Changing the upper dashboard to suede/Alcantera, help

[710]

A year ago I bought a complete tan interior for my red 91 NSX (roof is red too). The upper part of the dashboard is black, the lower part on the console is tan. The door panels are upper black, lower part tan. That’s stock. The condition of the black leather is not all that great. The tan parts are good.

I would like to get the black parts changed to suede or Alcantera. I guess the tan parts should remain stock. I guess.
I need to fully understand all the ins and outs of these materials in order to make the right decision before approaching an interior guy to actually do the work so I can make sure he doesn’t screw it up and cost me money that is in short supply.

Does anyone know what material to use on the dashboard, and what are the fundamental differences of materials?
There is not a lot of sun here. Never strong.
Is there special type of glue to use? Or is there no glue in there now?
Is one more classy than the other, I don’t want it to look too flashy.
What material does Lambo, Ferrari etc use?
Is it black I’m looking for or are there shades of black? Very dark grey for example (see photos on link below).
Stitching: Is it less flashy (don’t want flashy) to have the stitching match the colour of the material?

I feel that I slide around in the seats, so I may want them to do the centre or the seats in the same material. I don’t care if it looks worn in a short time. There is blood on one of the seats (centre part) (tan seat), so now is the time for me to decide how to do the seats.

I have a BIG roll of medium grey Alcantera, can they dye this to a shade of black or is it impossible?

A picture of what I’m looking for is here:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65587
interior photo.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Peter

 

[Osiris_x11]

read-read-read!

Read-up on the 'net or have a convo' w/ an upholstery shoppe.

Alcantara is exclusive to Italy, a synthetic micro-fiber fabric. It's sometimes referred to as ultra-suede, or micro-fiber. The latter two vary in their range of offerings in terms of certain characteristics whereas the former (Alcantara) is just offered as a single type, namely for use in premium autos, coaches, and cabins of jets/yachts/etc'...

Dyeing Alcantara is not something easily done, but it is feasible. As w/ other fabric dyes, a high temperature must be introduced (ie. boiling). However w/ Alcantara being polyester-polymer (synthetic), additional chemicals and solvents need to be introduced w/ the dye for the fabric to fully take up the color. The possibility of color variability and inconsistency may result.

I'd look into getting black Alcantara, to prevent such...

As far as UV protection, there are many UV-aerosol protectants for synthetic fabrics, some resin-based w/ matte/satin/gloss finishes. Art/paint shoppes usually carry many ranges. These businesses also should have many types of spray-on adhesives that are to be used w/ synthetic fabrics and plastics.

That is the limited know-how I have on the subject. I considered covering my fire-wall w/ Alcantara, but haven't managed to follow through on it as of yet.

 

[1hot92]

Re: read-read-read!

If you get it figured out post how you did it, the yellow car (and the very idea) sound interesting.

 

[mandrewz]

I've done my headliner and A & B pillars in a medium gray Alcantera, and I've got the Zanardi seat inserts which are black Alcantera. This stuff is great, it's in my Audi as well in a light gray, it's very durable, cleans wells, and is non-reflective. It's very (by my standards) expensive stuff though. It has no 'stretch' or give to it though so it's tough to fit to contours.

 

[710]

Update on Alcantera for dashboard and interior:

I found the Alcantera stock numbers for the dashboard. I also visited the Ferrari and Lambo dealers to see what they use.

There was a Ferrari there with grey material on the dashboard but it was kind of rough and not very nice. It was grey, not black or dark grey. With red stitching.
The rest of the cars had normal leather, same with the Lambos. I guess I went on a bad day.

The Alcantera number for very dark grey (nicest for the dashboard) is 9052. It’s almost black but definitely not black. Nicer than black.

The Alcantera number for medium grey (about the same colour as we have on the A and B pillars and ceiling) is 2957

I have a whole lot of a pseudo 2957 (got a big roll on sale last year) and I will try the A pillars first followed by the B pillars. I will do this myself.
Unfortunately the pseudo 2957 is too light and too deep for the dash. IMO
The roll of pseudo 2957 isn’t Alcantera, but very similar. It’s a slightly deeper plush. Not good for a dash (too light grey silver, not dark enough) but perfect for the A and B pillars and, if I can figure out how to do it, the headliner. Glue maybe?

But the dashboard will be done by a company here. They will also order the 9052 for me. It’s about €70 per square meter. Probably need about 1.5 square meters for the dash. And another one square meter for the door panels.

I didn’t get the tan number yet.

I’m going to think hard about whether I do the tan in Alcantera too or just leave it in the existing tan leather. Just the upper parts of the door panels are black. If I do the tan parts too, maybe it will match better. Or maybe it will be too bling.

Or just stay with the complete black interior as it is now... choices, choices.

The guy can’t start until July, he is too busy. Labour cost, I don’t yet. But he says it’s a simple job so shouldn’t take him too long.

Also I don’t know what to do about the back behind the seats. The panels there are easy to do tho. Black 9052 with tan lower down, or all black 9052?

In the Ferrari dealer, the interior expert there said he would call Italy to see if it was available (I said I was redoing a old 308 so he wouldn't blow me off). He later rang to say it wasn’t available and blew me off.

But I found it at another place, f**k him…

Peter

 

[Osiris_x11]

0nyx & kru$h velvet...

Any updates on self-customization of the NSX interior using Alcantara?!? :biggrin:

What areas seem attractive for recovering/substituting w/ Alcantara?

Also, what areas would perforated-insert pieces seem 'clean'/blended-in?

Just curious on what others are considering.

I'm tentatively planning this...

including:
- A-pillar trim (2) -> charcoal
- B-pillar trim (2) -> charcoal
- headliner/roof trim -> charcoal
- sunvisor (2) -> charcoal
- center-visor -> charcoal
- door-panel inserts (2) -> charcoal (perforated?)
- door-sash trim (2+2) -> charcoal (perforated?)
- e-brake -> ebony black + perforated
- center armrest/storage -> charcoal
- center-speaker cover -> charcoal + perforated
- harness bar -> ebony black
- steering-wheel -> ebony black + perforated
- driver's instrament-panel cover/'hood' (maybe...) -> charcoal
- lower-dash panel covers -> charcoal

charcoal = darker than slate & anthracite; slightly duller than ebony black (it's regular black, pretty much)
ebony black = blacker than black

excluding:
- dashboard
- lower-dash
- steering-column cover
- door-panel trim pieces
- door-sill area
- firewall/rear-bulkhead cover
- glovebox