Restoring Leather Steering Wheel

Larry

Larry

True Classic
I have a steering wheel I picked up many years ago. It's supposedly a United Colors of Benetton Steering Wheel that was later painted black with a leather(?) paint.

I have no idea if the story is true or not. But I'm willing to try to see if I can get it cleaned up, but I have no idea how to even start on it.

Looking for suggestions on what I can do to either restore it back to its former glory or prove that it wasn't anything special.
 
I am currently re-coloring the interior of my Lexus GX one piece at a time using mostly Color Bond LVP paint. It is working great and holding up really well so far, even in high wear areas like the steering wheel and arm rests. Looks 100% natural and they have tons of color options.
Some leather patching puddy and some of that and I would think you could fix up anything. I will be patching my seats soon with the same technique.
 
visualistics said:
I am currently re-coloring the interior of my Lexus GX one piece at a time using mostly Color Bond LVP paint. It is working great and holding up really well so far, even in high wear areas like the steering wheel and arm rests. Looks 100% natural and they have tons of color options.
Some leather patching puddy and some of that and I would think you could fix up anything. I will be patching my seats soon with the same technique.
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For the steering wheel, I was a little concerned about the constant touching the paint would undergo. Also, with a dye kit, you don't have to remove the wheel or make any extraordinary masking efforts on the rest of the interior.

I did use Duplicor vinyl/fabric paint on my leather door cards. They were originally very red and I needed them black. I tried dyeing them black at first, but I wasn't skilled enough, or maybe not patient enough, to get the finish to be consistent across the large surface. So I painted them and they turned out great.
20221123_073736.jpg
 
JimD said:
Hi Larry,

Took me a little time to find my old post, but I refreshed the steering wheel in my 85 with a kit off Amazon. It wasn't cheap, but it was effective and contains plenty of product to keep the wheel looking fresh.
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Thanks for finding the post. But I'm not getting that this will strip the existing paint / coating off to reveal the colors underneath (if any exist)? Or is this something I could do once I get down to the underlying color?
 
visualistics said:
I am currently re-coloring the interior of my Lexus GX one piece at a time using mostly Color Bond LVP paint. It is working great and holding up really well so far, even in high wear areas like the steering wheel and arm rests. Looks 100% natural and they have tons of color options.
Some leather patching puddy and some of that and I would think you could fix up anything. I will be patching my seats soon with the same technique.
Click to expand...
I'm interested in hearing how the Color Bond LVP holds up on the steering wheel....
 
Larry said:
Thanks for finding the post. But I'm not getting that this will strip the existing paint / coating off to reveal the colors underneath (if any exist)? Or is this something I could do once I get down to the underlying color?
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The kit includes a sanding pad, so you could use that to dig for color. Check YouTube for any videos on the subject. I am sure they are out there somewhere.
 
JimD said:
For the steering wheel, I was a little concerned about the constant touching the paint would undergo. Also, with a dye kit, you don't have to remove the wheel or make any extraordinary masking efforts on the rest of the interior.

I did use Duplicor vinyl/fabric paint on my leather door cards. They were originally very red and I needed them black. I tried dyeing them black at first, but I wasn't skilled enough, or maybe not patient enough, to get the finish to be consistent across the large surface. So I painted them and they turned out great.
View attachment 80153
Click to expand...
Interesting.... I have some undamaged door panels - my current door panels had speaker holes cut into them - but they're the wrong color. This gives me options if I can just repaint the wrong color ones. How has the Duplicolor vinyl/fabric paint held up?
 
JimD said:
The kit includes a sanding pad, so you could use that to dig for color. Check YouTube for any videos on the subject. I am sure they are out there somewhere.
Click to expand...
Ohhh... I like that. I've become a bit disillusioned with YouTube videos but I'll give them a try again...
 
Larry said:
Interesting.... I have some undamaged door panels - my current door panels had speaker holes cut into them - but they're the wrong color. This gives me options if I can just repaint the wrong color ones. How has the Duplicolor vinyl/fabric paint held up?
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The paint is holding up fine. I got some type of cleaning solution on it while washing the car and thought it was permanently messed up. A little vinyl cleaner fixed it up pretty well, which surprised me.

Here are pics of the DS door and the exact can I used. The stain is a faint whiteish drid below and left of the mirror knob. I haven't tried to rouch it up because it is very faint now. It was very white prior to the vinyl cleaner.
20240102_140542.jpg20240102_140503.jpg20240102_140158.jpg
 
The Color Bond (or the DupliColor) soaks into the leather, as it's porous, so it SHOULD hold up as it basically is acting like a dye, and so far after a few months it looks exactly the same, but yes I am also curious to see how long it lasts. I have seen good results from other guys who have done it on seats and said it was really durable.
 
Larry said:
I have a steering wheel I picked up many years ago. It's supposedly a United Colors of Benetton Steering Wheel that was later painted black with a leather(?) paint.

I have no idea if the story is true or not. But I'm willing to try to see if I can get it cleaned up, but I have no idea how to even start on it.

Looking for suggestions on what I can do to either restore it back to its former glory or prove that it wasn't anything special.
Click to expand...
From what I read on these colour change paints or dyes - there ain't no goin back. They put a lot of effort into making sure it does not come off.....

To check the story, I would probe with a very slim pick in near the hub on the back of the wheel [depending on the style] If your leather ends further out on the spokes, same idea, dig around a teeny bit on the back at an edge. If it was a Benetton, the colours were so bright and so different from each other, it should be very easy to find out if it ever was.
 
Steve Thomas said:
From what I read on these colour change paints or dyes - there ain't no goin back. They put a lot of effort into making sure it does not come off.....

To check the story, I would probe with a very slim pick in near the hub on the back of the wheel [depending on the style] If your leather ends further out on the spokes, same idea, dig around a teeny bit on the back at an edge. If it was a Benetton, the colours were so bright and so different from each other, it should be very easy to find out if it ever was.
Click to expand...
That's something I've also heard. But I haven't thought about poking at the wheel to see if the colors are under the black. I have some dental picks around here somewhere - I'll see what I can find.
 
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