Quote:
Originally Posted by JBF650
Hi All, what a co-incidence I see this thread this morning. My steering wheel was perfect I thought ….. hardly looks used but due to my big mitts it was fairly 'shiny' . I have regularly conditioned my leather with natural creams that do not leave a 'shiny / greasy' finish on the leather upholstery in the car, rather it soaks in over a few days and leaves the Nappa leather looking natural with a soft satin look and feel. However, the steering wheel cops your hands and the oils and dirt that is inevitably on them and the patina tends to 'shine' the leather.
I don't mind the shine on the wheel actually.... I watched a video recently on YouTube of some guys cleaning their steering wheels up with gentle cleaners and warm water, the result brings the leather back to the 'new matt/satin' type of finish. I was intrigued …. so down I went to the garage with a very mild soap cleaner and warm water with a chamois. I used the chamois to massage the warm soapy cleaner into the steering wheel. Rinsing repeatedly in clean warm water, it didn't take long ( 5-10 mins ) and goodness the water in the bucket when I'd finished was quite dirty despite me being very OCD about keeping my car clean.
I let the wheel dry for a day and can report my steering wheel is now satin and matt again, it looks new! amazing result. Again, didn't mind it a bit shiny as I thought this was normal …. but now the thought of all that grease and dirt ingrained in the leather is sorta revolting huh! seems I'm going to have the do this type of cleaning every 6 months or so.
Ljohnson32, My wheel resembles your after pic now, satin without excessive shine, ironic that I'm not entirely sure I like it looking as satin as this however I appreciate how clean it actually is! 
A side question Mjposner, you mentioned previous owner 'damaged' or wore out the wheel on your car? how on earth do you think they did this? what is the damage ? scratched or tearing ? maybe rings did this? the car isn't that old... odd how people can be so rough isn't it...
'Rewrapping' an already thick M Steering wheel might make it too think... however seems like some knowledgeable peeps on this forum have given you some good suggestions.
let us know how it ends up! |
I do this regularly to restore the matte finish, but as you will soon discover once the wheel has been shiny it becomes shiny again fairly quickly.