Leather Steering Wheel Repair?

B

Boongie

New member
Somehow, the leather steering wheel on my 2016 Subaru Outback has suffered a scratch or abrasion, probably from a ring. About a inch long. I can feel the rough edge when driving. Is there any way to repair or smooth out this abrasion? In the attached image, the abrasion is toward the top of the steering wheel.

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Boongie- I`ll be interested to hear if anybody has a fix for that. We have similar damage on some steering wheels that we just live with (never got worse even after many years, sorta surprised me but... OK).
 
Sorry this had to happen to your new car..
Took awhile to figure out how to zoom that up - looks like a few shallow cuts and some lighter scuffing on there..

The only repairs to things like that is to sand the area down flat, apply a product to fill, sand that flat, apply the color, and hope it all matches and is flat..

Or if the wheel cover is sewn on, remove it, replace it, or see if a real leather master can make it better..
Then the incredibly daunting task of sewing the cover back on perfectly...
Good Luck !
Dan F
 
I have a call in to a leather repair person. I was thinking of using a few drops of hide glue, but I need to research the use of this product.
 
Sadly, I`m thinking that`s one you might need to live with. I have never had what I would consider to be real success doctoring the leather on steering wheels. I`ve dyed some that looked great when finished but it didn`t last. I suppose that as Dan has mentioned you could replace it but that`s an awful expensive repair for something that is so tough to see. Then again, I`m not the one holding the wheel. I`ll bet it feels worse than it actually looks. I had to blow the picture up to see the problem, so I just left it big in the post. ;)
 
ShawnF350 said:
After watching this video......
https://youtu.be/VK1RGKF0auA
Maybe try one of these first...
Then finish with a leather conditioner.
Swissvax.us LEATHER GRINDING PAD
Click to expand...

Thanks Shawn ! Perfect example !

Notice this is a Mercedes Leather Covered steering wheel... They use real leather...
It took 3 to 8 coats after sanding the areas smooth..
Real leather is like skin - well it IS the hide of an animal..

Not sure how much leather thickness you have to work with or is that real leather or a synthetic..
Then you have to match the color and may have to do the entire wheel to get an even match..

And as Gearhead-1 has correctly said, what guarantees all that work is going to stay on the leather?

There is another really good source - believe he is under Leather Doctor.. I think he is out of Canada..
He talks of things like "fat liquoring", etc.. real leather talk... He might have some ideas or videos out here too..

Glad you have found perhaps a good alternative or fix with hide glue... Just be careful it doesnt react badly with whatever is on your wheel and make it worse..
Good Luck !
Dan F
 
I`m a HUGE fan of The Leather Doctor! Roger`s stuff is top-notch and for the record I was predisposed to *not* be impressed by it.

But heh heh... most of my leather interiors have *far* more serious issues than that and I have zero intention of/interest in ever trying to fix them. Yeah, they really bugged me at first, but after a few years I hardly even notice them any more.
 
Heh heh...if I somehow woke up one morning and couldn`t live with the damage to my steering wheels, I`d simply have them replaced. Yeah, that costs a bit on some cars, but that`s the only way I`d handle it.
 
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