Steering wheel refurbishment
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 19:22
After gradually renovating the interior of my Excel over the past year the state of the steering wheel began to stand out like a sore thumb. The finish of the centre crash pad had partly broken down leaving some parts shinier than others, the paint on the metal spokes looked faded and the leather rim was worn.
After seeing a new Personal steering wheel sell for over £100 on e-bay recently I decided to try a re-furb. I first tackled the easy bits by re-spraying the metal spokes with some satin black spray paint and then the crash pad with some Halfords flexible vinyl paint. I then had to re-colour the leather rim. Although I had used a Woolies kit to re-spray the magnolia interior leather in my car I wanted to avoid having to buy a whole bottle of black dye just for the steering wheel and then having to use the spray gun to apply it. The Woolies stuff also needs careful application of a sealing paste after colouring - too much elbow grease and the newly applied colour rubs off which made me think that it might not be durable enough for a steering wheel rim.
I'd seen the adverts.for http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk in the likes of Practical Classics magazine and decided to try their Leather Recolouring Balm. This is a paste which is applied with a cloth and comes in a jar for £12.99. It's sold to be used on three piece suites so is designed not to rub off onto clothes once it has been applied (unlike shoe polish) making me think it would be ideal for a steering wheel rim. I cleaned and prepared the rim by attacking the leather with one of those green nylon scouring sponges used for cleaning pans and dishes (or so my wife tells me...). This left the rim looking a proper mess but I was going for kill or cure. I then applied the balm with a clean cloth and was immediately surprized with the effect. I gave it several generous applications, allowing about half an hour between coats - it was around 22c outside at the time. I left it overnight and then buffed with a clean cloth to leave a nice uniform satin black sheen.
The finished steering wheel now looks great and after four weeks is showing no signs of the colour coming off the rim. I've never ended up with black hands after a drive. I have also successfully re-coloured the black instrument binnacle using the balm although I didn't feel the need to scour that first as it was initially in far better condition than the steering wheel. I reckon that if my car had a totally black interior rather than part magnolia I may well have been able to use it on the seats and door cards etc. rather than mucking about with spray guns and the Woolies liquid dye.
After seeing a new Personal steering wheel sell for over £100 on e-bay recently I decided to try a re-furb. I first tackled the easy bits by re-spraying the metal spokes with some satin black spray paint and then the crash pad with some Halfords flexible vinyl paint. I then had to re-colour the leather rim. Although I had used a Woolies kit to re-spray the magnolia interior leather in my car I wanted to avoid having to buy a whole bottle of black dye just for the steering wheel and then having to use the spray gun to apply it. The Woolies stuff also needs careful application of a sealing paste after colouring - too much elbow grease and the newly applied colour rubs off which made me think that it might not be durable enough for a steering wheel rim.
I'd seen the adverts.for http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk in the likes of Practical Classics magazine and decided to try their Leather Recolouring Balm. This is a paste which is applied with a cloth and comes in a jar for £12.99. It's sold to be used on three piece suites so is designed not to rub off onto clothes once it has been applied (unlike shoe polish) making me think it would be ideal for a steering wheel rim. I cleaned and prepared the rim by attacking the leather with one of those green nylon scouring sponges used for cleaning pans and dishes (or so my wife tells me...). This left the rim looking a proper mess but I was going for kill or cure. I then applied the balm with a clean cloth and was immediately surprized with the effect. I gave it several generous applications, allowing about half an hour between coats - it was around 22c outside at the time. I left it overnight and then buffed with a clean cloth to leave a nice uniform satin black sheen.
The finished steering wheel now looks great and after four weeks is showing no signs of the colour coming off the rim. I've never ended up with black hands after a drive. I have also successfully re-coloured the black instrument binnacle using the balm although I didn't feel the need to scour that first as it was initially in far better condition than the steering wheel. I reckon that if my car had a totally black interior rather than part magnolia I may well have been able to use it on the seats and door cards etc. rather than mucking about with spray guns and the Woolies liquid dye.
I feel hard done by now. Mine cost £20 
