How to refinish your cruddy looking steering wheel

Discussion in 'Mazdaspeed 3 How-To' started by prodigalson, Jan 4, 2017.

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  1. prodigalson

    prodigalson Greenie Member

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    **You will no longer have red stitching if you do this** You might try to avoid dyeing the stitching, but I am very doubtful as to the likelihood of success with this approach. Frankly, the red isn't very vivid or noticeable and I wasn't ready to spend $350 on an aftermarket wheel, and I absolutely hated how shoddy the wheel looked, so it wasn't an issue for me.

    Items needed
    (I purchased the Fiebings products and the wool daubers on Amazon); Cost was approximately $35 total.
    -Fiebings Deglazer
    -Fiebings black dye
    -Fiebings Resolene
    -Soft cotton cloths
    -Disposable gloves
    -Foam brush
    -Wool daubers

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    *BE SURE TO USE GLOVES FOR EVERY STEP! Also, do this in an area where you don’t mind getting dye on stuff. This dye will stain anything! Even stainless steel!

    Remove the steering wheel. I used the Corksport instructions provided for their replacement steering wheel. Follow their procedure until you have everything removed from the steering wheel.

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    Deglazer is used to remove the factory sealant coating. If the factory sealant coating is not removed, the dye will not be fully absorbed by the leather, resulting in an uneven finish. Put on a pair of rubber gloves before you begin. Using a terry cloth rag, pour enough deglazer on it to soak the rag, then rub/scrub the steering wheel with it. Remoisten the rag periodically as it evaporates quickly. Be sure not to neglect any areas.

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    As soon as the deglazer step is completed, begin applying dye. The daubers hold a lot of liquid, so be careful to squeeze off excess by pulling it across the edge of the container. In this fashion, evenly coat all surfaces of the steering wheel.

    Allow to dry overnight, then inspect to ensure all areas are sufficiently dyed. If not, add more as needed and allow to dry overnight.

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    Once satisfied with the dyeing, and after you have waited overnight to let it cure/dry, use a soft cotton cloth (I used an old, clean T-Shirt), buff the leather. If the steering wheel is still sticky, use some deglazer on a fresh terry cloth towel to remove excess dye.

    Once steering wheel is buffed to a nice gloss and dry from any deglazer you may have used, take the foam brush, dip it in water, then squeeze it in a clean rag to remove excess water (foam should be damp). Dip into the Resolene, brush off excess Resolene and begin applying to steering wheel. Once the entire wheel has been coated, continue to brush with foam brush until the Resolene has been absorbed. You should see a very nice gloss at this point. Set aside overnight. On mine, I noticed that the upper part of the steering wheel where the finish originally was the worst needed a second layer, so I applied another layer. Wait another night for the acrylic coating to fully cure, then reassemble and reinstall steering wheel. You'll be pleased with the result.
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    Last edited: Jan 6, 2017
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  2. mattyhawk

    mattyhawk Greenie Member

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    Sounds like a good idea, mine looks like crap. I would like to see what it looks like now.
     
  3. prodigalson

    prodigalson Greenie Member

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    Pics posted
     
    prodigalson, via an iPhone, Jan 4, 2017
    #3
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  4. mattyhawk

    mattyhawk Greenie Member

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    Wow, that turned out pretty good, seems worth the effort to me.
     
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  5. NavysailorMS3

    NavysailorMS3 Greenie Member

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    Very Nice, I might try this later.
     
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  6. VTMongoose

    VTMongoose John/MD1032 Greenie Member

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    How does the refinished wheel feel to the touch? Is it as smooth as the original?
     
  7. prodigalson

    prodigalson Greenie Member

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    The feel is actually smoother because of the restoration of the gloss coat. Feels like it would have when new. If you neglect your steering wheel long enough, it will become pitted/damaged and then would likely need a filler and sanding to restore a smooth finish. Our cars are new enough, I suspect that most of us will not have this issue. Down the road it could be an issue.
     
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  8. SharksInSpace

    SharksInSpace Planets and shit. Silver Member

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    I'm tempted to bust my stock wheel out of storage and play around with this method, just to see how it goes. It'd be great to know I can successfully refinish my CS wheel at some point down the line, if it starts showing too much wear.
     
    SharksInSpace, via a mobile device, Jan 5, 2017
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  9. prodigalson

    prodigalson Greenie Member

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    Give it a shot. Post up some pics if you do!

    FYI: I used about a half bottle of the deglazer and very little of the dye/Resolene.
     
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  10. Raider

    Raider Administraider Administrator Platinum Member

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    nice write up!
     
    Raider, via an iPhone, Jan 5, 2017
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