MBTC

Hi,

My Alacantara is light colored (I guess it is on all 2010 and prior, they now offer it in black which I wish I had).

Last night as I was going to toss the cigarette ashes out the drivers window, the tip touched the cloth and left a black, slightly charred smudge on the Alacantara that's around the window.

Is there something I can put on it that will either dye the black cloth out a little bit, making it less noticeable, or cover it up?

I would think this is kind of a common problem others have figured something out for.

MBTC

Just an update, I've found something pretty effective I thought I would document here.

First, I took a Q-Tip and dipped it in Clorox Cleaner (note this is the household cleaner which is diluted bleach, it is not full strength bleach), and applied it several times, letting it dry each time before the next. This helped get rid of the black/charred color. Then I got a very small (but sharp) knife and began very lightly scraping the top of the burn, to remove the burnt/damaged cloth and reveal the newer cloth underneath. When you do this, the burnt material sort of crumbles off like a fine powder. After that, I reapplied the cleaner with the Q-Tip.

It's not back to brand new condition but its 1000x less noticeable, and doesn't look anywhere near as bad as a black mark, and it's not bugging me anymore.

Now I know what to do, because I have a feeling I will make this mistake and touch the tip of the marlboro to the alacantara cloth in roughly the same place... lol..
I know, most of you are saying just stop smoking. It's not a habit with me, I smoke about 3 cigs on Friday and 3 on Saturday and none whatsoever during the week; I just never got the addiction, probably because I didn't start until my mid 30s. I do it simply because its enjoyable, and since I do it so infrequently I have no real reason to quit now.

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

you should try posting in the the automotive care section. but as far as i know, theres no real way of cleaning that alacantara material. anything that touches it seems to destroy it haha

6Sp33d

i have the same problem. was thinking of wrapping it but will try this now.

MBTC

Also, since the little panel by the drivers window is likely the only place to get smudged, it looks like a small enough piece to replace after a while. Any idea how I could find out how much that would cost replace aside from the obvious (having dealer look at it)?

MBTC

One thing I forgot to mention, the first thing I did was spray some Oxyclean spray on it and blot it a bit. This mostly just removes the black ashes on top of the burn, and I'm not sure it matters that its oxygen bleach, water might have done the same thing. You want to be careful not to smear the black ashes into parts that they didn't already exist, because then you will have more affected area to try to bleach, then scrape. I should say scrape or sand, because I think sanding it off with a dremel would be effective too, but be careful if you use a Dremel, the material feels too fragile for anything but the lightest grinding. That's one reason I used a knife (a razor might work too if used for shaving only).

It will never look as good as new but I am thinking about pricing replacement of that piece of alacantara by the window. I wonder if we could just get the black pieces and replace both sides (might look odd since the roof is white).

IStnr

Here they are at Swell: http://is.sewellparts.com/oem-catalo...S350-2007.html

I couldn't find a price there, but looking elsewhere, ~$60/each.

IStnr

trim piece at mylexparts

MBTC

Thanks, is it something I can install myself without messing with the dash? I don't have physical access to the car at the moment.

MBTC

I worked on this smudge a bit more this evening. I had the Dremel all hooked up and ready to go, then it occurred to me it is probably too strong a tool for this material, so I got one of my girlfriends nail files and used that instead. It worked wonders, now you have to be looking hard for the burn to see its there. Maybe not the solution for deep burns but I think the area will get these glancing smudges more than deep burns. I still recommend the above steps first, because the more of the black charred area you remove prior to filing, the cleaner it will look after filing. Since I know it will happen again, I will just keep this technique in mind until it comes time to sell the car or I get tired of looking at multiple filed spots, then I will buy the trip piece IStnr posted.

Can anyone answer my question about what is required to install that trim piece? Does the dash need to come off?