Ultraleather Question

[ZoominC6]

Thanks Tom. We'll take a look at all samples and then my "Queen" will decide . We do have leather in the house currently and the cat seems to leave it alone; however, I like the other sound of the other option. Stay tuned and thanks again.

[Alumaholic]

Ours seems impervious to dog claws. Not so sure about cats, but it is advertised as a better choice for pet owners than leather.
I'm keeping my cats out of this Airstream just to be sure.

[Ag&Au]

If you want cat claw proof, I'm pretty sure you will need armadillo, porcupine, or some even tougher hide. I am not sure even that will work.

Seriously, if you are concerned about cats scratching, you need something that presents a non uniform visual appearance. Sooner or later, whether on purpose or by accident, the cat will snag a claw. Anytime a cat feels insecure about its balance or grip, there will be a full twenty claw deployment. That is the primary reason we just got the stock material. If a cat catches a claw, we trim whatever loose threads result and the threads of the weave will readjust. Unless you know where it happened and look closely, it is not noticeable. However on a uniform light smooth surface like leather or leather looking materials, it will be a hole or holes and will stick out like a sore thumb.

Our cats are a integral part of our travel experience. I don't want that experience spoiled by worrying about long lasting collateral damage.

Ken

P.S. I forgot to suggest chain mail or Kevlar

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Alumaholic

Ours seems impervious to dog claws. Not so sure about cats, but it is advertised as a better choice for pet owners than leather.
I'm keeping my cats out of this Airstream just to be sure.

If you are unsure about the difference in ability to shred between dog and cat claws, just tease a cat a bit and you will find that it is a very significant difference. . A dog claw will leave a red mark and perhaps a scrape. A cat will leave a red bleeding laceration. The only good thing is that ultra leather and simlilar materials don't bleed.
Ken

[Kamiak]

How many "ultras" does it take to make an ultraleather sofa? About the same number as "naugas"?

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Kamiak

How many "ultras" does it take to make an ultraleather sofa? About the same number as "naugas"?

Quite a few more. Ultras are actually parasites that infest naugas. You will notice that the color stays fairly true through the processing.

[Kamiak]

I see what you mean. That esoteric detail is not widely known, and is poorly understood by most. Is there a difference between the standard-breed ultras and naugas relative to the genuine "Corinthian"?

[zlee]

The Corinthian is richer.

[zlee]

When I worked for Polo Ralph Lauren, I remember sitting on a beautiful soft leather sofa with one of the home buyers. I mentioned I'd be afraid of my cats doing it in. She said, brightly, "Oh no, not a problem!", made talons with her long red fingernails, and proceeded to scratch 10 long marks into the top cushion.

While I hoiked my tongue out my lungs, she busily stroked the scratches, which smoothed them into the background, though they didn't disappear at all. "You see?" she said. "You want a patina, or it will just look too new to be a home."

I later bought some gorgeous leather chairs from Pottery Barn, and my cats didn't bother them at all. I sold them to a friend, though, and his cat, who gets the midnight cat crazies at any time of day at all, is scratching them up horribly, and I think he's not keeping them cared for to minimize the damage.

[zlee]

BTW, there's some nice (and nicely priced) outlet fabrics in Ultra Fabric's Outlet Market.

[ZoominC6]

Thanks ya'll and Happy New Year! The sofa and dinette should be removed and ready for pickup by our upholsterer on Tuesday. We've selected a few samples of leather and Nauga for pricing and will move ahead with one or the other and take our chances. We had to get the old stuff off and move ahead. We look forward to the new look and just in time for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, S.C. in February which will be our first trip for 2012! Can't wait.

[GetOutDoors]

Told my wife when the cat died a few years ago (the one that always wanted to shread our furniture) that if we ever get another cat, it will be declawed.

[ZoominC6]

Good idea for indoor cats! They do make little claw shrouds that can be glued on each claw but what a pain; however, cats hate them and are constantly trying to pull them off. We do love our pets though.

[zlee]

Oooh, pls have snip done - declawing is like removing your fingernails!

[ZoominC6]

Agreed.....won't do that ever again in this house. We either glue on the shrouds or reupholster.....hahaha!

[ZoominC6]

Sofa, dinette and S/O flanges covered with "mouse fur" are all removed in pieces and ready for the re-upholsterer to pick up and cover with leather hides selected for that purpose. We were happy to learn that our dealer, Out of Doors Mart, still carries the ivory colored vinyl Airstream used to cover the ceilings of our Classic. Our gal will wrap the S/O flanges with this after removing the "mouse fur". Gotta have ODM take pictures of the interior now that those furnishings have been removed. Onward towards our first trip in February.

[redwoodguy]

We got ultra-leather in our new 25 FC. We weren't going to accept anything but. I think it make the whole unit look sharp and neat and very modern. We spent a week sitting on those cushions and I found them totally GREAT in all respects. Our last trailer we couldn't spend more than an hour in the am sitting at the dinette the cushions were so uncomfortable.

We have a dog, and that was part of the reason to get UL too. My test is always to look at the fabric in a 5 or 10 year old trailer. It usually show some wear patterns that look pretty bad. My hope was that the UL will hold up better/longer than that. Fingers crossed! Good luck!

[ZoominC6]

Originally Posted by redwoodguy

We got ultra-leather in our new 25 FC. We weren't going to accept anything but. I think it make the whole unit look sharp and neat and very modern. We spent a week sitting on those cushions and I found them totally GREAT in all respects. Our last trailer we couldn't spend more than an hour in the am sitting at the dinette the cushions were so uncomfortable.

We have a dog, and that was part of the reason to get UL too. My test is always to look at the fabric in a 5 or 10 year old trailer. It usually show some wear patterns that look pretty bad. My hope was that the UL will hold up better/longer than that. Fingers crossed! Good luck!

I was looking back over my old Airsteam file from 2004 and noted that we had priced at 2005 30ft Classic with UltraLeather and the larger AC unit. We opted for the in stock 2004 with fabric, a S/O and the smaller AC unit all for around $5K less than the '05 w/o S/O. Over the years we made several modifications including the larger AC unit, replacing carpet with faux wood flooring, sat. dish on the roof and now LEATHER. We've learned that it's much like owning a house and that nothings perfect. We just live with it and modify as we go along. The really nice thing about Airstreams over SOBs is that we all have a great foundation on which to build and modify.

[ZoominC6]

Furnishings all removed for re-upholstering including the flanges around the slide-out. We thank Mike Taylor of Out-Of-Doors Mart for "Going the extra mile" in taking these shots and emailing them to us. We're so fortunate to have a dealer like ODM here on "The Right Coast" to service our Airstream needs.

[sallybowser]

Love our ultraleather but we are beginning to see small scuffs near the floor (cabinets under the seats of the dinette benches and gaucho bed are covered in ultraleather to the floor). Anyone noticed this on yours? Any solutions?