Don`t go cheap with fabric store material. Just think of it as particle board----plywood-----solid oak. What would you use. It takes the same amount of time to use good quality material as it does with cheap material. So spend your time wisely.
Lol and love the responses It really is amazing how the fabric or leather holds the smell of its past life. The used couch thing has so many issues so buy new from a reputable supplier . I find Lite products in Oak Lawn IL has been serving the auto boat industry for 70 years. I also use Rockford supply in MN for foam with great prices and boat upholstery goodies. Sailrite is also a great supplier of thread and hardware and has the best binding tape and recommended for ones that dont sew a lot
100 couches for $50.00 sounds great if I was 30 again. Consider this, you have to get each couch to your place, you have to store each couch someplace, you have to take apart each couch, you have to get rid of each couch when you are done with all of the previously mentioned points. I just looked up leather upholstery hides and this company popped up, $4.20 SQ. FT and you get the smell you want no farts or smoke. On another site a hide is $110.00/hide and measures between 27-30 sq. ft. it is irregular but 5 hides costs $550.00. You don't have to pick it up or dispose of 100 couches. Sometimes money spent up front is better than the difficulty of the money saved. Choose wisely and Good Luck. Pat https://www.districtleathers.com/collections/upholstery https://www.leatherhidestore.com/ou...ontemporary-leathers-with-a-buttery-feel.html
This is leather I got from a old couch I found laying on the side of the road. I cut the pattern and my wife sewed it up.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Now buying a ten speed from a nudist colony might be a little risky.[/QUOTE] Not if it was a girls bike ridden by a 20 year old.!!!!!
Sewn vinyl pleats are a great choice if you want a classic look, but heat-seamed ones from eBay could work fine, too; just make sure they're durable. As for leather, the idea of a nice-smelling interior is tempting! Craigslist finds can be a hit or miss, but for practice, it's worth a shot! Keep in mind that leather from couches might be thicker and might need some extra love on the sewing machine. Make sure to buy quality leather at vonbaer.com. Good luck!
When i got my roadster re-trimmed i was told leather for closed cab and vinyl for roadsters. Leather does not like the wet.
Mine has been wet a few times in its near 25 year life and is still good. But then, I don't live in the U.K. That may be different.
I have checked the go-fund-me link on the other thread a few times but all info ends at when they said he was going home from hospital. Hope it is going as well as possible for him and his wife.
Well..... glad to see another old thread brought back by a new guy. Thanks, New Guy! The rest of you do realize that historically, leather processing used urine and dung as the main components to make leather. Now that I have your attention....... Urine and dung aren't used anymore in the last dozen years or so........ unless maybe it's processed in a 3rd world country where it could be tempting to use what's easily available and cheapest to get ahold of. In our modern culture, leather processing now just uses the chemicals in pee and poop that were so historically good but is presently in a more selective, refined form. "Ah, I love the smell of fresh leather in the morning!" Personally, I like the way leather looks, feels, weathers, and smells in spite of any suspicions I may have about what happens out of my line of sight.
We had about half a hide left over from our station wagon project, and 10 yards of this plaid that we had bought for our '48 Pontiac convert but never used. It got put to good use in the Model A roadster. Vat dyed hides aren't all that expensive, I'd use that before cutting up a smelly old couch. The new leather smells GREAT.
Hello, My wife and I have always saved, purchased new leather couches and chairs. We were given a couple of vinyl couches when we first got married, but Levis tabs and other sequined attached women’s clothing does a number, easily, on vinyl. Those scratches are hard to get rid of. At least, leather is through and through. Usually with a leather cleaner or such solution, it can get close to the original surface as possible. Also, the leather dyes are available to mix and match. When one purchases the old leather, it has gone through plenty of action. The new smell of leather is gone, but it is still leather. The new leather upholstery smell just cannot be beat. We had a single bench, built in window cushion reupholstered, but it was hard not to get it done in leather. Vinyl scratches easier and is very difficult to match the underneath color, plus surface color material is usually gone with the scratch. When we purchased the sedan delivery project, we did not care what was inside. It was the idea of a 327 powered hot rod. Luckily, the former owner thought it was a finished project, as it had full upholstery on the two bucket seats and the cave in back was carpeted and upholstered sides/roof, etc. It looked great, but the sedan delivery was not a safe car to drive anywhere. It was ok on the test drive around the for sale spot, but on the freeway, it was terrible. Pedal to the floor to stop, ill handling around the corners and shook above 50. Not safe at any speed... Black leather is, for us, the best. If the seats/interior had not been upholstered, we would have spent money getting leather installed. We already had a very dark brown (almost black) leather living room sofa, so it was going to be the same color inside the sedan delivery. No worries about hot in the summer, in any car or station wagon. Minimal to say the least and is gone in a flash. The grey leather takes on the color of clothing that is rubbed across the seating surfaces daily. More maintenance is necessary, but it is a wipe on/off easy clean. Jnaki For the last 20 years, we have always had leather upholstery in the old and new cars. It is just easier to clean and maintain, when needed. But, Levis and such material in its day in/day out, slide across the seating surface, does a number on the material. At least, when a leather cleaner is used, the original leather surface comes back to life. The old statement of wipe on wipe off has gone through the family toddler stages and there is nothing to worry about when a spill or two covers the leather surface. It all comes off with a wipe, then dry, then later, resurface with conditioner or cleaner/conditioner. YRMV
Just had my pontoon boat redone in an eggshell white marine grade vinyl. We use it every week and stains are quickly cleaned off with Purple Power.
Hello, That is a good question. As a teenager, a lot of our friend's cars had white vinyl or naughahyde as it was called back then. It looked great being all white tuck and roll on the seats, side panels and inside roof/trunk. But, the Levi jeans being worn daily did its number on the white surfaces. So, constant cleaning with the 1960s products was a given. Luckily, the blue came off and it looked cool again. But, we could not afford leather back then. Jump up many years later and now, any leather surface chair, seat cushion or bucket seats were far superior to the vinyl upholstery. The vinyl looks great, but it is not leather. Vinyl scratches easily with Levi tabs and assorted jewel encrusted women's belts and purses. Let alone a myriad of backpacks thrown in the seat surfaces of vinyl, shows scratches. Leather, not so much. Leather is a lot stronger to wear and intrusions. Modern products are mixed to take care of any marks if they are not gouged into the surface. On vinyl, it is a lost cause. On leather, it is possible to get a matching dye to fill in minor scratches. But, the leather cleaners available are pretty good. Jnaki Here are two of the best we have used over the last 20 years. Car leather seats looked worn due to daily in and out motion with jeans and other colorful clothing. They have gone through plenty of in/out uses of preteen school pickups and family gatherings/soccer games. So, they are not garage queens. But, each time something was used, the marks easily came off. First it was Armor-All. That was a good cleaner. It just happens to leave an aroma that took weeks to leave. Then a myriad of commercial car brand cleaners and now after a lot of leather sofas, individual office chairs and seating chairs, they are all cleaned with the best, Arizona Leather Cleaner and Conditioner. We have used it on high grade grey leather on car bucket seats, dark grey leather seats and of course, black seats. It is the best product we have used over the years. No smell, dries fast and leaves a nice feel to the leather surface. Note: Vinyl costs a lot less, so there is that point. But, we do not have any vinyl on our car upholstery surfaces or on our home furniture or cars. YRMV
I'll see your 3 year old question and RAISE you a 17 year old answer. Old couches are free for a reason... LOL No-Sew door panel tech... | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)
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