yayfortrees

My truck has been sitting for a couple of years, and now that I'm close to getting it back on the road again, the steering wheel is really sticky on the hands.

Does anybody know of any fixes for this besides replacement or a cover? I despise steering wheel covers, and don't have the money for a replacement.

I understand that it's the material breaking down, I am hoping there is some way to seal it, and slow down or stop the decomposing of the material. I've read on another forum (unknown, so I don't really trust it) that somebody fixed their's with windex, and then somebody else said to use windex wipes. I haven't tried it yet, I'm afraid of making it worse.

Thanks in advance for any experience or ideas.

Kiroshu

You can try wipes but if the rubbers melting and getting all messed up with cracks get a cover... Or go to a junk yard and get another one....

N2Frodn

I just pressed a Toyota factory steering wheel back into service that had been sitting in my parent's garage since 1992. It was NASTY.

3M Prep Solvent-70 Made it look and feel as good as new.

Worked equally as well on a Lexus steering wheel (leather). I tested the product on the old, cracked wheel I was replacing. Seems to be leather safe.

Also use it on the wheel in my Tacoma, starting to show some cracks on the wrap, but I attribute that to age rather then the product.

yayfortrees

Cool, that's really good to know.

The other day, I found another solution by total accident. After picking up and handling some rocks off the side of a gravel road, I got back in the truck and started driving. I noticed that the steering wheel felt good again, almost slick, but not too slick to use. The dust on my hands coated the steering wheel, and sort of sealed the outside. Even after washing my hands, the wheel still feels great!

I doubt too many on yotatech would hesitate to rub dirt into their steering wheel, but for anybody with a dirt phobia, the 3M would probably be the way to go. I'm all about the free, tool-less fixes that can be done anywhere and actually work!

If anybody wants to try the dirt trick, use really fine road dust. If you find a gravel road that is kicking up a lot of dust behind you, that should work just fine. Pick up a handful of dust and gravel, getting your hands pretty well coated in it. Shake off the excess, and start touching the wheel all the way around. You should notice a difference right away. Once you have enough on there, wipe off your hands and enjoy the like-new feel of your dirty steering wheel!

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Dirt to make it cleaner? Come on...


I had this issue with my Datsun recently and used a mix of vinegar (4 parts) and water (1 part) and a rag to take it all off. The amount of grime that came off was disgustsing, and now it's smooth as new!

70elcoss

someone makes a sorta thin i think vinyl steering wheel covers, its hardly noticeable, unlike those massive furry ones. i have one on mine and is just about the same color as the steering wheel, ill try to get a pic of it tomorrow. its sorta like a stealth steering wheel cover lol unless it is factory but i doubt it

yayfortrees

"Dirt to make it cleaner? Come on..."

Read the thread. This wasn't to clean the steering wheel. It is to fix a sticky steering wheel due to the material breaking down. There's no amount of cleaning that will fix old, decomposing material.

70elcoss, I've never seen these before. That sounds like a very viable alternative. I hate the massive furry covers, or just about any other cover. I've seen too many of them that were so gross I didn't want to touch it! I would love to see a picture of it.

70elcoss

here you go, i bought the runner from the original owner and saved the receipts for everything! but didn't see a receipt for the steering wheel cover.




the stitching is starting to break a bit like in the second picture but its hardly noticeable, if your not looking closely you wont even notice its a steering wheel cover

Foqa

I know this is an extremely old thread but you're gonna wanna repaint it. Remove as much grime as possible (isopropyl alcohol and the scrubby side of a sponge will work) and then use super glue and sand paper to fill and smooth out any areas that have got fibers sticking up as these areas will not take paint (the super glue is pretty much a cheap sandable filler, basically bondo on a much smaller scale). Your goal with the super glue is to smooth the surface and the glue also makes it possible to sand away the weird fibers that stick up. Make sure to sand all slick areas with a fine piece of sand paper so the paint will stick and then use any sort spray paint that's specifically for vinyl (car interior paint). I got some from the local autoparts store and it's a perfect color match despite the store only having two different shades of grey (I believe it's duplicolor charcoal grey). This will stop the wheel being sticky although it's a decent bit of work. Best results if you remove the steering wheel (which you'll probably need a puller for). Although it is definitely doable with the wheel in the truck you'll just have to do some masking. Good luck!