[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by Kärlsson

Whatever makes you happy. But Nappa that is sold in India by Stanley is just a heavily finished leather starts shining and cracking after some use. I have used it and seen many my friends cars with it. For the price its not worth it.

Well, I am no expert on leather - my only point was you generalized way too much in saying - seats will tear, smell - bla bla.
I have no problems if you educate us about better grades of leather etc. If you say that leather X will last 2-3 years better than the standard/regular variants in the market or will be more comfortable in hot conditions.
But saying that other products won't last, will smell, will become dirty in a year etc is simply factually incorrect. And I have also seen art leather and Stanley leather doing very well in cars for more than 4-5 years !!
Cheers,

[Kärlsson]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Well, I am no expert on leather - my only point was you generalized way too much in saying - seats will tear, smell - bla bla.
I have no problems if you educate us about better grades of leather etc. If you say that leather X will last 2-3 years better than the standard/regular variants in the market or will be more comfortable in hot conditions.
But saying that other products won't last, will smell, will become dirty in a year etc is simply factually incorrect. And I have also seen art leather and Stanley leather doing very well in cars for more than 4-5 years !!
Cheers,

Look if you are happy with what you have so be it. What I have stated is true for people I know. They got sucked into using synthetics, and inferior leather at premium prices because of a lack of choice in India but are looking for better quality and value.

You are going off the tangent. As far as dirt is concerned its how clean you keep your car and how you use it.

From what you state you are obviously not a prospect for high quality luxury leather used by the world's top furniture brands and designers. If you are happy with existing local brands then that's good.

And this is a public forum and I have responded to a thread posted by some one else. if you have a problem with what I have said and the way I choose to highlight leather thats just too bad.

[desigNation]

karlsson-looking at your avtar i checked this site,elmoleather.com,but then it doesnt say whether it has an outlet in india,have you got anythin to do with this firm?if so please, give more details, address or contact number, it would be helpful.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by Kärlsson

Look if you are happy with what you have so be it. What I have stated is true for people I know. They got sucked into using synthetics, and inferior leather at premium prices because of a lack of choice in India but are looking for better quality and value.

You are going off the tangent. As far as dirt is concerned its how clean you keep your car and how you use it.

From what you state you are obviously not a prospect for high quality luxury leather used by the world's top furniture brands and designers. If you are happy with existing local brands then that's good.

And this is a public forum and I have responded to a thread posted by some one else. if you have a problem with what I have said and the way I choose to highlight leather thats just too bad.

Well. I think you didn't get the point unfortunately. You made some assertions w/o any qualification that this is what you have observed in a limited number of cases - you made it sound like an universal truth. I just posted my experience which was contrary - please re-read your posts and my replies again.
And whether I will be a candidate for so called high-grade leather products, the jury is open on that - atleast from your posts, you have not given much encouragement towards it, I have to say - since you focused more on disparaging other products than on making the case for your recommendation. For all you know, if I go for leather interiors in my next car, I may be inclined towards 'superior' products !
And I have no problem in your posting what you wish on this forum as I haven't with anyone else - you should have none either. If there's anything out of line, our mods are doing their job diligently :-)

[Kärlsson]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Well. I think you didn't get the point unfortunately. You made some assertions w/o any qualification that this is what you have observed in a limited number of cases - you made it sound like an universal truth. I just posted my experience which was contrary - please re-read your posts and my replies again.
And whether I will be a candidate for so called high-grade leather products, the jury is open on that - atleast from your posts, you have not given much encouragement towards it, I have to say - since you focused more on disparaging other products than on making the case for your recommendation. For all you know, if I go for leather interiors in my next car, I may be inclined towards 'superior' products !
And I have no problem in your posting what you wish on this forum as I haven't with anyone else - you should have none either. If there's anything out of line, our mods are doing their job diligently :-)

Perhaps you should also re read your posts. I am not here to encourage you to buy anything. I stand by what I have stated. And it is entirely upto you to make a choice.

You said you are happy with synthetic seat covers. Personally I hate the plasticky feel, the synthetic smell and prefer fabric if not real leather. I know many people who feel the same way I do.

PU and PVC upholstery are just meant to fake the leather look for people aspiring for the real material or for people who do not know the difference. Between the two PU outlasts PVC as the latter which is cheaper, has a lower tensile strength.

You talked of the price sensitive Indian market and the myth that weather conditions are bad in India for any other material. Then you advised me on what to say. Too many assumptions.

