to the forum. Hope you come back often. Post some pics of your ride when you have time. Check out the FAQ section for detailing info.
The following is from:
http://www.materialthings.co.uk/care.htm
ALCANTARA is used on a lot of home furnishings so this info is from that industry.
Cleaning and care
Alcantara is a soft and durable faux suede,
*****easily cleaned using just mild soap and water. *****
To keep your furniture looking new simply wipe over with a damp cloth periodically then give it a soft brushing. Removable covers can be machine washed at 30C. Allow to dry naturally, replace covers and brush over. Under no circumstances should solvents or dry cleaning be used.
Spillage removal for Alcantara and faux suede
Egg, beer, milk, cream, chocolate, ice cream: wipe with mild detergent solution then rinse.
Blood: mild detergent solution, repeated several times if necessary.
Coffee, tea, wine, grass, ketchup, alcohol: wash off with mild detergent solution, if discoloured treat with citric acid solution then rinse well.
Chewing gum: liberally apply with ethyl alcohol and remove.
Fatty foods, ink pens, shoe polish: dab with a clean cloth soaked in ethyl alcohol then treat with mild detergent solution and rinse off.
www.alcantara.it/istituzionale/manutenzione_inglese.pdf+cleaning+alcantara&hl=en]Here's a link to the manufacturer's cleaning info.[/url]
More general Alcantara Info from Audiworld.com......
Posted by Noel Louthan on 1999-08-31 06:12:40
In Reply to: Looking for Opinions on the Alcantara Seats (more) posted by PeteW on 1999-08-31 05:41:47
I took this from:
http://plgroupinc.com/Pages/Alcan1.htm
The Purcell/Letchinger Group is proud to be a North American sales agent for Alcantara, Europe’s premier suede cloth manufacturer. Alcantara is made in Italy and is the single best selling fabric brand in the world.
Now available in 54-inch widths, Alcantara’s suede-cloth fabrics are remarkably soft and durable. Furniture upholstered in Alcantara is warm, elegant, comfortable, and practical. Unlike its competitors (who use only 2 or 3), Alcantara combines up to 11 different dyestuffs to get the powerful depth and richness of its colors, and with 48 stock color choices available, Alcantara fabrics are a beautiful choice for all applications–from bold to subtle.
As rugged as it is beautiful, Alcantara is a favorite of the best architects and designers because it stands up to the most demanding uses and environments with style and sophistication to spare.
Virtually indestructible, Alcantara’s wear resistance exceeds 125,000 double rubs in Weisenbeck tests
Extreme colorfastness makes Alcantara ideal for even the most heavy-duty applications
Alcantara cleans easily with household products and can even be washed in washing machines.
Alcantara’s surface characteristics more closely resemble suede than any other manmade leather.
More...from Audiworld.com
Alcantara is not hot at all. You will like it. Here is a website that has cleaning info for Alcantara. Scroll down to the bottom, and you'll see a stain removal table.
http://www.gulffabrics.com/Alcantara.htm
User account number (aid): 8571
Posted by Dave G on 2001-08-31 13:17:22
In Reply to: How hard is it to keep Alcantara clean? posted by A4lien on 2001-08-31 12:45:45
Stain Removing Table from gulffabrics.com
Beer To be treated in neutral detergent solution rinsing.
Blood Neutral detergent solution, dried up stains to treated several times.
Egg To be treated in neutral detergent solution, rinsing.
Fruit juice, fruits, ketchup vegetables , jam, jelly, syrup,
To be washed in neutral detergent solution, discoloration's
to be treated with citric acid, well rinsing
Coffee, tea Washing with neutral detergent solution, discoloration's to
be treated with citric acid, well rinsing.
Cacao, chocolate To be rubbed with washing paste, rinsing with water.
Chewing gum Swelling with ethyl alcohol, to be removed mechanically.
Ballpoint pens, felt-tip pen To be dissolved with ethyl alcohol, dabbing, posttreatment with
detergent solution, rinsing.
Milk, cream To be treated with detergent solution, rinsing.
Lipstick, shoe polish, oil , fat
To be dissolved with ethyl alcohol, dabbing, posttreatment with washing paste, well rinsing
Mustard, Wine, liquor To be washed in detergent solution, treatment with citric
acid, well rinsing.
More from audiworld.com
The Alcantara will not be hot in summer like the smooth leather will be. Its the reason I got Alcantara. My 2000 Silver with Onyx/Silver Alcantara is a year old, with 13K miles, and its driven daily. The alcantara looks as nice as the day I bought the car. A friend of mine had a 1988 Audi 5000 turbo quattro, with charcoal alcantara, and I saw it when the car was at least 5 years old with 100K miles on it. The alcantara looked and felt great. At that time, I thought it was suede. I always remembered it. When I saw the alcantara in the 2000 S4, I knew I had to buy it. When I get another car, if alcantara is not available in it, I will have the seats re-upholstered with Alcantara. I like the stuff that much.
Good luck.
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