Interior Kits/Material - What is the difference?

[Tx246]

Hello,

I have tried to search and found lots of comments but not direct information, so if I have missed it, please point me in the right direction....

In looking at GAHH, GAT and World Upholstery, It seems like there is a wide variety of price points and material seems pretty similar (for instance, all Horsehair padding pretty much looks the same but prices vary considerably).

I have a 70 California Coupe with original Parchment MB Tex that is old and dirty. I am not going to show this car, I have had it for 20 years, just want the inside to not look so dirty.

I found a comment about World Upholstery dye, and this could solve some issues, but even sure about success others have had for Parchment MB Tex.

No one seems to have a California Coupe kit.

Carpet seems to have a broad spectrum as well....

I would appreciate any guidance.

[dirkbalter]

Welcome to the group.
Almost all of my interior came from Gahh and I am very happy with it.
I believe MB-tex is harder to get these days as most people switch to real leather during a refurbishment. 
Another vendor I used and has good reviews here is:
https://www.cabrio.de/en/
May be they can help you with the California Coupe specs.

There is also:
https://www.heritagetrim.com/
I was in talks with them at one point but choose to go a different route due to high prices and "mixed" reviews by some of the members here.

[lreppond]

I’ve used kits from both GAHH and GAT.  They were separate businesses but now they’re owned by the same company.  Both use exactly the same materials and workmen! 

As for a California coupe kit, you’ll need to ask them…I’m sure they can accommodate you.  It’s probably not listed since fewer exist.   Also, if you want to replace with MBTex, they can accommodate.  Cabrio.de only deals in leather. 

I know you said the existing covers are dirty but have you tried cleaning them?  303 all purpose cleaner and protectant do a great job when used together.  Maybe you could get away with just replacing the carpets especially if all the upholstery is intact? New MBTex has a slightly different texture than the original, the smell is off putting (IMHO), and I’ve heard it’s not as durable.  Things to consider. 

Good luck with your project. 

[Tx246]

I had heard they had the same owners but thought that info might be wrong because the price points are so different. Any insight?

My interior is all original. Other than being a **** staying, I have a slight tear in my driver seat. I’m trying to weigh out the pros and cons of trying to do touchup dye and then redo the seats, or just throw in the towel and do the whole thing.

[Vander]

I had heard they had the same owners but thought that info might be wrong because the price points are so different. Any insight?

My interior is all original. Other than being a **** staying, I have a slight tear in my driver seat. I’m trying to weigh out the pros and cons of trying to do touchup dye and then redo the seats, or just throw in the towel and do the whole thing.

They are indeed the same owner, along with some other companies. They are owned by a VC company, and have been packaged and traded a couple of times now.

Post pictures of your interior.

[Tx246]

Not the best, but what I have handy

[Tx246]

Same pics, better detail

[Rahul]

I too ordered from GAHH after they merged with GAT and was very happy.

There's no right answer I'm afraid! I sometimes wish I had given the old set a chance and put some effort into cleaning them up. The previous owner was a smoker, and there were several small tears in the seats that threatened to grow larger. My upholsterer had cautioned against repairing the material as his view was that the backing behind the old vinyl can degrade with age, and I risked damaging them further with no guarantee of how they would turn out. I wanted to be certain I was happy with the outcome rather than go through the similar time and cost of removal/repair/refit, so I opted to replace everything.

Yours look to be in a little worse shape than mine fwiw, particularly the rip on the driver's seat. I think I would be inclined to replace them (as I did with mine)... The car looks a million bucks with it done.

I'd be happy to send across photos of how mine turned out if you'd like.

 

[lreppond]

I’d be very surprised if you ever could repair the drivers seat tear where it wouldn’t just open up again.  You could try.  Apart from that your interior looks like it could clean up nicely, although I can’t tell if the drivers arm rest is dirty or worn out. 

Were it my car, I’d opt to keep everything in place except the two seats and carpets.  Have the seats reupholstered and new seat and back cushions installed.  It will make a huge difference in your comfort and enjoyment of the car.  New carpets will make the car smell better and at the same time you can add some sound deadening material. For the rest, I’d do a really good, thorough cleaning. 

Go with GAT and ask to talk to John.  He used to own the company but now manages it.  He’s knowledgeable and you’ll get a better price than GAHH.  He knows all the details about w113s from years of experience.

[Tx246]

Everything just seems “dirty”, but I have tried cleaning but no success.

The driver seat has some piping coming loose. The “Tear” is sentimental, which I why I have left it alone for so long.

The seats definitely need horsehair/restuffing to be reasonable. I have held off because I didn’t want to replace the Tear.

If I could figure out how to clean, I am all ears. Trying to figure out how Parchment will look after dye/paint, but haven’t found any before after stuff by searching the forum.

[DavidAPease]

Hi,

I re-dyed my interior about 2-1/2 years ago.  It is white-grey, so probably a bit lighter than yours.

I have some before and after photos attached:

1. I did the driver's seat first, as a test.  Here, the top cushion is cleaned and dyed, the bottom is untouched.
2. Driver's seat back in place, other parts undone.
3. One door panel cleaned and dyed, the other not.
4. Door panel reassembled and installed, dash next...

I'll attach a few more showing some of the work involved in the next post.

          -David

[DavidAPease]

More photos from re-dying:

5. Lower dash pieces, windshield trim dyed.
6. The upper dash is the only part I dyed in place.
7..Final result (before new carpeting).

The whole job took me several weeks of afternoons.  I think that with a little care, a lot of work, and the right supplies, anyone could get a good result.  Good luck!

         -David

[Pawel66]

As for MB Tex sourcing, you may also look at Hans Reinke:
https://www.hans-reinke.com/download/Farbkarte-Oldtimer-Perforationen.pdf

or here, the Polish dealr for Hans Reinke

https://sklep.ponczynski.com/263-mb-tex

[Tx246]

Wow, that is pretty amazing.

What product did you use and from who did you buy it?

I am expecting a reasonable result, not perfect. Worse case, I would be back to redoing the interior anyway.

When you see it up close and personal, does it look “painted”? Just trying to have a reasonable expectation.

Any advise you can share from learning the process (other than time and patience)?

[ghenne]

Just as important as finding the right leather supplier: finding a good installer. A complete interior will take about 240 hours to install, if done properly. The labour will cost more than the leather.

(Tx246 - I'm used to seeing you on a different car forum. It's good to know I'm not the only one with this combination of cars. They made a great pair!)

[Leester]

I'm in the process of re-dying several interior parts. I've been using Surflex available from www.colorplus.com. My original interior was Cognac MB Tex which I have changed over to Bamboo. I purchased new seat covers etc from GAHH but some parts I decided not to completely disassemble and re-dyed instead.

You can spray or brush this stuff on (I brushed) and no, it doesn't it doesn't look painted.  The trim shop that installed the seat covers and a couple of other pieces told me that they have had experienced the coating peeling off. I have yet to install any pieces in the car so I can't confirm or contradict that. Before I started, I bought some vinyl from a local cloth goods store to experiment with. The coating worked well on "old" (meaning the original) tex material but when I tried coating a piece of "new" vinyl the finish is a bit sticky. It isn't as sticky today as it was but as a result I have stopped trying to coat the new vinyl. I think there must be something in the new vinyl that is still off gassing and causing the stickiness.

The color match is almost perfect. You send ColorPlus a sample and they match it.

Except for the limitations above, I found this stuff easy to use and although I'm reasonably handy, i've never tried anything like this before. If it peels, I will try re-coating. If it becomes a problem, I will remove the piece and either cover it myself with extra vinyl I bought from GAHH or send it to the trim shop.    Good luck.