How do you clean your leather steering wheel?

S

ShineoN

New member
I've found that cleaning a somehow used leather steering wheel, it gets sticky, like it was made of rubber. I've tried apc, leather cleaner and vinyl cleaners.

How do you clean those > 5 year old steerings?
 
For all leather I use 4 Star leather cleaner and 4 Star Leather conditioner. The stickiness could be coming from using too harsh of a chemical. Poorboys Natural look after cleaning also produces nice results and is dry to the touch.
 
Another reason for the stickiness could be all the oils and gunk not coming out completely - you could be bringing them to the surface - breaking down the inital deposits but not getting it all off. Use a product designed to clean leather not just an APC as that can clean it to well, not only the dirt but any color or tanning that may be in the leather!

Use the leather cleaner of choice and apply/remove as directed. Once it is clean and dry feel it to see if it is stickyish...if so try another round of cleaning.
 
I use damp MF and follow up with PB Natural Look. NL actually has some cleaning ability as well as leaving a beautiful finish. Once a year I use the lexol twins which i have heard is not so useful since most leather, including mine, is coated.
 
if you need to do some scrubbing on the leather without hurting use a leather cleaner with a white 3m scuff pad. they are only available at auto paint stores .. not real aggresive but just enough to get leather clean
 
I just did mine over the weekend.
Woolite diluted 6:1. (Thanks Scottwax)
Spray it on a damp terry towel and rub it.
My towel turns brown quickly,

On the stitches, I used a soft toothbrush (sprayed with the woolite solution) then wiped dry with microfiber.

Put a little leather conditioner after you clean it. Wipe it dry with a MF towel after 15 min.
BE CAREFUL. It will be a bit slippery on the first day.
 
ShineoN said:
I think that's coated leather vinyl that has lost the exterior coat with usage.
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From what I understand, much of the leather found in cars today is actually a painted or coated leather. Once the top coating wears away, there is really not much that can be done to clean it. It is always best to not get too aggressive, since that could actually cause further wearing away of the surface.
 
A friend of mine who owns a MINI Cooper recently had his leather covered steering wheel replaced (for free) because it was starting to peel away. And his car is less than a year old.
 
bigron62 said:
if you need to do some scrubbing on the leather without hurting use a leather cleaner with a white 3m scuff pad. they are only available at auto paint stores .. not real aggresive but just enough to get leather clean
Click to expand...

Wouldnt a scuff pad wear off the clear coat?
 
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