Champagne

Napa, like many others refers to a specific tanning process that in this case produces a semi-aniline, extremely soft, yet very durable leather.
Other such well known precesses are Montana and Connolly, each with it's own particularities.

Paul

IcemanG17

Paul what is Novillo leather?....BMW uses it along with a bunch of others (dakota etc) All I know is it is very smooth with little texture that is extremely soft and supple....so much so I wonder how well it will hold up over time?

RyanPerrella

dakota if i recall looked like CRAP! Actually i had that in the 540 sport and it was junk, almost vinyl like.

never heard of novillo

69gaugeman

I like my Corinthian leather.............

Champagne

Hey Brian,

that seems to be bespoke to BMW. In actuality, anyone can go to any tannery, choose a particular finish, grain etc. and give it their own name.
There are hundreds of these, but they usually can easily be matched by generic offerings from the same or even other tanneries.

For example, Connoly no longer produces leather, but members of the family have licensed other tanneries and given them the "secrets", so you can still buy Connoly leather.

Paul

IcemanG17

Paul
Okay thats what I figured..... probably some nickname for italian leather or something.....but damm was it soft.....

Of course the new "connoly" leather will cost way more than the exact same leather made in the same factory the same way on the same day probably that doesn't say "connoly" :>)

RyanPerrella

Brian,

I had Dakota leather in an old 540 and i will tell you once it has some miles on it it becomes really smooth but smooth as in it looks like an exterior coat on a car. Not leathery at all. Interestingly i found a swatch of it in the owners namual and it seemed to be much nicer. But it seemed to be one of those leathers that looks ok when brand new, but once your *** has been on it a few 100 times it seems to polish up and i was really less than impressed with it. I wouldnt try to emulate Dakota at all, it was junk if you ask me. The Raff leather in the 928 is a hell of allot better.

Leon Speed

Ok guys thanks for your suggestions. Paul, thanks for the clarification . I called the local Porsche center and asked to be referred to the shop they work with. They actually said the do all interior stuff themselves (uh-huh) but eventually recommended me a very reputable leather shop.

Tom in Austin

So what is "Raff" exactly?

RyanPerrella

I nominate "Really Awesome F....... F........."

Oh hell, I dont know! I think it was like ruffled or something. The leather is of higher quality and its draped differently too.

Marine Blue

Paul,

Do you know what the difference is between draped and standard leather or are they the same thing?

Champagne

From what I have seen, the exact same leather was used for both styles.
Most of the current suppliers also use the same leather for both styles.

One thing to note is that what Porsche called "supple" in the 928 to describe the draped effect is not draping at all.
This type of effect requires a very specific technique where elastic bands are sewn stretched to oversize panels to control the pleating.
What I see in covers that were supposed to be draped is simply a slightly oversize panel that was somewhat bunched up when sewing the listings between each pads in the inserts.

It was much more successful with some colors than with others since the stiffness of the Porsche spec leather varies greatly between colors.

Paul

RyanPerrella

I will hold final comment until my seats are refinished, but i swear the perforated versions arent nearly as nice as the non perforated version. I thought there was a very obvious difference, but again, i will wait till mine are rejuvinated and recolored before giving an opinion on this.

Marine Blue

Thank you for the reply and thorough explanation.

What you describe explains why I see a few cars for sale every once in a while with leather that doesn't look like it fits properly. I'm sure the proper procedures weren't used and the results look like a baggy sweatshirt instead of a fitted suit.

Champagne

You do understand that perforations are made from the same hides as the rest of the seat panels. At least that how it's done in any respectable shop. They just take rectangles and run them through a machine where a spiked roller creates the perforations.
I make mine with a laser.

Paul