So after lots of consideration, I will be relocating my rear door tweeters from the doors to the D-pillars. In the rear doors, the tweeters can be very overpowering for the backseat passengers. Once I remove the tweeters from the doors, I will be left with a hole in each door (in the area between the top trim piece and the armrest, next to the interior door handle) which will need to be fixed. I will need to re-upholster each door, just the little piece of fabric that matches the seat fabric.
I would like some suggestions on replacement fabric. I would LOVE to do Alcantara or perforated leather but those are both out of my price range (Alcantara is outrageously expensive). I was thinking of using some black microsuede since it's super easy to clean and feels nice. I also don't have any auto recyclers near me to swap interior door panels, so that's also out of the question. Below is a picture of the type/color of the interior I have (not my car) and the red arrow points to the piece of fabric I will be replacing on all four doors.
If you can think of the perfect fabric, let me know!
Re-Upholstering Doors...
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Empty V
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1982 Chevy Corvette C3 Shark
Re: Re-Upholstering Doors... (Pwnin O'Brien)
Luckily that piece doesn't have a lot of contour so your options are plenty. I just did my headliner and was limited to fabrics that stretch. Unfortunately because of the bends/corners/indentations and the local fabric store's limited inventory I couldn't do a suede. I probably could have gone nuts and went to the textile district in downtown LA but I'm lazy. Fabric obviously depends on your budget. A really nice suede can go for $60+/yd, which is what I would probably do because you'll probably only need one yard.
Billy
Billy
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Pwnin O'Brien
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Re: Re-Upholstering Doors... (Empty V)
Yeah, the piece would just lay flat (over the thin spongy material already there) and the edges are covered by the upper trim piece and the armrest so this should be a pretty simple job. $60 is kinda steep! I could get a 56" x 36" piece of black perforated Alcantara for $52.00 on eBay. This is my top option, but I really didn't want to spend that kinda money on such a small job. I dunno, maybe I will go with Alcantara...Empty V wrote:Luckily that piece doesn't have a lot of contour so your options are plenty. I just did my headliner and was limited to fabrics that stretch. Unfortunately because of the bends/corners/indentations and the local fabric store's limited inventory I couldn't do a suede. I probably could have gone nuts and went to the textile district in downtown LA but I'm lazy. Fabric obviously depends on your budget. A really nice suede can go for $60+/yd, which is what I would probably do because you'll probably only need one yard.
Billy
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Empty V
- Posts: 2308
- Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:53 am
- Car: 2001 Infiniti QX4
1982 Chevy Corvette C3 Shark
Re: Re-Upholstering Doors... (Pwnin O'Brien)
It is steep, that''s just what my local place quoted me for the suede I gravitated to. The devil is in the details right?Pwnin O’Brien wrote:
Yeah, the piece would just lay flat (over the thin spongy material already there) and the edges are covered by the upper trim piece and the armrest so this should be a pretty simple job. $60 is kinda steep! I could get a 56" x 36" piece of black perforated Alcantara for $52.00 on eBay. This is my top option, but I really didn't want to spend that kinda money on such a small job. I dunno, maybe I will go with Alcantara...
Billy
Re: Re-Upholstering Doors... (Pwnin O'Brien)
Check out http://www.midwestfabrics.com/
They sell remnants from the auto industry and you can get good deals if your timing is right. I picked up a perforated leather 1/2 hide for about $65.00. Leather is sold to suppliers as whole animal hides. A 1/2 hide is basically one side of the cow. It is more than enough to upholster the door panel parts you want to do. I am not sure if they have something like this now but it is worth checking them out. They ship promptly.
I just noticed your price limit in another post. Not sure you will find something useful cheaper than $52.00. You still might want to check them out.
They sell remnants from the auto industry and you can get good deals if your timing is right. I picked up a perforated leather 1/2 hide for about $65.00. Leather is sold to suppliers as whole animal hides. A 1/2 hide is basically one side of the cow. It is more than enough to upholster the door panel parts you want to do. I am not sure if they have something like this now but it is worth checking them out. They ship promptly.
I just noticed your price limit in another post. Not sure you will find something useful cheaper than $52.00. You still might want to check them out.