Retrimming Oval Dash.

[Tipper]

Has anyone ever retrimmed one or know of anyone that has. One of my neighbours has a retrimming business and he does good work. He reckons he could retrim an oval dash no problem - or is he missing something that he doesn't know about?

 

[PSH]

I have never personally retrimmed parts of my car but I did get my front seats retrimmed by southbound trimmers. They are the yardstick so to speak for Porsche retrimming. The cloth material is very difficult to get now and some is obsolete so it helps to use a company like southbound who know the cars inside out.
Of course I'm sure that any good trimmer could do a similar job but the problem is if the car is to be retrimmed in genuine material you need to know where to get it from, as an example Porsche are unique in the leather that they use for the centre sections of the seats, only they have the perforation holes at that distance.


Pete

 

[Tipper]

Thanks Pete.
I'll look them up. The car has cloth seats and I could probably get him to match everthing up at reasonable cost.
I'll look up Southbound too.

 

[Diver944]

What is up with your dash Tipper, has it started to split. If so what colour is it?

I have seen an oval dash retrimmed in alcantara and also in full leather, but never a straight retrim in original vinyl

 

[Tipper]

I've found a very nice car (agreed to buy in principal subject to the usual) however the dash is split so I was thinking of getting it retrimmed in leather with the seat bolsters to match. The interior trim is dark blue (not sure which one).

 

[John Sims]

You can cover the dash, and I have no doubt that leather or Alcantara would look superb if done well. You don't retrim it, as such, as you can't remove the original covering.

 

[ocallen]

does anybody know a trimmer who has covered it in leather or alcantara and made a good job of it ?

 

[Tipper]

ORIGINAL: ocallen

does anybody know a trimmer who has covered it in leather or alcantara and made a good job of it ?

I'm happy to be a guinea pig with my local chap. I've not had any car work done by him (although he made a great set of cushions and seat backs for my garden furniture!) but I've seen a retrim he did on an Elise and it did look very good.
I've got to get the car first though (hopefully have it by next weekend).

 

[John Sims]

I would think the best chance of getting a good job is give him as much help as possible - ie remove the dash top so he can work on it outside of the car.

 

[Wigeon Incognito]

These guys do them 'off the shelf' including RHD cars. I'm not sure how the costs stack up but it could be an idea to get the kit then get it fitted properly by your trimmer mate.

http://www.jageng.com/garage9/product_info.php?cPath=49_55&products_id=239&osCsid=39643c7835e1d8d5b804c07365ee2a50

I can't vouch for the product.

Edit: It looks like this is exactly the same (same photo etc) as the one below but for some reason mine is more expensive.

 

[garyalanlane]

Try these guys from america. Not cheap but they do some damn nice stuff. http://www.928leather.com/

 

[pauljmcnulty]

ORIGINAL: garyalanlane

Try these guys from america. Not cheap but they do some damn nice stuff. http://www.928leather.com/

Do they do RHD as well? There seems to be more of a market in the states, presumably they all left their cars out in the Cali sun and the dashes suffered quicker than our have.

 

[Tipper]

Not sure if I should thanks you or not for that link Matt - far too many goodies there!
Once I've got the car then I'll have a good think about what to do.

 

[John Sims]

An interesting link. Considering they are meant to be the top bunnies I am not that enamoured. The whole point of a leather dash is it should be soft and tactile. The stitching should be at least flush if not slightly recessed. That is the opposite with the seams sticking proud. It is obviously a leather skin glued over the existing dash rather than being upholstered, as it were.