Alcantara Alternatives

[Sailfree]

Currently have a light oatmeal Plastic material for Saloon Upholstery but it needs changing and remembering the quality Blue Alacantara on our previous boat thinking of going for Alcantara or a cheaper alternative.

Q1 Can anyone recomend any cheaper alternative faux suede finishes that they have experience with?

Q2 Anyone found a light coloured faux suede that withstands boat use and red wine spills!! I was amazed at the dark blue alacantara when I just wiped off the spilt red wine and no stain!! If necessary I will go for a royal blue.

Thanks

 

[coopec]

Just a thought: If the upholstery was a claret color you wouldn't need to wipe up the spilled red wine as you wouldn't notice the stain? (normally I am not aware I have spilled it until the next morning anyway!!)
I'll be starting on the upholstery for my yacht project very shortly so I'm interested in the opinions of "dos" and "don'ts" on upholstery fabrics. I'll be following the style of another home built yacht but my upholstery will be an olive color.

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[mon_ami]

I managed to find Warwick's Macrosuede on clearance for both my last boat and this one. It has a cotton backer, so it isn't entirely synthetic like Alcantara, but it is very sturdy and seems to resist stains well. I bought the first lot from End of Line fabrics and the second lot from Just Fabrics. Neither seems to have it in at the moment, but even full price it is less than Alcantara. You could get a swatch and try spilling things if you want to be sure.

 

[Jabs]

We used a product called Kimura I think from Comfort Afloat in Gosport.

It seems great

Tony