I vote thick.

suede would really set it off as well, the contrast between matte and gloss is quite the nice subtle effect. which is what I assume you are going for here.

Back to what to name your car
I suggest Madonna, lots of tight leather

Madona Her music makes my ears bleed and my stomach turn - but I like the idea.

Back onto more serious topics. The suede idea is coming around nicely. Should I go with a black for a subtle contrast in texture/tone or go with somthing a little more contrasting like a grey/blue to match the outside of the car? I guess I should phone the fabric store and see what they have first . This is going to be so cool.

my two cents...I like the idea of the more subtle bit...with the black suede.

Either way though, La Bella Madonna will be gorgeous



omg, I just noticed we had pedobear on here.

Awesome.

Adding the blue or grey would limit you to a smaller group of colours for the outside, but if you're sure of what you want to paint it then you could achieve a more integrated look to the interior if you do some matching. Most cars are so drab and monochromatic inside, a little colour is nice.

I would really say black, although a gray would look fine, as its neutral, (stick to a darker shade)
being a 3rd year art student, i KNOW my color combos, what to do and what not to do.
colors come in rules of three, break that rule and it will look like crap. black / grey / brushed will look just fine, just follow the contours of the panels, and make your changes at natural seams in the panels, this will prevent the disruption of your eyes flowing over it.

p.s

with a Black/Grey combo think of adding minor color highlights here and there. pinstripes perhaps? stitching? of the final car color, It will pop it up just that little extra.

I called the fabric store and they've got a black (there is a dark grey and a steel blue as well)...but I think I'll stay with the monochromatic theme and avoid ricey nonsense. I was looking for ideas tonight and found more civics with red suede arm rests and an M3 with ORANGE accents over black - oh my eyes. The leather is a charcoal and I'll bring a sample to see if it works.

Now for my next problem, the original idea was to punch holes in the leather for the speaker "grill" as the speakers are getting mounted to the door (not the panel) and I wanted the panel flush. The speakers I have didn't come with grills and I'm not using the stock parts. The suede will cover where the original fabric was and I can't punch holes in it as it will not look good.

Here's what I'm thinking. 1/8" thick aluminum (brushed) and drill a circular pattern of 1/4 holes out to a 4" circle. Painted flat black. Then mount it with black counter sunk allen head screws. That way it is less noticeable.

Again, open to ideas.

That would look like crap...just like the rest of the interior...

I definitely like the brushed aluminum bezel idea. it will hide all the mistakes and tie the theme together. I was actually thinking of mentioning this to you earlier, but it seems you thought of it too.

I vote yes

I don't know how far away from the inner part of the door you think the glass is, but it's not far. I hope you've got some REALLY thin speakers if you're mounting them right to the door. Or never plan on opening the windows.

Windows would have clobbered the speakers as Matt had predicted, so back outside of the door panel they go. This necessitated building some grills that would make everything work together. The speakers came with some 4X6 plastic spacers, so I cut those square and added 1/8" for speaker clearance...next, build grills. Then it was on to a brushed aluminum grill insert. This is what I came up with - I'm pretty happy with the outcome. I guess I could have added more holes, but the plate is only 4 1/16" wide and those big holes are 1/2" and the centre is 3/4"



I'll be rounding the corners when I get the spacers done (glue is drying) and soften the edges a little. No upholstery just yet. Stay tuned this week as I try to get that done.

Craig, you are amazing

Thanks Ian - occasionally it shows that I spent a lot of years in a machine shop. Sometimes thinking like a machinist is a little tiring. The photo's do make it look like there is a lot of material that could be removed, but there is only 50 thou between the large holes.

Yeah, that looks pretty freaking trick.

So very '70s... Looks great. I can't believe you got that many holes drilled without the bit catching and tearing through the thin spot between them. Heck, I can't believe you got that many holes drilled without the bit going wiggidy-jiggidy. In fact, I can only see one flaw (and I'm not going to point it out). Incredible. Are you going to replicate them for the rear speakers?