1966 Superior shades

Jeff Hookway

PCS Life Member Elected Director
Has anybody replaced/repaired their shades? I don't think the shades have been down in years and they seem very stiff/dry and brittle. I'm sure they will only come down once! I would like to have them usable, mostly for demonstration purposes. They seem to have a tab with a snap to secure on the bottom edge. Where would I go to get the shade portion replaced? Thanks for any suggestions.
 

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Jeff,
Most cities have window treatment companies that still sell/make roller shades. I have roller shades in every window in my house. A roller shade can be made up using pretty much any material/fabric that you choose. I have not looked at the Superior shades very closely, but I have checked out the M-M shades. Nothing overly complicated about them.
 
Those appear to have been replaced. They are made of vinyl headliner material. Any i have seem were standard household material you get at the hardwire store. Different colors may be hard to find but the off white is vary common. The snap on the strap will need to be reused or make a new one. Any upholstery shop should be able to fix you right up
 
Lots of different grades of roller shade material. Most of the "hardware store" quality roller shades are made of pretty cheap plastic material. I wouldn't go with the plastic material. That's a job that I would only want to do once. I would have a window covering business do it as opposed to an upholsterer. The window treatment business has experience in making these. There is a special cutter that they use specifically for cutting roller shades. I used to have one. The original shades should have been on a wooden rod/shaft.

Where are you seeing the shade material, Ed? I am only seeing the material on the housing/hood.
 
I have about 9 yards of it here. if I can remember were it got put. we need to redo the front headliner in the one 72 if we can get it out of the shop.
 
I have about 9 yards of it here. if I can remember were it got put. we need to redo the front headliner in the one 72 if we can get it out of the shop.

If it is the material that we didn't use on my 1969, then it is different. I recognize this pattern, and it is different than my 1969.
 
It is a standard 60-70 gm headliner pattern. As typical of GM the top line gets it first and it works it way to.the bottom as the years go.
I have some here changing the material is a simple job of cut to size and staple. Sew the bottom seam around the wood and the snap back in place. Polish the ends repaint the cover if needed and reinstall. You can get as much money in it as you want or do it for under 100 bucks. If you like to do things your self.

But me the first thing i would do is see if ghey all went up and down. If the do the remove them lay them out flat and clean them up with some scrubbing bubbles. If they don't work smooth its the roller . If they go up and down but are brittle and torn replace the fabric.
 
Roller shades are trimmed when on the rod/shaft so you have a nice, clean end on both ends. Like I said, I used to own a professional cutter for roller shades. It is somewhat like a lathe. You stick the entire, complete shade through a holder. There is a crank on it that turns the shade against the cutter. If you just "cut to size and staple", I guarantee that you will have some ratty looking ends.
 
Think about this a minute. These were cut from a bolt of vinyl. Not off from a all ready rolled up shade. Now i understand what you are saying i don't have a 12 in set of scissors here either. But this kind of things were made in house in there upholstery shop. I really doubt that superior used that material in there shades in 66. But who can say other then i have not seen it before. As for a stright cut a yard stick and a razer blade would do it.
 
I seriously doubt that any coach builder made their own roller shades in-house. They would have just purchased them pre-made from a window treatment company with the material that Superior specified.
 
I think we are kinda beating a dead horse here. Material has vastly improved since the 60s so any good shade maker/supplier should be able to redo the existing rollers with new material and the problem is solved. To try and use original material if found would be foolish as it would be subject to failure from age.
 
I think we are kinda beating a dead horse here. Material has vastly improved since the 60s so any good shade maker/supplier should be able to redo the existing rollers with new material and the problem is solved. To try and use original material if found would be foolish as it would be subject to failure from age.

Today's vinyl materials are made with modern products, and will last more than the lifetime of the owner, or even the car in some instances. The only thing that they have in common with the original material, is the pattern of the vinyl.
 
If it helps at all back in the day one of our Pontiacs had vinyl curtains that had to be replaced,boss found a marine upholstery shop who did quite a good job.if this is of any help..and yes they were roll ups.
 
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