Modern equivalent of Elephant Grey.

[Fund_Man]

Hi, first post so bare with...

I have a 408 that had elephant grey seats originally. I am going to get the front seats recovered as they have had a poor repair/recovering in the past.

Does anyone know a modern equivalent of elephant grey..the guy who is going to do the work has hundreds of samples but it's very difficult to know what matches the original colour.

Many thanks

[Geoff Dowdle]

Fund Man ,
Bristol Elephany Grey used on 408s is
Connolly VM3417 (Vaumol Luxan )
I've been told Connolly will produce hides to order and can match to VM3417.

There are a few issues to consider of colour , grain , texture and type of process used when selecting a suitable leather.
Most modern leathers produced do not match the Vamol Luxan .

Both of my 400's have been retrimmed in Connolly Leather matched to the original . It was expensive at the time but in the long term satisfying when I see other 400's using modern leather that looks totally out of place .

Geoff

[Stefan]

Yes, it was Connolly's Vaumol and they are still in business. Im told Vaumol is their toughest hide and some choose a lighter version.
ATB
Stefan

[Claude]

https://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/categ...tured-products can help with the matching colouring.

My seats were torn on the outer part but fine on inner panel which still had the patina. To retain the patina that matched the rest of the car, I only wanted to do a necessary repair, not an artificial refurbishment (the car had never been restored, only well maintained).

Connolly was not an option given my location and at the time, word on the street saying they were no longer the same quality as 40 years ago.

I selected a more durable leather available locally, giving me colour-unmatched seats. I sent a snippet of the old leather to Woollies and they sent me a complete kit. The match was perfect and as long-lasting as the original.

Here is a photo of the before and after. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of the seat after applying Woolies, but it was applied to both old and new, matching the rest of the car perfectly.

[Fund_Man]

Thanks everyone, I guess I'm off to see the man who is going to do this work for me...and discuss leather. He can talk for hours..........
thanks again, I will keep you updated.

[Fund_Man]

Hi everyone.

We have contacted UK Hides and they can indeed make the hides to order in the correct colour etc. Two snags though. Each hide costs £650 and there is a minimum order of 10 hides....I only need one.

I think I'm back to my original question but suspect there isn't a modern equivalent although i'm sure I will get extremely close to the original given all the samples the interior man had in his workshop.

Thanks everyone.