Where to buy Alcantara/Ultrasuede?

[Stang70Fastback]

Hello everyone. I'm going to try wrapping some interior pieces in this material, and I'm wondering where I should source it from? I've seen some items on Amazon for just rolls of suede, but they are apparently very thin, and I'm not sure of the quality.

Where can I buy nice, thick, durable, black Alcantara that will match the material already in the car and won't fade in the sun? Thanks in advance!

[MalcolmHimself]

You can buy Alcantara straight from JPMCoachworks.

[Stang70Fastback]

Wow, I never noticed that. Thanks!

[toast]

OverlandDesigns actually has the best price. Both places get it from Gulf fabrics in Florida, they are the only importer of genuine alcantara. It is expensive but worth it - you are going to be covering interior pieces in glue and it will not be reversible, so don't cheap out and get the ebay garbage. Alcantara will not fade in the sun.

[Stang70Fastback]

Thanks. I was reading a DIY someone else did. He said the spray on tack glue was removable with soap and water. Either way I'm going to be doing this to the silver pieces that I replaced with the JDM black pieces, so I'm not too worried about screwing stuff up.

Anyone have any other suggestions that might help me? Lol.

[toast]

If it is the correct glue it is definitely non-removable without damaging the finish of the pieces. You want to use 3m super 90 spray glue.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Stang70Fastback]

Ok. That's what I'll use. I was worried about using glue that wouldn't come apart/stink/start bubbling in the sun.

[B T]

Go to a fabric Store such as Hancock Fabrics, Joann Fabrics, or Hobby Lobby. You're best option is to see/feel them in person and make an informed decision for your application.

[toast]

Originally Posted by B T

Go to a fabric Store such as Hancock Fabrics, Joann Fabrics, or Hobby Lobby. You're best option is to see/feel them in person and make an informed decision for your application.

Sorry, but that is horrible advice. Nothing you are going to find in a fabric shop is UV stable. Ask anyone who has ever done this, your black fake 'alcantara' will be purple inside of two months.

There is a reason it is as expensive as it is. It is UV stable, thermally stable, doesn't let glue bleed through unless you put it on with a garden hose, resists stains of all forms, can be cleaned up with things as aggressive as acetone if necessary and can be stretched in both dimensions. These are all the same reasons it has come into use by OEM manufacturers.

[toast]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

Thanks. I was reading a DIY someone else did. He said the spray on tack glue was removable with soap and water. Either way I'm going to be doing this to the silver pieces that I replaced with the JDM black pieces, so I'm not too worried about screwing stuff up.

Anyone have any other suggestions that might help me? Lol.

Practice and do the covering on the easy pieces first - nothing with contours, just simple planes and creases. When it doubt about overspray cover the good side. Wrapping around edges takes practice, you want to cut the wrapped edge into triangle shapes, but not make the cuts deep enough that you will see the notches on the visible edge.

When I did my 08 STI interior I put some instructions in my build thread, but I just looked and all those pics were on imageshack, which is now gone. Next time I have the interior apart I'll take some pics of the back on the covered parts.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by toast

Practice and do the covering on the easy pieces first - nothing with contours, just simple planes and creases. When it doubt about overspray cover the good side. Wrapping around edges takes practice, you want to cut the wrapped edge into triangle shapes, but not make the cuts deep enough that you will see the notches on the visible edge.

When I did my 08 STI interior I put some instructions in my build thread, but I just looked and all those pics were on imageshack, which is now gone. Next time I have the interior apart I'll take some pics of the back on the covered parts.

Thanks for the tips. I was going to start with the two trim pieces to each side of the HVAC controls, and then move onto the shifter surround, as those are the three pieces I currently have spares of. I was planning on using this as a guide. Does this seem close to reasonable?

http://lifewithjson.com/2015/01/11/d...ith-alcantara/

[toast]

Yeah, that is fine. I am very picky about things, I guess it depends on whether you are or not. That stereo surround that he showed a picture of was awful as far as I am concerned, you can see the cut marks in the corners with bare plastic behind them.

Wrapping the shift surround is not a trivial task for someone that has never done it before. The key is taking lots of reference pictures so that you know what corners you can see and how far down into the corner you can see. The opening for the shift boot is not a problem because the boot leather actually presses up into the opening. The three buttons are the problem because when you cut for the opening and press down into it you will be exposing the plastic in the corners - the material will only stretch so far. You can cover this up by very carefully cutting triangle wedges and applying them to the exposed plastic in the corners, but make sure you note the direction of the weave. You can put two pieces right next to each other and not be able to tell provided the weave is in the same direction. You can tell this by brushing the material with your hand, one way it will be 'shinier' and the other way it will be matte; make sure any added trim pieces line up correctly.


I elected to wrap the whole console in alcantara and skin the shift surround in carbon fiber.

[Estey]

Fields fabrics online store is a great place to buy at extremely reasonable prices and it's not the fake stuff. You don't have to buy alcantara from an automotive dealer to get the real thing

[toast]

Unless it is at least $105 per yard it is NOT the real thing. As I said, the only US importer of Alcantara is Gulf Fabrics in Florida. You can order direct from them, but it is cheaper to get it from OverlandDesigns because he buys in bulk and gets a discount that he passes on to his customers.

I just looked at the website - they sell Ultrasuede, not Alcantara. They are not the same thing.