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Re: LIVE Detailing Class - How to clean & protect Micro-Suede & Alcantara - 65 Carbon Corvette
Continued....
From CJPonyParts.com
What is Alcantara?
Alcantara is a synthetic suede product that rapidly became a go-to interior material for performance and luxury-oriented auto brands, used by manufacturers such as Porsche, Tesla, and Lamborghini. In recent years, it’s become clear that these microsuede materials are no longer exclusive to racing and ultra-luxury cars; they’ve been adopted by numerous vehicles across a wide spectrum of price points, including super-affordable models from Chinese companies. It’s so popular, in fact, that the company hasn’t been able to keep up with demand since early 2018.
Mustang GT350 with Alcantara Seats
The material is also used for many other applications, including boats, aircraft, clothing, furniture, and even mobile phone covers.
Alcantara is perhaps the best-known synthetic suede product on the market, but competitors do exist, with virtually indistinguishable products. Other brands of similar microsuede include Ultrasuede, used by several car companies, including Mazda and Dodge. Dinamica is another type, which has been used by Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Chevy, and Ford. Ford brands their use of Dinamica by referring to the manufacturing company itself, Miko, using the term “Miko suede”. In recent times, Ford has been adding Alcantara inserts to certain models in their performance segment, such as the Mustang.
Alcantara vs. Suede
Alcantara is a registered trademark of Alcantara S.p.A., Italy. The company prides itself on being environmentally sustainable and tout their product as certified 100% carbon-neutral. The exact “recipe” for the material is a secret, but the general make-up is a blend of an estimated 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane. Alcantara is only authentic if it is created by the Alcantara company in Italy. Though it’s sometimes called “Alcantara suede,” it is a completely synthetic product that is not actually related to real suede, despite the resemblance in texture.
Although suede has been popularized in American culture and fashion (think of Elvis Presley's famous cover of the song “Blue Suede Shoes”), the word itself originates from the French “gants de Suede,” meaning “gloves from Sweden.” Using the underside of an animal’s skin (often lamb), the softer, more delicate feel compared to other fabrics like leather originally led to it being used and marketed for women’s gloves.
Dark Brown Suede Gloves
The origins of Alcantara and Ultrasuede began in racing applications, as the lightweight, flame-retardant material was used in various parts of the interior. Alcantara’s similar feel to suede meant that it quickly moved into the luxury goods market.
There are many advantages that synthetic microsuede has compared to natural suede. It is much cheaper to produce. It is also lighter, more stain-resistant, and more durable than natural suede. Another big positive is that the material does not require the use of animal by-products, unlike traditional suede. Many enjoy Alcantara’s smooth feel on the steering wheel, sporty yet luxurious good looks, and appreciate that it doesn’t get as hot as leather does in the summer sun (nor as cold in the winter).
Others are more critical, decrying the material for being too sensitive to the oils of human skin and difficult to clean. Another unfortunate aspect is that being touched can make it appear mottled or unsmooth. Regular, proper cleaning should help to alleviate these issues (most of the time). It’s worth noting that these critiques apply to both natural suede and synthetic microsuede...those who are against their use in cars typically prefer leather or a more traditional cloth surface. Finally, detractors note that the material is only perceived as luxurious...in reality, it can be 10 times cheaper than leather to produce. Although viewed as a premium product, that perception may change as cheaper cars begin to use Alcantara and other microsuedes.
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Re: LIVE Detailing Class - How to clean & protect Micro-Suede & Alcantara - 65 Carbon Corvette
Reminder - this LIVE class takes place at 3:00pm today.
Yancy says he's going to try to dual-broadcast on both Facebook and YOUTUBE!
And.... maybe on the forum!
Stay tuned....
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Super Member
Re: LIVE Detailing Class - How to clean & protect Micro-Suede & Alcantara - 65 Carbon Corvette
The time slot was perfect (for me, hehe).
I tuned in and watched during my lunch break.
YES, the Microsoft keyboards with the Alcantara do get grimey! and yes, I have used the Sonax products on it
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Re: LIVE Detailing Class - How to clean & protect Micro-Suede & Alcantara - 65 Carbon Corvette
The YouTube version of this video is now shared in the first post of this thread.
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Re: LIVE Detailing Class - How to clean & protect Micro-Suede & Alcantara - 65 Carbon Corvette
Originally Posted by scrub-user
I have suede cases and have always wanted them to stay clean, bright and beautiful. I have always been tormented by the question of how to keep my covers intact.
Found a cool suede cleaning guide leather-toolkits.com/reviews/best-suede-cleaners/ found a lot of interesting materials for myself and cleaning methods.
Like a lot of spammers, you start out asking questions, sharing your experience by replying to other people's threads.
Then you start including links to other commercial websites.
And now you insert a link to a site that is also in your Sig Line?
Looks like pure Spam to me?
All anyone has to do is click on your forum name and a window will pop-open with three links,
View Profile
Private Message
View Forum Posts <--
It's this last link, View Forum Posts. When I click on it, a list of all your past posts pull up and as I start to go through them - lo-and-behold, you're including links to outside commercial websites.
I believe this is the definition of Spam. Use this social media platform to send traffic to sites you're affiliated with?
What say you?
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