BTW irrespective of weather conditions leather is among the most durable upholstery materials that one can find. And then most car owners who can afford leather have air-conditioning.

Like you said, in your earlier post you do not know much about leather or its intrinsic qualities so lets leave it at that.

All leather is not of equal quality. The nappa leather seat covers you mentioned available in this market is a corrected grain leather and is heavily pigmented because it is made from a lower grade/selection hide. That is the 'universal truth' to put it in your own words.

I have a passion for high quality leather and many years of experience using and observing various types upholstery leather and so it is a qualified opinion in my view.

When you do learn a little more about what really is high quality leather upholstery and appreciate it perhaps you will change your views. And unless you use high quality upholstery you will never know the difference. But its all up to you.

[kuttapan]

Ok. So basically Stanley is offering inferior Nappa at 38k or so, while Karlsson offers 'Natural Grain, chrome free tanned, 1.5 mm thick bovine leather from scandinavian raw material' - to quote yourself, at similar prices. Fair enough. Let's leave Stanley out of this at the moment.

Could you tell us more about this grain correction and heavy pigmentation that is required for the inferior leather? I mean, could you delve into the technicalities of grain, correction, pigmentation etc. I am sure it will help all of us to understand more about leather technology.

What kind of hide is used for car seats? Sheep, Cow?

[senindra]

Originally Posted by kuttapan

Could you tell us more about this grain correction and heavy pigmentation that is required for the inferior leather? I mean, could you delve into the technicalities of grain, correction, pigmentation etc. I am sure it will help all of us to understand more about leather technology.

What kind of hide is used for car seats? Sheep, Cow?

Hey Sid,

To answer your questions,I will try with my very limited knowledge

Usually the term full grain/grain leather means when the unhairing process takes place, it removes the epidermis layer and the layer under this is the grain layer.

Corrected grain on the other hand only means when the grain layer has been removed, to be put in very simple words.

Pigmentation or heavily pigmented as in this topic only means heavily finished, many layers of finish.

Having a fair knowledge about Elmo I can vouch that Elmo produces one of the best automotive leathers and also produces for quite a few automobile manufacturers. So, IF the leather is procured from Elmo directly this should be a good set. I asked a friend, but he did not know they supply to Karlsson.

My 2 cents.

[joshguy]

Originally Posted by MadRash

A lot of people here have fixed stanley seat covers in their cars and recommending it to others. But I found it difficult when I tried to find out the reviews of their products. Those who ever has Stanley covers (leather, art leather or combination) please give your valuable reviews here.

Few points:

1. Is it worth that extra money?
2. How comfortable it is in summer?
3. Maintenance?
4. Color fade?
5. Tear easily?
...
...

Hey mahesh...thanks a lot man.I wanted to open up a thread on stanley,but i found it here in the right time.am too inclined towards the stanleys but wonder if they are really worth it.

You get the art leather for 4.5k.the same art costs 14k in stanley.

[desigNation]

joshguy- i paid 14k for genuine leather at stanley,14k for art leather is too much.

[suren181]

Originally Posted by desigNation

joshguy- i paid 14k for genuine leather at stanley,14k for art leather is too much.

desigNation: Are you pretty sure about the genuine leather @ 14k part? For I was quoted much much higher for genuine leather and around this price for the art leather seats when I last enquired about 6 months ago.

[kuttapan]

Originally Posted by suren181

desigNation: Are you pretty sure about the genuine leather @ 14k part? For I was quoted much much higher for genuine leather and around this price for the art leather seats when I last enquired about 6 months ago.

Yup, that sounds too low. A guy I know paid around 37k for Stanley-ing his Honda City and this was early 2007.

[bottle]

desigNation, are you sure about that ? both me and hydrashok paid round about the same amount close to 10k for pu from stanley , so how did you get genuine leather at 14k ? when I asked they quoted me 23k for the classic leather option which didnt really look like it was worth paying for

[crazydiablo]

Last time we did classic leather for a friend it costed 21.5K for the honda city from Stanley.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by crazydiablo

Last time we did classic leather for a friend it costed 21.5K for the honda city from Stanley.

I recently enquired from them for genuine leather for honda city and they quoted 25k as the least so 14k is really out of mind

[desigNation]

bottle-pls check my baleno in my garage, i got it done for 14k from stanley,it was done in 2006,only seats,steering,and hand brake,no door pads,but then i jus checked with cerralli,[didnt get stanley on line]looking at your garage i assumed you have a palio stile, they told me 15k for jus the seats,steering,hand brake and gear knob,rs.1500 extra for door pads.