Leather dye for steering wheel?

brettS4

brettS4

New member
Joined
Jan 7, 2015
Messages
649
Reaction score
0
My 16 year old Audi S4 has a black leather-wrapped steering wheel that needs some care. It has gotten a mottled look in spots over the years, most likely due to the original dye or paint wearing off. Same thing happened to my previous A4 (it had an identical steering wheel).

I remember reading somewhere online a while back about treating it with dye and making it look new again. Does anyone have experience with that sort of thing and can recommend a product?
 
My problem is similar. A recently acquired (used) Porsche had a good looking steering wheel until I took some leather cleaner to it. Now I have a whitish area where clearly the previous owner rubbed off the die getting in and out of the car.

Shoe polish didn't work so what are other options?View attachment 55933
 
I mentioned my problem to a coworker and it turned out that he had bought a Leatherique steering wheel restoration kit a few years ago and never used it. I traded him a new bottle of Collinite 845 and we're both happy with the deal. It'll be a while before I'll be able to use it, but it should do the job for me.
 
Hi BrettS4,

This is one of the products I found with a Google search. I would prefer to not have to remove the steering wheel to do this restoration. How are you going to use this product? My leather is fine, no cracks, etc, I just have that white area that needs to be dyed.

Collinite 845 was unknown to me before, how well do you like this wax? I am a Zaino fan, but am always interested in other enthusiasts experience.

Thank you
 
I used the same leatherique steering wheel kit for my euro wheel. Very happy with the results.
 
I won't be removing my steering wheel, either. It's going to require sanding the leather to get the coating off the undamaged areas and make it uniform. Then coloring it with the leather dye. And after that dries, sealing it so the color doesn't rub off. My steering wheel is black so it should be easier for me to get a uniform color. You will have to be a bit more careful.

Collinite is a good wax but it's not my top choice. I use it on my wheels and in late fall on the paint for winter protection. If you like Zaino you'd probably prefer Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant (WGDGPS) since that is more reflective (shinier).
 
Based on some other forums and reviews I am going to give Colorbond a try. It is supposed to bond to the leather at a molecular level. They have manufacturer specific colors including Porsche black. I am hopeful this will let me just "refinish" the area of the wheel that is damaged. I'll post back my experience with pictures.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G6ITLEG/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you,
 
Finally received my order of ColorBond in Porsche Black. I cleaned the wheel with a TSP substitute to strip off all prior conditioners before applying the ColorBond After three coats of ColorBond, waiting the 10 minutes between applications, I am very happy with the results as you can see in the before and after pictures. The leather cleaner/conditioner I used didn't take off the ColorBond, so I guess it really is bonded. The white sheen is reflection of my overhead garage light. The area is completely black and matches the rest of the wheel exactly.

View attachment 56484[/ATTACH]View attachment 56483
 
That looks amazing! What did you use to apply the ColorBond?
 
I had a 2000 Jetta with a steering wheel that looked about identical to the OP's Audi wheel, with similar issues. The car had almost 200k on it so I wasn't worried about messing anything up, and was pleasantly surprised that plain old satin black spray paint made it look like new, and held up for the 2 years I owned it. Sometimes you don't need to buy anything fancy to get great results.

View attachment 56520
 
Whitesheep said:
Finally received my order of ColorBond in Porsche Black. I cleaned the wheel with a TSP substitute to strip off all prior conditioners before applying the ColorBond After three coats of ColorBond, waiting the 10 minutes between applications, I am very happy with the results as you can see in the before and after pictures. The leather cleaner/conditioner I used didn't take off the ColorBond, so I guess it really is bonded. The white sheen is reflection of my overhead garage light. The area is completely black and matches the rest of the wheel exactly.

View attachment 56484[/ATTACH]View attachment 56483
Click to expand...

That's awesome may have to look into that.
 
Since I was concerned about spraying black "paint" into my Porsche's interior I masked everything off with newspaper and tape. In the end over spray was not a problem, but too much masking is better than not enough. ColorBond appears and acts like spray paint and is applied in layers directly from the spray can one light mist at a time. I did about three to four passes then waited 10 minutes per the instructions to apply another three to four pass coat. In total I applied three separate layers.
 
Following up on the staying power of the Colorbond. I am very happy with how this application is holding up. I may need to hit it with another layer once cooler weather arrives, but I could totally live with the slight imperfections that are peaking through now. Not mentioned in my earlier posts was that I also corrected the seat bolster for a similar issue and it is holding up even better than the wheel. I give Colorbond a high rating and I am glad I have a can.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top