Cleaning steering wheel - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ksing44 · #16 03-16-2004, 04:03 PM

My car has 75,000 miles and it is very well maintained. The bad part of the wheel was at the top, in the back, where the sun beats down if you don’t use a sunscreen. It was just a little rough in the back until I used the Leatherique.

I changed my mind. I’m going to clean my wheel with Leatherique, fill in the holes, re-dye it black, and then use "Klear Kote" to try to make it look as good as it does with the shoe polish.

By the way, my car is not being "temporarily glossed over with shoe polish to make it good enough for resale".

Lou K · #17 03-16-2004, 04:12 PM

Nice looking car.

Lou K

95benzman · #18 03-16-2004, 07:52 PM

Mercedes Benz leather cleaner works great.

Joe Moon

placo1 · #19 03-25-2004, 03:16 PM

Well against everyone's suggestions I decided to try Leatherique on the steering wheel yesterday. Here is what I've learned

My car currently has 65K miles and has been cared for pretty good prior to me purchasing it. Up until now I've been using Griots leather conditioner on all of the leather inside the car. Yeserday for the first time I applied Leatherique to all of the leather in the car including the steering wheel wrap. The seats look absoultey amazing as do the door inserts and headrests.

The steering wheel looks average at this time. Leatheriques rejuvenator oil moved all of the dirt/grime in the leather to the surface as advertised. Prestine clean removed the junk off of the leather as advertised. After wiping down with a wet microfiber I noted that the scratches and wear on the leather were now visible, prior to cleaning the dirt/oil covered them up. The leather is in good shape but the black dye was scratched off in some areas or flaked in others. After letting it dry the flaking stopped and the leather looked better but not perfect. To bring the wheel back to 98% I will need sand off any loose dye from the leather, smooth out scratches and redye the leather. I'll follow up after doing this.

To others considering this.....
If you have a low mileage car that is well cared for and has had regular cleanup maintenance on the leather you should be fine using leatherique and results will be great. If you have a substantial amount of miles and the wheel hasn't been cared for you're probably going to open up a can of worms if you use Leatherique.

ksing44 · #20 08-04-2004, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ksing44
I changed my mind. I’m going to clean my wheel with Leatherique, fill in the holes, re-dye it black, and then use "Klear Kote" to try to make it look as good as it does with the shoe polish.

I was kidding when I wrote that I was going to do all that to my wheel.

I truly believed that the shoe polish was a miracle cure for my wheel. Now I am back to square one with my steering wheel and I am looking for a new solution.

I am sorry to say that the Leatherique representative was right about one thing. The shoe polish did not stop the leather from becoming dry and cracked. The shoe polish makes it look great right after it is applied, but the oil from your hands just smudges up the look within minutes of driving. No polish comes off on your hands or anything, but the shine doesn’t last long and the leather is still dry and cracked. This is especially noticeable now after my car sits in the hot summer sun while it is parked at work. I have a nice MB sunscreen and I crack the windows, but it still gets darn hot and dry inside the car. My shoe polished wheel is just baking to a dry crusty skin right before my eyes.

I still don’t think the Pristine Clean and Rejuvenator Oil are the appropriate path, because there seems to be a shiny finish that originally protected the leather and the Leatherique products seemed to remove that finish. It is as if the leather wheel was polyurethane or something. Maybe this is that "Klear Kote: the Leatherique representative was referring to. Although it is a leather wheel, it is really the shiny finish that needs to be protected, cared for, or reapplied.

I am OK with the color, so I don’t think I need dye, but I would like to try adding a shiny protective coating to my wheel. I wonder if Klear Kote is the answer or maybe some kind of waterproof coating available for shoes or some other application.

I will start to research the Klear Kote stuff, and I would love to hear from you guys about other things to try or about your experience with Klear Kote.

placo1 · #21 08-04-2004, 11:03 AM

My wheel looks better now than the day I used the Prestine Clean and Rejuvinator Oil. The scratches in the leather are still visible but the balance which is covered in the original dye still looks great.

