S1 tan marcasite interior trim

[rgh0]

I am told this tan marcasite trim is no longer available. Does anyone know of even some small sections that I could use for repair of the door trim on my S1 shown in the photos.  After 45 years the Australian sun and wear and tear means this small area is failing while the rest of the car trim is in OK condition still. 

Edited April 2 by rgh0

[giorgetto]

Hi Rohan,

I found the below by just googling “marcasite upholstery”.

https://www.jamesdunloptextiles.com/product/upholstery-fabric/107647/bespoke-marcasite

https://www.jamesdunloptextiles.com/product/upholstery-fabric/109368/monarque-aquamarine
 

Difficult to tell how close a match these materials may be from the pictures but might be worth an enquiry or a swatch sample request.

I don’t believe anyone has managed to find an exact replica for marcasite which begs the question, what company produced it for Lotus back in the 70’s and are they still in operation?

Best of luck with the search!

 

[rgh0]

Thanks for the reply. There are a couple of colours that are reasonably close so I will follow up and get some swatch samples if I can

 

cheers

Rohan

[yeller77]

ACBC found the material during his yacht building phase as an interior material used in luxury yachts and specified it for Elites and Esprits. Also hence why it held up so poorly in the UV and heat exposure of an auto. Material marketed by Krypton in the US has been touted as a substitute but the swatches I've gotten of it were not a good match to me. Sometimes hard to pin down the original color accurately as many of the "original" Esprits at auction show it to be a walnut or chocolate color, but many of the faded samples like your seem to go almost olive or gold with age. An accurate replacement is still a holy grail. Good luck!

[rgh0]

Yes the original coluur is much darker than the sun exposed sections.  Attached is a photo of the door jam which must be close to the original colour.  The top of the dash is much lighter but not as light as it appears in the photo due to sun glare off it. The Crypton Henry Sepia Velvet from housefabric.com in the US appears to be close to the unfaded material in my car

Edited April 11 by rgh0
added crypton reference

[giorgetto]

Great info there Eric, regard ACBC!

Not heard that story before.

Found this older post by the late Nick Fulcher.

Not sure if the material was ever reproduced but it answers the question about the original manufacturer.

After a little more research, it may be worth searching for the below material descriptions.

Panne velvet

Velveteen

Some of the results I found looked like close matches in texture, if not in colour but then an exact colour match will prove difficult, I’d imagine.

I remember seeing an image of the armrest on a door card having been re-upholstered in leather to great effect.

Could be an option.

To answer your original query Rohan, I’m not aware of anyone with a remnant of original marcasite.

I need some for the upper dash area of my car but if I can’t find a close match, I’ll consider using leather or perhaps nextel paint if it is available in black.

I’m dropping into a local upholsterer tomorrow and bringing my glove box lid for reference. 
I’ll try to take some pictures and post on here if I find a suitable replacement material.

Happy googling!

 

[giorgetto]

This looks awfully close but limited colour choice.

https://buyfabrics.com/products/silver-crushed-panne-velour-fabric-97258

 

Edited April 11 by giorgetto

[giorgetto]

As promised. This was the closest to original that the upholsterer could find in their sample books.