Refinished the leather on my steering wheel

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

Thanks to some great advice from my good friend OEM+++Variant, tonight I finished refinishing my GTI 3 spoke steering wheel. I currently have a 20th AE wheel in the car, as the old GTI wheel had a lot of the old dye worn off across the to top, say from 10 to 2.

here's how I did it...

Here's the initial wear spot that literally ran from 10 to 2:


I used Feibling's Deglazer to take off the finish and some of the original dye. Not all the dye will come off, but the wheel looked very matte and was nice and smooth. Not really pic worthy as it's just rubbing on a solvent.

However, here's what it looked like after the deglazing:






I then daubed on normal Zelikovitz black dye with a lambswool dauber, wiped off excess, and repeated again.





Afterwards it looked like this:


Then I used a leather aerosol spray dye to help with a nice, even finish, but messed it up (sprayed too close). So I used 1600 grit to wet sand the orange peel off. Once perfectly smooth, I applied two coats of spray dye on the wheel, which gave it a perfect covering and finish. No pix of the spray process cuz it's impossible to spray and shoot at the same time, but suffice to say I sprayed in even coats from a distance of about 75cm.


I then applied three coats of Zelikovitz 'professional top coat' with a clean rag, rubbing it on, to seal the leather and give it a nice finish.












Thanks again Jay!

It'll be re-installed in January, when I put in a new shifter. Pix will follow.

[fookie]

I can't wait for the pix... I always wanted to see how this was done.

[Pimped Wagon]

We want Photos! My car has the same issue with the steering wheel. You might make a lot of people happy

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

Originally Posted by Pimped Wagon

We want Photos! My car has the same issue with the steering wheel. You might make a lot of people happy

It's not that hard to do, nor does it take much time really. It makes it waaay easier to do it with the wheel off the car, but assuming you can mask the interior of the car (sheets would work well) it can be done, although not sure how easy it would be to spray dye on the back side, unless you just re-dyed the front only.

[passaturbonium]

[StattlichPassat]

Interesting... does it just look new or does it feel like new as well? I need this done as well but don't want a dried-paint feel on my worn areas.

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

Originally Posted by StattlichPassat

Interesting... does it just look new or does it feel like new as well? I need this done as well but don't want a dried-paint feel on my worn areas.

It looks and feels new. Will post pix but it's kinda hard to get a decent pic, since it's a shiney black, round surface. Using leather-specific products means it won't feel like dried paint. Hell, even before I put the clear top coat on, it felt like brand new OEM.

[ButchHusky]

Interesting. The finish on the steering wheel in my Corrado is getting a little rough on the top, maybe some of the Zelikovitz professional top coat will do the trick.

edit: did you use satin or gloss?

Brian

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

Pix added above. Finish is gloss, considering it'll get a lot of wear, allowing it to wear into a satin finish.

[ccollantes]

Wow! Great write-up Johnny! Where'd you buy the materials?

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

Originally Posted by ccollantes

Wow! Great write-up Johnny! Where'd you buy the materials?

Got them at Tandy Leather Supply.

[cpark]

Wow!!!!!!

[dutch-mountains]

That turned out great!

[KnoxHotch]

wow... that's awesome! looks like a ton of work, but well worth it!

my oem 4 spoke wheel started feeling rough around the top such as you described and soon after it cracked right on the top and it's bugging me... maybe time to upgrade to a 3 spoke

[mnflycaster]

That is great! Thanks for the pics!
Dang it... Now there is one more thing to do on the car this year...
I was just going to buy a leather cover... now I have to this!

[fookie]

I've been looking for a write up of this for a while...thanks! Info-base forum material indeed!

[mrgreek2002]

That's great Johnny. My stock 4-spoke wheel looks like your your wheel before you fixed it. Now I know what to do to it, if I ever want to put it back on the car. But I doubt I will ever put it back on the car any time soon.

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

Glad I could contribute and help some other guys along.

It really isn't that hard to do, nor does it take a whole lot of work. I'd say from start to finish, not counting time for drying, it took maybe 40 minutes of work.

[captainfantastic]

Well done John
Looks fine.

[JayTheSnork]

canuck, that looks great. can anyone else say, "Info Base Forum?"

Sweet finish, now only if that worked on the door grab handles.

[slobo7x]

damn that looks good man!! Wow, i may have to do this as well..

[senseless1707]

looks really good!! such a big difference!

[sipes216]

Originally Posted by JayTheSnork

canuck, that looks great. can anyone else say, "Info Base Forum?"

does "go for it" sound close enough?

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

I'd be honoured if it was moved there.

[JayTheSnork]

Originally Posted by sipes216

does "go for it" sound close enough?

done.

canuck, now you are obligated to leave the pix on the pix hosting website for eternity.