Sonax Alcantara Cleaner

[billboard2001]

Hello All,

This is a review for my experiences with Sonax's Alcantara (also Upholstery) Cleaner.
I, like many others, have been searching for a product that can be used to clean alcantara. There aren't many products dedicated strictly to alcantara so when I came across Sonax's product I was excited; except for the fact that I couldn't find many reviews on it, much less on the STi seats. So here goes...

I have had my sti for about 6 years now and have never cleaned the seats in them. Not that they were horribly dirty now, but there were a few problem areas that I wished were cleaned up.

The product comes in a pump container, not an aerosol can (which is a plus to those that live somewhere aerosols cannot be shipped).



The driver's seat:




An up-close shot of the general condition of the alcantara. You can see there is a slight dinge to the fabric.



The back seats: These seats didn't really have any spots or much dirt that I could see (the vacuum lines were still there from last time I cleaned the interior) so I didn't focus too much on them, however I still did the same process on them as with the two front seats.





The Passenger Seat: This was the seat that made me want to buy the product and try it out. There were a few stains (not sure from what ) and I was going to be happy if it even did anything for them.





I did the best I could to show the stains, though the camera couldn't pick it up as well as being there in person:

[billboard2001]

I began by taping off the passenger seat so I could try and get a good comparison of a cleaned vs dirty seat.



Using the pump dispenser, the product comes out in a fairly thick foam. I'd describe it as a thick lather from a shampoo, but not as thick as say shaving cream. It seemed like after about 5 seconds the freshly pumped foam started to fizzle out and go away. It has a slightly berry/fruity smell, which is quite pleasant as after you clean the seats your car will smell like this



The directions say to use a damp applicator to rub the product in with so I went with a microfiber towel. I chose white so that I could hopefully see if any dirt or grime was being pulled from the seats. Before I went all banana sandwich on the seats I tested it in an inconspicuous spot (per Sonax) to make sure it wouldn't negatively affect the color of the fabric. After I did that I moved on to the rest of the seat.



At first I tried applying the cleaner directly to the seat before using the microfiber towel to rub it in. I decided afterwards that the best application for me was to put it onto the microfiber and then rub onto the seat so that there wouldn't be such a heavy concentration of the product in one spot.



I followed Sonax's directions for application. "Simply spray dirty areas and gently rub with a damp sponge. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Rub again with a damp sponge or cloth, and let dry. Afterwards, vacuum or brush. Repeat application for stubborn stains or foul odors." I believe I let mine sit closer to ten minutes as I started working on the other seats.
After about ten minutes I came back to the passenger seat and re-rubbed the seat with the microfiber.

The 50-50 shot: You can see that the stain that was in the middle of the seat is a little less noticeable and it brought back a little bit of a darker blue. I did not use so much product that it saturated the seat, so I don't necessarily think that it was due to the fact that the seat was wet...



Passenger seat when I had finished the whole thing. You can still see the stain that was closer to the front of the seat but the ones in the middle and back had greatly diminished.

[billboard2001]

After I had finished all the seats, per Sonax's instructions, I came back and vacuumed them all, cause who doesn't like the freshly made vacuum lines
I let them dry before I drove it around, but when I came back 6 hours later to check on them they were pretty dry feeling.



After the seats were all finished I decided to try it on the driver's door card. There were a few areas that were pretty dirty, namely near the handle on the inside and near the door jamb. Though you may not be able to tell much of a difference, it cleaned up the spots that I wanted it to so I was pleased.

Before:





After:




So what I was most pleased with about the product is that I knew it was actually working. Remember the microfiber I started with? Here are the post seat-cleaning pictures with another white towel next to it for comparison's sake. Both sides were pretty nasty:





In hind sight I should have probably switched towels to help pull more dirt off, but oh well it made for a great comparison shot.
Product Synopsis:
I very much enjoyed being able to use this on my seats, knowing that it was made specifically to treat the Alcantara fabric. The smell was pleasant, not chemical-like or overpowering. I used about half of the bottle doing my whole car. It would be great for doing spot stains though Sonax recommends doing the whole area the stain is in so that you don't get any weird coloring spots in one place or another.
I plan on going back over the spots in the passenger seat to see if I can't remove any more of them, but as of right now I'm happy with the product's performance. I definitely recommend it and will be purchasing it again as needed.

Thanks for looking! Questions/Comments?

[knightmare]

nice review, love the blue color too.. looks like a product I might try

Fairbanks, Alaska ?? I used to live next door at Ft Wainwright......

[allenk4]

That pic of the MF says it all

Thanks for the review

I have always been leery of Alcantara

[billboard2001]

nice review, love the blue color too.. looks like a product I might try

Fairbanks, Alaska ?? I used to live next door at Ft Wainwright......

Thank you for your service!

I lived on Ft. Wainwright for 7 years :-) You may be able to remember how hard it is to keep a car clean up here

[jamesboyy]

Nice review those seat look excellent it's nice to have a dedicated product for alcantara

[Sicoupe]

Nice review, love the ride

[billboard2001]

Thank you guys. Yeah now I remember why I don't do write-ups as often; They're a lot of work!

[excelon]

Do you or anyone use 303 Fabric Guard With Alcantara?

I have a 2015 STi and was told that this product would be great to seal the seats to prevent the common stains