40th Interior Materials (suede? alcantara?)

white_wolf · 12-08-2012, 01:35 PM

I got me a 40th! Picked it up on Thursday...and have been loving every minute of it..except for 2 things.

1) The exhaust it came with is mind numbingly loud (but easily fixed).

2) The interior has not been well taken care of. The seats are dirty.. and the door inserts are dirtiest on the driver side (I'm guessing he rested his arm on that spot a lot... and never cleaned it)

I've been researching cleaning procedures/tips/tricks. I'm only unclear on what material our seats are made of. Is it suede?..or alcantara?

Bboyeruga · 12-09-2012, 03:04 PM

The interior is the same as other 370z Touring editions, so you should find a lot of good info in the Interior/Exterior care forums.

The only difficult thing is the red color. Gotta be careful with what you use.

TheGreatOne · 12-09-2012, 06:52 PM

apparently just water works well if u are cleaning the alcantra often

the side panels are a pita to keep clean, congrats on your purchase

white_wolf · 12-09-2012, 07:02 PM

After a lot more searching... I'm pretty sure the material is Alcantara.. not suede.

I cleaned the door panels last night (I'll upload pics when I get home) and they look leaps and bounds better. Almost new(?)... I can't be certain, I've never seen the 40th when new.

I used a 3 clean terry cloth rags; 1 for just water, 1 for drying/dabbing, and 1 for the cleaner. For the cleaner I mixed a 1:6 solution of Woolite (for dark clothes) and water. It worked amazingly well, my rags were brown from the dirt...but... NO RED!

I still have the seats to do, but overall I'm happy with my results.

LMBmikeZ · 12-09-2012, 09:36 PM

yep your right the material is alcantara anywhere in the vehicle where it looks/feels "suede like" here's a link to there website for maintenance instructions, I have fallowed them for cleaning and it came out great, however I never let it get very dirty in the first place

Alcantara® extraordinary every day

white_wolf · 01-12-2013, 12:44 PM

*Update*

For the alcantara portions I used a 1:6 Woolite solution, and for the leather I used Leatherique.

I cleaned the alcantara and leather on seperate days. This is how I cleaned my interior...

Alcantara:
- 3 terry cloth rags; 1 for drying, 1 for warm water, 1 for woolite solution
- 1:6 Woolite solution (I used woolite for dark clothes... if that matters)
- Spray bottle for woolite
- 2 Buckets with warm water (changed when it got too dirty)

1) I wringed out the warm water rag and began wiping/light scrubbing the alcantara
*rinse rag in bucket 1*
2) Spray woolite solution onto 2nd rag and began light scrubbing the alcantara
*rinse rag in bucket 2*
3) ^ repeat steps until your rag doesn't pick up dirt... but always ending with the water rag... not sure if leaving woolite residue is a good idea
4) I dried the seats with the 3rd rag whenever I felt the seat got to saturated

Leather:
- Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil
- Leatherique Pristine Clean
- Blue painters tape
*Our seats don't need a lot. I bought an 8oz set from eBay for $36*

1) Taped off all the alcantara on the seats
2) Followed instructions that came with Leatherique
- Rubbed Rejuvenator Oil generously onto seats
- Left my car out on in the hot Hawaiian sun for 5hrs *you can use a hair dryer to warm up your cabin as well*
- Wiped oil and dirt off the seats with Pristine clean
- Stare in amazement at how the leather now looks

FairladyZ · 01-12-2013, 01:51 PM

Wow that looks disgusting

Yours looks amazing after cleaning

Wiggins3377 · 01-12-2013, 02:28 PM

Wow great work! I have some issues around the handle of the door with discoloration. However I wonder if its just a little dirty. I'll be sure to try your method.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

onzedge · 01-13-2013, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by white_wolf

*Update*

( Click to show/hide )

For the alcantara portions I used a 1:6 Woolite solution, and for the leather I used Leatherique.

I cleaned the alcantara and leather on seperate days. This is how I cleaned my interior...

Alcantara:
- 3 terry cloth rags; 1 for drying, 1 for warm water, 1 for woolite solution
- 1:6 Woolite solution (I used woolite for dark clothes... if that matters)
- Spray bottle for woolite
- 2 Buckets with warm water (changed when it got too dirty)

1) I wringed out the warm water rag and began wiping/light scrubbing the alcantara
*rinse rag in bucket 1*
2) Spray woolite solution onto 2nd rag and began light scrubbing the alcantara
*rinse rag in bucket 2*
3) ^ repeat steps until your rag doesn't pick up dirt... but always ending with the water rag... not sure if leaving woolite residue is a good idea
4) I dried the seats with the 3rd rag whenever I felt the seat got to saturated

Leather:
- Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil
- Leatherique Pristine Clean
- Blue painters tape
*Our seats don't need a lot. I bought an 8oz set from eBay for $36*

1) Taped off all the alcantara on the seats
2) Followed instructions that came with Leatherique
- Rubbed Rejuvenator Oil generously onto seats
- Left my car out on in the hot Hawaiian sun for 5hrs *you can use a hair dryer to warm up your cabin as well*
- Wiped oil and dirt off the seats with Pristine clean
- Stare in amazement at how the leather now looks

Nice work!!!

