re- upholster Passage 42

[eianm]

We have decided to freshen up Bellringer, our recently aquired 1991 passage 42 with an entire new set of upholstery. I have a very strong preference for off white for color and the admiral is worried ! I also have a strong preference for a microfibre- alcantara or feux suede type material ( much nicer to sit on in our hot summers, but also nicer in cold weather too!. Although all of these materials come with fabric protection (according to the upholsterer), the admiral is worried that it will still mark and her preference is for a high grade imitation leather, or a patterned cotton fabric - again, in off white or very pale. Does anyone have any experience here and or opinions please?
Eian M.
Sydney, Australia

 

[heart of gold]

We just had ours re done with an industrial strength micro suede at the recommendation of our upholsterer. She said it was the toughest stuff she has run across and it cleans up really well. We've spilled the odd thing on it since the redo last summer and if you get on it right away with a clean damp cloth it doesn't seem to stain. Ours is a light brown. Pretty happy with it.

 

[timvg]

Don't recommend the imitation leather. We also re-did ours in an off white and it looked wonderful when new, but there are some downsides. While cleaning up red wine is easy and important on our boat), we have some ink marks (from pens being dropped) that never come out. Some of the white color has worn away when scrubbing too hard and the color (darker) of the pre-died material shows thru. In our experience, while looking really good when new, it doesn't wear as well as regular materials.

 

[paul1938]

Without making a specific recomendation, I think you are best off going to an auto upholstorer just to see what they consider to be sturdy fabrics.