Originally Posted by
Surly
This is an interesting question of mine too because the recommendations and common practices out there seem to be polar opposite. On one hand there`s all kinds of posts, articles and videos preaching DON`T this, that and everything else or you`ll damage the top coat and get blotchy areas. Then there`s the other camp where they tell you that you`ll be "surprised" by how what looks like damage is just more dirt - grab a MF and really scrub at it blah blah, Magic Eraser (eek!), blah blah. I`ve watched videos where people lay into a car with a wheel identical to mine, five times the miles in neglect, aggressively clean, and it comes out PERFECT - like the day it was new.
I find it curious that any steering wheel I`ve had that came into my possession perfect, stays perfect and hardly needed any cleaning but a rather high percentage of leather steering wheels with previous owners has damage which I`m unable to minimize with any technique. On the contrary, the dirt and sticky sludge build up usually improves their appearance. To my untrained eye, it seems that the damage I see is not as a result of cleaning attempts. A lot of people must sweat sulfuric acid, or use handcream with lye - I just don`t get it.
If you`ve got a wheel in undamaged condition, IMO just keep it clean with warm water on a decent MF towel. Put the damp towel in your hand, grab the wheel and twist working all the way around. If your coating is intact, you`re extremely unlikely to cause any damage, and water+agitation will get most stuff off.
Something like McKee`s 30/70 leather cleaner might also be a good option - a leather-safe foaming cleaner with a small percentage of conditioner. That would be my choice over something more aggressive if you need more than water - there are lots of stitching holes and whatnot in a real leather covered wheel.
Now the question is - if you`ve got some light coating damage, what is the best, reasonable cost, hopefully DIY option to cover it up and minimize the bad appearance. After a thorough cleaning of my current wheel (purchased used and retrofitted into my car) the slightly worn spot at 11:00 because a 100 degree arc of nasty. Again, in my case, the build up of stuff created an even, black, shiny appearance that what superior LOOKING to clean. Now it "looks like new" matte around most of the arc but the 10:00 hand position has an arc of damage from the PO of the wheel. I tried putting some McKee`s UV50 on it (yes - it`s a control surface, but it looked like garbage). It helped a little, and is a little slippery, but it hasn`t struck me as "risky" yet.
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