What’s the general consensus on caring for coated leather steering wheels these days?

B

BluBrett

New member
I used Leather Masters on my BMW to keep it staying matte long-term but my 2019 Lexus IS steering wheel doesn’t seem to respond well to it. As soon as I applied Leather Masters, it started holding onto skin oils 20x what it used to prior to me applying it. I can only go a few days after wiping it down during a wash before it looks poorly cared for with Leather Masters applied. I double checked and it does seem the steering wheel and shift knob are leather while the rest of the interior is NuLuxe.

I’m going to cleanse the steering wheel today before I blast road trip bugs off the paint, but I’m wondering what the general consensus is when it comes to preserving coated leather these days. I can find threads back from ‘00 - ‘10 talking about all sorts of leather treatments but leather construction seems to have changed drastically with time on mainstream cars.

Do you believe in conditioning coated leather? Or do you prefer to simply keep it clean and use a UVA and UVB protectant on it?
 
I’d love to find something but so far all the leather cleaners and protectants I’ve seen explicitly instruct you not to use them on control surfaces.


Ben
Current: ‘19 VW Golf R
Past: ‘05 RS 225 Cup
 
The general reccomendation has been not to use leather conditioners on steering wheels. A leather cleaner such as Mothers foaming wash would probably be fine.
 
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.
 
In my mind, coated leather = vinyl. Anything you apply to clean or condition is not coming into contact with actual leather. That said, I do like to use Griot`s Leather Care on my BMW`s coated leather seats. It has a pleasant smell and doesn`t leave a greasy residue.
 
I think it comes down to the leather itself and there are nearly infinate combinations it seems, sometimes within options of the same model of car. You have to experiment to see what works best.

On my VW, the leather felt very thick/firm and except for the areas at 9/3 appeared to be fairly heavily coated. The areas at 9/3 were perforated and didn`t seem to have nearly the same level of coating. For this wheel, I found I could clean it with a very mild dilution of APC and then wipe it down with a good interior protectant (McKee`s 37 Interior Protectant in my case). I tried a leather AIO on it a couple times, but never really noticed any real before/after difference.

The M Sport wheel on my BMW is a totally different story. The leather on that wheel feels thinner and much softer, not to mention the wheel has padding not found on the VW. For this wheel, a test of the same APC dilution left it feeling a little sticky, and fortunatly I tested on the back of the wheel because it seemed to remove a bit of the coloring (that or the wheel was seriously filthy). However, it takes really well to McKee`s 37 All in One Leather Lotion (no longer sold). After each appliation the leather feels soft and new without the stickyness. The appearence is deep black and matte. The nice thing with this product is it cleanes and conditions all in one step. When I got the car the wheel was looking dried, a bit faded, and I was afraid the coating was starting to flake off. After a couple gentle cleanings, the wheel looks almost brand new. The McKee`s also works well on my shift knob and the hand brake lever, which are also of a slightly tougher grade of leather.
 
The Leather Doctor makes a Leather Protection product specifically for "touch" surfaces like this. IIIRC, they call it "Grabby Feel", or "Draggy Feel", but it`s not tacky or anything like that, just not slippery. I`ve used it on steering wheels with great results. It`s not sold as a "Conditioner" but is used after cleaning to keep things the way they are, rather than to change them (the way a Conditioner is supposed to do).
 
Joel_MD said:
In my mind, coated leather = vinyl. Anything you apply to clean or condition is not coming into contact with actual leather..
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That`s what they say, but my first-hand experiences have almost always worked out differently. I`ve "conditioned" coated leather that was dry/stiff as cardboard, and it did in fact soften up and become more pliable. I`ve conditioned coated leather that was in much better shape and had that get a bit softer-feeling too.

I figure it penetrates the microfissures/pores or, well...something like that. I wish I had a definitive reason why it worked that way, but I don`t so I`m just going by what seemed empirically obvious. Might not happen that way on *new* coated leather, but it has worked that way on all of my vehicles except the S8 (which is still basically brand-new in this regard, so I`ve never tried a Conditioner on it to see what would happen, rather, I just use a Leather Protectant to keep it the way it is).
 
wannafbody said:
The general reccomendation has been not to use leather conditioners on steering wheels. A leather cleaner such as Mothers foaming wash would probably be fine.
Click to expand...

Mother’s quit making the foaming leather wash, much to my dismay. I talked to Forrest@Mothers about it. Didn’t sell well enough.
 
I’m using Connallys Leather Cleaner. AG was selling it at one time as a closeout. The bottle I bought is dilatable and I will probably never run out. Something like McKees N-914 would do just as well on coated leathers. I don’t see the need to condition coated leathers unless they are cracking and the conditioner can seep through.
 
Surly said:
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.
Click to expand...

Desertnate said:
I think it comes down to the leather itself and there are nearly infinate combinations it seems, sometimes within options of the same model of car. You have to experiment to see what works best.

On my VW, the leather felt very thick/firm and except for the areas at 9/3 appeared to be fairly heavily coated. The areas at 9/3 were perforated and didn`t seem to have nearly the same level of coating. For this wheel, I found I could clean it with a very mild dilution of APC and then wipe it down with a good interior protectant (McKee`s 37 Interior Protectant in my case). I tried a leather AIO on it a couple times, but never really noticed any real before/after difference.

