Imitation Alcantra?
 

Apparently you have to be an authorized dealer and installer to buy Alcantra. Has anyone found a reasonable substitute? My wife is pretty handy with a needle and thread, and I'd love to wrap some of the cheaper plastics.

You mean alcantara right?

Was my spelling so off as to be unreadable?

My Lexus has an Italian microfibre cloth that is somewhat similar called Cellensia, but I don't know if that will be any easier to find.

Jeff

I've seen fairly large pieces for sale on eBay.

-Jim

Are you sure about that?

Try calling Gulf Fabrics in Tampa, FL (813) 875-2707
They're the only authorized US distributor that I've heard of.
Anything you find on EBay, or just about anywhere else won't be genuine Alcantara.

Failing that, try Ultrasuede. It's the material that Alcantara was developed from back in the day.

I'd be interested in hearing what you find. I'd really like to do something similar - cover the lesser plastics with leather/alcantara and replace the silver painted trim pieces with actual metal or carbon fiber if tooling the metal parts is too costly. The car has the capacity to look very upscale with just a little handiwork in the interior ;)

+1

I'd love if the interior had a more upscale look.

+1 more

Alcantara is imitation suede, so maybe you can just go real Suede!!

Real suede isn't as consistent as Alcantara, and is harder to keep clean because it's generally thicker. Alcantara can be cut at a shorter, more consistent length.

here is a US distributor for ALCANTARA that you can purchase directly from. No need to be a shop or dealer to buy from them.

http://gulffabrics.com/

:lol:That would be aweeeeesooommmeee.

I'm putting suede on the steering wheel. :D