Steering wheel leather failure

4u2nvinmtl

4u2nvinmtl

New member
I noticed after many long weekends of racing that my steering wheel was starting to get sticky/tacky where I grip it (3 / 9 o'clock). I assumed it was grime/sweat from my hands, so I hit it with some Meg's D101 at 1:10 strength (like I've seen on detailing video's). I didn't even let it sit just sprayed on my towel and wiped over the area on one side (as a test) and it didn't come out looking pretty...

Megs D101 test spot (this side was worse than the other to begin with)



The other side



Anything I can do to restore it or should I start hunting the junk yards?
 
Time to put a Challenger SRT wheel on it :)

Honestly though, can't say that that will work. My Challenger as a load more buttons on it. Does the Jeep SRT use a different wheel than the non-SRT? Because the button/airbag/clockspring combo all has to be right. Column and lever placement look like standard corporate Chrysler though.
 
Not sure never been in any of the non-SRT8 WK1's but I would assume it's the same steering wheel as the limited. It has media buttons on the back of the steering wheel...
 
Looks like the coating is gone. Could just be wear and tear and the APC exposed the problem. Wheelskins might be an option.
 
Different then the limited and the wk1 is expensive, I think it was $450 for just the wheel when I replaced mine. That was 2 years ago though in sure you can find one much cheaper at a junk yard.
 
So there's no way to refinish the leather (shoe polish, leather press, anything)? I was thinking of using a razor at like a 75-degree angle to gently cut the bumpiness (very carefully), and some shoe polish or something to dye/stain it back to gray.

I wouldn't ever buy a new steering wheel at retail price (I got a list of mod's waiting to be purchased, cam/tranny/turbo). I also noticed my leather is stamped with a carbon fiber pattern that's only on the SRT8's...

For now I can live with or start wearing driving gloves so it doesn't bother me. I also found out that I could just get the leather work redone by a leather worker (about half the price of a new steering wheel and I could get it done custom).

Wheel skins look so-so but definitely solve my problem :)
 
4u2nvinmtl said:
So there's no way to refinish the leather (shoe polish, leather press, anything)? I was thinking of using a razor at like a 75-degree angle to gently cut the bumpiness (very carefully), and some shoe polish or something to dye/stain it back to gray.

I wouldn't ever buy a new steering wheel at retail price (I got a list of mod's waiting to be purchased, cam/tranny/turbo). I also noticed my leather is stamped with a carbon fiber pattern that's only on the SRT8's...

For now I can live with or start wearing driving gloves so it doesn't bother me. I also found out that I could just get the leather work redone by a leather worker (about half the price of a new steering wheel and I could get it done custom).

Wheel skins look so-so but definitely solve my problem :)
Click to expand...

There is a way to dye and restore it. Leather Doctor has a kit for that, it's way more affordable than a new wheel, but not cheap.

You'll need to sand the whole thing down and dye it to insure an even look. Best to remove it from the vehicle if possible and mount it on a work bench for access to the nooks and crannies. There are several steps and you can expect it to take a couple days potentially with all the downtime.
 
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