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Source of fabric needed

2K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  kolian78 
#1 ·
Hello All,

Does anyone know where I can source the fabric that covers the interior pieces? I need to recover my B and C pillars, but cannot find the correct fabric.
I have a 2002 330Ci, tan interior. I cannot find the interior trim color code, have looked in all the usual places like under the front and back seats, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Jon
 
#3 · (Edited)
I found a guy in the middle of nowhere in TN who not only re-covered my A pillars, he had the exact matching grey fabric in stock. The guy works out of his garage. Go figure.

OP, do you have any car/boat/custom upholstry shops near you? The ones in the U.S. have huge books of fabric samples. If you don't find replacement OEM parts, I would try with a local shop.
 
#6 ·
Thanks everyone for your replies.
I am in South Korea, and went to the biggest textile market on the planet and could not find an exact match...go figure. I know that I can order the replacement parts, but YEESH!!! Paying $140 bucks for two B pillar covers gets under my skin!! If I could find the fabric, there's no way it could cost more than $10, and take 10 minutes to glue it in place.... I'm just sayin...heck, for $10 in fabric, I could cover the C pillar covers as well.

Thanks again for the replies.

Jon
 
#7 · (Edited)
Jon:

Did you see anything that was a close match when you were at the upholstry market? I would rather get something almost right for $10.00 than the exact match for $140.00. Also, how about covering them in black - would that stand out too badly? So much of our interiors is black already....

I need to go see my upholstry guy to ask him about doing the dye/fixit procedure on my leather seats. I will make a trip by there tomorrow or Wednesday afternoon. Perhaps he knows the brand of the cloth he used for my car - if so, I will pass it on to you. Also, if he happens to have the fabric in tan - that would be golden, wouldn't it?
 
#9 ·
Yes, ECS carries the replacement parts, but, again, +/- $200 for the two "B" pillar and "C" pillar trim pieces is steep....especially considering what the fabric ~should~ cost.

It would be GREAT if I could find the correct fabric. When I was at the textile market in Dongdaemun, Seoul, I looked at approximately 14 billion different fabrics. The sample I took from my car was the driver's side trim piece that covers the rubber gasket (I know, I know, crappy sample, but the trip was last minute, the trim was already removed and in the trunk, and I wasn't able to remove a more substantial piece to use as a color reference.) and I ~thought~ that I found something really really close....when I held it up next to the headliner, I was definately not close enough.

Soooo.....I DO want the B pillar covers re-done.....the fabric is still there, but it's dirty / discolored. Hopefully I can get a yard or two of the correct fabric. I ~really~ don't want to change fabric colors (an earlier post suggested changing them to black) because of their position, right in the line-of-sight when changing lanes, etc, I think a different color would be a constant source of irritation to me.

So, yes, if you could ask your upholstery guy if the correct color is available, I would definately make it worth your while....maybe send you a jar of kimchee, or some pickled chicken's feet? :rofl:

Thanks again,
Jon
 
#10 ·
I think I might try.....

I have a headliner and pillar issue and I have considered carbon fiber cloth. At $80/yard by
50" it seems like a "maybe". Any opinions or has anyone tried this? It is a matt finish and pretty low key in appearance.
I may just get some swatches to ensure it does not look too radical or just plain wrong.

If so, grey suede will do, because here in South Florida a car can get to 130 inside on a hot day and that ridiculous grey fabric that BMW use, will not hold enough adhesive to do the job and stay in place. In fact BMW seem to have used some pretty flimsy materials/practices throughout the E39 in the interests of weight saving/cost.
 
#11 ·
I have a headliner and pillar issue and I have considered carbon fiber cloth. At $80/yard by
50" it seems like a "maybe". Any opinions or has anyone tried this? It is a matt finish and pretty low key in appearance.
I may just get some swatches to ensure it does not look too radical or just plain wrong.

If so, grey suede will do, because here in South Florida a car can get to 130 inside on a hot day and that ridiculous grey fabric that BMW use, will not hold enough adhesive to do the job and stay in place. In fact BMW seem to have used some pretty flimsy materials/practices throughout the E39 in the interests of weight saving/cost.
If you`re talking about E39s, you`re in the wrong place....this is the E46 Forum....
 
#12 ·
I'll go back to my cell now.

How Teutonic!

When doing a search on the whole site Fast Bob, the results displayed reference all threads with suitable matches and it seems (judging from the previous replies) that the owners here are having similar headliner gremlin issues and had some useful ideas and information to share. It seemed like a good place to ask for additional help. The moderators really need to fix that pesky search engine, so I stay in my designated exercise yard in future :spank:

I apologize, as I was not aware that I was not allowed to stray from Stalag E39. It assure you it will not happen ever again and I trust I did not offend any E46 owners.

Floppy Headliner B.
 
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