Removing "shine" from steering wheel...

[11B250]

Hey guys,

We just purchased a 2015 BMW X5 and the car is in very good condition. The leather on the seats is also in pretty good condition. The steering wheel has that typical "used car" shine on the steering wheel that all wheels eventually get...

any suggestions on safely bringing back that original matte finish? I know it's not possible to bring it back fully as leather absorbs it over the years and just creates shine... but looking for some general suggestions to help it. It's not in "bad" condition, but could use little help.

[DaveT435]

Use a leather cleaner on it just like you do the seats. Works great.

[vobro]

Yes wheel needs to be cleaned

[rlmccarty2000]

The shine may come from skin oils or whatever product(s) the previous owner used. I don’t know of anything but a good leather cleaner to bring back the matte look. It’s also possible that the top layer of the coated leather has worn away, but then the wheel would look splotchy. Getting a leather steering wheel really clean takes me a long time and a lot of muscle. I keep rubbing until no dirt comes up on my microfiber. It can take awhile.

[minerigger]

Steam helps a bit but don’t get toncarried away


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[Eldorado2k]

Hey guys,

We just purchased a 2015 BMW X5 and the car is in very good condition. The leather on the seats is also in pretty good condition. The steering wheel has that typical "used car" shine on the steering wheel that all wheels eventually get...

any suggestions on safely bringing back that original matte finish? I know it's not possible to bring it back fully as leather absorbs it over the years and just creates shine...

It’s totally possible to bring it back to it’s original state, the bigger problem would be if it has obtained any rashes or actual tears in the leather, but “shine” is usually no problem.

I find that either diluted All Purpose Cleaner or a dedicated Leather Cleaner can both get the job done. Can’t go wrong. Your preference.



Start with dirty steering wheel.



Spray the cleaner onto the towel and firmly grasp the steering wheel and start going around and round, moving to clean side of the towel as needed. If it’s Really dirty then your towel might wind up looking like this. This was an extreme case! Lol.



But the steering wheel looks back to matte, just like we like it.



Except for that rash on the left side. No amount of cleaning will make a rash go away.



That brings up another important point. You might want to clean it in steps, meaning not all in 1 round, reason being is sometimes we can get carried away with the amount of “dirt” we see coming off onto the towel. We see this “dirt” and get excited, leading us to keep rubbing until realizing it’s not dirt but the actual dye that’s rubbing off. You don’t want to make that mistake. That’s why if you get the slightest idea that may be happening, it’s best to lay off for a minute and allow the steering wheel to dry and relax back into its natural state and inspect your progress before deciding to proceed with further cleaning.

Sorry for the long running post, hopefully it helps in any way. Good luck.

[11B250]

Thanks guys!

I noticed people use APC to clean dirt off leather. It sounds real harsh to me. I have some leather/upholstery cleaner I'll use. It's really not that bad so...

that being said, I know what you mean about "going at it". I did this with our last vehicle (nissan pathfinder) and ended up literally rubbing the coating/dye away...

I'll work on it, and come back with pics when I get some free time!