mb-tex vs Leather

[charlie]

Doing the interior of my car & would like opinions on which is better & Pro's & Con's of leather vs MB-Tex. Any advise would be appreciated.  Are there any special places anyone would recommend for buying the MB-Tex or leather kits  depending on which way i go? Cheers Charlie

[thelews]

Just like the grocery story, paper or plastic.  One is natural, the other not.

Pro - Leather, looks good, smells good, feels good, ages with patina, breathes, better resale (?).  
Con - Wears out, cracks, needs care, is more expensive

Pro - Vinyl (Tex), looks good, lasts forever, easy care, less expensive
Con - Not as good looking as leather, doesn't breathe, doesn't develop patina, hot and cold with the weather

Here's how TEX looks after 45 years

GAHH is a source to start looking.

[Raymond]

My Vegetarian friends would add a Pro:  MB Tex is not skin. 

[66andBlue]

And my "Green" friends would add a Con: MB Tex is made from petroleum, a non-renewable source,  whereas .....   

[Rolland]

After looking at the various suppliers when getting my interior pieces, I asked the Classic Center who recommended GAHH.  I can't say enough good things about my experience.  After checking out their website I decided to go with them, had them give me prices on all but the soft top replacement.  The person who quoted me gave me a wholesale price which they honored for that order.  Great news as I had ordered most of what I was needing.

Rolland

[J. Huber]

Another angle is: choose the one that was originally supplied with your car. Less headaches when the time comes to share the data card with the next guy. Also, if you choose to do a partial redo (often times one or more original areas is still decent), staying with the original can be useful. My car came with MB Tex and that's what I used to restore the interior. And in my case, the lower dash, the upper windshield area and door skins were fine and so I left them. That was 13 years ago and the seats and dash still look practically new. I used Miller's and was very happy but now would probably consider GAHH the top shelf place to go. I did buy my soft-top there and was impressed.

[dakman29]

I'm looking to recover my seats and have the same issue.  The original is cognac mb-tex.  The problem is that I've been told that the currently available cognac mb-tex is not a good match color-wise to the original and I'm not doing the rest of the interior.  I'm leaning toward cognac leather for the seats.  Anyone have any experience with the repro. cognac tex? Thanks. 

[Eryck]

I don't know much about replacement leather for seats but from what I have seen on dashes, the available leather today just do not look the same.  I heard that leather is much thinner today than they used to be and the processing methods have changed and therefore the different look and feel.  Any of you find that with the seat leather too?  Just curious since my car has MB tex but originally delivered with leather.  A future project....

[lurtch]

Hi Charlie - - my two cents worth:

MB Tex will always look and feel like the same product that is in the Camaros and Mustangs of our same vintage. Is that what you really want?

Whereas good quality leather will always feel far more luxurious, always smell wonderful and unquestionably out-class all those more pedestrian vehicles.

Come on now  - - - isn't that what owning a Mercedes-Benz all about?

 When I redid my interior I bought the leather kit from German Auto Tops in Hollywood Ca. The company owner John Organesyan dealt with me personally and told me his company supplies GAHH with their product.  He sold to me at a wholesale price.  I can did up the cost details if you want to contact me.

Larry in CA

 

[Nate]

Leather is definitely the way to go, even if your car originally had MB Tex, my .02. And yes, German Auto Tops does in fact supply GAHH with their leather. I think you'll find their customer service to be better than GAHH and you won't be paying the unnecessary premium.

[atuningley]

I am just doing my upholstery work now with GAHH leather. Looks great, but it is not easy to get the nice tight curves because the leather is nore than twice as thick as the MB Tex it originally came with. Two examples of problems are that the chrome will not fit well over the door panel edges if you wrap around the sides so you have to cut the leather flush and not wrap the side; and if you line the glove box with leather the door will not close properly. There are many more than 2 issues caused by the thick leather.

Leather will look great but fits are a problem.

[66andBlue]

Thick leather can be made thinner simply using fine sandpaper, and wrinkles can be removed using a hair dryer.
This topic describes the procedures quite well:
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=11853.msg79623#msg79623
A related photo is this one: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/uploads/Interior/HubPad8.jpg
from the horn pad restoration page in the technical manual.

[tel76]

Hello Charlie,
Last year i decided i would make some enquiries about the need to reupholster my 280sl project.
I contacted the two companies on the west coast of the USA who are regularly featured here on the forum.
I was not impressed with there lack of interest ie three emails to obtain samples,emails unanswered and only using the premium rate courier services,they would not use US postal services.
A friend of mine who restores Jaguars suggested that i contact Heritage Upholstery and Trim.
I visited there website    heritagetrim.com   and i was very impressed.
At this point i asked one of our members (Witt) who lives in the area to visit the premises,this he did and reported on the forum august 24th(eBay and other members) his report was very positive.
I asked Heritage trim for a price list and got one the same day together with a request for a contact number so that Tony (the owner)could speak to me to discuss my requirements.
It was my original intention to have MB TeX but after seeing the samples i decided to have a leather interior.
As it was a quiet time(summer is quiet, restoration wise in the summer) there was a 25% reduction on some items.
I negotiated the price which was to include shipping via Canadian Postal Se vices at cost.
As the reupholster of the car was not one of my priorities i did nothing further until the start of November.

 

 

[tel76]

The page locked out
I placed my order with Heritage Trim for leather seat covers,child's seat,soft top cover and there Perfectionist Leather Panel Kit(this kit includes windlaces,ash tray cover,kick panels and the door panels already covered in leather,i will just have to add the original aluminium section to the top section).
Other companies supply the leather and panel and you have to glue them yourself.
The original price agreed in the summer was honoured.
I required delivery before the 19Th December so that i would have them and be able to pay the VAT before it was increased to 20% at the end of the year.
I was kept informed several times(by the owner)about the progress of the order and the proposed shipping date.
The shipped as per the instructions and arrived in ample time to pay the customs.
The package that arrived was a substantial cardboard box with no damage,i am extremely happy with the contents,the workmanship is first class and the whole experience was stress free and went like clockwork.
It is well worth a visit to   heritagetrim.com  and then contact Tony for a price list.

[charlie]

thaths all , im thinking of going with leather seats and mb tec dash &door panels has any one got that combo?

[Raymond]

I have to strongly disagree with the notion that MB Tex is anything like the vynil of Camaros and Mustangs.  That is simply not the case.  MB Tex is a far superior material.  It is much longer lived, more supple, and more color fast.  At roughly half the cost of leather, it is good value for money.  I am just now having to replace the 43 year old MB Tex and ony because of two small cracks on the instrument cluster and an unfortunate puncture in the driver's seat. 

Charlie, if you have the money for leather, do the whole thing.  If not, you may want to stick with MB Tex for consistency.  That said.  It's your car so do what makes you happy.

[dakman29]

Another perspective - I needed to replace the original mb tex on the seats of my 68 280sl(euro so no headrests).  The interior is cognac.  I decided to go with leather on the seats and the soft top horse shoe and leave the dash and door panels.  It turned out great.  Obviously not concours.  I love the leather seating and it is highly compatible with the finish on the rest of the interior.