Advice for a real leather steering wheel

[glen e]

Gonna mount this wheel in my new Vette and as far as I know, it`s real leather and not "finished" leather. I am not concerned about uv protection as it`s a car kept 100pct inside a garage and not a commuter. But sm concerned about skin oils and dirt. I have 303 and PB natural look, any advice on something that would seal it better? This wheel is 1000 bucks, totally hand crafted, very nice.

[Swanicyouth]

That wheel looks awesome. I mean really sweet.

It looks to me like typical car leather, which means it`s a leather hyde with a colorant on top - then a leather clear coat / protectant is applied. My BMW M steering wheel is that way, only the colorant is black.

First , I wouldn`t use any APCs or general interior cleaners to clean the wheel EVER. These products are harsher than leather cleaners (pH could be anywhere) - and the possibility exist they can remove some of the colorant as the leather clear coat starts to wear. My guess is this wheel will never get nasty dirty - so I would use a leather cleaner. IMHO APCs should only be used on very soiled leather.

What works for me is Leather Master`s Strong Cleaner - which really isn`t that strong. However , it`s a liquid the consistency of water - so it`s easy to splash it everywhere. I apply a little to a boars hair paint brush - agitate - then wipe off with a MF towel.

While this isn`t the most aggressive (or fastest) way to clean a part like this, I thing it`s one of the safest ways.

Out of all the leather "protectants" I`ve used - the only one I`ve ever seen any evidence that it lasts more than a few days is CarPro Fabric and Leather. It seems to form a pretty thick protective layer over the leather. It`s not the best looking "leather protectant" or "conditioner" - nor is it the "best feeling". However, I believe it offers more real protection than anything out there. I believe it has these slight drawbacks because what you are looking at is an actual coating - not "shiny stuff"/silicones or gloss enhancers slathered all over the leather. While leather conditioners can make leather initially feel and look great - they don`t do crap for the life of the leather IMHO.

I apply it using a small piece of foam sponge and some foam Q-Tips from CarPro USA. With F & L you don`t have to worry about the stitching (fabric) - as it protects that as well. If it was me, I`d coat the carbon fiber area with DLux - as that likely has a clear lacquer coating on it (unless it`s a vinyl wrap like Di-Noc) - as nude carbon fiber doesn`t "shine"...

[glen e]

Thanks, all these wheels are custom so you can make em any way you want. I`m going with black where I touch (sides) and color on top and bottom, plus the horn pad in red. So it`ll be more protecting/glossing than cleaning. I`ll try the natural look for now, I think, I`ve has good luck with it lasting....but I like carpro stuff.....

[PapaChop]

Baby wipes are actually a great way to clean leather. Extremely gentle, with no chemicals to speak of.

[RTexasF]

glen,

You positively need to confirm if the leather is encased in vinyl or not. That will dictate whether to go with actual leather products or those for vinyl.

[The Driver]

I would just use steam to clean an some rej oil in between.

[Trouble]

To keep your steering wheel from getting Sun damaged try rotating it (in different postions) when parked in direct sunlite. I see TONS of steering wheels that are toast only on the top portion of wheel. Drives me NUTS !!

Nice looking wheel btw

[Todd@RUPES]

Great looking wheel. Take some water and lightly sprtiz it on top. If the water beads it is coated leather (which should be the case given it is a steering wheel).

Protect as normal.

[Lou Bunn]

I have to disagree on the baby wipes. I had a lady with a Lexus RX350 that used baby wipes on one section of her back seat, over time, it completely took the coating off that section.