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-   -   Car Upholstery - Raju & Rahul (Palika Bhawan, New Delhi) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/delhi-ncr/165941-car-upholstery-raju-rahul-palika-bhawan-new-delhi.html)

Hi Team,

Just thought I'd let you know about my prefered car upholstery guys. A father-son duo called Raju and Rahul. They have repaired the seats and roof of two of my W124s, and done the entire interior of my Skoda Octavia.



Services Offered —
Everything for the interior you could need. Hand stitched gear knob, a really nice stitched leather cover for your steering wheel, seats, roof, flooring, door cards. They have a vast selection of material, ranging from genuine leather, to PU and fabric.




What I like —
Quality of workmanship is up there with the best. The work that they do stands the test of time. The steering and other leather work in my W124 E220 was done about 5 years ago, and still looks fresh.

They are careful with your cars, and in over 5 years of dealing with them, they have never scratched the interior (read plastics, wood, etc) with a careless swipe or pry of the screwdriver.




What I don't like —
Location. Palika Bhawan is a pain to park in on the best of days. Better to reach there before 10 am if you are planning on getting a good parking spot inside.




Pricing —
A hand stitched genuine leather steering will cost Rs 2,000. It isn't too expensive, but not cheap.

In the Octavia, they did a great job with everything. The roof, steering, door cards, and seats were all taken care of by them. They did this in one day, from me selecting the material, and them stitching and fitting everything. In the picture of the W124, you might notice that some panels of leather aren't matching, but this is simply because the older patches hadn't been cleaned and polished. Everything matched perfectly after the fact.

Incidentally, they have shown me pictures of vintage cars that they have worked on. A Mercedes Ponton, and '40s Ford spring to mind immediately. They also have good taste in cars, as after four years of pleading, they bought my Opel Corsa Swing from me last September. :D
The picture is from the doorstep of their shop.


Location and Contact —
G2, G11, Palika Bhawan, Netaji Nagar, New Delhi.
This is right opposite the Hyatt Regency on the Ring Road.
The shop is easily accessed from Gate 1 at Palika Bhawan.

Raju - 9868471722
Rahul - 9899922865

Feel free to take reference of Viraat.

Highly recommended! agree: Got the steering cover installed for my Honda City. And honestly the craftsmanship and quality is almost close to OEM. Even one of my friend got confused if I have got the steering replaced by Honda or is it the leather cover. I am not having the pictures handy, but will post them as soon as I get some spare time for myself stupid:

How much did you shell out for it and the time taken?

Great! Please do post the pictures. Will be good for others to see.
Me? All 3 cars have steerings stitched by these guys.

For the more common cars, they have the measurements. So for my Octavia, I only went to choose the material in the morning, and then went back a day later to have it fitted. The entire interior will take a day or so. Best to call up and ask them.
I spent about 18K for the interior. Seats, doors, roof, steering.

Here are the ones. I am sorry for the pics quality, as I took from my phone.

To all the wonderful people here, this is my first post on teambhp. Please pardon me for anything that I may have gone wrong in.

I have a 2013 Maruti Swift and after 3 years of exemplary service, it is asking for it's interiors to be revamped. I bought these seat covers from the showroom and they are a nightmare in summers and I somehow don't like the Jute ones. What should I be going with ? While I have gone through most of the threads on interiors, I will truly appreciate some further guidance on a few of my concerns.

1. Me and my brother are on the SLIGHTLY healthier side in terms of body weight and we both prefer sitting in the front if not driving. What we noticed is that the creases of the seats or the shape of how the cushioning is done on the seats have flattened. A few of our friends who own a swift say that the height of the seat is quite low compared to their cars. Now I am assuming this to be because of the cushioning gone flat. Now, the concern is, can the seats be repaired to how they were originally or do we have to buy new seats ?

2. A few days ago, I noticed that there is an absolutely disastrous cut on the seat. The foam has been pierced and I can clearly see the metal frame inside. While the cut isn't that big, it is a serious issue because I am assuming it will worsen with time. And again, the question is : Do I need to buy new seats ?









3. Now while I'm at it, I really wish to have an armrest on the rear seat. I went through a lot of pictures, discussions and self analysis of the rear seat and could not really come to a conclusion. However, I did understand that it isn't impossible, it's just a little complex and that it can only be done by somebody who is willing to try something new and put in that time and effort. Would anyone here have any references on this ?

