Vinyl or fabric

Dingo · Vinyl or fabric

For reasons of rego, I need to sort out my rear seats.

Seat belts, fix R&R, etc.

Will get new foam and coverings at the same time, also retrim front seats. Lipstick on a pig, so to speak.

The trend for restos is very much vinyl. Was thinking fabric (polyester tartan, cf original westies) might be another option. Washable, wearable, funky-ass and also breathable.

None of these 'its your kombi, do what you want' answers, I need help deciding, friends.

Cheers

Brookie

I voted fabric due to our weather- vinyl , even top quality, gets very hot in our warmer states.

We have done a number in vinyl and been caught out in shorts on a hot day.

It could be a good idea to visit an auto trimmer or upholstery shop and see if you can pick up enough from remainder of a roll.

We have a pro trimmer member on here who can probably offer better advice.

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Brookie

This one was done with picnic rugs from Autopro- were a little more expensive than real cheapies- Kombi eventually went to Queensland and was sold again about 18 months ago on e-bay and seats still looked good after 5 years or so. Had been all over north of Australia.

Keith D

Hey Dingo,

My front seats were original, unmarked vinyl. Looked lovely, but as Brookie said, were horrible in the summer when wearing shorts. I covered them with fitted sheepies. Best thing I ever did. They look great and are very comfortable, even in the hottest weather.

The rear seats/bed mattresses were a disgusting mustard coloured vinyl that had gone hard and was splitting on the corners. I had them recovered professionally in velour. They look good, are very comfortable and velour is hard wearing. Unfortunately I can't remember what they cost me, but it wasn't that expensive or I would have remembered it!

Keith D

Dingo

Cheers guys.

Wonder why, then, all the restos are going for vinyl?

I was convinced fabric was the go, and then noticed just about everyone else going for vinyl. 100% responses so far suggest I was right.

Still havent figured out what to do with the front seats. Was thinking about leather, but it was more expensive than I thought (and I knew it was expensive to start with).

So now probably will go for matching front and back in some sort of lairy tartan, of course. For the front, will have vinyl sides and back - only back in fabric.

Keep the votes coming, especially vinyl people. Balance is everything.

Piratekombi

It's your kombi, do what you want.... Very Happy

I voted "fabric" before reading the other responses, as I think it would be more comfortable (especially in summer) as well as potentially more interesting (as fabrics can usually have patterns more complex and creative than vinyl....)

Diddlie

I've got vinyl but am dreading sticking to the seats in summer Shocked

so I would go for fabric in the name of comfort.

Archeress

FUR....simple Wes..FUR.

Dingo

I've already told you there will be some fur. So back down. Rolling Eyes

All very sensible responses. Didn't hear an argument against fabric yet...

Brookie

VLKSWGN

If you have kids, i think Vinyl is the way to go, easy to wipe down after spills etc, I just through a blanket over the seat when the sun is beatin down....

If you dont have kids, then I would go Fabric, camo of course Cool

Steve

OberonViking

Archeress

Dingo

Me. Kids. Geez. No.

So now we're 50/50. Maybe vinyl pax & drivers, fabric rear?

Hmm. Or fur. No. Okay maybe some. If its good enough for Kellie its good enough for me. But fabric is so funky. Against teak, whoops, cat out of bag.

Archeress

i like the idea of vinyl over fabric wes, reasoning is due to all classic cars i have seen have beautiful trimmed vinyl and it looks georgeous. Can be cleaned easier, and if you end up with tints then no need to worry about a hot seat.

Keith D

Hey Dingo - I don't want to muddy the water, but why not go for leather seats? I had the seats in my vintage cars covered with leather. It wasn't much dearer than a good quality vinyl but, believe me, there is just no comparison. The leather gets hot in summer, but you don't stick to it and you don't get burned on it. Plus that glorious leather smell as you open the driving door.........
Keith D

the aussie trimmer

To say the least, I am a purist, and what I have to say will reflect this,

I will always suggest that people return their car no matter what marque it is, back to the original factory design and specifications, be it Leather, Vinyl, Cloth or a combination of all three.
My argument is that as an original car, you retain the value and as we all know all these cars (meaning VW range) are becoming more and more the collectable items of choice.

As for the pros and cons of vinyl verses Leather verses Fabric this can be as much as durability, comfort, style and opulence.
Leather being the most opulent of coverings, will give the owner the best possible seat covering with the longest life.

IF THE OWNER IS PREPARED TO LOOK AFTER IT, PROPERLY

Leather requires to be cleaned weekly and conditioned (feed) monthly for all its life, if one continues this ritual you can enjoy the luxurious leather interior for decades to come.
Don’t use Armour All on leather as it seals off the pores and the leather dries out and dies.