Bboyeruga · 01-13-2013, 09:54 AM

Wow. I might just do this today. Great job!

Zenmaster · 01-18-2013, 09:22 PM

opt for the alpaca skin seat option

LMBmikeZ · 01-19-2013, 10:37 PM

great job!

Mine was never that dark/dirty on the door handle, but I had the same like new results after cleaning and love it! At first I was really disappointed to have it discolouring so fast since I had bought the Z new, but it cleaned up great!

LafitteZ · 02-01-2013, 12:31 PM

The interior of the anni is gorgous but it really doent hold up well under daily driving. I had my doors and seat rewrapped in a better leather and did away with the suade all together. Very hard color to match things with to. You did a fantastic job cleaning tho man. Hope you enjoy the anni as much as the rest of us.

nismonster · 02-01-2013, 03:03 PM

I've been wanting to clean my persimmon door inserts but have been too afraid to try abrasive chemicals! Thanks so much for your pictures and explanation! It should be a DIY

shika805 · 02-01-2013, 05:28 PM

This should be stickied! Great write up. Going to do this soon!

12-08-2012, 01:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
white_wolf Base Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 100 Drives: 40th Anni. Ed. 370z Rep Power: 14	40th Interior Materials (suede? alcantara?) I got me a 40th! Picked it up on Thursday...and have been loving every minute of it..except for 2 things. 1) The exhaust it came with is mind numbingly loud (but easily fixed). 2) The interior has not been well taken care of. The seats are dirty.. and the door inserts are dirtiest on the driver side (I'm guessing he rested his arm on that spot a lot... and never cleaned it) I've been researching cleaning procedures/tips/tricks. I'm only unclear on what material our seats are made of. Is it suede?..or alcantara? Zamfield likes this. __________________ 1998 Honda Prelude - Sold (and is sometimes missed) 2006 Infiniti M35 S - Sold (not missed...at all) 2010 Nissan 370z - Current

12-09-2012, 03:04 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bboyeruga Base Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Atlanta Posts: 44 Drives: Nissan 370Z 40th Ann Rep Power: 13	The interior is the same as other 370z Touring editions, so you should find a lot of good info in the Interior/Exterior care forums. The only difficult thing is the red color. Gotta be careful with what you use. __________________ Nissan 40th Anniversary 370Z - Build # 127 / 1000 - Produced December 24th 2009 in Tochigi, Japan

12-09-2012, 06:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
TheGreatOne A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Montreal, Canada Age: 46 Posts: 1,980 Drives: E60 BMW M5 Rep Power: 21	apparently just water works well if u are cleaning the alcantra often the side panels are a pita to keep clean, congrats on your purchase __________________ 2017 SUBARU STI 2008 E60 M5 - SOLD 2010 40th Anniversary 370Z - SOLD (and missing her)

12-09-2012, 07:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
white_wolf Base Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 100 Drives: 40th Anni. Ed. 370z Rep Power: 14	After a lot more searching... I'm pretty sure the material is Alcantara.. not suede. I cleaned the door panels last night (I'll upload pics when I get home) and they look leaps and bounds better. Almost new(?)... I can't be certain, I've never seen the 40th when new. I used a 3 clean terry cloth rags; 1 for just water, 1 for drying/dabbing, and 1 for the cleaner. For the cleaner I mixed a 1:6 solution of Woolite (for dark clothes) and water. It worked amazingly well, my rags were brown from the dirt...but... NO RED! I still have the seats to do, but overall I'm happy with my results. FLYZ, futurez and zefaulter like this. __________________ 1998 Honda Prelude - Sold (and is sometimes missed) 2006 Infiniti M35 S - Sold (not missed...at all) 2010 Nissan 370z - Current

12-09-2012, 09:36 PM	#5 (permalink)
LMBmikeZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 12,237 Drives: 40th Rep Power: 10350	yep your right the material is alcantara anywhere in the vehicle where it looks/feels "suede like" here's a link to there website for maintenance instructions, I have fallowed them for cleaning and it came out great, however I never let it get very dirty in the first place Alcantara® extraordinary every day TheGreatOne likes this. __________________ CUSTOM NISMO \| BERK \| H&R \| STANCE \| SPL everything \| EVO-R \| 34 Setrab \| WHITELINE \| Redline \| Carkitcompany \| Zspeed \| UpRev \| SEIBON

