How to clean microsuede interior

[GearGambler]

I wrote this up specifically for cleaning my Corbeau LG1 seats. This same method should work on cloth seats, carpet, whatever.

How to clean microsuede:

Background: Microsuede is tightly woven polyester. unlike regular suede, its way easier to clean.

The first thing to do is to check with the manufacturer and find out their cleaning recommendations. Corbeau says to use mild soap, warm water. Thats it.

The key here just one thing: you DON'T want the seats to get wet! water is the enemy! let the terry towel, brush / solution do the work for you.

Here is what you will need:

5 gallon bucket with about two gallons of HOT water in it. It will cool over time.

Dawn dish detergent, just a few drops. This is added after you fill the bucket.

TIDE powdered laundry detergent. Sprinkle just a bit into the bucket. not a lot, its concentrated! a little goes a long way

Terry hand towel - you will use this to clean the seat - prefer white so you can see when it gets dirty.

2 BIG terry towels - you will use this to dry the area you just cleaned, as well as your hands before you touch the seats. Second one is if the first one gets damp.

small container - i used a leftover plastic one that some sandwich meat comes in

small scrub brush - like the ones you would use to get your hands clean

At this point, the solution in the bucket should be warm / hot and have the dish and laundry detergent in it. Put the hand towel in there and mix it all up.

In the small plastic container, sprinkle some laundry detergent. put just a few drops of water in there so it makes a sort of runny paste. you will use this solution and the hand brush to hit the heavily stained spots.

method: you are going to work one section at a time. for example: start with the left seat bolster when you are satisfied with that or you feel its getting too wet, move on to the right seat boslter. then to the seatback bolster left side, then the right side... then the headrest, then the back, etc. it is WAY easier if the seat is out of the car.

pick your section. use the hand brush and hit any heavily soiled spots there may be. if not heavy stained spots GREAT, one less step. if yes, dip just the tips of the bristles into the paste solution. hit the spot on the seat - dont press hard and use a circular motion. DONT get the brush too wet, as minimal amount of water / solution as possible. Patience here is key - you want the solution to have some time to work but you DONT want it to dry. 30-45 seconds should be good. now take the terry hand towel and wring it out as much as possible. it should almost be dry. use that to wipe down the entire area. When that terry towel gets too soiled, fold it over to use a clean side. when you run out of clean quarters, or it gets too dry, then back into the bucket it goes. rinse it out but leave it in there. the solution will clean that one too! now use the big towel to rub the area you just worked and dry it out a bit. even if you're not satisfied with how it came out, let it dry and move onto the next area. you can come back once it dries out a bit. Repeat for each section. by the time you get back to the first section, it should look great. one more thing to note - the gray / light color microsuede gets dark when it gets wet. as it dries out, the color will return to normal - dont get worried!

by the time i was done with the first seat, the water was trashed. go make a new bucket before you start the second seat! Feel free to hit me up with any questions!

[ttocs]

Are you past the point of dragging your fingers across it here/there to enjoy them yet or is it still fun just to touch them? Hell had mine going on almost a year now and still like to see the finger marks in the suede.... Not sure about your part about it being easy to clean though. It can stain and get down far enough into the material to make it hard to get out if you don't catch it. Best advice I can give on suede or micro-suede is to scotchguard it prior to install. I use to work at a place that sold furniture and had a really bad-assed guard that they put on their furniture for a price of course. They use to demo it by pouring a cup of red/orange cool-aid on a white couch, would let it soak in for a few mins and they with a paper towel just dabbing the material it would all come off. It almost make the furniture look like it was waxed as the liquid would sit on top of it. So I put that on my seats and have been just super paranoid about getting into the car with anything in my back pockets or a dirty ass from sitting on the ground since my inserts are light grey. a few months ago at a show I was using some quick detail spray and someone came up to ask me something, can't remember what but I put the bottle down on the seats and got into a conversation for a while. I am not sure how long till I noticed that some of the pink-colored detail spray had come out of the tip and dripped down onto the light colored insert of course, couldn't land on the black leather.... I was about to scream/cry when I saw them as I really love those seats(as I am sure gambler understands) and was kinda amazed that that after drying into the material that with a damp rag that I was able to wipe it right off with nothing left to see. There are a number of different treatments like this good for both leather and cloth. If you invest into a set of seats like gampbler or my leather/suede GT2 corbeau that you want to keep nice the first thing I would recommend would be some kind of treatment like this.

[GearGambler]

I'm definitely not past that point of running my fingers across it. I catch myself just checking out the passenger seat every now and then. Couldn't be happier with the LG1s.

When it comes to suede - which is a form of leather - And leather for that matter, I can see treating it. I've tried to clean my girl's UGG boots. what a pain. next set got treated and the treatment worked awesome!

Microsuede is a polyester though - which is a synthetic resin. I would think that would be more resilient to stain than the natural suede, which is animal hide / natural fiber / leather derivative.

[ttocs]

You cleaned your girlfriends ugg boots? Go get your man-card from her we will need to tear a corner off of it Scotchguards are cheap and a lot easier then cleaning later. I covered my headliner with black microsuede last year and I love it but I have to remind myself to look up and enjoy it. And then invariably I have too touch it. Not sure what it is exactly but its like a high-class bubble wrap that I just can't keep from touching....

Edited August 24, 2013 by ttocs