I recently purchased a 2000 986 and went right to work restoring and upgrading the interior.
First on my list was the armrests.
After trial and error, I discovered that rubbing alcohol, a stiff bristle scrub brush and few paper towels and in 15 minutes time, the soft coating was completely removed.
It looked great but I wanted to cover them with leather.
Finished both sides today and am very happy with the results.