Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Friday March 29, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
NASIOC
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC General > Car Care & Detailing

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-03-2022, 01:04 AM   #1
jayydubbb
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 517340
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Philadelphia
Vehicle:
2007 WRX STI

Default Best way to clean very dirty STI seats?

I bought an 07 STI from an auction and it was obvious that the previous owner neglected to maintain or keep the car remotely clean in the last several years of his ownership. The drivers seat is heavily soiled, and the seat backing is blackened. What is the best way to clean alcantara that is this dirty? I have done the traditional Sonax alcantara cleaner and soft brush method, it didn't do much. I've seen some people say you can wet vac or steam clean alcantara safely and some people say you absolutely should not. Anyone have any luck with doing either?

https://gyazo.com/e814587c277f4d55e9e1315dfb868946
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
jayydubbb is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 02-03-2022, 04:27 PM   #2
alicestevens
*** Banned ***
 
Member#: 528650
Join Date: Feb 2022
Default

Pinnacle Black Label Suede-Soft Alcantara is the best from my experience.
I also read here some very good Midas reviews, the repair and service centre. Once in a while it is a good thing to make a professional cleaning and disinfection.
I try to do it once a year minimum or after some long trips.

Last edited by alicestevens; 02-19-2022 at 02:23 PM.
alicestevens is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 01:58 PM   #3
joessti
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 526919
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: South Carolina
Vehicle:
2018 STI
DGM

Default

I used Sonax Alcantara cleaner with little success in the past.
I just tried Dr. Beasley’s cleaner and protector, and I will never go back.
Amazing product.
joessti is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2022, 01:17 PM   #4
05EJ20
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 529321
Join Date: Mar 2022
Default

Sonax Alcantra cleaner and a good steamer, works wonders!
05EJ20 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2022, 05:48 PM   #5
rustedXwagon
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 505448
Join Date: Aug 2019
Default

Alcantara is very soft and cleaners may break down the material if they're too aggressive. It would be best to try warm water with a very gentle mix of cleaning solution and a soft brush or non abrasive steam cleaning attachment.
rustedXwagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2022, 02:49 AM   #6
Dannyspage
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 529617
Join Date: Apr 2022
Default

I have an 05 sti with oem blue seats that look super dirty! Any recommendations on a good cleaning solution?
Dannyspage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2022, 02:50 AM   #7
Dannyspage
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 529617
Join Date: Apr 2022
Default

I have an 05 sti with oem blue seats that look super dirty! Any recommendations on a good cleaning solution?
Dannyspage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2022, 09:26 PM   #8
nosdodnai
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 528896
Join Date: Feb 2022
Location: Eastern Australia
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX STi
Blue Black Mica

Default

I have just gone through this with my 02" STI.

It had seats that had gone black similar to yours.
I soaked them with a general purpose cleaner and water, then hit them with a brush attachment on the end of my drill.
I then wet vac'd them and repeated.
I can't post attachments at the moment, but before and after pictures are on my insta, @nosdodnai
nosdodnai is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2022, 06:50 PM   #9
Alaaddin
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 530997
Join Date: Aug 2022
Default

Any recommendations on a vacuum?
Alaaddin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2022, 05:07 PM   #10
DoubleOSevan
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 531782
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: SoCal
Vehicle:
1999 2.5RS Coupe
WRB

Default

This probably isn't the recommended approach, but I've used a carpet cleaner type of wet vacuum to clean seats before. If they're heavily soiled, you'll need to "mechanically" clean them before attempting any sort of chemical treatment. The wet vacuum got all the gunk out of my seats, then followed up with standard upholstery cleaning sprays (making sure they're safe for the specific material of your seats).
DoubleOSevan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2023, 10:10 PM   #11
iamdapro
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 427287
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: CA
Vehicle:
2016 WRX
WRB

Default

Ive gone with chemical guys over the years for their leather cleaner and fabric cleaners.
iamdapro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2023, 12:01 AM   #12
NutBucket
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 90804
Join Date: Jul 2005
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: SFV
Vehicle:
2021 Ascent
2012 Accord

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by DoubleOSevan View Post
This probably isn't the recommended approach, but I've used a carpet cleaner type of wet vacuum to clean seats before. If they're heavily soiled, you'll need to "mechanically" clean them before attempting any sort of chemical treatment. The wet vacuum got all the gunk out of my seats, then followed up with standard upholstery cleaning sprays (making sure they're safe for the specific material of your seats).
Why not? How else do you shampoo upholstery?
NutBucket is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2023, 03:34 PM   #13
benhatchins
*** Banned ***
 
Member#: 534856
Join Date: Jul 2023
Default

You mentioned that you have already tried Sonax Alcantara cleaner, but it didn't yield satisfactory results. In such cases, you might consider using a stronger Alcantara cleaner specifically designed for deep cleaning. Follow the product instructions carefully and test it on a small, inconspicuous area first to ensure compatibility and prevent any potential damage.
benhatchins is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.