leather Vs Cloth

Body, Paint, Interior and Trim questions and answers

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ducktape69
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Postby ducktape69 » Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:05 pm

meh. id take leather any day....easy to clean and simply looks too too good to even consider getting cloth.

my black leather fries my ass everytime in summer!
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jules
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Re:

Postby jules » Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:27 pm

Garry wrote:And how is this different to cloth seats? After nearly 4 years my car still smells of leather not locker room. :roll:


Unlike it's owner :lol: :lol: :lol:


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m-lo

Postby m-lo » Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:53 pm

in comparison...i love my fabric chuck taylors but my leather addidas shell toes are more supportive, natural fibres and last ten times longer.
solution- leather seats for durabiltiy and shape retention, and whack on a woolen seat cover for warm buns and comfort. 8)

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Garry
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Postby Garry » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:31 am

Unlike it's owner


What? I had a shower last week!
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trader
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leather vs cloth

Postby trader » Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:10 pm

The beauty of leather seats (in an Mx5 at any rate) is the ease at which you \"slide\" in and out of the car. It was an added bonus when I went from the standard cloth seats. Possibly only old farts like me would notice.
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Craig
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Re: leather vs cloth

Postby Craig » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:42 pm

trader wrote:The beauty of leather seats (in an Mx5 at any rate) is the ease at which you "slide" in and out of the car. It was an added bonus when I went from the standard cloth seats. Possibly only old farts like me would notice.


Yeh that's a great feature...especially in mircofibre trousers! 8)

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Benny
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Postby Benny » Tue Sep 05, 2006 5:42 pm

The leathers used for most car seats are corrected grain, where they actually sand off the surface of the leather to remove slight imperfections and scratches.
Then, they cover the surface with various binders and lots of pigment, which effectively seals off the breathing potential of the leather anyway, so leather seats don't breath. Unless you want to spend a lot of money and get full-grain leather, which will cost around twice as much as corrected grain.
And you need to be an expert to tell what the leather is just by
looking/feeling it. I've embarrassed a lot of furniture retailers by telling them exactly what the leather lounges they are selling are actually made of. Some of the really cheap leather lounges are upholstered in pig leather, which to me, is a very unattractive material, but it is cheap and usually poorly tanned too.

Having said that, I always have leather in my cars.
The standard cloth in the MX-5's I've owned have all given the back of my knees a rash for some reason, so I always get them upholstered in leather.
Leather lasts very well if you look after it a little bit, and will always ad value and prestige to the car.

Now, if you want the very best material to upholster your seats in, use a short napped sheepskin fur. It's cool in summer, warm in winter, and if you give it a good brushing every now and again, will last a long time.
I once had some Recaros done up in sheepskin, and they were fabulous. So good in fact that the car they were in got stolen and never recovered.

Some people seem to think that sheepskin gets dirty, but in fact, it is very easy to clean. I have sheepskin floor mats that I made for my Merc (and doesn't Mrs Benny love them), in a light beige colour, and they are easier to keep clean than the beige carpet mats the car came with.
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Rocky
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Postby Rocky » Fri Sep 08, 2006 9:11 pm

Fabric always feels more comfortable to me but you just can't beat the smell of leather - right up there with brewing coffee. I love the smell when you open the door to the smell of new leather.(or fresh coffee)
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