Lately, many car owners have been re-upholstering their car interiors. In order to do this, you need to understand why this is done and how to choose the right material for re-upholstering.
Why do they reupholster a car interior?
There are basically two global reasons why the interior is re-upholstered. The first is worn fabric, the second is tuning. With a good interior, the car greatly increases in value, looks much better. In addition, re-upholstery can increase practicality. For example, a leather interior can suppress unnecessary noise and vibration.
When re-upholstering, it is not at all necessary to look for the same material as before. It is quite possible to find something completely different, more modern and durable. It is necessary to consult with specialists so that they can advise which material is better to take. After all, some of them can be used not in the entire interior, but only in some of its elements. Also, the upholstery may differ in practicality depending on the class of the car.
Types of interior trim
There are a huge number of materials for car upholstery. Based on their characteristics, auto specialists divide interior upholstery made of automotive fabrics into several levels (classes):
- base;
- average;
- premium.
Basic level
As a rule, it includes the most budget materials, the main one of which is carpet. The second place is given to artificial fabrics.
Carpet
This is a very dense and wear-resistant material, such automotive fabrics contain only synthetic fibers. The material has a rich color palette, and can also be printed and have different textures. It is often used to cover car seats, door panels, and roofs.
Its strengths are low cost, accessible to literally everyone and the ability to choose your own individual style - the variety of fabrics is as wide as possible. Of the minuses - the interior will easily get dirty and, despite its high density, compared to other upholstery options, will serve less. Due to the minuses, this upholstery option is not very popular, because even despite the fact that it will remain intact for a long time - the appearance will quickly lose.
There is such a fabric for cars as carpet, which to the touch resembles a carpet without pile. It is used for re-upholstering door panels, roofs and dashboards. It has such advantages as ease of the upholstery process, holds its shape well, does not rot in high humidity. However, it still looks budget, and this type of carpet has a limited number of colors.
Medium level of cladding
The most popular types of upholstery are right here. They are distinguished by good properties and moderate cost. The middle class includes vinyl, velour and leatherette.
Vinyl upholstery
Vinyl fabric for cars is available in two types: film and leather. In the first case, it is used exclusively to decorate the plastic elements of the interior. The second is for seats, door panels, and instrument clusters. Vinyl pleases with an abundance of textures and colors. One of the best options for self-installation, since the material is extremely easy to use. All that the car owner needs is to make a competent pattern. The material comes with an adhesive base, so it is easy to install.
The strengths of this material are its long service life without losing its appearance, its durability, the ability to avoid scratches on plastic elements, and its resistance to chemicals. Of course, there are also disadvantages, but they usually apply to more budget options - when heated, the material sticks and begins to crack over time.
Velours
It is extremely important to pay attention to the fact that ordinary fabric velour will not work, you need to take only special one for the car. It is used to cover everything - seats, doors, roofs, dashboards with instruments. Very often combined with leather.
The strong points are the pleasant to the touch fleecy texture and the ability to create additional warmth. However, with frequent use, velour wears out and looks as if it has bald spots, so it is more often used where it is not very susceptible to mechanical impact.
Faux leather
One of the most popular materials, which is often not always distinguishable from genuine leather. But it has a greater variety of colors. Artificial leather is used for absolutely any elements in the car interior. This fabric for car seats will please everyone.
The advantages include the excellent appearance of automotive fabric, a more budget-friendly cost than the natural version, and high quality. However, artificial leather serves an order of magnitude less than natural leather, and in order to extend its service life, it requires additional care.
Premium upholstery
Premium class car fabric upholstery involves the use of exclusively natural materials - leather, wood, Alcantara.
Leather upholstery
At all times it was considered the best option for car fabrics. For the interior, you need to take exclusively leather adapted for cars - it has an additional coating that eliminates abrasions and cracks. For the chair, perforated leather is mainly taken so that it does not fog up and lets air through. The best and most expensive material is considered to be English production.
The unconditional reasons for choosing genuine leather are its rich appearance, it is pleasant to the touch, has high wear resistance, and is fire resistant. Of course, many motorists are stopped by the very high cost. However, such fabric for upholstery of the car interior will make the owner feel special.
Wood finishing
Natural wood trim is very fashionable now and does not leave many motorists indifferent. Usually this material symbolizes the impeccable taste of the owner. Nothing gives such comfort to the body as natural materials. Wood is a very valuable resource, and therefore it cannot be considered a budget option. However, those who spend a lot of time in the car will undoubtedly appreciate this contribution.
Salons are most often upholstered with walnut, mahogany, Karelian birch, etc. The wood can be painted in completely different colors, emphasizing the texture of the wood, or, on the contrary, hiding it.
The most popular thing to add to a car's interior right now is to add wood to the steering wheel, instrument panel, and gear shift lever so that your hand rests comfortably on it.
Alcantara
Car interior fabric, which is used in the manufacture of furniture and car upholstery. It is a microfiber material, which can easily be confused with suede in appearance. It is extremely fire-resistant, so if ash suddenly falls on it, absolutely nothing will happen. The material is in great demand, pleasant to the touch and quite wear-resistant.
We select the optimal material
There is so much more variety now that literally everyone can choose car fabrics to suit their needs and budget. There is no absolute leader. It is worth relying on your preferences and the class of the car (for example, it would be strange to cover a Zhiguli with expensive leather). Of course, there were times when any dense fabrics were the first on the market. Now times have changed and preference is given to car carpet, Alcantara, kajzam, vinyl, velour and genuine leather. The fabric for car seats must definitely be durable, wear-resistant and breathable so that the body is comfortable.
How to avoid counterfeits
Most likely, after reading the article, you have already formed some opinion about the best option for upholstery fabric. However, this is not enough. You need to be able to choose the fabric for upholstery in order not to get some kind of fake that will cost a lot of money and will last very little. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the quality of the material and several indicative factors:
- the entire piece of material must be uniform, without unnecessary scratches, dents and cracks;
- the canvas must be intact, without mechanical defects;
- the material should be guaranteed, and you can also request a certificate of authenticity;
- availability of serial number and composition;
- quality packaging.
If each point is observed, then you can safely purchase upholstery material.
Car owners now have huge opportunities to make their favorite beautiful and unique, fabric for re-upholstering the interior of a car can be found for absolutely any color and budget, but if you re-upholster the car, it will instantly change and will look much fresher. Many people spend most of their time behind the wheel, so the interior must necessarily bring both aesthetic pleasure and delight with impeccable comfort.
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