By John McCullough
There are generally three types of individuals attracted to the world of custom auto upholstery. Understanding which "type" you are (broadly speaking) will go far in helping you understand what your requirements really are when you're looking for the services of a custom auto upholstery professional, that will in turn, help to ensure you get the most from it, and walk away with what exactly you desired.
The three broad-based groups of individuals seeking services like these are:
1) Generalists, looking for fixes, maintenance, and upkeep. Probably the most numerous category, these folks aren't looking to spend an arm and a leg on some elaborate replacement project, or to wind up by incorporating newfangled, smokin' set of custom auto upholstery, they just want to keep their vehicle running nice and looking nice.
For the former, they've certainly got AAA and an auto technician on standby. For the latter, they'll consider a custom auto upholstery professional to keep the headliner and door panels perfect, and also to mend or replace any rips and tears in the car seats or controllers.
Usually, the jobs that this group brings to the custom auto upholstery professional have relatively quick recovery times, and are pretty simple. It's rare that you'll see a generalist working with his upholsterer on some long term, elaborate project.
2) Then there are Classic Car Restorers. This category is probably the second largest, and they usually need huge, deeply involved tasks. Often, they'll pick up a classic car for a song, with the knowledge and expertise that it's seen many years of neglect. They task their practitioner with completely rebuilding the interior, while being faithful to the original design. These assignments take a lot of time usually from several weeks, to several months to complete, depending on exactly what is being done, and the people in this grouping tend to be the most demanding and exacting, as they want absolute perfection in their restoration work (and rightly so!).
3) Lastly, there are the diehard Automobile Fanatics. Unlike the classic car restoration group, they don't have any issues spending money on whatever they happen to be driving. For this category, it's not regarding faithful refurbishment, but rather, creating a driving experience which is completely unique for them (and for these folks, having a set of custom auto upholstery, or something similar would be a great thing!) . For these people, their vehicle is not merely a means of conveyance, but instead, an expression of individuality, and upgraded effects could only take you so far (they are, after all, still mass produced).
This is why, the folks in this category will put their mind along with their expert to make an often elaborate look and feel which they can be proud of when the work is finished. Again, these tasks are likely to span weeks or months, depending on exactly how involved they are.
If you're seeking to have work done on your car, give at least some thought to which of these categories you fall under before contacting your custom auto upholstery expert. Understanding exactly where you're coming from can help you define exactly what it is you're looking for, and will help enable you to get exactly what you're after in the end. Have you been a restoration aficionado, wishing to stay true to the initial style? Simply looking for a repair work, or searching for something more intricate, like a sweet set of custom auto upholstery? Give it some thought, and make sure you're getting exactly what you need!
The three broad-based groups of individuals seeking services like these are:
1) Generalists, looking for fixes, maintenance, and upkeep. Probably the most numerous category, these folks aren't looking to spend an arm and a leg on some elaborate replacement project, or to wind up by incorporating newfangled, smokin' set of custom auto upholstery, they just want to keep their vehicle running nice and looking nice.
For the former, they've certainly got AAA and an auto technician on standby. For the latter, they'll consider a custom auto upholstery professional to keep the headliner and door panels perfect, and also to mend or replace any rips and tears in the car seats or controllers.
Usually, the jobs that this group brings to the custom auto upholstery professional have relatively quick recovery times, and are pretty simple. It's rare that you'll see a generalist working with his upholsterer on some long term, elaborate project.
2) Then there are Classic Car Restorers. This category is probably the second largest, and they usually need huge, deeply involved tasks. Often, they'll pick up a classic car for a song, with the knowledge and expertise that it's seen many years of neglect. They task their practitioner with completely rebuilding the interior, while being faithful to the original design. These assignments take a lot of time usually from several weeks, to several months to complete, depending on exactly what is being done, and the people in this grouping tend to be the most demanding and exacting, as they want absolute perfection in their restoration work (and rightly so!).
3) Lastly, there are the diehard Automobile Fanatics. Unlike the classic car restoration group, they don't have any issues spending money on whatever they happen to be driving. For this category, it's not regarding faithful refurbishment, but rather, creating a driving experience which is completely unique for them (and for these folks, having a set of custom auto upholstery, or something similar would be a great thing!) . For these people, their vehicle is not merely a means of conveyance, but instead, an expression of individuality, and upgraded effects could only take you so far (they are, after all, still mass produced).
This is why, the folks in this category will put their mind along with their expert to make an often elaborate look and feel which they can be proud of when the work is finished. Again, these tasks are likely to span weeks or months, depending on exactly how involved they are.
If you're seeking to have work done on your car, give at least some thought to which of these categories you fall under before contacting your custom auto upholstery expert. Understanding exactly where you're coming from can help you define exactly what it is you're looking for, and will help enable you to get exactly what you're after in the end. Have you been a restoration aficionado, wishing to stay true to the initial style? Simply looking for a repair work, or searching for something more intricate, like a sweet set of custom auto upholstery? Give it some thought, and make sure you're getting exactly what you need!
