I am in the process of refurbishing my front seats.
Can anybody tell me the name of the material used to cover the metal finisher at the bottom rear of the front seats?
It feels almost like Velvet?

 

just a guess, but...velvetine?

here's the best definition of it i could find...

"Velveteen (or velveret) is a type of cloth made to imitate velvet, which is a type of pile fabric. Normally cotton, the term is sometimes applied to a mixture of silk and cotton. Some velveteens are a kind of fustian, having a rib of velvet pile alternating with a plain depression. This fabric has a pile that is short (never more than 3 mm deep) and is closely set. It has a firm hand and a slightly sloping pile. Compared to true velvet, velveteen has greater body, does not drape as easily, and has less sheen.Historically, the velveteen trade varied with the fashions that controlled the production of velvet."

 

Could be mohair too.
Here's just one example.
Click through the photos; that's 4mm, maybe a 2mm pile would be better.

It's what was used on Teddy Bears from 100 years ago.
Theatre seats too, long ago.

4mm Mohair Fabric Straight Short Pile Mohair Dense Pile Mini - Etsy Canada

 

It's called "moquette". Of course moquette is what carpet is called in the US and also Canada, I believe. The moquette used by Jaguar was at the cheaper end and of lower durability of the various moquettes used in transport. London Transport bus and underground seats are covered in wool-based and intricately patterned moquette, but this is far more durable than the material your Jaguar has in it.

https://john-skinner.co.uk/materials-and-colours/

 

Fraser is spot on ~ It's called "moquette"

Always keep a light coat of bug spray on it. Many bugs like eating the pile off of it ~ I'm sure they are not unique to SA. Maybe once every 6 months to a year depending on efficacy.

John Skinner can provide the correct stuff. BAS is wrong. Depends on whether you are fussy about such things. BAS headlining is also wrong. The correct product is lambswool Union Cloth.

 

Refresh page for edits.

 

Nope, carpet is a word that means the same on both sides of the Atlantic! I'd never heard the term moquette until I restored a Jaguar, nor had I ever seen anything like it before. Carpet has a longer nap than moquette and is denser.

 

Irrelevant and off topic, but I think that in some parts of the world, moquette is fitted, as in wall-to-wall, carpet as opposed to rugs that aren't.

 

moquette is a thinner shinier material than carpeting. It was used at the lower rear edging of the front seats, and in the MK-X, S type, 420, and 420-G, was used on the under-dash shelf. Easily confused with carpet, but carpet is a lot thicker.

 

The correct material on the front shelf & it's back plate is Wilton Carpet matching the floor. A few very early cars were freaks in this regard. e.g. Alan Wiedie's car is wrong from the majority of production. I have studied this closely around the world. Only the part shown by the yellow arrow is Moquette. The rest is Wilton carpet. I studied it for my own concours build. John Skinner provides correctly in his kits.

 

Well, maybe it depends where you were brought up in the USA/Canada, because my MIL always called our carpets "moquette", and she was from Chicago borne of a Sicilian family. And no, they were not part of the Mob, although apparently Al Capone came to their house once !

 

Moquette is Italian for carpet, usually fitted carpet. Tapetto is Italian for rug. That's all from the linguist in our house, not me. According to my English dictionary moquette is a woven pile fabric and the origin of the word is from the French for carpet. And a famous user of moquette is indeed London Transport for upholstery. A lot of other UK public transport organisations have used it as well. They also used that other old Jaguar favourite Rexine until someone noticed how flammable it was.

 

In Jaguar land of our era.. Moquette is separated from Wilton wool carpet. 2 different materials. In cheapened cars at the end of the run with Ambla seats & deleted fog lamps etc, they used tufted carpet held down by Velcro. No more pop studs.