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i'm an audi guy and i have been around many different generations of audi's. they have been offering alcantara in their cars since 2000 in the us (originally in the b5 s4). The stuff holds up well, but it will definitely age. like some people said, its never going to be too expensive to just have the seats re-done, but for those of you that would rather maintain it, there are some pretty simple steps that i follow that get the job done pretty nicely.
the stuff will start to look "loose" if that makes sense. the material won't look as tightly woven and eventually it will start to "pil" up. thats when the material starts bunching up like an old rug or couch. all you need is a fabric shaver (you can buy one online or at any fabric shop) and a mach 3 razor to do a fine shave afterwards. to clean alcantara, all you need is a warm damp rag, but what us audi guys have figured out is that a magic clean eraser dipped into a very diluted solution of water and dish soap works extremely well. its pretty easy to maintain, but it won't look new forever.
i could be wrong though, i don't know if they have updated the material over the years. my experience comes from the stuff that was made between 99-02.
** be VERY careful about the detergents you use to clean alcantara. i have seen threads where guys have used "specifically for alcantara" type cleaners that have accelerated the wear of their seats and made the weave not as "tight" as it used to be. my recommendation is just use a damp rag. if you have oils or heavy stains, just be careful. most upholstery cleaners should not be used on alcantara.
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