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[Bondo497]

Is suede easy to clean? Is it durable enough for seating material? I'm going to check out the specs but I wanted some real world knowledge about this fabric. Thanks

[BigRig]

@Bondo497,

I was handling suede in the fabric store last night. One sample was a fabric suede and the other was a leather suede.

I read here that John likes suede so it must have some durability. Is it the Weizenbeck test done for textiles like drapes, suede, furniture fabric? It must have 50,000 double rubs.

@Torriec, @Trimjobber ?

[Bondo497]

Thanks @BigRig. ok I didn't realize there was two different kinds. I thought I would try it on the walls of my Kenworth sleeper and back wall of the cab. Drivers seat may rub it, I'm not very tall 5'8" but the cab is small.

[Revv Up]

Corbin Seats is a high end custom motorcycle manufacturer that uses mostly suede, I’d think that’s about that’s about roughest use out there for seating. The suede holds up great but the light colours get filthy, I don’t know how much care the owners took or if they ever tried to clean it. The dark colours didn’t show the grime near as much

[BigRig]

This is a testament to Suede. Everything gets dirty when it is light.

[Bondo497]

Thanks @Revv Up @BigRig What about faux leather? I have samples from Albrights and they feel thick and luxurious, is that the same as the leather suede? I really like it!

[BigRig]

@Bondo497,

You lost me there good buddy. Luxurious and soft has yet to hit any of my projects just the toilet paper holder. I will post pictures of a Class 08 Volvo I did tomorrow.

[Bondo497]

@BigRig sorry about using big words, they usually go outside my realm of capacity trying to explain something I know nothing about. The stuff is thick like a heavy weight vinyl and feels like velvet. Didn't mean to cornfuse it with "Gray Poupon" like words. My apologies.

[John]

Yeah suede is pretty easy to clean. Not as easy a vinyl I guess. I use a damp micro fiber to clean it and brush it with a horse hair shoe cleaning brush to get the lint off. Same like you brush a pool table. Its certainly good for seating material. You have to use automotive suede though. Real suede is far to weak for automotive use. There is quite a few brands. I use the syngery suede from albrights a lot. Its good and pretty cheep around $15 per yard. There are defiantly better suedes around but they get expensive. ULTRA suede is nice its around $90 a yard. Then there is alcantara witch is the most well known but that stuff is hard to get and around $100 per yard. There is also another suede called dinamica, never used it, I heard its nice though. There is also other suedes around at cheaper prices that are nice too.

@BigRig Oh heck yeah you read that right somewhere. I freaking love suede! Dont know why... I just do.

As for Faux Leather... I could be wrong but for me its just a stupid name for soft vinyl. Some of it is really nice and I use it all the time but its just vinyl to me. That would be a good question for @torriec or @Trimjobber if there is really any difference between vinyl and faux leather.
What I can say is stay away from the really expensive faux leather like ultra leather. If any vinyl costs more than $50 you should just get real leather, in my opinion.

[Bondo497]

Thanks @John
Ok.

[torriec]

Faux Leather is basically just vinyl. For example, our Vaquero collection is marketed as a Faux-Leather, but it's just PVC face goods and a polyester backing. Generally faux leathers try to have a softer feel, like Vaquero, Allante, Carrara, Prodigy, and Lunar. Vinyls don't tend to strive for the same soft hand.

[Revv Up]

I call it vegan leather

[BigRig]

@Revv Up, service truck drivers call it Pleather

[John]

@torriec Thanks for the explanation!

@Revv Up Haha that's a good one

[BigRig]

I just went through the cabs of 17 Transports. Generic white trucks with one set of custom Sealy written on them the seats were black leather just like a mattress pillow top. The majority of these truck had just thick grey vinyl, a couple leather and the Freightliners had cloth.

I could potentially see a better combination for seating using suede and some form of vinyl to make a comfortable/durable seat.