leather to vinyl? and other seat questions

[SEgirl]

The driver side seat in one of my 93 SE sedans is really bad. The leather on the bottom part of the seat is mostly gone, so I went to a couple of local places for estimates on re-cover with leather. I was surprised at the cost as it was double what I was expecting. One place said it would be $425 per seat (upper and lower) and the other place said it would be $500. Just for one upper or lower would run $225-$250. So, my questions are:

1) has anyone else had their leather re-done at a local shop, and if so, do these prices sound reasonable?

2) One shop said the top and back of the original seat were leather, but the rest was actually vinyl. Is that accurate?

3) One shop said they could do vinyl and it would be about 1/2 the price and that it would look just like leather, but they did not have a sample for me to see. Has anyone swapped vinyl for leather? If so, what was your experience and would you recommend?

4) Is there a seat on another car that is the same size as the 93 sedan so that I could use the covers, like a later model Accord or Civic?

Sorry for all the questions, but I trust the opinions on this board and don't want to screw up the car or get screwed cost-wise.

BTW--I only checked with these 2 shops as they were the ones that the local Honda dealership recommended.

[Quashish]

my ford ranger work truck has vinyl seats from the factory. to me you can tell its not leather but. it cracks just like leather, probably doesn't last as long. if I ever re wrap a seat I would get like a neoprene fabric. what diving suits are made of. but that's just cuz I hate leather/vinyl

[SEgirl]

Took the car to get the windows tinted today and asked the guy if he knew anyone who did interiors. He gave me the names of a couple of other folks, and stated they did decent work, but not as good as the other two places I went to. I may be going the e-bay or online route.

[Fleetw00d]

I had a local shop replace only the panels that were bad on my EX driver seat with vinyl that looks like the leather (I think not all of it was leather to begin with). I took the covers off the seat and put them on myself after he was finished. It cost about $200 to have that one set of covers fixed.

[TypeG]

2) One shop said the top and back of the original seat were leather, but the rest was actually vinyl. Is that accurate?

yes that is accurate. most cars have a leather vinyl mixture.

3) One shop said they could do vinyl and it would be about 1/2 the price and that it would look just like leather, but they did not have a sample for me to see. Has anyone swapped vinyl for leather? If so, what was your experience and would you recommend?.

they look alike but have a different feel. leather has a thicker feel

4) Is there a seat on another car that is the same size as the 93 sedan so that I could use the covers, like a later model Accord or Civic?

front and rear seats from 5th gen accords bolt right in. coupe and sedans are different just like cb's. don't think you could swap the covers though.

i recovered my seats and did a diy about it. spent about 650 for a full kit.
you can get a kit for cheaper than that though. you can look on autoleathers.com or tasauto.com.
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=104222
later.

[SEgirl]

Thanks for the response and for the link to the DIY. It looks like autoleathers.com is defunct, but per TAS auto, I should be able to get tan leather for the whole car for $780. Will need to call to make sure they cut the holes for the arm rest, etc. as I would prefer not to do that myself as I"m afraid I would ruin it.

When I dropped my car off to get it tinted, the guy told me he installed leather, but it would have to be ready to go, meaning they could not do the custom themselves. He does Katzkin and said the car was too old to get a kit, however, when I went online to the Katzkin website, it let me pick my Accord so that may be an option as well (although no prices were listed). He said he would call Katzkin and see how much it would cost, so we'll see...

yes that is accurate. most cars have a leather vinyl mixture.


they look alike but have a different feel. leather has a thicker feel


front and rear seats from 5th gen accords bolt right in. coupe and sedans are different just like cb's. don't think you could swap the covers though.

i recovered my seats and did a diy about it. spent about 650 for a full kit.
you can get a kit for cheaper than that though. you can look on autoleathers.com or tasauto.com.
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=104222
later.

[TypeG]

My kit is a katzkin kit. I ordered it in 2009, so he maybe right about it being too old. later.

[KDI_CUSTOMS]

I can not say anything as far as pricing goes. I believe it is in the "rules" of the forum.

My opinion on the subject of leather vs vinyl is that I prefer vinyl. The reason I say this is because some of the newer vinyls feel and look just like leather but last longer. I have done many interiors with vinyl and my customers love it. The cost is cheaper than a leather hide, less maintenance, consistent color, and almost never any blemishes which creates less waste material.

Check these 2 links to my FB page for ideas on vinyl seating.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

2 interiors I did with vinyl.

[SEgirl]

I got a call back from the tint place, and it sounds like they contacted Katzkin who verified they could do the kit. The price + installation is similar to the others that were quoted, but for an additional $100, I can get the whole car done. I never did think to ask the other two places what the cost would be for the whole car as I assumed it would be double and wasn't prepared to plunk 2K down.

My kit is a katzkin kit. I ordered it in 2009, so he maybe right about it being too old. later.

[SEgirl]

Thank you for the info, and I really appreciate the pictures. Took a look at your FB page and your website and you're right, the vinyl looks pretty good! I really love your work, especially what you did with the Cabriolets. Used to have one of those back in the day and it was a fun little car.
I'll have to go back to the other places and ask to see examples of their vinyl work after seeing how good yours look.

I can not say anything as far as pricing goes. I believe it is in the "rules" of the forum.

My opinion on the subject of leather vs vinyl is that I prefer vinyl. The reason I say this is because some of the newer vinyls feel and look just like leather but last longer. I have done many interiors with vinyl and my customers love it. The cost is cheaper than a leather hide, less maintenance, consistent color, and almost never any blemishes which creates less waste material.

Check these 2 links to my FB page for ideas on vinyl seating.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

2 interiors I did with vinyl.

[PhatAccord]

1) has anyone else had their leather re-done at a local shop, and if so, do these prices sound reasonable?

i recently had both front seats in my 04 pilot ex-l re-done. just the center butt sections only. leather is expensive. cost me $400 for the pair. they re-wrapped the center console at no extra charge because i have been dealing with this interior shop for many years. so in my opinion; yes, those price quotes seem fair. matching the oem leather shade is not easy, and if its peforated leather; it usually costs more.

2) One shop said the top and back of the original seat were leather, but the rest was actually vinyl. Is that accurate?
that does not seem correct to me. i dont believe honda used 2 different materials for the cb front seats.

3) One shop said they could do vinyl and it would be about 1/2 the price and that it would look just like leather, but they did not have a sample for me to see. Has anyone swapped vinyl for leather? If so, what was your experience and would you recommend?

i have had my cb7 rear seat bolsters redone in vinyl. vinyl is definately cheaper than leather and it actually looks good. i have a friend that has oem black leather cb7 seats that got redone in vinyl and they look great as well.

4) Is there a seat on another car that is the same size as the 93 sedan so that I could use the covers, like a later model Accord or Civic?

nope, dont think so. seats from different models and years are not the same shape.
however, you should be able to bolt 94-97 accord seats into the cb7. i have a pair of wedge engineering seat brackets from a 95 accord sedan and all the bolt holes lined up in my 92 sedan