I've been waiting for my full leather new seat covers for two weeks and when they came I , I was a little concerned. The texture was totally different and the finish as well. They are real leather but its a matte finish. It reall looks odd beside my existing interior. Excellent quality but it would drive my OCD crazy!!
So I contacted Topsonline.com and Vic was awesome. I've decided to do a contrasting color for the seats, center console lid and upper door inserts. I'm thinking about oatmeal or one of the tans. He's going to send me swatches of each so I can compare. Also doing all the stitching in black to tie them in.

 

I had the same experience with the matte versus glossier finish as well as more textured grain and wrote about it in a previous post. Fortunately my OCD didn't force me to return it and it has sort of reached a more similar patina in the year and a half or so.

 

A year and a half?

Phil will have two colour changes and another retrim in that time.

Graham

 

Thirty years of dealing with leather furniture and leather auto interiors has taught me that the only way to obtain the best possible match is to be able to pick out your new skins yourself. Samples and swatches differ so much from the final ordered product for many reasons (different breeds, different individual animals, different living conditions, different weather, different feed, different slaughter/tanning processes and locations, etc. etc. etc.)....

Given Phil's world-class OCD, he needs to pick his own skins personally in order to even have a chance of being satisfied with the results, and even then there are never any guarantees....

 

i used to have a cracking old school early 80's BMW 535, it's mileage was 179k and ran so good, 105 mph in 3rd for example anyway it's drivers seat bolster was in poor shape, i visited a local BM breakers and cut some good seat material from a perfect match car interior and had the bolster repaired with that material - turned out great.

 

You're absolutely right about sourcing. RR/Bentley source their hides from specific herds and match the set of 5 hides to be used in each vehicle.

Jaguar are slightly less pedantic by using Bridge of Weir (since the demise of Connolly Bros) but this is still a premium product.

Let's get this into perspective. Leather is really only a recycled Big Mac wrapper.

Graham

 

Will the supply be safe after independence?

 

History indicates your countrymen will be after all the Bawbees they can lay their hands on.

Graham

 

I'm definitely doing a contrast seat. A light tone. Would love the ivory or oatmeal but may be too hard to keep clean. He's sending swatches of the colors I'm interested in and some others in the same family. Surely I'll find something.
Love the look in this new XK. Mine would have the black stitching so it will tie in. Just got to pick a color. .

 

Are you planning to get contrast stitching done on the console, armrest and rear seats too?

Can leather be re-stitched or do you need to start with a new covering entirely for it to look decent?

 

Phil,
Is this the sort of look you are after:

 

Not really. That's too busy for me. I'm planning on the rear seat delete and a custom rollbar we're making so the rear seats won't matter.
I really want something like my brothers Dino Ferrari. It had an all black interior with red seats and black stitching. And similar door inset panels in red also. Everybody keeps telling me a brown but I want taupe with black stitching!!!! Lol