leather door panels - embossed section (redux - with Poll)

[rsporsche]

okay guys, this might not sit well with a few purists, but i am going to have black leather door panels made for the coupe, and i am not a huge fan of the vinyl embossed panel of the pre '74 coupes. i have tapped a few of my leather sources for samples of embossed leather that might look good in a coupe ... a restomod coupe with scheel mann seats (csl fabric insets). the actual leather that will be used on the main part of the door panel is included in the 1st pic. it has slightly more sheen than the vinyl panel (with no vinylex or armorall treatment).

so i'm going to post a few pics - love to hear thoughts - good or bad.
vote on your favorite embossed leather for the upper door panel

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 -

 

[Stevehose]

With the smooth texture of the scheels i like #8 perforated. Doesnt stray too far off the ranch theme-wise ithe the rest of the interior. Second choice would be #7 perf followed by the diamond.

 

[Koopman]

okay guys, this might not sit well with a few purists, but i am going to have black leather door panels made for the coupe, and i am not a huge fan of the vinyl embossed panel of the pre '74 coupes. i have tapped a few of my leather sources for samples of embossed leather that might look good in a coupe ... a restomod coupe with scheel mann seats (csl fabric insets). the actual leather that will be used on the main part of the door panel is included in the 1st pic. it has slightly more sheen than the vinyl panel (with no vinylex or armorall treatment).

so i'm going to post a few pics - love to hear thoughts - good or bad.
vote on your favorite embossed leather for the upper door panel

1 - View attachment 23739 2 - View attachment 23740 3 - View attachment 23741 4 - View attachment 23742 5 - View attachment 23743 6 - View attachment 23744 7 - View attachment 23745 8 - View attachment 23746 9 - View attachment 23747 10 - View attachment 23748

Hi Steve;
Can you do me a favor and measure the width and lenght of one of the diamonds on photo nine and let me know where I can purchase the material.
Thanks

 

[rsporsche]

Harry, that material is from Moore and Giles, the pattern is called Diamonds are Forever ... it is a special order product, the hide size is 25 sf, but the embossing plate is smaller than that - the dimensions of the diamonds are 1" x 2"

 

[Bmachine]

Personally I never like things that try to look like something they are not. Like embossing that looks like corn rows or weave or lacing or a medieval king's chair. They call attention to themselves only to admit they are just pretending.

I like the simplicity of number 7 best. Just enough contrast with the rest without screaming Hey look at me.

 

[rsporsche]

the reality of doing a true woven leather in a car environment is simply not practical, it is also thicker and would be hard to keep it together. that being said, i tend to agree that i prefer the perforated look of the '74 models to the embossed vinyl of the earlier cars ... so although i don't think i would do the embossing pattern 1, i do think it looks better (to me) than the original herringbone vinyl.

the problem i have with pattern 7 or 8, is they come from a different manufacturer than the leather that i have for the door panels ... and because the perf pattern is so flat, it is likely to call attention to being a different leather than i have. i do like the perf look though. also the texture of the csl fabric inset of the scheels, screams for a little texture.

 

[rsporsche]

so far, not too many votes ... i know more of you have an opinion ... nobody can tell how you vote. AND, you can make 2 pics.
its clear that most don't want to break the stock appearance of either herringbone or perf. the original perf was diamond shape rather than rotated square pattern. and i think these perfs are closer together.

 

[Dohn]

Do they have anything in gold lamé?
Seriously, I like either of the perforations if you want something that relates to the original. But taking off on the restomod theme, the small diamonds of #2 would be a bold look, but without the braid/tire pattern shown behind it..

 

[OLD_DTM]

8 0r 9...

 

[Markos]

I think I like number six oriented horizontally. Same recommendation for any of the diamond patterns.

 

[HB Chris]

I think that is #5, the numbers follow the pic. I vote original but you already knew that.

 

[Koopman]

okay guys, this might not sit well with a few purists, but i am going to have black leather door panels made for the coupe, and i am not a huge fan of the vinyl embossed panel of the pre '74 coupes. i have tapped a few of my leather sources for samples of embossed leather that might look good in a coupe ... a restomod coupe with scheel mann seats (csl fabric insets). the actual leather that will be used on the main part of the door panel is included in the 1st pic. it has slightly more sheen than the vinyl panel (with no vinylex or armorall treatment).

so i'm going to post a few pics - love to hear thoughts - good or bad.
vote on your favorite embossed leather for the upper door panel

1 - View attachment 23739 2 - View attachment 23740 3 - View attachment 23741 4 - View attachment 23742 5 - View attachment 23743 6 - View attachment 23744 7 - View attachment 23745 8 - View attachment 23746 9 - View attachment 23747 10 - View attachment 23748

Hi;
I worked with leather when I was designing products and also when in the clothing business. The deeper the pattern the easier it will get damaged.I like # 3,it has some depth and still notenough where things will catch on the leather.
Good Luck
Koopman

 

[rsporsche]

Do they have anything in gold lamé?
Seriously, I like either of the perforations if you want something that relates to the original. But taking off on the restomod theme, the small diamonds of #2 would be a bold look, but without the braid/tire pattern shown behind it..

the braid pattern behind is the original herringbone vinyl. just there because it exists ... and to show context. i agree on the bold look of #2. i guess if i had been smart, i would have laid the chrome trim on that joint. that might make a little difference.

 

[rsporsche]

Do they have anything in gold lamé?
Seriously, I like either of the perforations if you want something that relates to the original. But taking off on the restomod theme, the small diamonds of #2 would be a bold look, but without the braid/tire pattern shown behind it..

actually, they do ... sort of. they have a womped up version of #9 - the middle one with the silver tones good look great with the CSL fabric.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

I'll cast my vote for number 7 because that's what I did on my car and I like it but I'm not a purist (with the blue e9). If you like I can send you a picture of mine so you can see the simple perforation leather in action-sorta'.

 

[rsporsche]

so here they are with the chrome trim ... and some of the embossings rotated 90 degrees as suggested by a few of you. and i think the rotated versions of 2 + 5 are compelling, thanks for the suggestion Mark.

1 - 1 ro - 2 - 2 ro - 3 - 4 - 5 - 5 ro - 7 - 8 -

 

[Sven]

Scott, the 1-ro looks good. Has a bit of the feel/character of the original. Also agree with #7 (perf.). My $.02

 

[glenn in encinitas]

5 then 8- sounds like it will be really awesome!

 

[restart]

Amazing the difference the strip makes and the rotation!
I think you Are going to have to start over again. With a diagonal rotation thrown in, what's that? 30 choices!

 

[Nicad]

I like 7 the most and the large diamond pleats the least. 3 is pretty good though. I suppose you need a sample of wood in there to make the final call.