Suede replacement question

[KDirk]

Ok, I may be jumping the gun here, but I have a chance to pick up an 88 coupe, white over burgundy under 70,000 miles for dirt cheap (should I so chose). It is an early build 88 with the suede bolsters and the black and silver "R" insignia on the horn center button (instead of the full color sunburst of the later build cars). Do not have the VIN handy just now.

Anyway, the drivers seat bolsters are pretty well shredded. I seem to vaguely recall someone here a while back posting about a synthetic suede that could be had in matched colors for redoing these seats, and was wondering if anyone can point me that direction. In a search, I seem to be coming up without the answer I am looking for. The idea is that if I do get this car I will redo the seat as most of the rest of the interior is decent, save for the passenger door panel. Note that I would also consider a real suede if it can be had reasonably (i.e. not having to buy a half hide minimum) so if anyone has a line on that, please chime in.

Will post back here if I decide to buy this car, it will be a bit of a project but will make a nice driver without too much work. Would be a fair bit more work to make it a show car certainly, but not outside the realm of possibility.

KDirk

[Guest my3buicks]

I assume you will be replacing the suede on both sides, don't forget this is pigskin suede so the hides are not that large. I would bet you would need 6 hides at least to do it. From what I can gather the company the provided the original also provided the suede for Hushpuppy shoes. If you are going to the expense to have the seats repaired, why not do them right. I am lucky and have a incredible upholsterer, he worked with sample until he found one that was an excellent match to the original color (or should I say the original color as aged suede goes, he matched to what was in the car now). Upholstery work is not cheap, that's why I have always had it done the right way. I considered the "ultra Suede(fake) for all of about 2 minutes. Once the new suede was installed you could tell it had been replaced as it was perfect, but I noticed recently that the new suede had started to age and the match was becoming incredible. I don't get the feeling that you are one that can out up with 2nd best.

[KDirk]

Keith,

thanks for the input. Getting that kind if insight is precisely why I asked, figuring that someone here had already done this and could advise of the pitfalls. I am fully aware of the cost of good auto upholstery, have been down that road before so it is not the major consideration. In the case of this car (not yet mine, and not 100% sure I will get it as of this moment) I am not sure if I would plan on keeping it long term. It may be a candidate for fixing it's issues to a standard that makes it saleable as a nice driver to someone who will be happy with that. In which case, I am not going to put the kind of effort I have into my first two.

On the other hand, it is fairly low miles and could be (with requisite time/money/effort) made into a very nice car for long term ownership if I decide it is worth hanging on to. In that case, I would probably do the suede on both seats. If reselling, might just do the drivers side as the passenger, while aged of course, is not shabby looking at all. Or I could just put regular leather in place of the suede and call it done, probably for less cost. These are all things I am kicking around in consideration of the purchase. I also have a line on another car of interest, but that deal seems less likely to be consummated for various reasons.

Did your upholsterer obtain the suede for you, or did you track it down? Last couple of times I did any interior work, I sourced and purchased the materials to my satisfaction and supplied them to the guy doing the work, which worked out fine. I could buy the suede myself if I had a known source for color-correct product. My usual suppliers do not handle suede (of the genuine variety anyway) so I am at a disadvantage.

Anyway, I will let others add to the discussion here as I am sure there will be other useful advice.

KDirk

[Guest my3buicks]

My upholsterer found the suede for me, took a little time and lots of samples, although if you happen to replace it all that would be easier. With the dark red you could also get away with replacing just what's bad and redeye the rest to match it.

[Guest steveskyhawk]

The nicest brand of synthetic suede is called "Ultra Suede". Real suede is not worth the expense IMO. I have had convertible headliners made from synthetic suede and am very happy with results

[KDirk]

Steve,

I have been looking at samples of that online. It looks good (on the screen) but I will need convincing by looking at a real live sample card. Fabric store here probably has one as they can special order any auto vinyl/cloth I've ever needed. I am loathe to begin substituting "knock-off" product, but sometimes practicality wins out. What I decide to do (assuming I buy this car) will depend heavily on it's ultimate disposition. If I keep it long term, clearly I will be more inclined to sink money into making it "right". Conversely, if I choose top fix it up enough to resell (since I obviously have no real need for it) then I will do what needs doing to make it presentable and solid without spending a fortune.

The big thing with the seat is that I'd like to keep it original looking. One, because it is an early build and has suede now, and two because I could redo the drivers seat for now to make it presentable, and do the passenger later if I decide it is going into my collection. My decision on whether or not to purchase will hinge partly on how much I project I'll need to spend to get it decent. Either enough to either resell or keep as a daily driver (even then it will be a notch or two down in overall quality from my current two without some more extensive work).

Part of the appeal in possibly keeping it is that I could use it as a work vehicle, and keep a lot of city miles off my "good" Reattae. This one is rough around the edges, so to speak . The paint needs to be buffed out good, front/rear bumper moldings have some scuffing/scratches, so need repair and repaint, rims are showing their age and that kind of stuff generally. It is, however, solid and complete, and no real rust; by Missouri, not California standards. It has low enough miles that the power train has lots of life left.

It does have a recently rebuilt (repaired) CRT, working A/C, new tires (Cooper Lifeliners, so not cheap junk tires) and the interior is clean, excepting the wear on the driver seat, center arm rest and some water damage/warping to the passenger interior door panel. All glass in in really good condition. It does have an ECM problem (appears to be blown quad drivers #1 and 2) but I can easily rectify that for no cost (have spare ECM and MEM-CAL on hand). So, pretty typical issues and nothing that really scares me away. Heck, for the price I could justify parting it, but would really hate to as it is just nice enough to make me feel bad about doing so. This is not a 180,000 mile beater driven by a teenager by any means, just slightly neglected as it has been sitting a while.

Today will be decision day, so by this evening I will know for sure if I will be bringing it home.

KDirk

[Vincent Vega]

I have a tan interior '88. The drivers seat was badly worn with rips in the suede. In addition the color overall had faded to the point where it did not look dark like new. I decided I was not going to restore as much as preserve. My upholster found some ultra suede that matched the color of the faded original. I was very pleased with the results. Since he only replaced the sectionsthat were bad it was economical as well($300.00 or so).

[Machiner 55]

KDirk,

OK... I'm sold...

Buy it! Buy it NOW!

Then, you will then have one less thing to think about and all the other questions will be easier to answer.

Made the decision? Good.

Feel the weight lifting?

That means it was the right decision.

Now get the camera out and show us what you got.

John F.