faux leather contact vinyl

[Jeepgirl]

Heather (Logtripper) and I (Jeepgirl) were looking at leather seat coverings, and the thought of thinning all that leather down to a uniform paper thin sheet got me thinking. They (being the ubiquitous they) make faux leather contact paper or vinyl sheeting. Its relatively cheap at 14.99 for 6' of the stuff, and looks very realistic.

Has anyone here tried using it for door panels or seat cover work?

We have been tossing around the idea of trying it out. Since its vinyl (really) and not paper it should stretch some, its adhesive backed, and thin enough to mold into detail lines. It comes in a handful of colors. Black, tan, brown...etc.

Is it worth testing?

[kratvmnd]

It should work fine with a little practice. Check the fancy paper displays also,as they often have a selection of velvety paper that works great(it's similar in texture to the red velvet Christmas bows,for example). I've used cheap wallet linings,fake leather handbags,etc.-those can always be found cheap at thrift stores. Most of these materials can be painted also,so look for a light color. Here's a couple examples...

Edited October 28, 2013 by kratvmnd

[Jeepgirl]

I used to do scrapbooking, and there were all manner of papers. I hadn't really thought about the velvet papers that are out there, lots of possibilities for floor mats and headliners. At one time there was even real thin, wood papers (made of actual wood, not wood prints) but the grain would look off I think.

Thanks for the reminder, and the feedback!

[sjordan2]

Depends on the kind of finish you want and the scale of your model. I've got a good stock of faux-velvet Christmas ribbon, which works just fine for my 1/16 and 1/12 car carpets, but I fear would be too thick for smaller scales -- and definitely too thick for seats. Alternatives for all scales would include printed-out decals (hit with the proper dull finish) or 1/1 vinyl repair kits, which include leather texturing stamps.

I don't think there's much out there that would be suitable for anything under 1/16 scale. All you can do is experiment. Get that sheet you're talking about and show us the result.

[Art Anderson]

If you can find "Bookbinding Leather" (sometimes called "Skiving Leather", that works very well for covering model car seats, as leather can be made to stretch enough to avoid wrinkling.

Art

[John Goschke]

I don't think there's much out there that would be suitable for anything under 1/16 scale. All you can do is experiment. Get that sheet you're talking about and show us the result.

Agree with what Skip said. The leather as well is going to look out of scale in anything smaller than 1/16 (even that's pushing it). Many materials, especially leather and fabric, are best represented in scale with paint, through textures (from matte, semi-matte, to gloss) and pre- or post-shading.

[Harry P.]

Agree with what Skip said. The leather as well is going to look out of scale in anything smaller than 1/16 (even that's pushing it). Many materials, especially leather and fabric, are best represented in scale with paint, through textures (from matte, semi-matte, to gloss) and pre- or post-shading.

Agree 100%. Covering a 1/24 scale seat with anything like paper, leather, vinyl, etc, is a real chore to begin with. Getting it down and snugged into all the crevices and having it stay down and doing all that without wrinkles and getting a realistic end result is just way too much hassle. You can get a much more realistic scale leather look with a whole lot less work using paint in various levels of gloss, and maybe a black wash to bring out the details.

[Foxer]

I have some leather-like sheets and also velvet similar to what you're talking about. I've only tried the velvet paper om a pretty flat surface and it looked great. Something very curvy might be a problem, but doable is not curved in two directions.

[johnbuzzed]

Waaaaaay back, there was an article in Car Model or Model Car Science (IIRC...?) about using glove leather (which is supposed to be very thin) as upholstery. Maybe a trip to a flea market within the next couple of months could turn up a not-very-expensive pair of leather gloves. Or, after Christmas, when the clearance sales are on.

[PeeBee]

A tip from "back in the old days:" In addition to the various paint techniques mentioned above, rubbing a flat finish (of paint) with your fingers produces a very convincing leather-like sheen on model car upholstry. Simple, quick and effective. Detail (seams, piping and stitching) and scale fidelity is not compromised.

[Jeepgirl]

Lots of great tips and feedback here. Thanks guys!

I went looking at Michaels for faux leather, vinyl and velvet papers but the grain on the leather was waaaay out of proportion for 1:25 scale. I am going to keep looking into alternatives, and let you know how things turn out. In the mean time its back to sanding and painting.

[Foxer]

I went looking at Michaels for faux leather, vinyl and velvet papers but the grain on the leather was waaaay out of proportion for 1:25 scale. I am going to keep looking into alternatives, and let you know how things turn out. In the mean time its back to sanding and painting.

The "leather" sheets I mentioned were in a Jo-Ann Fabric store near here. They are on paper and fairly stiff, but the grain was pretty good for a 1/25 scale use.

I have used glove leather to make a bean bag chair for my daughter's Van build. You can see the grain down a bit on this page.

I did leather work a long time ago and I'd hate to have to skiv a lot of it!

[kitbash1]

A tip from "back in the old days:" In addition to the various paint techniques mentioned above, rubbing a flat finish (of paint) with your fingers produces a very convincing leather-like sheen on model car upholstry. Simple, quick and effective. Detail (seams, piping and stitching) and scale fidelity is not compromised.

That is only partly correct. You need to rub your fingers on the sides of your nose, then rub the paint with your finger then rub the surface with a piece of soft rag. This picks up the "oils" from your skin, and the nose or on some people the forehead will give you a film of oil you rub on the painted surface. this works best with flat black to give it a leather look.

[slownlow]

I've had good success using real leather. I find some that I like from old billfold, check book, glove, purse, or? Then scrape it "wafer thin" with a dull knife or coarse sandpaper or both. Then cut to general shape, glue using Elmer's white glue and then trim after glue is dry. Sorry the pic is only fair but Fotki in their infinite wisdom is moving my images to Elbonia or is it Estonia so my better pics must still be on a container ship in the North Atlantic.

Bob Maloy