IMHO the best way to restore the leather is to use the rejuvenator oil and the prestine clean. Follow up with the leatherique dye to restain the scratched portions of the leather. Maintain every 4 months and you should have a nice looking wheel. This procedure will obviously only work for leather which hasn't already worn through. Only other method would be complete replacement.

Benzadmiral · #22 08-05-2004, 08:54 AM

My C230's wheel was sticky. I used the Lexol leather cleaner and a clean sponge, which was no longer clean when I finished, and a terry towel to wipe it dry.

With both this car and the W126, I make sure to wash my hands before I leave work, so I won't leave as much oil and dirt on my wheel, and I put a sunshade up to protect both it and the dashboard.

ksing44 · #23 08-05-2004, 09:28 AM

I saturated my wheel with the rejuvenator oil and let it soak for quite a while. Then I carefully wiped the residual oil of the wheel. To me, the wheel is too gooey and/or sticky after the oil, so I then reapplied the shoe polish to kind of seal the wheel. Now my wheel feels like it did when I thought I had found a miracle for preserving my wheel.

I realize now that the first time I used the shoe polish, I had also applied the rejuvenator oil. Perhaps it is the combination of products that will spare me the cost of a new wheel. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a new steering wheel with burl wood and leather, but I think it would end up costing at least a $1000.00, by the time I had it installed with the airbag and everything.

I still want to learn more about the Klear Kote, because I think it might be a more permanent solution to preserve my steering wheel. I am also curious about the Leatherique dye that you can purchase with a shiny finish. If it dries to a shine, perhaps it would serve as a good protective surface for my steering wheel.

placo1 · #24 08-05-2004, 10:22 AM

ksing44,

Quick question on your process. After applying the rejuvenator oil are you using the prestine clean?

Here is what I did on my seats, shifter knob and steering wheel.
1. Apply Rejuvenator Oil and let the car sit in the sun for 6 hours

2. Using a microfiber Soaked with Prestine Clean, wipe the surfaces of the leather. You'll need at least 5 microfibers to do the entire car.

3. (This is a must) Soak a microfiber in water and squeeze most of the water out so it's damp but not dripping. Wipe this over the surface of the leather. Rinse and repeat frequently.

When it's done you should have a very matte finish on the leather and absolutely no residue left behind.

Personally the Leatherique finish was too flat for me so I followed up with Griots Leather Conditioner.

Did you use the same steps or similar?

ksing44 · #25 08-05-2004, 10:37 AM

I did not follow up with Pristine Clean or any other washing steps, because the steering wheel leather will start to come off in bits and pieces if I am too vigorous with my cleaning methods. I basically just applied the Rejuvenator Oil, let it bake in the sun, and then gently wiped off the residue. I understand that your method is the recommended procedure and I did follow that method when I did the seats, but I dare not do that to my steering wheel. I don't want to get into filling holes and re-dying the leather, if I can avoid it. From my previous experience, I am certain that the leather on my steering wheel would be just a memory if I followed the recommended procedure.

MR. LUCKY · #26 08-05-2004, 02:46 PM

When cleaning any leather product its best to see what the product will do in a not so noticable place first. I like to use a mild saddle soap to clam my leather and then apply a cream dressing and buff for finish
MR LUCKY

ktlimq · #27 08-30-2004, 07:17 AM

Do leather cleaners make leather sticky? I have Meguiars Gold leather cleaner wipe. So I usded it on steering wheel, but the steering wheel still feels a little sticky - before cleaning it was a little sticky due to dirt -.

I have aftermarket leather steering wheel cover, because the original steering wheel leather is torn at the top part.

I guess my transmission lever handle is also leather, but Meguiars Gold leather cleaner wipe does not make it sticky.

420benz · #28 09-01-2004, 08:09 PM

ksing44: WHAT DID I DO WRONG? I applied Kiwi scuff cover and let it dry.Then i applied two coats of Kiwi leather cuir liquid not cream and after one week it is still tacky. It never dried.

ksing44 · #29 09-02-2004, 05:43 AM

I have only used the cream and there was no problem with it being tacky. I am sorry, but I have never used the products that you mentioned. I am still looking for a permanent solution. I am thinking about re-dying the leather wheel with something that has a protective shiny finish. I have not identified the product, but I may turn to Leatherique.