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Sticky Steering Wheel

decgraham

Well-known member
Joined
17 Sep 2008
Messages
1,664
After 23 years of use and a twice yearly feeding with Glipton liquid leather my steering wheel on my last long run was feeling sticky around the 3 O'clock position. I decided to have a look on line regarding what to do with a "sticky wheel" :lol: Anyway, I followed a rather annoying US YouTube video instruction (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHG3UBgi6Tw) and hey presto the wheel is back to semi matt, smooth and no longer sticky.

I could not believe the amount of dirt that came off the wheel. At first I thought that I was removing all the black dye but not the case, a mixture of dirt and dye I think but the wheel is still black so no problems. I had to clean it a couple of times to remove all the dirt but I am pleased with the result. I used a Ph neutral liquid soap, a 3M blue scotch pad, a scrubbing brush and a tooth brush for the small hard to get to areas. I let it dry out for 24 hours and then applied a light feed of Glipton liquid leather, I repeated the feeding 2 more times over the next 48 hours and job done.

ATB :)
 

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It's the liquid leather that's causing the problem in the first place.

Modern leather (which 993s have) doesn't need conditioners. That stuff just sits on the leather and then the dirt sticks to it and builds up into a nasty shiny mess.

Looks like you've done a great job in cleaning it up but you've sowed the seeds for it to re-occur by putting conditioner back on again.
 
Thanks madge for the feedback. I thought liquid leather was good stuff. I've been using it on the seats the same as I have on the wheel without a problem. I suppose as I don't drive the car bare arsed :D it's not going to absorb the sweat like it does from my hands. What should I apply to the wheel to avoid this happening in the future? Mind you this was the first clean in 23 years.

ATB :)
 
Hi Graham

Gliptone do a leather cleaner that I find quite good, however I quite like to use saddle soap on all the leather on the car.

I use the Gliptone leather conditioner maybe once a year as I think it helps keep the leather supple but the saddle soap also maintains the condition

The alternative is Renapur but I've never used it on my seats

However.........my car is slowly becoming a "Barn Find"
 

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Hi AP90,

Funnily enough I was thinking about sadle soap. Having watched a recent episode of "The Repair Shop" on BBC2 I watched them refurbish an old dried out leather lounger and they used sadle soap and it did a fabulous job. It will be going on my shopping list. :thumb:

Noooo don't let that car become a barn find :D

ATB :)
 
You just need to keep the leather surfaces clean, no need to feed them with anything. It's all to do with the synthetic fat liquors apparently.

Once you've got all the gunk off a regular wipe down with a mild soap solution will be enough. There are specialist leather cleaning products out there if you want them but steer clear of any type of 'conditioners', including saddle soap.

Your old vintage Jag or MG might need conditioner but our cars don't.

I like Dr Leather as a cleaner because it has a lovely leathery smell, but it's an extravagance really. I also use Gtechniq L1 to also help prevent dirt fixing itself to the leather again. If you have light coloured leather it will also stop the blue from your jeans marking the seats.

This is from Gtechnic:

Myth buster

Many leather products market themselves on how they feed leather, when in fact this is not needed. Modern automotive leather use synthetic fat liquors which do not evaporate. Any product that is designed to feed leathers will not be absorbed by modern automotive leathers but instead remain on the surface attracting dirt which will then act as an abrasive foreshortening the leather's finish.
 
Ah, I see. I always thought that saddle soap was just a gentle cleaner rather than a conditioner?
 

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