ACHiPo289

I came across this article on automotive leather finishes and it made me wonder if Audi uses the urethane-coated leather or an aniline/Napa leather on the seating surfaces? What's the best product to care for the upholstery? I've heard great things about Leatherique, but it's pretty pricey, and probably doesn't do much for coated hides.

http://togwt1980.blogspot.com/2010/0...e-surface.html

Knuck

Quote from the German Audi A7 brochure with respect to S-Line seats
"Black interior with jet grey seams, sports seats with seat covers in perforated Alcantara/Leather and S line embossing, inlays in matt brushed aluminium." The standard leather seats are desribed as Milano leather.

It is not clear from this description if the entire seating surface is Alcantara or the perforated part. Nor does it say the type of coating used.

Boardwalk Audi, a Texas Audi dealership provide the following description fo the 2012 A6 which presumably uses the same seating materials:
"Audi is offering a wide range of decorative elements, colors and upholsteries at the launch of the A6. In addition to the standard and optional fabric upholsteries, the selection also includes the robust and durable Milano leather and the high-grade Valcona leather, whose varnish application only lightly covers the skin structure, allowing the material to breathe.
Another fine alternative is the Alcantara/leather combination. A leather package for the center console, the door armrests and the door pulls round out the selection.
The seat coverings are available in black, goa beige, nougat brown, titanium gray and velvet beige, the roof lining in black, silver and beige. The interior comes in black, gray, brown and beige hues. The sedan is fitted with micrometallic platinum inlays as standard; Audi also offers trims in Aluminum Trigon as an alternative. Two wood veneers – brown, open-pored fine grain ash and dark brown walnut – are available. An especially classy variant are the inlays in piano finish black.
A novel veneer of layered oak will be available soon. Using a technique developed especially by Audi, it is cut from a block in which extremely thin layers alternating between untreated and dark-stained wood lie one over the other. A special treatment at the end of the process produces a fine finish."

The S line sport package gives the interior a particularly elegant look. The sports seats are upholstered in Valcona leather; combinations of perforated Alcantara and leather are available as an alternative.

Audi USA's 2012 Media Kit states as follows:
"The Audi A7 is available with two types of leather – Milano or Valcona – which color-coordinate with the four-spoke steering wheel and transmission selector lever. Fine grain ash wood veneers are standard while dark brown walnut and brushed aluminum trims are optional. The seat coverings are available in black, titanium gray, nougat brown and velvet beige, while the headlining is available in black, lunar silver and silk beige."


Although not model specific, a mid 2009 Press Release states the following:
"Leather is a natural material. The unique exterior, the special haptics, the very unique smell – each piece of leather has very sensual properties. Audi handles this emotional material with kid gloves so that it can achieve its uncompromising quality objectives here as well.
The leather Audi uses comes from the natural cycle of agricultural animal husbandry. Every animal is different; every hide is unique. Audi only uses leather from male cows, which have larger and more homogenous hides than females. A large portion of the leather comes from southern Germany – the pastures there are almost entirely devoid of barbed wire fences on which the animals could injure themselves.
A hide has an area of roughly four to five and a half square meters, which the leather experts divide into three quality zones. The best piece is the back (croupon) – the grain is particularly even here and cracks or scars due to injuries are rare. The leather from the core of the back is used in all areas of a car seat where fine appearance and high robustness are most important – on the headrest, in the shoulder area, in the buttocks area and on the side bolsters and seatbacks on the entry side. The leather from the directly adjacent regions of the back are used in all other areas of the seat. Audi does not use the outermost region of the hide.
Tanning of the leather – a process comprising multiple steps – is performed without the use of chromium salts. In a pioneering move for the automobile industry, Audi stopped using these chemicals 15 years ago. They are still used today for shoe and garment leather.
Audi offers its customers an extremely wide selection of leather upholstery for all models. The experts from Quality Assurance divide their “leather pyramid” into three levels. It begins with the basic leather, which is embossed and finished (coated) on machines. The coating covers the hide structures and seals the pores, which makes the seat very durable. Less finishing is involved on the second level of the pyramid; the leather is more natural, breathes more and is softer – to paraphrase: more comfortable.
At the very top is pure aniline leather. There is no machine embossing or coating involved. The top grade of leather shows its natural surface and grain, thus it also requires a greater level of care. Unlike coated leather, it shows authentic characteristics of an animal hide in some areas, such as tiny healed wounds, light rough patches or mosquito bites. As a visible expression of natural processing, these underscore the authentic character of the material.
Regardless of the type of leather, Audi checks all grades of leather in its own laboratory. 45 tests are performed just to determine the durability of the leather. Mounted in automatic fixtures, the leather specimens have to show that they expand evenly, where they begin to tear, when they begin to develop wrinkles and how resistant they are to abrasion and fire.
How they react to exposure to extreme sunlight is just as important as the determination of water vapor permeability or the odor and emission tests.
Besides the classic types of leather, Audi also offers seats covered in a combination of leather and Alcantara in many models. The natural material is applied to the side bolsters and seat backs; the microfiber on the center areas. Audi is also constantly developing new leather grades, particular with respect to breathability, softness and natural appearance.
Strict standards apply not only for the selection of the leather, but also for its application and stitching. Due to their round and concave shapes, a great deal of effort is required to cover the seats – especially the sport seats – without wrinkling, but that is precisely what Audi quality demands. The seams on all seats and trim elements are exactly straight, even and parallel. This can be attributed in part to the special needles used in the sewing machine. The so-called cutting needles minimize the sawtooth effect in the cap seam region that would otherwise occur when the leather is drawn into the needle mark."

It would appear that the S-Line seats are made of Alcantara leather on the perforated section and Milano leather everywhere else. Although not clear, it is suggested that some form of a high absorbency protection is used.

Hopefully someone on the forum has specific and accurate knowledge of the leather types and coatings.

ACHiPo289

Wow, lot's of good information Knuck. Thanks!

Unfortunately it's still a bit mystifying. From a couple phrases it sounds like the "Valcona" leather is aniline or Napa leather, while "Milano" leather is the urethane-coated stuff, and that they definitely use different grades across the different models. Now I just have to figure out what type is in my car.