SUEDE YO SUEDE!!

okay, I am looking for red suede, why so difficult? looking for suede that is backed with foam or fabric liner etc. not just the satin finish stuff from Joannes. but Need this to complete my S14.

Please post Suede buying options here as well for others!

Look into unisuede.  It is one of the companies we use for some of our products.  I seen 3 shades of red in their book

thanks! that is where I got my headliner material from. Did you use the non foam backed?

I was looking for this same stuff, thanks for bringing the question up first!

I've ordered from here before.

[url]http://www.yourautotrim.com/noname34.html[/url]

In an automobile I see NO reason not to use alcantara. Its used by high end manufacturers for a reason. It costs about 100 a yard, not bad really...

alacantra is just a brand name for microsuede with uv resistance meant for automotive applications. if the unisuede is equal in durability i see no reason to pay more.

Its hard to find a straight comparison between each in regards to UV resistance.
 
Best I've found is:
 
Alcantara - [URL="http://www.contracttextiles.org/content/com.act.guidelines.GuidelinePDF/8/AC_colorfastness_sep2010.pdf"]AATCC-16A[/URL]
Unisuede - ASTM D 1729-96; XENON 200 hrs (can't find the explanation for this)

[QUOTE=OG;435249]alacantra is just a brand name for microsuede with uv resistance meant for automotive applications. if the unisuede is equal in durability i see no reason to pay more.[/QUOTE]

Hardly. It has many more qualities you are totally ignoring (or are unaware of) durability, water/stain resistant, ability to be cleaned (try using a cleaner on an inferior suede..)brush ability (amount of times you can run your hands over it before breakdown) etc. we have many many different brands and types of suede, and hands down alcantara is the highest quality. This forum is full of people willing to spend $$$ to do it right.. Why cheap out here on one of the most used pieces of your automobile?

Then you would be the perfect person to give a real comparison between Alcantara and Unisuede in terms of wearability, durability and uv resistance.
See my previous post regarding the uv comparison.

[QUOTE=visitor;435271]Hardly. It has many more qualities you are totally ignoring (or are unaware of) durability, water/stain resistant, ability to be cleaned (try using a cleaner on an inferior suede..)brush ability (amount of times you can run your hands over it before breakdown) etc. we have many many different brands and types of suede, and hands down alcantara is the highest quality. This forum is full of people willing to spend $$$ to do it right.. Why cheap out here on one of the most used pieces of your automobile?[/QUOTE]
 
"durability" blankets all the variables you mentioned. alacantra or any ultrasuede (none are actual suede and your misuse of the term damages your credability in my eyes) have excellent stain resistance/cleaning characteristics because they are synthetic. that being said, if alacantra truly excels in applicable categories (abrasion/light resitance, etc.) then i agree that anyone looking to do it should do it the best way possible. i'm going to need more than "it's the best" though. these things are rated, however i ran into the same issue as brett; inconsitent rating systems. if you are a material vendor then i implore you to provide statistics, which you should have access to and be able to interpret. anything else is just hype as far as i'm concerned.

I guess if you would like to mince words for whatever silly reason, "ultrasuede" is also an incorrect (READ: marketing created) word. its synthetic suede.

			 			Alcantara is a manufacture brand of man made suede, suede is a type  of leather, ultrasuede is another type of man made suede. 

Alcantara has a double rub wear rating of 200000 ultrasuede is 100000and will start to have shiny shots on rub areas much faster than Alcantara

Alcantara is an approved material for a lot of the high line car manufacturers, as well as being used in f1 and other racing applications, because it is fire retardant to a point. 

Look, we can argue all day, if you would like. However, heres the deal.. I'm not trying to sell him anything (note how ive not said where i work, or offered to sell him anything?) Im not trying to make money here, im giving him the honest truth. I will provide any and all information we have on file here in terms of comparison. The "unisuede", "ultrasuede" and other synthetic suedes are inferior when it comes to automotive use. does that mean they are bad products? no. Does that mean that Alcantara is ALWAYS worth the upgrade? Again, no. But if you are willing to spend a bit more to get a better product its the way to do. On a side note: Alcantara is not as stretchy as some of the other "suedes" due to its backing. something to keep in mind depending on the piece you are working on. That said, I THINK there is an unbacked version of it available, but ive not used it, so i cannot comment on it. Another option available on a lower budget is a company called "sensuede". Weve used it with decent results, and they have a much larger color selection than Alcantara will ever have.

But that's the point, we are not trying to argue, we are looking for facts that seem to elude us so far.
I've never found the wear rating you mentioned anywhere. Can you tell me where I can find this?
Like you said there's a lot of marketing involved so being F1 sanctioned doesn't carry a lot of weight. Its like being the official bubble gum of Nascar.
Our main goal is to find hard facts to justify the price difference.

the goal isn't to argue, just to persue the truth and expand my knowledge and the knowledge of the community. i'm just not one to take anyone's word for anything when these things are standardized. please benefit us with your professional resources, i'll pass on opinions.

why is it every thread i start almost starts ww3:pat: lol

[QUOTE=Kouki Monster;435396]why is it every thread i start almost starts ww3:pat: lol[/QUOTE]
Maybe you got that war mongering nazi blood in you :smiley-rofl:

not enough german, though i am italian and irish so that makes up for it, love to talk shit and fight

Im german, maybe thats the reason :laugh: anyhow, to start with, Alcantara is not "the official" anything for f1. It is used simply because it works best for that application, not because theyve paid money. All my stats are from the A.C.T. (Association for contract textiles) and I would start my search there if I was interested in knowing more, personally. ALL THAT SAID- I would be willing to do a bit of testing of some varying types of suedes (Alcantara, unisuede, sensuede, katzkins sude, roadwires suede, and even the cheap fabric store suedes), if you guys like (all on video) we have all of it IN STOCK and on hand, EXCEPT THE UNISUEDE. If someone had a few small scrap pieces (about 4x6) they could or would donate it would be more than appriciated. Id be more than happy to do any testing youd like, including colorfastness, rub wear, flame retard, water (stain) resist, stretch, nap depth,feel, etc., and any other tests youd like to see. If youd rather I not waste my time, just lmk, and you're free to believe (and buy) whatever youd like, no hard feelings from me :)

Some real world comparison testing would be awesome!
I went to A.C.T.'s website but it seemed I had to buy their publications to get any data.
See one of my previous posts for the only data I could find on either material.

Ok, this weekend i can do all of them except the unisuede, ill have to get some of them as well. I do have access to that data, let me get some time to upload it here..

Just an update, ive not forgot, nor left you all hanging.. still waiting on the sample of unisuede :(