I bought several hides of russet colored leather
recently. One is used as throw cover over the seats
of my NY wagon. It is so big, I have to fold it in
half or there is too much extra hanging over the edges
of the large bench seat. Hides are about 40-50 square
feet. 15 hides is a preposterous number,unless you
are upholstering a 35-seat bus. Perhaps 1.5 hides was
the intended number, although I can see the
possibility of 3 smallish hides being needed.
Only the seat surfaces are leather. With a couple of
exceptions, the remainder of the upholstered surfaces
in the car are done in matching vinyl. And unlike
other years, the upholstery pattern in 1965 Crowns
used relatively small sections of leather stitched
together, resulting in maximum yield from each hide
used.
I think you need to re-examine that estimate and the
person giving it.
P.S. I am told the real trick in this project will be
to find the delicate, thin, color-keyed, soid vinyl
welting originally used on these seats. Most
upholsterers simply make welting from the leather or
vinyl being used, and it is always twice as fat as the
original stuff. Spotting it is a fast way to tell if
an interior from this era has been redone!
Chris H.
60 NY T&C
66 Crown Convertible
66 LeBaron
--- Mike & Christine Trettin
<mtrettin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> My brother-in-law here in Iowa is planning to have
> his '65 convertible's
> seats redone, and will probably buy the correct
> pearlescent leather from
> Kileen's, but would like to know how many hides to
> expect to need to recover
> the front and rear seats--he was told 15 hides, but
> that sounded like a lot.
> I guess he actually has (3) questions:
>
> (1) How many square feet in a typical "hide"?
> (2) How many square feet needed for the seats? (Or
> how many "hides"?)
> (3) What surfaces are actually covered in leather?
> (i.e., is there any
> vinyl used for the sides, etc.?)
>
> Thanks for your advice,
>
> Mike Trettin
> 1956 Imperial Sedan, Turquoise
>
>
>
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