Cleaning t type wheel?

[joesregalproject]

Kind of a stupid question but, I have a t type steering wheel in my regal that I bought off of craigslist, I got it for 30 bucks, and it's in really good shape, no tears in the stitching or leather, and the plastic retainer ring isn't cracked or dry rotted. However the leather is a little bit nasty, and it's starting to bug me. It's all shiny and greasy-like, and I just want to clean it real well. I normally use scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner to clean leather, but I fear that would be too aggressive. Any other ideas? And I really don't feel like spending $40 on cleaning materials to clean a $30 steering wheel.

 

[anthonychacon80]

maybe some diluted DAWN and some warm water first REALLY dirty, then Sattle soap and a soft bristle brush and some elbow grease. Then use a good shoe leather polish and buff it out and then some ArmorAll for a nice shine.

 

[L92 OLDS]

Wipe it down with a soapy rag and hot water, allow to dry then apply a protectant / leather conditioner. Choose a conditioner that isn't glossy if you don't like the shine. I would stay away from abrasives, brushes etc. unless your sure the finish won't be damaged.

 

[joesregalproject]

Choose a conditioner that isn't glossy if you don't like the shine. I would stay away from abrasives, brushes etc. unless your sure the finish won't be damaged.

im not sure about anything, thats why im asking it here. i just dont want to rub out the dye in the leather. i hate the shine, it looks fake and never lasts. anyone know of a good, low gloss leather conditioner?

 

[B1tchin'-Buick]

Maybe try a sporting goods store and find something that baseball players use to treat there Gloves. As A kid I used something on my baseball glove to keep it from cracking/dry rot but that was Many years ago.....
Not sure about the shine factor though?
Cleaning >>I don't see where soap and water will hurt......

<Mike>

 

[chevy2480]

I just cleaned a grey ttype wheel yesterday. It was black with grease and plain nasty. I used gojo hand cleaner and it came up perfect. Then i wiped it down with leather conditioner.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

I used a tough hand cleaner to get the majority off then I used Leather Boot polish to finish it. I know its not the same wheel as yours but this is after a few minutes of polishing. Use a small cotton qtip to get in the small areas where sh*t sticks.

 

[joesregalproject]

well, i cleaned my wheel up using several methods. what i did-

i cleaned the steel spokes up with a brillo pad and dry rag- worked fine. as for the leather, i tried using the gojo method first. and it definitely cleaned the wheel up, however it was a bit stronger than i first thought, and did remove a bit of the dye (my steering wheel is black), although nothing too noticeable. if i would have used the scrubbing bubbles, it would have removed a lot more dye. anyways, it made the wheel dull, and made all of the imperfections in the leather (tiny knicks and spots where the dye was removed) stick out. so next i put some of the leather conditioner on, hoping it would help. i found a can of "hot glove" leather conditioner, used to break in baseball gloves, that i had sitting around from little league. now, you are supposed to wipe the 'glove' or in this case the steering wheel down with the conditioner, and then bake it in the oven for 4 min, but since i cant put my steering wheel in the oven, i just wiped the stuff into the wheel real good, then let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off. the conditioner helped hide the imperfections a little bit, but not much, the wheel still looked crummy. so i took yet another suggestion, after letting the conditioner sit for a little while. i gave up my hope for having a low gloss, clean looking wheel, and got out the shoe polish. i gave it a good shoe shine, shining it 3 times, and the black polish hid the imperfections pretty well. finally, since the retainer ring and horn button arent leather, there is no fear of ruining them with an aggressive cleaner, so i used scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner on it, which always works great for a low gloss finish on rubber, vinyl, plastic, and leather (when it isnt old). i dont have my camera or i'd post a pic. thanks for all the suggestions.