The M Sport wheel on my BMW is a totally different story. The leather on that wheel feels thinner and much softer, not to mention the wheel has padding not found on the VW. For this wheel, a test of the same APC dilution left it feeling a little sticky, and fortunatly I tested on the back of the wheel because it seemed to remove a bit of the coloring (that or the wheel was seriously filthy). However, it takes really well to McKee`s 37 All in One Leather Lotion (no longer sold). After each appliation the leather feels soft and new without the stickyness. The appearence is deep black and matte. The nice thing with this product is it cleanes and conditions all in one step. When I got the car the wheel was looking dried, a bit faded, and I was afraid the coating was starting to flake off. After a couple gentle cleanings, the wheel looks almost brand new. The McKee`s also works well on my shift knob and the hand brake lever, which are also of a slightly tougher grade of leather.
Click to expand...

My BMW had Dakota leather - their lowest cost leather that has a really fake grain and thick feel. I tried everything to remove the shine. It was worn out from the previous owner so I replaced the steering wheel and it stayed in great shape during my ownership. Before replacing, my last ditch effort was a combo of dawn dish soap, alcohol, and simple green scrubbed on with a mr. clean magic eraser. Talk about aggressive! After wiping the residue off there was zero change and I really worked it in.

My Lexus steering wheel seems similar to the M Sport leather. Very smooth and has a thinner, cushier feel. However, I’ve noticed every M steering wheel somehow loses dye no matter how new it is when it’s cleaned. Not sure what’s up with that. I damaged a fragile M5 steering wheel once using a super gentle combo. The Lexus leather tends to show any oils quicker than my old BMW but that could just be because it doesn’t have a texture. I’ve had the Lexus since it was new with less than 20 miles and I’ve wiped it down every wash (2-4 weeks) so it still looks new along with the rest of the car.

Accumulator said:
The Leather Doctor makes a Leather Protection product specifically for "touch" surfaces like this. IIIRC, they call it "Grabby Feel", or "Draggy Feel", but it`s not tacky or anything like that, just not slippery. I`ve used it on steering wheels with great results. It`s not sold as a "Conditioner" but is used after cleaning to keep things the way they are, rather than to change them (the way a Conditioner is supposed to do).
Click to expand...

I’m going to try this - this sounds great! I’ll have to look into whether or not it has UV protection though because I want that. Though I’m not entirely sure it’s necessary with factory windshield protection and dark side window tint.
 
PSA: Remember that Leather should be left slightly acidic, not merely ph-neutral, and *definitely NOT* alkaline.

BluBrett- I myself wouldn`t worry about the UV, but that`s just me. I`d ask about that when ordering from The Leather Doctor.

NOTE/WARNING: Ordering from The Leather Doctor (IRL Name = Roger Koh) is, uhm...a bit of a PIA and Roger can be, uhm...strongly opinionated... potential customers might oughta keep that in mind ;) Worth it to me, but I did want to mention such stuff.

If you`re going with the Leather Doctor Draggy Feel Protectant I`d also check out his other offerings. I had/have Sonus, Ultima, Griot`s, Connally, Leather Masters, and even more choices on the shelf, and was completely satisfied with the results I got from those. BUT...I decided to try out the Leather Doctor stuff after his just for the [heck] of it, and despite my inclination to decide "eh, waste of money, what I had was just as good", it sure didn`t work out that way. Yeah, I *am* satisfied with the Usual Suspects that so many here like; I like them too and continue to use them. BUT, when I`m doing something that really matters to me (i.e., primarily just the S8), I reach for the Leather Doctor stuff.

(NO, I`ve never done their "Fat Liquoring" process. Just using the (slightly!) alkaline Cleaner, then the acidic Rinse, and then the Protectant..phew, that`s more than enough work for me! And my leather never needs more anyhow.)

Note that certain Last Step Products (i.e., Protectants) are available in unscented versions for those of us (e.g., Yours Truly) who don`t want their interiors smelling like a luggage shop, and in scented versions for those who do.
 
@BluBrett: Yes, I`m talking about M Sport steering wheels with the smooth matte leather. I`ve retrofitted an F10 pre-LCI M5 wheel that I`m currently using. I was originally starting the project with an F10 LCI M Sport wheel (with the tiny round airbag) and that wheel also had damage. Perhaps they are very susceptible to damage, but I see rentals/loaners with the same wheel and they`re perfect. Like I said - hydrofluoric acid in their handcream?

In the meantime I have become aware of Leatherique`s steering wheel restoration kit SWK-01. From memory, there`s a cleaning step, a stripping/prepping step, you`re supposed to use fine wet sandpaper, then there`s a re-dye/coating step, and a clear coat step. There are dab/wipe and spray instructions.

It looks like the real deal, I`m thinking of trying it on the LCI wheel I plan on selling as practice, then swapping my original wheel back in while I restore the pre-LCI M5 wheel. I have Leatherique rejuvenator and pristine clean already. They don`t restore the finish.


Just for reference - internet pics, not my car. 1/ original pre-LCI F10 steering wheel style no paddles, skinny grip with no shape 2/ pre-LCI M5 wheel with paddles, thick shaped grip 3/ LCI F10 M-Sport wheel (M5 has tri-colour stitching and larger paddles, non-M has monochrome stitching). Might add pictures of my damage later - everyone likes pictures.
 

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Wheel #3 (LCI wheel) was used in many places across the line. I have the same one, with black stiching and no paddles, on my F32 M Sport. I`m interested to hear how things turn out for you. Who knows how long mine will hold up.
 
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