Matching Vinyl for Door cards

[BR3W CITY]

Since we don't really have an "interior" section on the forum, I'll just put it where I hang out most.

I have the Scat/Procar lowback seats in my truck, and they are great. My interior is getting a slight overhaul, and I want to upholster the door cards to match the seats.

Anyone know where I can find an automotive vinyl that will match the seats well? Its hard for me to tell without seeing it in person, and I don't have any interior shops that I know of in the area.

I usually use yourautotrim, and they have a few but I can't tell which one might match best. Here are a couple I thought might be close. Opinions?


http://www.yourautotrim.com/prmab.html
http://www.yourautotrim.com/prsigrb.html
http://www.yourautotrim.com/geglbl.html

To match


I don't think we have a by-the-yard interior vendor on here, if we do...chime in!

[markeb01]

There are so many variables in selecting matching upholstery I don’t think it can be done accurately without swatches in hand. More than just grain pattern, there is also thickness, stretchiness, and color to consider. I have the same seats in my truck and under normal ambient light they appear to be almost the same color and texture as the tufted panel behind them:



Under bright light (like flash photography) however it’s obvious the seats are more of a bluish black and the diamond tufted upholstery is more of a brownish black:



The point being most of the time you won’t be able to distinguish small differences in the material if you can get something with similar grain, and this is going to be very difficult using an online photograph because there’s nothing to scale the grain against. The image could have been taken from a few inches or a couple of feet away, and depending on the lighting the color could be anything. There are almost as many different colors of black as there are white.

I had the privilege of an old school upholstery supplier about a half hour away, and I looked through 20 or 30 rolls of upholstery before I found one close enough to make me happy. Some of the larger online upholstery suppliers provide samples. Requesting samples would be my first suggestion if there are no upholstery suppliers anywhere near where you live. You might also check under upholstery suppliers rather than interior shops because they are usually listed separately. You might get lucky and find a place with rolls of fabric to look through.

For something like molded door panels it’s really important to get the most flexible fabric you can find, insuring the material conforms easily and stays in place. The stuff I used for the tufting is almost like glove leather in stretchiness. Many of the inexpensive vinyls you'll find in a fabric store are very stiff and hard to work with. Flexibility is determined both by the thickness of the vinyl and the type of weave on the backing. It would also be nice if you can obtain Marine vinyl because it holds up better in damp environments, and door panels routinely get wet when opening and closing the door in bad weather, along with car washing.

Good luck.

[BR3W CITY]

Thanks dude. They have a "pallette swatch" which i guess is 10 put together so I can feel them out. I might just do that to really feel what I can have.

There are a couple higher end upholstery places north of me, maybe I'll float them a call and see if they can help a brotha out