would see lots
of weather. I used marine carpeting, materials
etc. They last longer and look the same
and were meant for all the abuse. It wouldn't hurt to check out a speed boat upholstery shop and ask about materials.

 

[deuce_454]

well i must confess that the only restoring ive done on the roadster is all the used parts ive used (1973 mustang2 front end, 1982 jaguar rear.. and so on, otherwise its ameircan stampings frame rails, homewelded and boxed by me, and the body is fibreglass...

and i want a car that i can use on long drives, and such its absolutely no trailer queen.

which is why i expect some rain and abuse

 

[HotRod31]

I don't know much about it but there is a new imitation leather material out. The seats I saw were a flat black color with a LIGHT texture.
Looked good to me. I am going to look in to it when I get ready to upolster my coupe.

Later, Mark

 

[Studebaker]

Check out Summit racing catalog. They have seats both in high back and low back designed for jeeps. I think the brand name is Bestop Trailmax seats. They are designed for jeeps so you know the material will last and they are inexpensive.