The gunky steering wheel. Help!

[DrHolmes]

Hi Puma people,

I really need some help on this one.

After reading all there was on the issue, I couldn't find a single definitive thread or answer on how to get rid of that gunk that ruins almost all of the elder Puma's steering wheels at some point in their life.

So my first question to you guys is - 1. Does anyone know for certain what this gunk is? Is it skin oils, dirt and grease from owners' hands or is it the glue that holds that leather part of the steering wheel trim?

Now moving on to a solution for this damnation.

As per one of the suggestions on one of the forums on of the threads (can't remember exctly where now), I have decided to try removing it with the help of a nail polish remover. To no avail. After trying to rub it off with the nail polish remover, aka acetone, and paper towels, I went to halfords to purchase a cloth of some sort hoping that it would make some sort of difference. Needless to say, it didn't.

BUT

While rubbing it with acetone and a cloth, the side I have started off with has gone all furry on me.



This is what it looked like to start with



This is what the wheel looks like now (really bad)



Which brings me to my second question to you guys - 2. Have I completely screwed up the leather on the steering wheel now or have I given up too early and should continue attempting to scrub off the rest of the residue?

If so, should I carry on with the nail polish remover or is there anything else better suited for this task I should get my hands on?

All and any help is really appreciated because, as you can imagine, I am not a big fan of the gunky wheel nor I am a fan of what I've done to it now!

 

[Dal]

Stop with the nail varnish remover!

The gunk tends to be a combination of the glue used to stick the leather to the wheel, hand sweat and just general dirt.

Best (safest) way to remove it is make a weak / mild soapy solution up and using a sponge or microfibre wipe away it until it all comes off.

Then you'll need a decent leather conditioner to re moisturise the leather as the cleaning dries it right out.

 

[Frank]

[post]346975[/post] Hi Puma people,

I really need some help on this one.

After reading all there was on the issue, I couldn't find a single definitive thread or answer on how to get rid of that gunk that ruins almost all of the elder Puma's steering wheels at some point in their life.

Yeah? - http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?p=346095#p346095

So my first question to you guys is - 1. Does anyone know for certain what this gunk is? Is it skin oils, dirt and grease from owners' hands

Yes and polished in well, as it would be. That's why when a cars has been unused and unventilated for 6 months in the winter, that you see white mould on the steering wheel and seats....it is fungi/moulds feeding off organic protein from, er, people.

 

[DrHolmes]

Hi Frank,

Yeah, I did come across that thread but there you mentioned a quick clean of the stearing wheel with just some warm water, and I would not have imagined that the condition of your steering wheel was ever as bad as you can see on the photos here. I thought you might have had just a few spots that were easily removed with warm water whereas for this Puma I'd have to use some sort of a chemical or something more dedicated to take off what seems to be at least good couple of millimetres of that gunk.

Hi Dal,

Since both of you are now suggesting warm soapy water to treat the issue, I will give that a go tomorrow morning, and will post the results pics back here for anyone interested.

Also, what product am I using post-cleaning? Is it leather finish, leather lacquer, leather conditioner, upholstery cleaner (as per Frank's earlier post) or anything else? Because, to be honest, I know no difference between them all.

Once again, cheers guys for your help.

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Yours was the same as mine before I gave it a wipe over with some baby wipes. Think that got most of it off - certainly wasn't sticky any more. Some leather balm did the rest.

 

[Frank]

[post]346986[/post] I thought you might have had just a few spots that were easily removed with warm water whereas

Nope, all old steering wheels are just as filthy as yours. The actual cleaning is done with the upholstery cleaner and nail brush, the warm water is just there to rinse it away. Btw don't use hot water on leather - it is skin and doesn't like it.

Don't know what advice to give you, I've never actually come across anyone trying to clean a steering wheel with nail varnish remover before!

 

[DrHolmes]

Aaand that's me again...

Interesting, what do baby wipes contain that enables them to deal with such gunk?

To be honest with you guys, I've had/am having a nightmere here.

As per your Dal, and your Frank, suggestion I went off this morning to try to clean it again with just some warm soapy water and sponge. And of course, what sponge do I grab? The kitchen one! And after 10 minutes of rubbing with the soft side of it and not much happening, I turned it round and used the more abrasive (commonly dark green) side of it.

The results have been 'interesting' to say the least. It does seem like it got rid of that dirt/gunk but it seems to have enlarged the area I thought I'd already ruined with the nail polish remover, i.e. it'd ruined it even more.

Well, have a look for yourself...







