alcantara maintenance.

[wallace03]

has anyone safely applied 303 fabric gaurd or any other form of protectant on their alcantara seats? i heard its not suppose to get wet, but the spray is liquid.

[Sportsguy83]

Anyone on the alcantara care?

[bryansbestwax]

I have cleaned with raceglaze alcantara cleaner and protected with cg fabric guard before. No issues.

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[2pt5RS]

Maintenance- in order to preserve your upholstery, vigorous cleaning of accumulated dirt should be avoided as dirt / grit is abrasive and may damage the finish.

It is therefore recommended that regular cleaning is carried out by brushing seating areas with a soft upholstery brush and then vacuuming to remove dust and loose dirt. Avoid rubbing too strongly. The use of steam machines is not recommended, although the use of dry-vapour steam is recommended

taken from This link, however, their website is REALLLLLLY slow right now.

[brianc]

People recommend a woolite to water mixture to clean alcantra. I don't spray anything on my alcantra seats to protect them. They are still one of the cleanest sets of recaros I've seen. I have a fabric brush to clean them every once in a while to get the dust and dirt out. That seems to work well. Alcantra seats seem to develop a dark or smooth patch where the seat belt rubs against the seat so I purchased those fabric seat belt comfort guards and placed it in between the seat belt and the seat.

[2pt5RS]

Type III - Cleaning Alcantara® Leather

Alcantara® Ultra suede™, Ecsaine, Micro suede, etc) are not types of leather but are in fact in synthetic materials, it is made from extremely fine polyester microfibers (68% polyester and 32% urethane) it has the appearance and tactile feel similar to that of suede, and it may be incorrectly identified as such. Toray Industries' Ultra suede or Alcantara is finding application in seating as well as dash trimming, steering wheel covering and headliners in many high-end OEM automotive applications

Identifying characteristics - these materials are very soft to the touch and will scratch or scuff very easily.

The water-drop absorbency test- water drops will darken the surface and will remain dark or leave a water mark after drying.

Water absorbency rate – high, due to the potential damage caused by water foam cleaners are highly recommended

Well known for its use in top marque automobiles such as Aston Martin, BMW and Ferrari, this material is both hard wearing, luxurious and stylish. Suede is rarely used for automobile upholstery, however Nubuck or a synthetic known as Alcantara® Ultra suede™ is commonly found in sports luxury vehicles; on the steering wheel, armrests and seat inserts both for aesthetic purposes and grip (on the seats and steering wheel) and the headliner, it is highly absorbent, creating a texture similar to velvet, many people confuse this product with suede leather.

As a general rule when cleaning Nubuck, Alcantara ®, Ultra suede™, Ecsaine, Micro suede, etc you should only to use products specifically designed for this type of fabric. Avoid using a product designed for cleaning leather. It's also important to do a patch test before cleaning any fabric to make sure the colour or integrity of the fabric won't be damaged. To do this, apply your cleaning product to an inconspicuous area to see what the effect will be.

Use a napping brush to raise the pile and loosen / separate the fibres. Remove pilling with a single-sided razor blade and then apply a suitable cleaning solution on to an applicator pad and apply to one area at a time (do not over-wet the fabric) and do not use wet steam.

Localized stains can be treated with a d-limonene (citrus) based cleaner (P21S Total Auto Wash) ensure surface is dry before use by leaving window cracked/open or SONAX NTS7 Upholstery Cleaner for BMW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz Alcantara materials. Avoid alcohol, strong solvents or spirit based cleaners (particularly perchloroethyene and trichlorethylene).

Maintenance- in order to preserve your upholstery, vigorous cleaning of accumulated dirt should be avoided as dirt / grit is abrasive and may damage the finish.

It is therefore recommended that regular cleaning is carried out by brushing seating areas with a soft upholstery brush and then vacuuming to remove dust and loose dirt. Avoid rubbing too strongly. The use of steam machines is not recommended, although the use of dry-vapour steam is recommended

Weekly
Dust the fabric using a soft upholstery brush, and then vacuum. Then run a lightly damp micro fibre towel over the surface to remove any small dust particles.

Since the whole page is barely loading, I'll just post this.

[brianc]

I see they updated their website. Years ago it was much more primitive than that. They've also updated their cleaning and maintenance section.

[wallace03]

Originally Posted by bryansbestwax

I have cleaned with raceglaze alcantara cleaner and protected with cg fabric guard before. No issues.

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i would imagine CG fabric guard is the same concept as 303 fabric guard. still kind of nervous

[bryansbestwax]

Originally Posted by wallace03

i would imagine CG fabric guard is the same concept as 303 fabric guard. still kind of nervous

all you can do is try a small test spot in an area that isn't as noticeable. The alcantara cleaner I have been using for a while and never an issue, its specifically for this material. I do a tonne of Subaru interiors in the spring, many of them STI so I see a lot of alcantara

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