Vinyl is a synthetic material and although it requires the same weekly cleaning as Leather there is nothing that will give it longevity. The only thing to help retain the vinyl is to clean it regularly, tint all windows, use a windscreen cover and keep the car out of the sun when parked. The biggest killer of vinyl is the salts in body sweat and cooking heat of parking in the sun that dries out the vinyl.
If you’re worried about the seat being to hot to sit on, then just through a towel over it when it is standing in the sun and if that’s at the beach make sure you sit on the towel to soak up any sea water from your shorts.
Most of all don’t be fooled into thinking that Armour All is the answer to vinyl problems, it is pure silicon and only shines it up, it can’t repair or rejuvenate anything especially Leather and vinyl.

Only use Swipe cleaning products to clean all interior materials

Fabric is by far the coolest surface to sit on but it to has problems. Most Fabrics are made for the home upholstery industry and in a car it breaks down and fades in UV light, dirt penetrates the fabric and wears the weave like sand paper. Again unless you are prepared to clean it regularly with a carpet cleaning machine your cloth seats will disintegrate, but too much cleaning will also rot the stitching and it will all fall apart. You’re dammed if you do and you’re dammed if you don’t.

Having said all that and as has already been stated, It is above all else YOUR decision to what you have in your car, you have to be comfortable with the choice you make and if its Leather, Vinyl, cloth, factory original (my personal option)or a full custom interior enjoy it, but clean it regular.

By the way good quality vinyl is $35.00 per lineal meter and leather is $99-$180 per square meter and a lot more time goes into the making.

Alice

I voted vinyl...what's a summer without car seat stick....it'll remind you of when you were a pup!

Brookie

Had a bit of a rethink after Margaret reminded me that with the No1 Brookie fabric is a problem as our Nissan Trakka rear seat/bed is fabric and we always have a picnic rug or cheapie cotton blanket on it for her benefit.
We are now going for as close to orginal on seats on our 73.

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Dingo

Brilliant. This is the discussion I had to have.

I was totally favouring fabric for the funky retro/westy look. But there are durability and cleanliness issues.

Question: (probably another one for Mr. Trimmer) - for a non-daily driver, which is stored for the most part, are there good quality fabrics available in a westy tartan style (i think the original was a woven polyester - scratchywool, as I call it on furniture). Very Eames / Fler / Parker. Very 70s. Very me.

But I was thinking leather for the front seats. For a special treat for my arse. But not original. And pricey. Still not sure.

But I agree vinyl does look tidy. And would have been original in the Sopru (am I right, some someone confirm that very basic question??)

Would it be weird to have leather seats, vinyl door trim and a fabric rear bed? Getting a bit busy for me. Even vinyl in the front and fabric in the back? What were westy seats covered with?

I am leaning towards Vinyl front (balance of OG and durability and cost) and fabric R&R.

I really appreciate your input. Especially from the Pro. Alice's gonna recommend sequens before long, so I'm just going to watch that carefully! Imagine if I employed Archeress and Alice as my design consultants. Whoooooweeeeeee, that'd be a sweet kombi.

Kinga

Dingo

Good enough for me.

the aussie trimmer

Any combination of the three types of material will go together, I will have to check but I’m sure you can get the tartan cloth that was in the Triumph TR7-8, or just use the tartan wool fabric and choose a colour from it for the vinyl panels and a leather for the front seats, I will check and see if the Triumph Tartan is available and post the price.
Kev.

Dingo

Nice one Kev.

I have no idea what the fabric in Tr7s and 8s was like. I was lucky enough to cut my teeth on a TR2A 'longdoor' as a wee nipper, so have a soft spot for the idea of using triumph stuff in a Kombi. That car had some beautiful old leather and wood.

Dingo

the aussie trimmer

Dingo

no drama mate that's awesome. I am still working on the engine, so your data will be tucked away for my next phase of kombi restoration.

the aussie trimmer

Ok this trim is out of the UK or the US cost $100.00 AUD per yd plus freight, it is the reproduction cloth for the Westfalia campers

Kev.

Dingo

Bingo. The first one is exactly the one I am after.

I wonder how I should proceed now. It's all a bit of a hassle because Im not near the Kombi. I wonder if I could source another pair of front seats, have them retrimmed, then change over. That's what I'm doing with rims.

What would anyone's projection be for the number of yards required for 2 front seats, full width rear R&R, plus extra for potential fold-down dicky seat arrangement (to be on the safe side).

Dingo.

the aussie trimmer

Not real sure how big the full size R &R would be, but by my reckoning and the fact you can only buy material from either the UK or the US in yard amounts, you would have to buy 3 yards this should give you enough to cover front seats and headrests, the R & R and the dickie seat with some left over