While already mentally preparing myself to part ways with a few tenners for a new used steering wheel, I decided to try just the soft side of the sponge on the other side, and the results were somewhat similar. Although it hasn't gone furry, it has gone more matt than the unrubbed side of the leather, as you can see from the photos. The question here is - is that how the cleaned leather supposed to look? or have I managed to rub off leather even with the soft side of the sponge? There is still a bit of stickyness on the border between the two areas as you can see from the photos.







The question that definitely doesn't need answering now is whether I am a good restorer...

This is how it looks now...



Any comments on whether or not I should've touched it, where my hands are growing from, is this salvageable or not, what specific products and tools I should've used/should use if I buy another similar steering wheel from scrapyard, or just about anything else, all comments welcome.

 

[Frank]

[post]347034[/post] The question here is - is that how the cleaned leather supposed to look?

Err, no. It should look like it does near the stitching, all over.

I've looked at your pics and the most concise answer I can give you is - that steering wheel is now totally ****** and you should replace it.

 

[The Arch Bishop]

I'm no expert, but that doesn't look salvageable. For the cost of any restoration products that may or may not help, it'd be quicker and easier to put the money towards a decent replacement. While the leather on mine ended up ok, the plastic at the top of the rim had become thin and sun damaged, so I bought a nice second hand one.

As to what was in the baby wipes, I'm not sure, but I do know that they cleaned anything off anything. Whether they should be used on babies judged on their performance on oily engine parts is debatable.

 

[red]

I'd just replace it.

From my own experience I had a wheel that looked like that in my old Melina, it was well beyond restoration, I invested in things like Zymol leather cleaner which comes highly recommended for this task however it made no difference.

I'd definitely not use baby wipes on leather for sure, this advice is the same for sofas in your house, especially if they are pigmented.

I went from this:

To this: (by replacement)

I know the photo quality isn't great but you can see the wear on the original.

 

[tractorboy]

Mine was pretty bad but I sorted it with some Furniture Clinic products I'd used on my sofa:

Leather Prep to remove the sticky stuff. http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Prep.php
Leather Finish, a couple of coats brushed on. http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Finish.php

It's remained good for 18 months now

Bob

 

[ArtfulHussy]

Leather doesn't much like water either, to be honest. It'll swell and go soft. One suggestion I would make, if you don't want to replace it, is to give a a few days to a week to thoroughly dry out, get a very light abrasive paper (min P240, higher if you can get access to it) and give it a very light scuff to get rid of any residual bobbly nonsense and to key the surface. Find a decent quality acrylic paint and paint it. I've not done it personally but I have seen it done to furniture etc the acrylic is hard wearing and gives a leather effect once dry. At this point you have nothing to lose .

 

[lusid666]

Still waiting for this to happen

http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=21833&hilit=epic+steering

 

[DrHolmes]

@Red,
Yeah, I do feel like the wheel with that thick layer of this stuff was beyond salvageable before I started. Or at least it gives me a solid excuse for making it worse without too much self-deprecation.

And yes, the replacement seems to be the sensible option, which is why I ordered two sheets of 240 grit paper and two of 800. :lol: Since no-one has tried it, I will show you what happens.

Also, why acrylic? Is it because acrylic paint is more flexible? Does it have to be leather acrylic paint or just acrylic will do?

This is going to cost me well beyond another replacement steering wheel but that's all part of the fun, isn't it.

Also, did the group buy never happen in the end? I can see first posts from 2013 and the last one in March 2015. What happened there? :lol:

 

[ArtfulHussy]

The group buy hasn't quuuite left the ground yet but it will get there. Its a big logistics thing and folk in the forum organize stuff outta their free time so it can be a bit difficult at times I guess.

Acrylic is a plastic-y paint. I cant say I've ever heard of leather acrylic. Simply that when the acrylic paint dries it'll have a kinda leathery effect. I saw it on an interior design program... I genuinely have no idea if it will work! You wouldn't need a big pot at all, maybe b and q or such like could help.

 

[xztraz]

polyurethane paint is used to paint leather. Search for leather furniture touch up paint.

the acetone and the abrasive stuff have removed the paint layer on the leather. so if you want to go on scrubbing on that wheel. use acetone or something to remove all residues of old paint. sand it down. paint with polyurethane paint or just leave it as it is and say it's mocha. The stitching is sensitive against sand paper.

I've tried with polyurethane paint and it is ok but its hell to get all the small holes looking nice.

 

[slayllian]

I sanded mine a few years ago and sprayed it with lacquer, never had another problem, just needs properly sealing

 

[RICHARD MANSFIELD2]

Hi.
I had a bad wheel and tried everything. In the end the only thing to do was to get it retrimmed




Regards,
Richard

 

[slayllian]

That looks good RICHARD MANSFIELD!

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

Just to (re)spark the idea, this was the last SW redone as per order....