Alcantra and Sweat

[papashango]

I play sports often so in the summer especially my clothes are soaked in sweat. M car is leather now so I can just wipe it down after i get home, but alcantra looks like it would soak up the sweat.....That would be a shame because it is so comfortable and I LOVE the grip. What do you think :( Worst case i can have full sized towels in my trunk!

[nikitynick]

bring a change of clothes?

[NWS4Guy]

I scotch guarded mine.

[HyperM3]

On really hot days I have leaned forward off the seat and found the alcantra to be a bit...damp? Luckily Im not much of a sweater. However, it doesn't seem to absorb any liquids, just stays on the surface. It dries extremely quickly too.

[SilverS4kg]

I scotch guarded mine.

more on this please.

[Brooklyn]

I thought fabric treatments like scotch guard were not recommended on alcantara? To the OP, I had the black leather/silver alcantara option on my B6 S4. I also routinely played sports throughout the 5 years I owned the car, including soccer during the DC area summers. I would change shirts before getting in the car, and lay down a towel on the seats, but more importantly, I kept the alcantara clean, which is pretty simple IF/IF you stay on top of it. I would recommend, particularly on the silver alcantara, not going more than a few months between cleaning it. The cleaning process is pretty simple and not terribly time consuming if you stay on top of it. My process was to use a magic eraser that had been properly soaked in water, and scrub out any dirt. I would then vacuum the seats and let them air dry, and then use an electric fabric shaver (paid about $10 for a really good one) and shave down all the pilling that occurs from scrubbing the alcantara and normal seat wear. Once shaved, I would vacuum again and that was it. If you let it go too long, it's a bitch to clean. I deployed in 2007 and returned at the end of 2008 and never got around to cleaning the seats before I finally traded it in a few months ago. They were filthy, but a quick test scrub revealed that they would have come clean with an afternoon of elbow grease. Alcantara is a very resilient fabric.

[B6JoeS4]

to clean it:
http://www.detailersdomain.com/leath...alcantara.aspx

to protect it:
http://www.detailersdomain.com/leath...ctor300ml.aspx

[NWS4Guy]

more on this please.

I use Scotch Guard on my suede shoes (Piloti Prototipo) and they look like new a year later, water beads off it and it never harms it. I used it on my seats when I just got the car, I covered the leather area with cloth to prevent overspray from getting on the real leather. Hasn't harmed the Alcantara and still looks like brand new, the car is my daily driver, as well as getting use most weekends, I have over 12K miles on it now.

Use at your own risk, if there is something that says don't use it on this, I might just be lucky.

[Runge]

bring a change of clothes?

+1..crank the AC, leave it for a minute..then get in and drive away.

[channad]

I bring an extra shirt and just hang that over the top of the seat. Done.

[rugbylion]

I bring an extra shirt and just hang that over the top of the seat. Done.

I just don't play any sports anymore....problem solved....your thanks is enough....

[L0U]

mini skirts and no underware can leave a mark.

[Runge]

mini skirts and no underware can leave a mark.

been there done that eh?

[Seinsmeld13]

Why not shower before you get in the car? I take it you are somewhere where you are unable to shower.

[Nighthawk]

mini skirts and no underware can leave a mark.

Snail tracks!

[Wahrheit]

Gonna revive this one in hopes that there has been recent success.

Had windows tinted today, and when I picked the car up noticed that it smelled like ass. Thought it was just the valet (it was done at a dealership that services high-end european marks) as it was around 104 when I picked it up. As I'm driving I begin to feel a damp sensation on my back, through my T-shirt. Reached back and the seat was damp. Granted it's ridiculous out, but the pud didn't think to cover the seat before he dumped his swamp ass in. I wiped the seat down with a towel and aimed a fan at it with all doors open until it was dry to the touch. Then ran the car with the A/C on for about 15 min. No luck. Still aweful.

Anyone found a product that will get the funk out?

[SM_ATL]

Anyone found a product that will get the funk out?

Sorry, could not resist...

BTW, I found the (black) Alcantara very easy to maintain. I live near Hot-lanta and whatever you do, you end up sweating on your seat one day. At more than 10k miles everything still looks and smell like new.

[svander]

I don't have the link handy but there are instructions on how to properly clean and maintain alcantara on the official alcantara website. It's a PDF with instructions.

Now that I think of it, I have a writeup on the interior on my site and I linked the file. Link is in the sig.