Rahul and Raju should be able to help you out. Their contact details are on the first post of this thread.

After almost 80,000km of use,the steering wheel of my Jazz was showing obvious signs of wear and tear. Discolored patches had developed on it and were an eyesore on an otherwise impeccably maintained car. I am completely adverse to the regular PU/art leather covers you get in the market for 200-500-700 bucks. They don't fit properly, ruin the tactile feel and worst of all, look ridiculous. I wanted a proper leather wrap which had to look as close to factory-fit as possible.


I had been looking for someone who could do a good enough job for quite some time. After asking around among friends and checking up on a few online recommendations, I found this guy, Raju, who has his shop in Palika Bhavan in Delhi. Finally, one Sunday morning, I woke up early and drove all the way there for what is the sole cosmetic mod of an otherwise stock cabin.


Condition of the steering after 4 years/75000+km


Wear and tear


Patches. What an eyesore!


The steering has to be removed and taken away for wrapping. For this, the first step is to remove the horn/airbag module.


The horn/airbag module with the infamous Takata airbag. This one was replaced just a few days back under recall.


The steering is then removed by undoing the hex nut.


Steering removed


Inside the workshop, the first step is to remove the plastic cowls.


Steering audio control module is removed and safely secured with a tie.


Measurements being taken.


Ustaad-ji at work, marking the leather.


This is genuine camel hide. Surprisingly, it comes from Mumbai and not Rajasthan. The biggest advantage of genuine leather is that it does not get very hot under the sun. No burnt palms. :D


He cuts of 4 individual pieces, which are stitched together to make a rough form.


He then tries the rough form on the steering, making corrections and trimming edges wherever necessary.


Once he is satisfied, the form goes for stitching. I chose red thread to go with the color of the car. In hindsight, I should have gone with black. Contrast red stitching looks real sporty in a black cabin. But in a car with beige interiors, it just sticks out.


Stitching done. Ustaad-ji tries it on again and is happy. He then applies adhesive onto the steering


Finally the leather is pulled and meticulously sewn by hand. This requires skill and is a time consuming task.


Pulling the leather is critical to ensure a tight fit. Notice how the dimpled contours for the fingers are clearly visible.


Almost done. The audio controls and the cowls are re-attached


Final results


Close look at the stitching. Notice the wrinkles on the hide. Just the way it should be.


Close look at the spokes and the steering controls. There are no rough edges at all. Full marks for workmanship. This is as close to factory-fit as you can get.


Parting shot. Overall, a job well done. It took around 2 hours. They charged Rs 2000 for their troubles. I happily paid without bargaining. lol:


Impressions after 1 month of usage.

-Stitching is robust and is holding up very nicely. There are no loose ends

-Leather does not get hot, even in peak Delhi summer heat.

-Leather has been wrapped so tight that the thickness has increased by just a few mm. Barely noticeable.

-Feel of the hide on hand is fabulous. It is so good to hold that you just don't want to let go. A BMW 320d steering is not as satisfying to hold as this.

-I checked with the stock leather wrap of the City VX at the showroom when the car went for service. This has just as good overall fit and finish and is actually better in terms of material quality and feel in the hand.

Impressive results I must say. Looks awesome clap:

If we ever wish to take off that steering cover after some, will the adhesive leave any marks behind on the stock steering rim??

Regards,
Shashi

I suppose it will. But then, I really don't think I'll have to remove the cover. I'll just have it replaced with a new one when it wears out.

Worst case scenario, if I have to remove it and marks are left, they can be removed by WD40. WD40 can clean just about anything.

clap: Must say it's a very well executed job. Looks great & makes the steering wheel look so much better ! Well worth it !

Amazing work done. Hats off to the "Ustaad Ji"

Great job, thanks for sharing!

Can you please list his number & exact location / directions? I'll add it to the opening post and make this an entry in the Team-BHP Directory. Will surely help others.

That is the best trim job I've seen on one of the most difficult pieces to re-trim.
Raju, at Pallika bhawan. Check.

These guys? :
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/delhi-...new-delhi.html

How long did he take, and how much did it end up costing you?Also, are you aware if they do the rest of the car as well?:)

It is recommended not to remove the steering wheel, if there is air bag involved .

Karlsson's never ever remove the Steering Wheel if air bags are there!