vinyl or leather?

[dude772]

The question is which one would last longer, and be more durable to drying out and cracking?

I have tried to look google, looked on wikipedia to see if theres been a comparison. But all anything says it how similar vinyl is to leather, with no direct comparison to it.

I want to cover my dash in black leather, or vinyl. Yes vinyls cheaper, but I'd rather spend the extra money now for something thats going to last longer. Basically, I'm trying to get a black interior. Without the homebrewed look of painting it. Plus, paint would rub off in areas that are touched frequently, like centre consols, arm rests, near handles.

Badically i want something that will last, and i wont need to re-do within the next 10 years.

 

[dogboy]

I don't know about durability, but I think leather would look alot better.

 

[ZMan]

If you get high quality vinyl you wouldn't have to worry as much. Biggest problem with leather is its a bitch to cover stuff with, because it has no stretch.

I would suggest this vinyl: http://yourautotrim-store.stores.yahoo.net/rave.html
I used it on a seat I did for a customer last winter, it is really nice stuff, very durable, and very easy to work with.

Another thing to keep in mind, NEVER use a silicone based product like armorall on your interior. Silicone actually dryrots rubber, vinyl, leather, etc.

 

[dude772]

If you get high quality vinyl you wouldn't have to worry as much. Biggest problem with leather is its a bitch to cover stuff with, because it has no stretch.

Thanx everyone... i went out to Fabricland today and picked up some marine grade vinyl. I figured for marineapplications its got to be durable against lots of sunlight and the elements. I used a bit on my old dash and it worked really well... im going to figure out how to seam it then cover my new dash and make it look sexy.

I did the section that covers the centre most vent on the passengers side, where theres lots of contours, and it streched nicely and stuck very well... i was impressed.