01-12-2013, 12:44 PM	#6 (permalink)
white_wolf Base Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 100 Drives: 40th Anni. Ed. 370z Rep Power: 14	Update For the alcantara portions I used a 1:6 Woolite solution, and for the leather I used Leatherique. I cleaned the alcantara and leather on seperate days. This is how I cleaned my interior... Alcantara: - 3 terry cloth rags; 1 for drying, 1 for warm water, 1 for woolite solution - 1:6 Woolite solution (I used woolite for dark clothes... if that matters) - Spray bottle for woolite - 2 Buckets with warm water (changed when it got too dirty) 1) I wringed out the warm water rag and began wiping/light scrubbing the alcantara rinse rag in bucket 1 2) Spray woolite solution onto 2nd rag and began light scrubbing the alcantara rinse rag in bucket 2 3) ^ repeat steps until your rag doesn't pick up dirt... but always ending with the water rag... not sure if leaving woolite residue is a good idea 4) I dried the seats with the 3rd rag whenever I felt the seat got to saturated Leather: - Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil - Leatherique Pristine Clean - Blue painters tape Our seats don't need a lot. I bought an 8oz set from eBay for $36 1) Taped off all the alcantara on the seats 2) Followed instructions that came with Leatherique - Rubbed Rejuvenator Oil generously onto seats - Left my car out on in the hot Hawaiian sun for 5hrs you can use a hair dryer to warm up your cabin as well - Wiped oil and dirt off the seats with Pristine clean - Stare in amazement at how the leather now looks kensin0429, LMBmikeZ, TheGreatOne and 18 others like this. __________________ 1998 Honda Prelude - Sold (and is sometimes missed) 2006 Infiniti M35 S - Sold (not missed...at all) 2010 Nissan 370z - Current

01-12-2013, 01:51 PM	#7 (permalink)
FairladyZ Track Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 850 Drives: 2012 370Z TRNG SPRT Rep Power: 17	Wow that looks disgusting Yours looks amazing after cleaning DEpointfive0 and zefaulter like this. Last edited by FairladyZ; 01-12-2013 at 02:31 PM.

01-12-2013, 02:28 PM	#8 (permalink)
Wiggins3377 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 3,236 Drives: 40th 370 Rep Power: 77	Wow great work! I have some issues around the handle of the door with discoloration. However I wonder if its just a little dirty. I'll be sure to try your method. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ AccuAir/ AirRex/ Amuse/ Bride Japan/ Carbon Fiber Element/ Carbon Signal/ Evo-R/ NRG/ Project Kics/ Samco/ Shine Auto/ SPC/ SPL/ Stance/ Stillen/ Takata/ Top Secret/ Work

01-13-2013, 09:54 AM	#10 (permalink)
Bboyeruga Base Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Atlanta Posts: 44 Drives: Nissan 370Z 40th Ann Rep Power: 13	Wow. I might just do this today. Great job! __________________ Nissan 40th Anniversary 370Z - Build # 127 / 1000 - Produced December 24th 2009 in Tochigi, Japan

01-18-2013, 09:22 PM	#11 (permalink)
Zenmaster Base Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: North Carolina Posts: 68 Drives: 10 370z M6 40th Rep Power: 14	opt for the alpaca skin seat option

01-19-2013, 10:37 PM	#12 (permalink)
LMBmikeZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 12,237 Drives: 40th Rep Power: 10350	great job! Mine was never that dark/dirty on the door handle, but I had the same like new results after cleaning and love it! At first I was really disappointed to have it discolouring so fast since I had bought the Z new, but it cleaned up great! __________________ CUSTOM NISMO \| BERK \| H&R \| STANCE \| SPL everything \| EVO-R \| 34 Setrab \| WHITELINE \| Redline \| Carkitcompany \| Zspeed \| UpRev \| SEIBON

02-01-2013, 12:31 PM	#13 (permalink)
LafitteZ Track Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: lafitte, la Posts: 698 Drives: 40th anniversary Rep Power: 15	The interior of the anni is gorgous but it really doent hold up well under daily driving. I had my doors and seat rewrapped in a better leather and did away with the suade all together. Very hard color to match things with to. You did a fantastic job cleaning tho man. Hope you enjoy the anni as much as the rest of us.

02-01-2013, 03:03 PM	#14 (permalink)
nismonster Base Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 177 Drives: 09 NISMO #349 Rep Power: 14	I've been wanting to clean my persimmon door inserts but have been too afraid to try abrasive chemicals! Thanks so much for your pictures and explanation! It should be a DIY __________________ SOLD 2009 MB Nismo # 349 \| Persimmon Touring Interior \| Whiteline Diff Bushings \| ZSpeed HD CSC \| SPL Rear Camber Links\| Michelin AS3 \| WickedCAS \| JL 13tw5-3 \| JL JX1000.1 \| Pioneer AVIC-X910BT

02-01-2013, 05:28 PM	#15 (permalink)
shika805 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Santa Barbara, CA Posts: 491 Drives: 40th Z, 71' 240z Rep Power: 20	This should be stickied! Great write up. Going to do this soon! TGreen likes this. __________________ 1971 Datsun 240z, 2010 40th Anniversary Z Build #541

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