Mark944na86

I've just restored a leather steering wheel finishing off with two coats (applied a day apart) of Leatherique "clear-kote" to give the leather some extra protection against wear.

The leather on the wheel came out shinier than I hoped (I like a more natural low-gloss sheen on clean leather), but is also just a bit sticky to grip after a couple of days. It's supposed to cure after 24 hours, but I don't know how long it should be until it's completely hardened.

I'd like to take a bit of the gloss off, and any remaining stickiness, without damaging the new finish. I will wait a few more days in any case before trying anything, to give the hardening process a bit more of a chance. But what method, if any, would you recommend? I was thinking of applying something lightly abrasive, like very fine 1000 grit wet and dry paper, and perhaps following with some Leatherique "prestine clean" cleaner, since I have that on hand.

Any other ideas?

ArthurPE

I like a stiff brush and saddle soap or Lexol soap (not conditioner) mixed with distilled water
wipe dry with a mf rag
I usually don't apply any treatment to the steering wheel, just keep it clean

Mark944na86

Just thought I'd follow-up by saying the stickiness went away over time, without any else required to be done, so now the steering wheel feels quite natural. The leatherique "clear-kote" took a few weeks to really fully cure though, not the two days it says on the label! Even so, I'm satisfied with the end result.

No HTwo O

May have taken longer to "cure" due to your air temp & humidty level. It's summer now in The Land Down Under.

MoeMistry

The curing time will depend on many factors such as ambient temp, humidity, application method, etc. The best thing to always do is let things sit for a while and acclimate to the ambient environment. Then come back and assess the situation and make changes. Great to hear it all worked out.

TOGWT

FWIW- this type of clear paint can be 'heat cured' with infra-red heat, a heat gun or hair dryer

jcslocum

Can you post you technique for reairing the wheel and what it looked like before??

I have one to do but this would be the first time attempting it. ANy pre instruction would be a big help.

Mark944na86

Leatherique actually sell a steering wheel kit with a small amount of the leather filler, black leather dye, prep fluid and "klear-kote". I think there are some detailed instructions on their web site.

In any case, the steps for the kit are:

1) Remove old finish using prep fluid and light sanding, if necessary
2) Fill any imperfections with leather filler if necessary
3) apply dye
4) apply clear coat

However, I did a "quick and dirty" refinish, because I didn't have any dye or filler.

1) Clean old finish using prep fluid
2) apply clear coat
3) apply clear coat again to get smoother finish

Given that my first attempt turned out pretty well considering the corners cut, I am considering ordering some black dye and leather filler, and redoing the job properly. I don't expect the feel to change, but it will be marginally nicer aesthetically to get a more even black finish over the steering wheel leather.

Not having all the materials at hand, and a newly acquired steering wheel for which the leather finish was in pretty patchy condition, I thought the experiment was worthwhile (I already had some clear kote and prep fluid from an earlier project using leatherique products). So far so good! The extended "cure" time I experienced may in part be due to the fact I used two coats of the clear rather than one, as is the standard treatment. But it's feeling pretty good now.

jcslocum

Thanks, have a wheel on my Alfa poroject that I want to keep but the leather is kind of grungy



No big cracks or anything the leather is just getting kind of "furry" and need to be saneded down and the refinished. I will look at their web site.

Thanks again.

Mark944na86

The leather on that wheel doesn't look to be in too bad shape... I suspect it would probably come up fine. The black anodised finish on the metal spokes might look a bit tatty in contrast to the freshened leather, though. Might not be too hard to clean and/or paint to make it all look fresh in any case. Good luck! Let us know how you get on.

TOGWT

1. Surface Preparation

A few days before commencing the actual leather renovation, clean the finished leather surfaces and then apply Leather Master Soft Touch (formally Vital) this is not a conditioner per se, it softens the finished leather

Like all detailing task’s the correct surface preparation prior to the application of pigmentation (colour) will ensure that it works correctly, and has both durability and aesthetics. Use a safe degreaser to ensure any oil and grease free surface (Leather Masters™ Leather Degreaser) this aerosol product is ideal for cleaning as it dissolves the oils and transforms them into a powder that is more absorbent than the leather. This powder is what is wiped off, cleaning and degreasing the leather. Allow the white powder to dry fully. If the powder is drying to a yellow colour, it means that there are still a lot of oils in the leather.

And then use a safe solvent cleaner (Leather Magic DT-152) this chemical is formulated from several types of alcohol and milder based solvents and is used primarily to prepare the surface of leather for repair or pigmentation application. It will remove all dressings, protectants, waxes and oils from the surface, but more importantly, it will strip off the top most layer of the finish, which cleans the surface so that it is receptive to the application of repair and colorant materials. This also creates a permanent bonding of the materials to the leather.

The solvent should be sprayed lightly over the surface, and then by using a medium soft upholstery brush will ensure any ingrained soiling is effectively removed prior to application and to ensure proper product adhesion. Using a cotton terry cloth towel, immediately wipe dry. This will thoroughly remove any foreign matter found on the surface of the leather; mild solvents also work as an excellent de greaser. After letting the solvent dry off for a few hours the area should be lightly sanded over, this will remove any cracks in the surface coating.

Use painter’s tape and/or masking paper around anything that doesn’t require pigmentation applied

To ensure adhesion lightly sand areas to be re-coloured by using an abrasive (Scotchbrite 7447 - Maroon pad, General Purpose Hand - 320-400 grit) You’ll need to break down approximately 25µ (1 mil) of the surface, this is important so the new leather dye can ‘key’ into the finished leather and look natural. Be consistent in how far you remove the pigmentation, it is not necessary to completely remove the pigmentation that is sitting on the leather surface.

Remove dust with a tack rag or damp micro fibre towel.

Mark944na86

Just to clarify, the above instructions, while similar to the leatherique instructions, are for a competing line of products, not the leatherique products per se.

The leatherique kit is actually self contained, and includes the solvent (leatherique "super prep agent"), filler, dye and clear coat. Further, if any preliminary leather softening and conditioning was needed, I would suggest it would probably make more sense to use the leatherique products ("rejuvenator oil" and "prestine clean") to ensure maximum compatibility across the products.

Just in case there is any confusion.

Here's the page for the leatherique steering wheel refinish kit:

http://www.leatherique.com/steering-wheels.html

TOGWT

This is an extract from "Automotive Leather Repair and Renovation" one of a series of 135 i articles The Art & Science of Detailing

Process over Product

A product represents a very small percentage of the equation; identification of the materials, correct diagnosis of a suitable method and the selection of an appropriate product along with the correct surface preparation and application methodology will result in the desired result being obtained

This is not a product vendor’s catalogue, nor a vendor pretending to be an educator, as there are a lot of companies that are now writing online about detailing methods and preaching that only the product(s) they sell or manufacture are suitable. In reality they are just advertisements, with the appearance of educators as opposed to mere salesman. Commercialism brings with it concerns of honesty and true representation. In other words, it’s difficult to know what is true when someone is motivated by income, i.e. directly targeted at product sales, more so than an unbiased opinion.

jcslocum

The kit arrived on Monday and I may begin the resto this week. I have some travel coming up that might get in the way.