i just bought a second driver's seat for my Lightning for the ever-popular center console project, but it was used and came in real dirty. Just some dirt on it here and there, but nothing major. So as the topic suggests, i am hoping to learn how to clean it. Has anybody spilled something on their L seats or know of any cleaning product I can buy. It's really just to clean dirt, nothing major.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

I'd have to be totally honest with you on this one... I've not worked on any suede and thus, I'm going to simply bump this one back up in an effort to hopefully snare an answer for you...

Anyone?

 

crap .. I was waiting on you to answer this ..

the last time I did anything with it was in the late 80's ... and I don't have any clue what we used ..

 

I've had various suede indoor soccer shoes but, they really haven't been given much TLC.

One thing is ABSOLUTELY for sure... do not treat suede like leather with the traditional leather treatments (like Connolley, Lexol, etc).

 

found this in a general search for suede care ..

not sure if it would be applicable or not .. general disclamier of try at your own risk applies here .. along with the reminder to always work on a non visible place first

Joe's Shoe Service, Suede Care

 

I gave them a call after work, but apparently I missed them by about 15min. (Dang timezones) Oh well. I have the number now- thanks.

In the meantime, does anybody else know how to clean suede?

 

The suede in the Lightning is called alcantara, it's synthetic suede, but not to be confused with "cheap" (it's used for automobile applications in a lot of high end cars such as Lamborghini's where real suede would be too much hassle to maintain, the stock Lightning seat covers are $1000, lol, so don't smoke in there!)

You can use basically any fabric cleaner on it. My weapon of choice is Turtle Wax Power Out - it gets the Lightning seats looking brand new showroom with little effort (and I'm super fussy with my Lightning). But I'm sure any good automotive interior upholstery cleaner will work good too.

 

Hey thanks a lot buddy! Saved me a hassle

 

Nice post emig. Great info.

 

awesome .. good info .. will have to add that to the file ..

 

While I've not dealt directly with the Lightning seats, I have had some professional experience with cleaning suede upholstrey and agree that normal water based cleaners work fine on it. As with everything try to use the most gentle cleaner that will be effective. Look for products designed for upholstrey cleaning as they tend to me milder than carpet cleaners. I'd also say to try to use something that doesn't leave a residue or make sure to rinse thouroughly so there isn't residue. If there's residue left behind it tends to mat the suede and also make it kind of stiff after it dries. It's normally a little stiff after it dries anyway so I used to use a short, semi stiff bristle brush on it, working it back and forth in the direction of the grain, to soften it up and restore its appearance.

 

Also, I just remembered seeing another alcantara post recently and found it for you all to enjoy: https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=289553.

Here's a link to a 3 page PDF from alcantara on cleaning: http://world.alcantara.com/newsite/a..._alcantara.pdf.

And finally here's a rip from their site on cleaning alcantara in vehicles:

"For car upholstery you can use specific products, or - if they are not on hand - dust it with a soft cloth or sponge dampened with clean water. Wring it out well and clean all Alcantara® fabric, taking care not to wet the upholstery too deeply; dampen the cloth in clean water, wipe again, and allow to dry well overnight. The rejuvenate the fabric by brushing it delicately with a soft-bristled brush."