Cleaning Ivory "Alcantra" seat material

integraworks · 03-08-2011, 11:07 AM

I have the white (Ivory) Nappa leather / Alcantra interior. The leather is easy to keep clean and conditioned with BMW leather cleaning products. It is the "Alcantra" (synthetic suede?) that is more bothersome.

The black seat belts leave marks where they rub (esp with kids in the seats) and just the pollution in the air from running in the city seems to darken the nappy fabric of the alcantra.

Does anyone know if this is real suede or is it a synthetic material?

So far the best product I have found found to clean the alcantra is Oxy-Clean liquid in the spray bottle. I spray it onto a clean dry rag and then wipe it into the nap of the fabric, then dry with another rag. My only concern is over time... is this treatment the most appropriate?

lrc454 · 03-08-2011, 11:33 AM

We have the same issue on our 2009 Z4. Would also like to find the appropriate product to remove the black marks from the seat belt.

Vintage · 03-08-2011, 11:40 AM

this has been discussed several times and I gladly repeat what has worked for me - a 1/2 and 1/2 Woolite to warm water solution applied with a white terry cloth. the Alcantara site says, and I am paraphrasing, "you can also use grain alcohol," which I have not yet tried because the Woolite solution works well

integraworks · 03-08-2011, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VintageBMW

this has been discussed several times and I gladly repeat what has worked for me - a 1/2 and 1/2 Woolite to warm water solution applied with a white terry cloth. the Alcantara site says, and I am paraphrasing, "you can also use grain alcohol," which I have not yet tried because the Woolite solution works well

Thanks for the advice and the lead to the Alcantara web site! ( I had no idea what Alcantara is) Now I can continue to clean with confidence.

http://new.alcantara.com/#/en/home

Land_Shark · 03-08-2011, 08:42 PM

Integraworks: Alcantara is a faux leather.
The material was developed in the early 1970s by Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist working for the Japanese chemical company Toray Industries, as a variation of their other product Ultrasuede produced around the same time (Wikipedia).
Alcantara is composed of about 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane [4] giving increased durability and stain resistance. (Wikipedia).
I guess you got the right website for that http://new.alcantara.com/#/en/home
It is not easy to keep it clean, I had the BMW Performance steering wheel on my E93, and was a constant struggle to keep the wheels clean and in their original shape/color...

03-08-2011, 11:07 AM	#1
integraworks Private 17 Rep 88 Posts Drives: 2010 Z4 s35i Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Ontario iTrader: (0)	Cleaning Ivory "Alcantra" seat material I have the white (Ivory) Nappa leather / Alcantra interior. The leather is easy to keep clean and conditioned with BMW leather cleaning products. It is the "Alcantra" (synthetic suede?) that is more bothersome. The black seat belts leave marks where they rub (esp with kids in the seats) and just the pollution in the air from running in the city seems to darken the nappy fabric of the alcantra. Does anyone know if this is real suede or is it a synthetic material? So far the best product I have found found to clean the alcantra is Oxy-Clean liquid in the spray bottle. I spray it onto a clean dry rag and then wipe it into the nap of the fabric, then dry with another rag. My only concern is over time... is this treatment the most appropriate?
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03-08-2011, 11:33 AM	#2
lrc454 Enlisted Member 5 Rep 47 Posts Drives: 2009 Z4 30i Steptronic Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	We have the same issue on our 2009 Z4. Would also like to find the appropriate product to remove the black marks from the seat belt.
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03-08-2011, 11:40 AM	#3
Vintage Colonel 381 Rep 2,588 Posts Drives: BMW G80 (MT), 718 Spyder Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Austin, Texas iTrader: (0)	this has been discussed several times and I gladly repeat what has worked for me - a 1/2 and 1/2 Woolite to warm water solution applied with a white terry cloth. the Alcantara site says, and I am paraphrasing, "you can also use grain alcohol," which I have not yet tried because the Woolite solution works well
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03-08-2011, 08:42 PM	#5
Land_Shark In The Flesh 24 Rep 600 Posts Drives: Z4 sDrive 35i Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hong Kong iTrader: (0)	Integraworks: Alcantara is a faux leather. The material was developed in the early 1970s by Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist working for the Japanese chemical company Toray Industries, as a variation of their other product Ultrasuede produced around the same time (Wikipedia). Alcantara is composed of about 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane [4] giving increased durability and stain resistance. (Wikipedia). I guess you got the right website for that http://new.alcantara.com/#/en/home It is not easy to keep it clean, I had the BMW Performance steering wheel on my E93, and was a constant struggle to keep the wheels clean and in their original shape/color...
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