The elusive BMW vinyl

[Healey3000]

Hi,

 

I've searched the FAQ for vinyl information and am a bit confused.  World Upholstery sells what they call OEM BMW vinyl but at least one post I found says that German vinyl is better than what WU sells.

 

Is German vinyl different from BMW vinyl?  Which is better?  Other than WU, are there any suggested trusted sources (I found a couple but these were unfamiliar names).  I'm looking to match the interior of my Malaga car, recognizing that the color may have changed over the years.

 

Thanks.

[Conserv]

I don't have any actual answers, but here's my two cents.  All BMW OEM vinyl, I'm fairly certain, remains German-made.  Places like World Upholstery often sell both German and American vinyl. American vinyl is often cheaper but that doesn't mean it's necessarily a bad match for the original vinyl: some is a good match, some less so.  I'll bet someone like Esty will have a view.

 

I've bought from BMW, within the last two years, navy blue (a.k.a., Marine Blue) smooth vinyl. Excellent match for my '76's original smooth vinyl.  I tried to purchase from BMW, approximately one year ago, black smooth vinyl.  I was not allowed to order it unless I had a European title for my car. Huh? WTF!  True story, perhaps the answer is tied up in tariffs, duties, or V.A.T.  So my upholsterer bought some German black smooth vinyl from his source.  Excellent match for my '73's original smooth vinyl.

 

I'm all out of first-hand experience, however, when it comes to tan interiors (Malaga generally implies tobacco, saddle, or tan [a.k.a., Gobi Tan] interiors on U.S. cars, unless you have a rare gray example). You don't mention what year your car is: tan only begins with '74 models.

 

The brown shades are the toughest to match.  I can generally detect World Upholstery seat covers in square taillight cars because the color is a bit off.  Wait to hear from more knowledgeable forum members if you've got one of the brown shades!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited March 26, 2017 by Conserv

[Ensign]

For what it's worth, I recently used GAHH seat vinyl. They also sell the sheet vinyl to match, for the backside of the seat. They were recommended to me by a guy that does vintage Mercedes Benz SL restorations.

Here is the the link to their website:

https://www.gahh.com/

 

[Conserv]

1 hour ago, Ensign said:

For what it's worth, I recently used GAHH seat vinyl. They also sell the sheet vinyl to match, for the backside of the seat. They were recommended to me by a guy that does vintage Mercedes Benz SL restorations.

Here is the the link to their website:

https://www.gahh.com/

 

 

The fact that GAHH actually places the correct number of pleats on their front seat covers -- WU does not -- gives me confidence that they care!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Mike Self]

I've not been able to find either the tobacco or saddle (AKA caramel) vinyl--either smooth or textured--that was used for roundies.  If anyone has a source, please speak up.  I'm running out of spare back seat upholstery to repair my front seats.

 

mike

[laundromatt]

9 hours ago, Healey3000 said:

Hi,

 

I've searched the FAQ for vinyl information and am a bit confused.  World Upholstery sells what they call OEM BMW vinyl but at least one post I found says that German vinyl is better than what WU sells.

 

Is German vinyl different from BMW vinyl?  Which is better?  Other than WU, are there any suggested trusted sources (I found a couple but these were unfamiliar names).  I'm looking to match the interior of my Malaga car, recognizing that the color may have changed over the years.

 

Thanks.

 

Are you going to be re-covering original seats, or the Porsche ones you had in there when I came by last year?

[Healey3000]

Thanks to everyone for their insight and suggestions.  The color match from WU looks like the closest thing to what I have in my '74.

 

Steve, when you say that the brown shades are the most difficult to match, were you including the tan shades as well, such as Gobi?

 

I'm in the process of designing panels for deleting the rear seat.  The current thinking is to use Gobi for the backrest, affixed to a piece of plywood.  Some carpet foam between the vinyl and plywood should give it a softer look.  If I let the foam and vinyl hang out the sides as flaps, I think I can cover the wheel arch humps and tuck under the door cards for a one-piece look.  Let's see if that's even possible.

 

The base would be a piece of plywood covered in black carpet.  While the interior carpet is tan/beige/Gobi, I like the look of black floor mats.  That's what I've done on my e90 and it looks nice to my eye.

 

Again, thanks for the input.

[Dionk]

15 hours ago, mike said:

I've not been able to find either the tobacco or saddle (AKA caramel) vinyl--either smooth or textured--that was used for roundies.  If anyone has a source, please speak up.  I'm running out of spare back seat upholstery to repair my front seats.

 

mike

Try bmw of south Atlanta - thought I saw the colors your looking for there.

[John_in_VA]

3 hours ago, Dionk said:

Try bmw of south Atlanta - thought I saw the colors your looking for there.

 

If BMW of So Atlanta has it, any dealer can get it.