Carpet Replacement

[Guest Kingsley]

The availability of replacement carpet has been the subject of discussion over the years but would appreciate any info on the current situation. Thanks.

Kingsley

Reatta Specialty Parts

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

I ordered mine off Rock auto. I did grab the premium with mass backing. I am happy with it. I ordered black so I cannot comment on color matching.

[KDirk]

Kingsley,

Several places sell molded carpet from ACC, the main supplies of auto carpeting. Most will send color samples on request. I will tell you the molded carpet is generic GM E platform (Rivi, Toro, Eldo) so will have a back seat floor pan section that will have to be cut off for use in the Reatta. Also the center beneath the console will have to be cut out and all pass throughs for seat harnesses, floor heat ducts and mounting bolts will have to cut in as well.

The rear storage bin is not available in a molded piece as far as I am aware. Matching unbacked carpet by the yard is available for doing lower door panel inlays, console sides and the like. I used this to redo the inlays on the storage bin doors and the flat portion of the rear storage unit, but not the inside of the bins due to the depth and unusual shape. A good auto interior place might be able to seam it to fit decent. I would order the mass rubber backing on the molded part as the factory carpet has that and it helps reduce road noise.

KDirk

[Guest my3buicks]

Just out of curiosity, is the carpet the same texture as the original - the Reatta seems to have a better grade carpet than some of the other GM cars of the time.

[KDirk]

No, it is not the original velour type carpet. It is a fairly typical synthetic low nap carpet. The quality is good and the colorfastness/fade resistance is excellent (at least on the red) as I put this in my 91 coupe in 2008 and it still looks new despite spending much time outside (I do have max legal tint except for windshield).

If you want original type carpet, check with Classic 9 Leather Shop in Dearborn Heights, MI. Robert Budd is the owner, and I can reccomend his outfit highly. Be advised that he is serving an upscale market, mostly Euro imports (Porsche is the speciality), so the pricing reflects that rather than the mass market stuff ACC sells.

He offers a velour carpeting that is virtually identical to that installed in the Reatta. It is not sold molded, only flat by the yard. Not sure if all colors are available to match the Reatta but he does have a burgundy that matches 88-90 and a red that is a match for 91as I have samlples of those. I bought some from him for my second 88 which had a rough interior. Very nice carpet, and while it was not cheap I think it was worth it. YMMV. You could overlay the original carpet with this (probably would need to use a carpet mastic) to get the molded look but not sure how well that would work out in the cotours. It would certainly make the carpet thicker by about 1/4" so that may be an issue.

KDirk

[Guest Kingsley]

Thanks for all of the info and I have relayed to the owner who is most appreciative. He now indicates a need for further recommendations for products to address his need to do some deep cleaning and reconditioning of the seats and other interior trim.

Thanks.

Kingsley

[Guest Kingsley]

Thanks for all of the info and I have relayed to the owner who is most appreciative. He now indicates a need for further recommendations for products to address his need to do some deep cleaning and reconditioning of the seats and other interior trim.

Thanks.

Kingsley

Any thoughts with respect to the cleaning and reconditioning mentioned above?

Kingsley

[jbeary]

I picked up the Leatherique line of products when the Lexol that I'd used before wasn't working for me. That stuff does work better than the Lexol imho but my primary issue was my seats were sprayed with SEM and the Lexol probably would have done okay if not for that. The older gentleman who runs Leatherique was helpful when it seemed like his product wasn't working so that was a plus. Was also using the 303 protectant on the vinyl, which is very good, yet, recently decided to try out John Deere's vinyl cleaner and protectant (TY26396) which I picked up as a fluke at a flea market a few years ago. First thought of it as a cheap alternative when I started detailing our 97 Subaru to sell but have been very pleasantly surprised. And I've used this since with a no scratch Scotch (blue) kitchen sponge with excellent results. Holds a shine for months and is actually pleasant smelling, unlike the Leatherique. Even better than the 303 imho of course. Also have used simple green with spectacular results but I have a hard time with the smell of that too. I have also used Red Wing leather conditioner on the seat bottoms and steering wheel with what seems like a better or more affordable way to go which equals at least the best results I've achieved with the Leatherique rejuvenating oil. This is product 97104 and it's mostly mink oil and bees wax and gives a super nice shine without the tack and smell of Leatherique but it takes twice the effort and it's much better to use when the leather is warm.

[Guest Kingsley]

I picked up the Leatherique line of products when the Lexol that I'd used before wasn't working for me. That stuff does work better than the Lexol imho but my primary issue was my seats were sprayed with SEM and the Lexol probably would have done okay if not for that. The older gentleman who runs Leatherique was helpful when it seemed like his product wasn't working so that was a plus. Was also using the 303 protectant on the vinyl, which is very good, yet, recently decided to try out John Deere's vinyl cleaner and protectant (TY26396) which I picked up as a fluke at a flea market a few years ago. First thought of it as a cheap alternative when I started detailing our 97 Subaru to sell but have been very pleasantly surprised. And I've used this since with a no scratch Scotch (blue) kitchen sponge with excellent results. Holds a shine for months and is actually pleasant smelling, unlike the Leatherique. Even better than the 303 imho of course. Also have used simple green with spectacular results but I have a hard time with the smell of that too. I have also used Red Wing leather conditioner on the seat bottoms and steering wheel with what seems like a better or more affordable way to go which equals at least the best results I've achieved with the Leatherique rejuvenating oil. This is product 97104 and it's mostly mink oil and bees wax and gives a super nice shine without the tack and smell of Leatherique but it takes twice the effort and it's much better to use when the leather is warm.

Thanks for this info and think it will be of interest to many Reatta owners. We are relaying to our friend.

Kingsley