Custom console: leather or fiberglass
 

Some of you may have seen the console that I'm building. Here's a link to thread on it: https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=31303

Right now I'm leaning towards wrapping the console with sheet metal and then with leather. The idea of wrapping it with fiberglass is also an option. I'm just not sure if fiberglass will fit the theme of my interior. I'm using leather GTO seats, the steering wheel is leather and the door panels will likely be wrapped with leather also. So should I stick with my original plans of wrapping the console with leather or do it in fiberglass and paint it.

Here's a couple pics of how it looks so far:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010525.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010563.jpg

I don't see an option to powder coat it as-is? That's my vote :thumbsup:



Jeff-

While it would be cool to see you just powdercoat it and leave it...I fear the novelty would wear off quickly. I say wrap it in leather, especially since you're using leather throughout the rest of the interior. It will help with the high-end luxury feel of the car, while IMO the fiberglass would have more of a tuner-feel. You could have someone stitch together the console cover with some subtly contrasting double stitching too.

Why not a combo of the two???:unibrow:

I guess I'm not a big fan of fiberglass on the metal frame. IIRC, fiberglass expands and shrinks at different rates and I'm guessing there could be some delamination issues. The other thing I see is the fiberglass sagging in-between the metal rails and showing through over time, and a painted surface could get scratched more easily. (If I were doing fiberglass I would switch to foam and shape it how I wanted it and then cover it. The foam can take any shape, can accommodate more radius curves that IMO would make it easier to cover, and provide more even support so it doesn’t sag.)

It looks like you have a lot of quality work and time into it and I would finish it up in metal. I agree and think that it would look great with sections of it polished metal and elsewhere with leather surfaces. With the skill you've shown so far I think it would be great to have that come through to where people can see it.

Another thing I was thinking of is to design it so the area around the cup holders has a metal surface for easier clean up.

Looks great! Now where did you get that shift ring/bezel? I look forward to seeing the progress.

Thanks. It's a Lokar shift ring. I can't remember the part number off hand, but if you check out my build thread the part number is on the last or second last page.

I'd say look into getting a center console lid from a GTO. They are super comfy on the arms and the leather will match the seats. Then you could do Leather or Suede on the sides. I'd say do whatever you accent the door panels with to tie it all together.