# Sticky Steering Wheel...YUK!



## molly (Oct 31, 2014)

So who else has a steering wheel that gets to feeling sticky, so that one has to keep wiping one's hands on one's pants while driving!  I have tried a couple different cleaners but it always comes back... Has anyone bought a cover for theirs? If so, what kind and where, and did it make a positive difference?

As usual, thanks guys!!


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

You can try these products:
- GooGone
- ArmorAll
- WD40


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi Molly
I tried cleaning some of the shine off my original leather steering wheel cover with Magic Eraser which basically just removed the top coloring layer of the leather. 
In my search for a replacement a few years back, I found this
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...b2d2abeb05307e6e-1496923526016-02847-VnYZvQVf

There is some effort required to stitch it together, but its a perfect fit and feel. I got the perforated leather for where you keep your hands on the wheel. Its a very good quality product and the kit includes everything needed to install it.


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

quadraria10...you have good taste in steering wheel covers...lol..i bought pretty much the exact same one off of Amazon last year for about $15 . I too spent some time carefully stitching the red thread nice and tight...but i think this weekend i will re examine my handiwork and re-tighten the thread as there is a little bit of slop that is annoying me. Other then that it looked really good and felt great in my hand whenever i turned the wheel. .......MOLLY= use a good automotive leather cleaner and whatever recommended cloth they suggest. Canadian Tire sells autoglym and maguire leather cleaning products (to name a few). IF your steering wheel was like mine when i bought my 06 xtrail with 208,000 klms on the odometer and long ago lost it's nice shiny rich leather look....maybe go ahead and use warm soapy water with a very very slightly abrasive cloth or scrub brush( again..if you have a very worn down steering wheel and color and feel is past it's freshness) or maybe try a bit of lemon juice with warm water on a dishrag. I work in an Autoglass replacement shop and very often as a customer courtesy i will clean the vehicle's steering wheel as a kind gesture. We use these automotive cleaning cloths that can be bought at any decent auto parts supply store. They work very good at removing greasy fingerprint smudges, food/coffee/syrupy crap, etc. It is a very wise idea to clean your steering wheel as often as you can as it can get pretty disgusting over time ...whatever dirty hands touch the wheel gets transferred and often we humans often touch our mouths or facial areas after touching a steering wheel. Might as well clean it and avoid any grossness eh.


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

look at this http://www.blog.autoglym.com.au/clean-your-leather-steering-wheel/......maguires and other brands will work too...easily found at canadian tire. Clean your steering wheel once or twice a week, regardless of how dirty it looks or feels in your hands....so many oils, dirt and who knows what can get transferred by your dirty hands (or previous drivers) and very often, as is human nature, we tend to touch our own faces/mouths with our fingers when we are speaking to others. I can suggest a simple cleaner such as a good pack of baby wipes or even a warm water/lemon juice mixture on a dish rag. Remember, you just want to clean the wheel of grime...not make it shiny and slippery that you might lose grip and crash...so test a small area with whatever cleaner you do use. http://www.armorall.com/sites/default/files/Group_Cleaning.png


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## molly (Oct 31, 2014)

Thanks for the ideas! It actually looks almost greenish where the black seems to be rubbing off the last time I wiped it down. I will try out some of these tips. I suck at sewing so doubtless would stitch my fingers to the steering wheel, bahaha!!!


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi Molly
Actually its more like lacing then sewing per se. Just requires a little patience. Easiest alternative might well be a trip to Can tire or wal mart, and just buy a cover that you slip over your existing one.


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

Molly, i was at Rona today to buy a few things for the front yard & weedeater....i walked over to the automotive section ( mostly waxes, cleaning supplies, few motor oils, wash buckets, cloths, sponges, etc) and they too sell the leather cleaning solutions and leather reconditioning fluids....each from about $12- to $18. It sounds like from steering wheel description (((( It actually looks almost greenish where the black seems to be rubbing off the last time I wiped it down. }}}} that your wheel has been heavily worn down with no more original color . You might want to consider paying a professional at some auto seat center to re-dye your steering wheel back to black or whatever color you choose. I had this friend who about 25 years ago had his entire dash redyed to black on his olds custom cruiser....looked very nice. As usual, you get what you pay for...i'd inquire about how long the dye job will last, how much $$, if slippery or grippy texture and so on. 



 and also do not be hesistant to ''stitch'' your own cover on your wheel.....i have no sewing experience....i just gave it a try and it was fairly easy to do, just need patience and common sense on where to cross stitch for tight fit. .......


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

The kit I linked to is similar to the wheelskins one but you don't sew thru holes in the leather but instead you lace it through the existing stitching they have sewn onto it. Pretty much identical to this video.


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