The time finally came to either restore or replace the worn furniture in the house I have owned (and partially designed) since 1975 and affectionately refer to as "The Disco Palace". I bought the couch and loveseat not long after I moved in, and decided to go the restoration route because I couldn't find anything contemporary to keep that "seventies look". It took me a long time to decide on the couch fabric, but that's a whole other story that I won't bore you with.

When it came time to redo the 1988-vintage leather recliner I thought: wouldn't it be great if I could get it covered in the same Palomino MB-Tex as the interior of my '88 190E 2.6 special order five-speed, but where to buy. If available through MB parts would I have to take out a new mortgage on the house to acquire 8 yards from a 54" wide bolt, but a web search quickly revealed a link over on the Diesel Discussion that referenced World Automotive Upholstery not far up the road from me in Santa Paula, CA

World Upholstery & Trim, American Manufacturer of Car/Auto Upholstery, Carpet, Convertible Tops, Car Seats, Headliners & Door Panel Parts for Classic European Cars like Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Jaguar, Fiat, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo

So I called, obtained a sample, and was amazed at the price of $40/yard which I thought was a bargain given the quality and durability of this fabric that many of us are familiar with. (The couch fabric was $95/yard!) My upholsterer said he could work with it, so the deal was done.

With new foam and such a durable fabric it should provide many years of relief for my aching back.

I uploaded a picture to my follow-up post on the Diesel Discussion, and the system won't let me upload it again or reference it, so if you want to see the photo, go to the Diesel Discussion thread.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/155275-where-buy-mb-tex.html

Duke

It is generally accepted that automotive upholstery is worlds better than couch fabric. Automotive upholstery needs to be resistant to lots of abrasion, wetness, UV light, and stain. Couch fabric is comparatively poor.

I'm surprised the couch fabric was so expensive.

Thanks for sharing Duke - World Upholstery is one of our vendors and we're always impressed when reading about the quality and affordability of their work.

I'm really pleased with the result. Here's another photo with a wider perspective.

There's still more work to do. I ordered a new Marilyn cutout along with James Dean to keep her company when I'm not around. New plants will go in the big yellow pot along with the matching orange one on the adjacent side of the room.

My mid-fifties Lionel Santa Fe Super Chief train set will be mounted above the couch (with functional lighting) along with the two framed paintings of the Santa Fe F3s in their warbonnet paint scheme.

The Kravet Casanovia Navaho couch fabric would be right at home in the Super Chief lounge/observation car.

Duke

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I saw a used car salesman one time with a suit made of the same stuff! (well, close to)

__________________
"I applaud your elaborate system of denial"

In the late '60s I had a friend in Boston who made a skirt out of Mylar, Looked great, but extremely uncomfortable as it didn't breathe a bit.