Alcantara Care

Suede is a real animal-hide product, the napped underside of leather. Alcantara is fully synthetic, a polyester and polyurethane blend. In modern cars, steering wheels, seat bolsters, and headliners that look like suede are almost always Alcantara. This distinction matters for cleaning: a pH-neutral interior cleaner such as Koch Chemie Pol Star is safe on Alcantara, whereas suede would require different care. Never treat Alcantara as genuine suede.

Use Koch Chemie Pol Star diluted 1:10 to 1:20 and spray it onto the Alcantara surface. Agitate gently with a microfibre scrubber pad or a soft leather cleaning brush. Wipe up the excess with a clean microfibre cloth, then repeat and this time blot up as much liquid as possible. Do not rub dry, only blot. Allow to air dry fully. If a wet vac is available, use it to extract after the final pass. On coloured Alcantara, do not use a strong stain remover as it will lighten the colour permanently.

Do not use a strong stain remover on coloured Alcantara or faux suede as it will lighten the material permanently. For biological stains such as bodily fluids, use an enzyme-based cleaner first to break down the proteins, then follow up with Koch Chemie Pol Star at 1:20 as the extraction product. This combination cleans the stain without stripping the colour from the material.

Use a delicate soft brush to loosen the fibres and vacuum immediately after. This is more effective than trying to pick or pull hair from the surface directly. For rubber gloves on standard fabric surfaces, rubbing across the material creates static that clumps hair together, but on Alcantara a soft brush is the safer approach as it avoids disturbing or matting the delicate pile.

Yes. Koch Chemie Pol Star is suitable for Alcantara, leather, plastic trim, rubber mats, and fabric mats in the same session. It is particularly effective at removing makeup and sunscreen from Alcantara surfaces, outperforming general APCs at a weaker dilution and with less rubbing required. Do not use it on screens or piano black panels as it will leave residue that is difficult to remove from those surfaces.