Alcantara wheel cleaning

[NZ_M3]

So my recent acquisition came with a fairly grubby alcantara steering wheel.

I was originally thinking about just selling it, but knowing that I have successfully cleaned quite a few of these I decided to give this one a go again. Not the worst one I have come across.

condition before clean - this corner was the clean side lol!
http://www.cslregister.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=289&pictureid=3209

decided to do the top half first to show the difference

post cleaning first stage
http://www.cslregister.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=289&pictureid=3210
http://www.cslregister.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=289&pictureid=3211

contrast top (cleaned) and bottom (original state)
http://www.cslregister.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=289&pictureid=3212

[alexk]

At least me cannot see the photos Tom.

[Mike R]

Me neither....

[CraigMillwardCroft]

Me neither....

+1

[Bounce]

+2 but can guess what it looks like mate lol;)

[NZ_M3]

Sorry folks photobucket must have gone down after I made the post.

Will rehost the photos!!

[select]

Looking great Tom, curious to hear what method you used.
I think my seats could use a bit of a refresh.

Last year when i cleaned my wheel i simply used a tooth brush and a moist towel. That works as long as the fibers are still intact and not became a knotted mess.

I've linked a youtube howto some time ago, works like a charm, just costs time and a few funny looks from civilians. :birdman:

[NZ_M3]

The solution isn't that important to be honest.

Here in this instance I used a generic sneaker foam cleaner that you can buy from most shoe stores - these work great at lifting dirt. I've also tried dedicated alcantara cleaners to a self made warm soapy water solution (with real soap flakes) and they all work the same to be honest and give much the same results.

It's actually what you use to apply the solution and how you wipe off the dirt that matters and dictate what sort of results you get.

I have found tooth brush to be too harsh on the Alcantara ... remember Alcantara is just polyester based fibers, so it is actually quite resilient if you use the right tools to clean it. Treat it like a piece of fabric.

The way I do it is to really soak the fabric before I lift the dirt from it. If you rub it dry it will pile. Use a tooth brush and it will pile. Rub in a circular motion it will pile. Do so in straight lines in both directions and it won't pile or knot.

The best results I get is actually to use baby wipes ... dried out ones to be exact, and then wet it in the solution you want to apply. Blot onto steering wheel quite a few times till it is reasonably wet, and use another to wipe and rub and take as much dirt as you can out of the Alcantara - Yes I said "rub" .. the baby wipes will pile up before the alcantara will and when it does change it. The key here is to change it as often as you can.

In this steering wheel it took me about 10 minutes and about 15 baby wipes to get it to that state. Quite a quick process actually.

This method of course doesn't work on all the steering wheels. You have to look at the condition of the fabric. If it's is already piled this method will lift the dirty but you will need to shave the excess piling afterwards to get it looking good again. When Alcantara fibers starts to unravel it's a bit of s slippery slope but with a bit of patience and a good shaver you can get it looking pretty new again.

Hope this helps : )

[AlexGTT]

Ah, the days when I was caught shaving my steering wheel by the people next door. They would cross the street to avoid me after that. :hahaha:

[glendog74]

Ah, the days when I was caught shaving my steering wheel by the people next door. They would cross the street to avoid me after that. :hahaha:

:hahaha::hahaha::hahaha:

[select]

According to your pics the fabric became quite flat, it surprises me that you were able to lift it again without using a toothbrush. Because i was told rubbing the towel on it will just clean the fabric and not lift it.

Interesting method, will definitely give it a shot this winter. Thanks.
Do you have experience with the seats? Mine do have some nasty spots :bigcry:

[GregorFuk]

I use a Kiwi shoe polish brush. A clean one obviously.

[NZ_M3]

According to your pics the fabric became quite flat, it surprises me that you were able to lift it again without using a toothbrush. Because i was told rubbing the towel on it will just clean the fabric and not lift it.


Alcantara is flat when brand new.

Left is the cleaned wheel without any brushing, right side is a brand new genuine CSL steering wheel never used fresh out of the box.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/1CC4FE03-629E-4A29-B7AA-6DC01B132545_zps46pagpvt.jpg

As I said, the way this works is the baby wipes' piling before the alcantara and as it does so it lifts the fibers.

I have had success with the seats also with the same method.

The best results I have had are the baby wipes which are full cotton that are actually dry out of the packet not wetted ones.

I might do a video if I get some time. But I was rubbing pretty hard out with this steering wheel as I was in a bit of a hurry when doing it lol!!

[Mike R]

Which make of baby wipes come dry - is it world wide brand or just one available to NZ :)?

I think you should do an instructional video, as I would love to get my wheel as good as that :) :blalalala:.

[select]

I have found a guide which covers both techniques http://www.autofinesse.co.uk/alcantara-cleaning-guide/.
Funnily enough it also uses a CSL as example :beer: